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Revolutionary North Carolina

Primary sources and readings explore North Carolina in the era of the American Revolution. Topics include the Regulators, the resistance to Great Britain, the War for Indpendence, and the creation of new governments.

Format: book (multiple pages)

"Civil Disobedience" excerpt seminar

This lesson plan is to be used for a seminar on an excerpt of Henry David Thoreau's work, "Civil Disobedience." The plan will follow the Paideia concept to discuss the great ideas of the text. The plan will provide a pre-guide activity, coaching activity, inner circle seminar questions, outer circle questions and a post writing assignment.

Format: lesson plan (grade 11–12 English Language Arts and Social Studies)

By Francis Bryant.

The Regulators organize

In Revolutionary North Carolina, page 1.3

Subscription to an organization of Regulators, January 1768. The subscribers agreed to resist paying taxes and fees they considred unlawful and to petition their representatives to change laws they considered unfair. Primary source includes historical commentary.

Format: declaration

Address from inhabitants near Haw River

The request of the Inhabitants of the West side of Haw river to the Assembly men and Vestry men of Orange County Whereas the Taxes in the County are larger according to the number of Taxables than adjacent counties and continues so year after year,...

Format: petition

The Regulation in Anson County

Rules and Resolves entered into by the Anson Mob. Vizt Whereas the Tax for the present year is very high part of which, unseen seem to many unlawful and unnecessary, that together with the great scarcity of Money that have put it out of our power...

Format: letter

Everyday People Fight for Everyday Rights

In this lesson, students will learn that the Civil Rights Movement, while led by many great individuals, was primarily a movement of everyday people. They will then put that knowledge of the past into practice and participate in their own Civil Rights March. The culminating activity is a multimedia presentation that, depending on which course, can be aimed at non-citizens outlining what civil rights are and how all Americans gained those rights through the actions of these everyday people.

Format: lesson plan

By Jason Perkins.

The Regulators

In Revolutionary North Carolina, page 1.1

In the 1760s residents of the North Carolina Piedmont protested high taxes, illegal fees, and corrupt officials. These protesters, who came to be known as the Regulators, began with civil disobedience and ended in violence at the Battle of Alamance in 1771.

Format: article

A Pledge to Violate the Stamp Act

In Revolutionary North Carolina, page 2.5

In 1766, during the colonial protests of the Stamp Act, some residents of eastern North Carolina, including many colonial leaders, signed this pledge to refuse to pay the tax. Primary source includes historical commentary.

Format: newspaper

The Stamp Act crisis in North Carolina

In Revolutionary North Carolina, page 2.4

In 1765, North Carolinians joined their fellow American colonists in protesting the Stamp Act, passed by Parliament that year, which taxed various kinds of public papers. Protesters, arguing that the tax was illegal without the consent of colonial assemblies, marched to the home of the tax collector and forced him to resign.

Format: article

High school history and English: Natural partners

In Where English and history meet: A collaboration guide, page 1

Strategically plan a collaborative unit and overcome those everyday obstacles that prevent success. While this article focuses specifically on English-history collaboration, there is much to kindle the interest of any high school teachers.

By Karen Cobb Carroll, Ph.D., and NBCT.

Edmund Fanning reports to Governor Tryon

In Revolutionary North Carolina, page 1.5

Letter from Edmund Fanning to Governor William Tryon, April 23, 1768, reporting on the activities of the Regulators. Shows how the Regulators were seen by colonial leaders. Includes historical commentary.

Format: letter

The Edenton "Tea Party"

In Revolutionary North Carolina, page 2.7

In October 1774, several prominent women of Edenton gathered at the home of Elizabeth King, with Penelope Barker presiding, to sign a petition supporting the American cause. This letter describing the event, which came to be known as the Edenton Tea Party, appeared in a London newspaper. Includes historical commentary.

Format: letter

An Address to the People of Granville County

In Revolutionary North Carolina, page 1.2

Excerpt of a speech by George Sims, Granville County school teacher and Regulator leader, in 1765. Sims blames corrupt lawyers and public officials for the problems of small farmers in the Piedmont. Includes historical commentary.

Format: speech

"Some grievous oppressions"

In Revolutionary North Carolina, page 1.4

Excerpt of a sermon published by Herman Husband, Regulator leader, in 1770. Husband argued that North Carolina's colonial government was unfair to small farmers. Primary source includes historical commentary.

Format: pamphlet

The First Provincial Congress

In Revolutionary North Carolina, page 2.6

After the Boston Tea Party in December 1773, Britain retaliated with a series of punitive measures that colonists called the "intolerable acts." In August 1774, North Carolina's colonial leaders met at New Bern to set out their princples, to plan further opposition to Britain, and to choose delegates to a Continental Congress. This excerpt from the proceedings of that First Provincial Congress includes historical commentary.

Format: document

Resources on the web

Conscience and the Constitution

Video, audio, primary sources, archival images, and fascinating stories that tell the tale of Japanese Americans resisting the draft while in American concentration camps during WWII. (Learn more)

Format: website/general

Provided by: PBS