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This article uses the development of the Raleigh and Gaston Rail Road in North Carolina as a case study to examine the relationship between elite family networks and the developing institutions of state government in the antebellum United States. The Cameron family of North Carolina and their involvement with the Raleigh and Gaston Rail Road offers a particularly dramatic example of the relationship between government and elites' familial business and political networks. The men in the Cameron family network were all advocates in state government for internal improvements to advance the state's economic prospects. Their advocacy, however, leveraged the states' considerable economic resources to stabilize their own familial networks, which could not manage individual members' problems with debt. In the process, these men implicated state government in the vagaries of their family's economic fortunes. Because of these dynamics, corporations like the Raleigh and Gaston became, in essence, too big to fail. Moreover, like the Camerons, some elite families made government part of their family networks, just as blood relatives were. This move allowed them to see the interests of their vast family networks as something more than self-interested and self-serving: their families' interests became the public good. Throughout the antebellum period, these practices became entrenched in the developing institutions of federal and state government, where they gained institutional purchase and legitimacy. This article argues that it was familial networks, not just individual men, who used and, ultimately, shaped government authority. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses the North Carolina hairwork, a fancy handicraft for women during the second half of the nineteenth century. It focuses on the work by North Carolina native Christena Kells, who crafted an heirloom from her loved ones' hair. Also discussed is the practice of weaving wreaths and jewelry from the hair of dead relatives in the Victorian era.

The article chronicles the history of surveyor Andrew Ellicott's Rock, a stone marking the boundary between Georgia and North Carolina. Topics discussed include the setting of the stone by Ellicott in the parallel of 35 degrees north latitude, the jurisdiction dispute between Georgia and North Carolina, history of the two states' argument over their common boundaries, the issue of land ownership by the Cherokee Nation of Native Americans and efforts to settle the boundary dispute.

The article discusses the history and evolution of the communications technology used by the North Carolina National Weather Service. Topics explored include the initial use of the telegraph for weather reporting and issuance of storm warnings based on reports gathered by various instruments installed at weather stations, the access of telephone subscribers to weather forecasts in the early 1900s, and the use of radar after World War II for weather observation.

The article explores the historical writing and characterization of North Carolina populism between 1900 and 1960 by Progressive-Era historians. Topics discussed include the link between the core values of the North Carolina Democratic Party and progressivism, the leadership demonstrated by populist leaders toward commercial farmers and corporations, and the way historian Joseph Gregoire de Roulhac Hamilton acknowledged the impact of populism on progressivism.

The article discusses the history of desegregation of public schools in Franklin County, North Carolina in mid-20th century. Also cited are the ruling of desegregation issued by U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina chief judge Algernon Lee Butler in 1968, the criticism by "Franklin Times" managing editor Albert Clinton "Clint" Fuller of Butler's decision, and the U.S. Supreme Court's judgment in the case Brown v. Board of Education.

The article discusses the history of the fight for freedom by African Americans in Northampton County, North Carolina from the 1930s to the 1970s. Topics include the arrest of attorney James R. Walker Jr. in 1956 for allegedly questioning a registrar's decision denying voter registration to an African American college student, and the struggle by African Americans for voting rights, equal economic opportunity, and quality public education.

Waging the War of American Independence (1775-83) required massive numbers of troops, weapons, and supplies in quantities most states could not readily provide. Meeting these needs were persistent challenges for the nascent state governments, all of which lacked a financial foundation, manufacturing base, and logistical network to sustain a concerted war effort. North Carolina was particularly beset by these challenges, which led state officials to adopt two of the most burdensome intrusions into the wartime routines of Carolinians: impressment and conscription. Both of these expedients produced antipathy and resistance to Patriot authorities, undermined support for the new state, and added to the disorders within the state during most of the war years. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses the reassessment of a 16th-century gold signet ring, discovered in the Outer Banks region of North Carolina in 1998, that was believed to be linked to the Kendall family of the Lost Colony of Roanoke. Topics explored include the description of the family crest engraved on the ring, brief historical details of the disappearance of the said colony, and results of the X-ray fluorescence analysis performed on the artifact.

The article offers a brief history of the North Carolina Supreme Court. Topics discussed include the adoption of the first constitution of North Carolina on December 19, 1776, the system adopted by the general assembly with regard to the appointment of superior court judges, and the selection of jurist John Louis Taylor as the first Chief Justice of the State of North Carolina.

The article discusses racial and political controversies involving African American educator Charles M. Eppes in North Carolina. Topics explored include the conflict between Eppes and National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) leaders Walter White and Thurgood Marshall, his significant length of service at segregated African American schools, and the views of NAACP leaders to the observance of racial policy of accommodation by Eppes.

The article discusses the concept of amnesty and the role of state courts during Reconstruction, particularly concerning the legislation the North Carolina Amnesty Act of 1866, which dealt with the impact of the U.S. Civil War on the state of North Carolina, specifically actions taken by North Carolinians during the war.

The article presents the history of piracy in North Carolina in 1718. It explores the activities of over 2000 pirates who were mostly British and others are Spanish, French and Dutch. The colony's reputation for harboring and encouraging of piracy which led the British Privy Council to instruct the provincial assembly to pass an anti-piracy law is discussed, as well as the response by Governor Charles Eden to the impact of piracy.

Engagement in sustained encounters with colonial actors had long-lasting demographic, social, and political consequences for Native American inhabitants of Southeastern North America during the colonial period (AD 1670–1783). Less clear is whether Native peoples who did not regularly trade with colonists also felt the destabilization experienced by more closely affiliated groups. This article explores Native lifeways in the seventeenth-century Eno River valley of the North Carolina Piedmont, a context for which archaeological and ethnohistoric evidence have produced divergent narratives. While extant archaeological findings suggest that daily life from 1650 to 1680 continued virtually unchanged from the preceding Late Woodland period, ethnohistoric accounts indicate that this area was victimized by Native slavers who abducted countless women and children. Seeking to reconcile these narratives, I conducted a diachronic analysis of botanical remains and architecture. Archaeobotanical data reveal that Jenrette site (AD 1650–1680) occupants adopted foodways that differed significantly from those of their Late Woodland predecessors, while architectural evidence indicates a brief village occupation. I argue that Eno River valley inhabitants introduced risk-averse subsistence practices that would have aided in coping with the threat and consequences of slave raiding and that these practices occurred within a social climate of fear and uncertainty that is documented ethnohistorically. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article informs that during 1820s and 1830s, slavery evolved into a divisive issue in North Carolina and Blacks people were disenfranchised after the Constitutional Convention of 1835, but several North Carolina citizens and politicians emerged as voices in the anti-slavery movement. It mentions several laws passed by North Carolina General Assembly during this period to address fears of possible slave rebellions.

The North Carolina State Historic Preservation Office and the Office of State Archaeology partnered with the town of Wake Forest and New South Associates, Inc., to conduct a multidisciplinary investigation of the Ailey Young House (31WA1958** ) with the aid of a Certified Local Government grant. The Ailey Young House is the oldest African-American historic resource in Wake Forest and was the birthplace of prominent educator Allen Young. We provide an overview of the history, material culture and geophysical research on the property and discuss how each of the stakeholders in this project contributed to the understanding, preservation and outreach efforts undertaken. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Late Woodland ceramic vessels in northwestern North Carolina are highly variable in tempering materials and surface treatments but are nearly limited to jar fonns of a limited size range. Coil breaks are found almost exclusively on shoulder, neck and rim sherds. Vessel bodies sometimes exhibit evidence of net impression underlying carved paddle stamping. These attributes coupled with experimental observations indicate that vessel bases and bodies were often formed in molds. This mode of ceramic vessel manufacture may have been common throughout the Southeast in the late pre-contact period and has important implications for studies involving typology, social interaction, cultural identity and native craft revitalization. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses the life of Captain Edward Stafford of the Roanoke Colonies in North Carolina. Topics include how in 1587 Capt. Edward Stafford helped lead the voyage that brought the second, civilian colony to Roanoke, how Edward Stafford was one of the leaders of the 1585 expedition to America and the areas explored by the Elizabethan colonists in North Carolina.

The article discusses the history of the politics that was involved with public school funding in North Carolina. Topics include laws concerning schools and taxation, The efforts of Senator Angus Dhu MacLean in introducing a bill that would shift responsibility to pay for education from the local to the state level, and the themes of equality of education and fairness of taxation.

The article presents the first part of series on Love Valley, North Carolina. Love Valley was reportedly founded by contractor Andy Barker in 1954 who wanted to create an old Western town. Topics include the author's experience of visiting Love Valley, the conflict between the hippies and the cowboys that started after the Allman Brothers Band came for the Love Valley Rock Festival, and Barker's efforts to salvage the town's reputation.

This essay aims to historicize urban theorist Richard Florida's influential formulation of the "creative class" by focusing on the emergence of a high-tech economy in North Carolina's Research Triangle metropolitan area. In the 1950s, a powerful coalition of academics, businesspeople, and politicians launched a plan to move the state away from its traditional reliance on low-wage industries by founding a research park between Raleigh, Durham, and Chapel Hill, believing that scientific firms would value the park's proximity to several nearby colleges and universities. The essay argues that local boosters emphasized the area's cultural opportunities and intellectual climate as major quality-of-life considerations not only for hightech companies, but also the scientists and engineers that they hoped to employ. Research Triangle Park thus created a blueprint for subsequent development strategies-later promoted by Florida, among other scholars and consultants-that made arts, education, and other cultural institutions central to the marketing of an urban area's identity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses the attack at the British Fort Johnston which may have triggered the American Revolution in North Carolina. Topics covered include the North Carolinians' use of uprisings and violence to shape government, the support received by Patriot activists in assuming more control of political affairs in the state and the allegation that Governor Josiah Martin planned a design of arming Black people.

The article features Richard Dobbs Spaight, the first native-born governor of North Carolina and one of the framers of the U.S. Constitution who was educated in Ireland and Scotland during the 1700s. Topics covered include the reason behind Spaight's consistent use of unnecessary middle name, his return to his native country to launch a political career and the possible development of his attitude toward England at the University of Glasgow.

The article discusses the political debate that had taken place in North Carolina over the ratification of the federal constitution of the U.S. Topics include how the constitution highlighted the political divisions of North Carolina, how the issue of the ratification of the constitution became a battle between the Federalists and Antifederalists, and the debate over the provision of the articles of the constitution.

The article focuses on history of quakers in United States. Topics discussed include Quaker slaveholders and enslavement in North Carolina. Other topics which includes slave Moses Gordon, black activists and abolitionists are also discussed. In addition, racial history of North Carolina is also mentioned.

The article focuses on black mobility, property owned by whites and firearm laws in Eastern North Carolina during antebellum. Topics discussed include runaway slaves, use of firearms by blacks in the state and slaves in the state. Other topics which includes slaveholders and firearms licensing are also discussed.

The article examines the newspaper publishing industry in Moravian Falls, North Carolina from the 19th to the 20th centuries. Numerous newspapers were reportedly circulated after dominant sheets "Fool-Killer" and the "Lash" have been successful which exceeded the circulation of major metropolitan dailies. Also discussed the topics covered by the newspapers, North Carolina's political history, and the success of the "Yellow Jacket" newspaper.

An essay is presented explaining why North Carolinians have long called themselves Tar Heels, which has become a badge of pride in various fields such as scholarship and basketball. Topics discussed include how "Tar Heel" emerged in the decades before the Civil War, how eastern North Carolina's experience in the war led to other southerners applying the disparaging term "Tar Heel" to North Carolina soldiers, and how during the course of the war the citizens came to embrace the term with pride.