North Carolina

Government

Forming a Government

The Stamp ActIn the 1750’s the British fought the French and Indian war against the French in North America.

After the British won in 1763, they wanted the colonists to help them pay for the cost of the war. They passed a law that made the colonists pay a tax on the stamps they had to buy from the British. This law was known as the “Stamp Act”.

Colonists were very angry about the Stamp Act. They felt that they were already paying too many taxes. They also felt that they did not have any voice, or representation, in the British government.

There were many protests throughout the colonies. But the British government continued to impose more taxes.

Stamp Act protestors

Penelope Barker was a colonist from North Carolina who found a way to protest the unfair taxes.

She held a meeting called the “tea party”. She and 51 other women signed an agreement to support the 13 colonies. The agreement stated that they would not drink tea or wear clothes made in Great Britain until Great Britain put an end to the tax laws.

The disagreement between the colonists and the British government over taxes and lack of representation led to the Revolutionary War.

North Carolina played an important role. On April 12, 1776, colonial leaders of North Carolina met in Halifax County. They created a written agreement called the “Halifax Resolves”. The Halifax Resolves stated that the colonists should unite and declare freedom from the British.

It was partly because of the Halifax Resolves that the Declaration of Independence was signed in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, on July 4, 1776.

American Revolution Battles in North Carolina

Three important battles took place in North Carolina:• The battle of Moore’s

Creek Bridge in February 1776

• The Battle of King’s Mountain in October 1780

• The battle at Guilford Courthouse in March 1781

The Battle of King’s Mountain

Seven months after the battle at Guilford Courthouse, British General Charles Cornwallis surrendered to George Washington.

The Constitution

After the end of the Revolutionary War, the leaders from the 13 colonies, which they now called states, got together to determine a plan for a new government. This plan was called the Constitution.

The Bill of RightsNorth Carolina did not vote on the Constitution immediately. The Constitution did not clearly list certain rights that North Carolinians felt were important. Among these rights were freedom of speech and freedom of religion. In 1789 the Bill of Rights was added to the Constitution. The Bill of Rights described the basic rights of all citizens of the United States. When this happened, North Carolina approved the Constitution and became the 12th state to join the United States.

Still Not EqualThe Bill of Rights did not end slavery. Women and Native Americans still did not have the right to vote. Although the states were a union, many southern states believed that they had a right to decide for themselves about issues such as slavery. They believed in “states rights”.

Slave house, Somerset Place

CIVIL WARShortly after Abraham Lincoln was elected president in 1860, seven southern states decided that they were no longer part of the United States. They formed a group called the Confederacy. Four more states joined later. The remaining 23 states at the time were called the Union. The states in the Union did not agree with the Confederacy on the slavery question. This issue helped lead to civil war. Civil war is a war between people of the same country.

Civil War pictures: Union soldiers (above); Abraham Lincoln with General McClellan (1862)

In 1862, President Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation. To emancipate means to free. This document declared an end to slavery in the Confederacy.

Unfortunately, President Lincoln had no way to make the South obey it.

Battles of the Civil War were still being fought. The last battle fought within North Carolina took place in Bentonville in 1865. This resulted in the largest surrender of Confederate troops.

Ratification of the 13th Amendment

The Thirteenth AmendmentIn 1865, four months before the Civil War ended, the congress under President Lincoln passed the Thirteenth Amendment. The Thirteenth Amendment ended slavery in all states.

Even though they were now free, African Americans still did not have equal rights.Southern states passed “Jim Crow Laws”, which segregated blacks and whites in public places. This led to the civil rights movement.

November 14, 1960: Ruby Bridges becomes the first black child to be integrated into public schools (New Orleans, LA)

The Civil Rights Movement

Until the mid-1950s, African American children were forced to go to separate schools.In 1954, the United States Supreme Court said that segregation was against the law.However, it took many years before integration took effect in every state. Integration means making public places open to everyone.

Fighting For Equal RightsPeople used different methods to fight for equal rights. One method was to boycott. Boycott means to refuse to buy or sell or use certain goods or services. In 1955 African Americans began a boycott of the public buses.

Another way is a peaceful protest called a sit-in. One of the most famous of these took place in Greensboro, NC, in 1960. African American college students held a sit-in at a Woolworth’s lunch counter to peacefully demand equal treatment. At that time, African Americans were not allowed service at the lunch counter.

Sit-in at Woolworth’s lunch counter

Civil Rights leaders such as Martin Luther King worked to get new laws passed to end segregation.

Finally, in 1964, Congress passed the Civil Rights Act. It stated that it was against the law to treat people differently because of their race, sex, or religion.

North Carolina State Government Today

Branches of State Government

North Carolina has three branches of state government:• The Executive Branch• The Legislative Branch• The Judicial BranchEach branch of government keeps watch over the other two. This is called a system of checks and balances.

The three branches of North Carolina government are modeled after the United States government, as shown in the chart. In North Carolina, the General Assembly makes up the Legislative Branch, the Governor and Lieutenant Governor head the Executive Branch, and the State Supreme Court makes up the Judicial Branch.

Executive Branch

The governor is the head of the executive branch of government. The executive branch carries out our laws. Voters elect the governor.

A governor is allowed to serve up to two terms in a row. A term is the number of years a person can hold in office. Currently, a term is four years.

Governor Beverly Perdue

Legislative Branch

North Carolina General Assembly

The General Assembly makes the laws that are passed to meet people’s needs. The General Assembly makes up the Legislative Branch of North Carolina state government.

There are two parts to the General Assembly: the House of Representatives and the Senate. There are 120 representatives and 50 senators. All are elected, or chosen by the people.

What is a Bill?

A bill is a proposal for a law. It is not a law yet. The General Assembly votes to decide whether or not to make a bill a law.

The governor has the power to veto a bill. To veto something means to refuse to approve it.

To see how this process works, look at the chart on the website www.secretary.state.nc.us/kidspg/law.htm

The Judicial Branch

NC Supreme Court Justice Sarah Parker

The Judicial Branch of state government interprets (explains) state laws.

There are many court systems in North Carolina, but the most important court is the State Supreme Court.

The Judicial Branch decides whether or not a law agrees with North Carolina’s constitution.

Raleigh, North Carolina

Local Government• Municipal Government• City Council-Manager Government

Municipal GovernmentA municipal government is a city government. It provides services, such as building and repairing roads, and runs libraries and local police departments.Most cities in North Carolina have a city council. The council makes laws and decisions about police protection, taxes, libraries, and other local issues. City council members are elected.

Raleigh Courthouse

Mayor

In some cities, citizens elect an official called a mayor. The mayor runs the municipal government and is in charge of state council meetings. The mayor also casts the deciding vote in case of a tie vote in the city council.

Raleigh’s current mayor is Nancy McFarlane.

City Council-Manager Government

This is another type of city government. In this type of government, the citizens of a city first elect a city council, and then the city council hires a city manager to run the city. This type of local government does not have an elected mayor.

Winston-Salem runs under a city council-manager type of government.

County Government

North Carolina is divided into 100 counties. Each county has its own government. The government collects taxes from the residents of those counties, and uses the money to pay for services (such as police protection and hospitals).

Each county has a board of commissioners. Members of the board are elected by voters. The board of commissioners is the executive and legislative branch of county government. The sheriff is the chief law enforcement officer of a county.

Our School is located in Wake County

Comparison of City and County Government Services

County Government(Commissioners)

• Sheriff’s Office• Local Courts• County Tax Collection• Health• Community Colleges• Public Schools• Soil and Water

Conservation

City Government(Mayor or Council-Manager)

• Police Department• Fire Department• Sanitation Department• Libraries• City Transportation• City Tax Collection

The End