North Carolina

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

State of North Carolina
Flag Seal Nickname(s): Tar Heel State; Old North State Motto(s): Esse quam videri (Latin: To be, rather than to seem)
Official language(s)	English
Demonym	North Carolinian
Capital	Raleigh
Largest city	Charlotte
Largest metro area	Charlotte metro area
Area	Ranked 28th in the US
- Total	53,865 sq mi (139,509 km²)
- Width	150 miles (340 km)
- Length	560[1] miles (900 km)
- % water	9.5
- Latitude	33° 50′ N to 36° 35′ N
- Longitude	75° 28′ W to 84° 19′ W
Population	Ranked 10th in the US
- Total	8,049,313
- Density	165.24/sq mi  63.80/km² (17th in the US)
Elevation
- Highest point	Mt. Mitchell[2] 6,684 ft  (2,038 m)
- Mean	705 ft  (215 m)
- Lowest point	Atlantic Ocean[2] 0 ft  (0 m)
Admission to Union	November 21, 1789 (12th)
Governor	Mike Easley (D)
Lieutenant Governor	Beverly Perdue (D)
U.S. Senators	Elizabeth Dole (R) Richard Burr (R)
Congressional Delegation	List
Time zone	Eastern: UTC-5/-4
Abbreviations	NC US-NC
Website	www.nc.gov

North Carolina (IPA: /ˌnɔrθˌkɛrəˈlaɪnə/) is a state located on the Atlantic Seaboard in the southeastern United States. North Carolina contains 100 counties and its capital city is Raleigh.

North Carolina was one of the original Thirteen Colonies, originally known as Carolina, and the home of the first English colony in the Americas.^[3] On 20 May 1861, it became the last of the Confederate states to secede from the Union, and was readmitted on 4 July 1868. It was also the location of the first successful controlled, powered and sustained heavier-than-air flight, by the Wright brothers, at Kill Devil Hills near Kitty Hawk in 1903. Today, it is a fast-growing state with an increasingly diverse economy and population. As of 1 July 2007, the population estimate is 9,061,032 (a 12% increase since 1 April 2000).^[4]

North Carolina has a wide range of elevations, from sea level on the coast to almost 6,700 feet (2,042 m) in the mountains. The climate in the coastal and Piedmont regions of eastern and central North Carolina is similar to other southern states such as Georgia and South Carolina, while the climate in the western mountains is closer to that found in New England or the upper Midwest. While the coastal plains, especially the tidewater areas, are strongly influenced by the Atlantic Ocean, the western, mountainous part of the state is more than 300 miles (500 km) from the coast, resulting in considerably less maritime influence. As such, the climate of the state ranges from a warm, humid subtropical climate near the coast to a humid continental climate in the mountains. Most of the state falls in the humid subtropical zone.

Contents 1 Geography 1.1 Climate 2 History 2.1 Native Americans, The Lost Colony and Permanent Settlement 2.2 Colonial Period and Revolutionary War 2.3 Antebellum Period 2.4 American Civil War 3 Demographics 3.1 Racial Makeup and Population Trends 3.2 African Americans 3.3 Asian Americans 3.4 European Americans 3.5 Hispanics/Latinos 3.6 Native Americans 3.7 Religion 4 Economy 4.1 Agriculture and Manufacturing 4.2 Finance, Technology and Research 4.3 Film and the Arts 4.4 Tax Revenue 5 Transportation 5.1 International/Major regional airports 5.2 Mass transit 5.3 Major highways 6 Politics and government 6.1 State constitution 6.2 Federal apportionments 6.3 Politics 7 Education 7.1 Elementary and secondary education 7.2 Colleges and universities 8 Sports and recreation 8.1 Professional sports 8.2 College Sports 8.3 Recreation 9 Other information 9.1 Famous food and drinks from North Carolina 9.2 Ships named for the state 9.3 State symbols 9.4 Armed Forces installations 10 See also 11 References 12 Further reading 12.1 Primary sources 13 External links 13.1 Government and education 13.2 Other links

[edit] Geography

See also: Geography of the United States, East Coast of the United States, Geography of North Carolina, and List of counties in North Carolina

North Carolina is bordered by South Carolina on the south, Georgia on the southwest, Tennessee on the west, Virginia on the north, and the Atlantic Ocean on the east. The United States Census Bureau classifies North Carolina as a southern state in the subcategory of being one of the South Atlantic States.

North Carolina consists of three main geographic sections: the coastal plain, which occupies the eastern 45% of the state; the Piedmont region, which contains the middle 35%; and the Appalachian Mountains and foothills. The extreme eastern section of the state contains The Outer Banks, a string of sandy, narrow islands which form a barrier between the Atlantic Ocean and inland waterways. The Outer Banks form two sounds—Albemarle Sound in the north and Pamlico Sound in the south. They are the two largest landlocked sounds in the United States. Immediately inland, the coastal plain is relatively flat, with rich soils ideal for growing tobacco, soybeans, melons, and cotton. The coastal plain is North Carolina's most rural section, with few large towns or cities. Agriculture remains an important industry. The major rivers of this section, the Neuse River, Tar River, Pamlico River, and the Cape Fear River, tend to be slow-moving and wide.

The coastal plain transitions to the Piedmont region along the "fall line", a line which marks the elevation at which waterfalls first appear on streams and rivers. The Piedmont region of central North Carolina is the state's most urbanized and densely populated section - all five of the state's largest cities are located in the Piedmont. It consists of gently rolling countryside frequently broken by hills or low mountain ridges. A number of small, isolated, and deeply eroded mountain ranges and peaks are located in the Piedmont, including the Sauratown Mountains, Pilot Mountain, the Uwharrie Mountains, Crowder's Mountain, King's Pinnacle, the Brushy Mountains, and the South Mountains. The Piedmont ranges from about 300–400 feet (90–120 m) elevation in the east to over 1,000 feet (300 m) in the west. Due to the rapid population growth of the Piedmont, many of the farms and much of the rural countryside in this region is being replaced by suburbanization - shopping centers, housing developments, and large corporate office parks. Agriculture is steadily declining in importance in this region. The major rivers of the Piedmont, such as the Yadkin and Catawba, tend to be fast-flowing, shallow, and narrow.

The western section of the state is part of the Appalachian Mountain range. Among the subranges of the Appalachians located in the state are the Great Smoky Mountains, Blue Ridge Mountains, Great Balsam Mountains, Pisgah Mountains, and the Black Mountains. The Black Mountains are the highest in the Eastern United States, and culminate in Mount Mitchell at 6,684 feet (2,037 m).^[2] It is the highest point east of the Mississippi River. Although agriculture remains important, tourism has become the dominant industry in the mountains. One agricultural pursuit which has prospered and grown in recent decades is the growing and selling of Christmas Trees. Due to the higher altitude in the mountains, the climate often differs starkly from the rest of the state. Winters in western North Carolina typically feature significant snowfall and subfreezing temperatures more akin to a midwestern state than a southern one.

North Carolina has 17 major river basins. Five of the state's river basins - the Hiwassee, Little Tennessee, French Broad, Watauga and New - are part of the Mississippi River Basin, which drains to the Gulf of Mexico. All the others flow to the Atlantic Ocean. Of the 17 basins, 11 originate within the state of North Carolina, but only four are contained entirely within the state's borders - the Cape Fear, Neuse, White Oak and Tar-Pamlico.^[5]

[edit] Climate

Main article: Climate of North Carolina

The geographical divisions of North Carolina are useful when discussing the climate of the state.

The coastal plain is influenced by the Atlantic Ocean which keeps temperatures mild in winter and moderate in the summer. Daytime high temperatures on the coast average less than 89 °F (31.6 °C) during the summer. In the winter, the coast has the mildest temperatures in the state, with daytime temperatures rarely dropping below 40 °F (4.4 °C); the average daytime winter temperature in the coastal plain is usually in the mid-60's. Temperatures in the coastal plain rarely drop below freezing even at night. The coastal plain usually receives only one inch (2.5 cm) of snow and/or ice annually, and in some years there may be no snow or ice at all.

The Atlantic Ocean has less influence on the Piedmont region, and as a result the Piedmont has hotter summers and colder winters than the coast. Daytime highs in the Piedmont usually average over 90 °F (32.2 °C) in the summer. While it is not common for temperatures to reach over 100 °F (37.8 °C) in North Carolina, when it happens, the highest temperatures are to be found in the lower areas of the Piedmont, especially around the city of Fayetteville. Additionally, the weaker influence of the Atlantic Ocean means that temperatures in the Piedmont often fluctuate more widely than the coast.

In the winter, the Piedmont is much less mild than the coast, with daytime temperatures that are usually in the mid 50's, and temperatures often drop below freezing at night. The region averages from 3-5 inches of snowfall annually in the Charlotte area to 6-8 inches in the Raleigh-Durham area. The Piedmont is especially notorious for sleet and freezing rain. It can be heavy enough in some storms to snarl traffic and collapse trees and power lines. Annual precipitation and humidity is lower in the Piedmont than either the mountains or the coast, but even at its lowest, the precipitation is a generous 40 in (102 cm) per year.

The Appalachian Mountains are the coolest area of the state, with daytime temperatures averaging in the low 40's and upper 30's for highs in the winter and often falling into the teens (−9 °C) or lower in winter nights. Relatively cool summers have temperatures rarely rising above 80 °F (26.7 °C). Snowfall in the mountains is usually 14–20 in (36–51 cm) per year, but it is often greater in the higher elevations. For example, during the Blizzard of 1993 more than 50 inches (130 cm) of snow fell on Mount Mitchell.

Severe weather is not a rare event in North Carolina. On average, the state receives a direct hit from a hurricane once a decade. Tropical storms arrive every 3 or 4 years. In some years several hurricanes or tropical storms can directly hit the state or brush across the coastal areas. Only Florida and Louisiana are hit by hurricanes more often. On average, North Carolina has 50 days of thunderstorm activity per year, with some storms becoming severe enough to produce hail and damaging winds. Although many people believe that hurricanes only menace coastal areas, the rare hurricane which moves inland quickly enough can cause severe damage. In 1989 Hurricane Hugo caused heavy damage in Charlotte and even as far inland as the Blue Ridge Mountains in the northwestern part of the state. North Carolina averages less than 20 tornadoes per year. Many of these are produced by hurricanes or tropical storms along the coastal plain. Tornadoes from thunderstorms are a risk, especially in the eastern part of the state. The western piedmont is often protected by the mountains breaking storms up as they try to cross over them. The storms will often reform farther east. Also a weather feature known as cold air damming occurs in the western part of the state . This can also weaken storms but can also lead to major ice events in winter ."^[6]

Monthly normal high and low temperatures (Fahrenheit) for various North Carolina cities.
City	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec
Asheville	46/26	50/28	58/35	66/42	74/51	80/58	83/63	82/62	76/55	67/43	57/35	49/29
Cape Hatteras	54/39	55/39	60/44	68/52	75/60	82/68	85/73	85/72	81/68	73/59	65/50	57/43
Charlotte	51/32	56/34	64/42	73/49	80/58	87/66	90/71	88/69	82/63	73/51	63/42	54/35
Greensboro	47/28	52/31	60/38	70/46	77/55	84/64	88/68	86/67	79/60	70/48	60/39	51/31
Raleigh	50/30	54/32	62/39	72/46	79/55	86/64	89/68	87/67	81/61	72/48	62/40	53/33
Wilmington	56/36	60/38	66/44	74/51	81/60	86/68	90/72	88/71	84/66	76/54	68/45	60/38
[1]

[edit] History

Main article: History of North Carolina

[edit] Native Americans, The Lost Colony and Permanent Settlement

Main articles: Native Americans in the United States and Roanoke Island

North Carolina was originally inhabited by many different native peoples, including the Cherokee, Tuscarora, Cheraw, Pamlico, Meherrin, Coree, Machapunga, Cape Fear Indians, Waxhaw, Saponi, Tutelo, Waccamaw, Coharie, and Catawba. In 1584, Elizabeth I, granted a charter to Sir Walter Raleigh, for whom the state capital is named, for land in present-day North Carolina (then Virginia).^[7] Raleigh established two colonies on the coast in the late 1580s, both ending in failure. It was the second American territory the British attempted to colonize. The demise of one, the "Lost Colony" of Roanoke Island, remains one of the great mysteries of American history. Virginia Dare, the first English child to be born in North America, was born on Roanoke Island on August 18, 1587. Dare County is named for her.

Main article: Province of Carolina

As early as 1650, colonists from the Virginia colony moved into the area of Albemarle Sound. By 1663, Charles II granted a charter to establish a new colony on the North American continent which generally established its borders. He named it Carolina in honor of his father Charles I.^[8] By 1665, a second charter was issued to attempt to resolve territorial questions. In 1710, due to disputes over governance, the Carolina colony began to split into North Carolina and South Carolina. The latter became a crown colony in 1729.

[edit] Colonial Period and Revolutionary War

Main article: American Revolutionary War

The first permanent European settlers of North Carolina were British colonists who migrated south from Virginia, following a rapid growth of the colony and the subsequent shortage of available farmland. Nathaniel Batts was documented as one of the first of these Virginian migrants. He settled south of the Chowan River and east of the Great Dismal Swamp in 1655.^[9] By 1663, this northeastern area of the Province of Carolina, known as the Albemarle Settlements, was undergoing full-scale British settlement.^[10] During the same period, the English monarch Charles II gave the province to the Lords Proprietors, a group of noblemen who had helped restore Charles to the throne in 1660. The new province of "Carolina" was named in honor and memory of King Charles I (Latin: Carolus). In 1712, North Carolina became a separate colony. With the exception of the Earl Granville holdings, it became a royal colony seventeen years later.^[11]

Differences in the settlement patterns of eastern and western North Carolina, or the low country and uplands, affected the political, economic, and social life of the state from the eighteenth until the twentieth century. The Tidewater in eastern North Carolina was settled chiefly by immigrants from England and the Scottish Highlands. The upcountry of western North Carolina was settled chiefly by Scots-Irish and German Protestants, the so-called "cohee". Arriving during the mid-to-late 18th century, the Scots-Irish from Ireland were the largest immigrant group before the Revolution. During the Revolutionary War, the English and Highland Scots of eastern North Carolina tended to remain loyal to the British Crown, because of longstanding business and personal connections with Great Britain. The Scots-Irish and German settlers of western North Carolina tended to favor American independence from Britain.

Most of the English colonists arrived as indentured servants, hiring themselves out as laborers for a fixed period to pay for their passage. In the early years the line between indentured servants and African slaves or laborers was fluid. Some Africans were allowed to earn their freedom before slavery became a lifelong status. Most of the free colored families formed in North Carolina before the Revolution were descended from relationships or marriages between free white women and enslaved or free African or African-American men. Many had migrated or were descendants of migrants from colonial Virginia.^[12] As the flow of indentured laborers to the colony decreased with improving economic conditions in Great Britain, more slaves were imported and the state's restrictions on slavery hardened. The economy's growth and prosperity was based on slave labor, devoted first to the production of tobacco.

On April 12, 1776, the colony became the first to instruct its delegates to the Continental Congress to vote for independence from the British crown, through the Halifax Resolves passed by the North Carolina Provincial Congress. The dates of both of these independence-related events are memorialized on the state flag and state seal.^[13] Throughout the Revolutionary War, fierce guerilla warfare erupted between bands of pro-independence and pro-British colonists. In some cases the war was also an excuse to settle private grudges and rivalries. A major American victory in the war took place at King's Pinnacle along the North Carolina-South Carolina border. On October 7, 1780 a force of 1000 mountain men from western North Carolina (including what is today the State of Tennessee) overwhelmed a force of some 1000 British troops led by Major Patrick Ferguson. Most of the British soldiers in this battle were Carolinians who had remained loyal to the British Crown (they were called "Tories"). The American victory at Kings Mountain gave the advantage to colonists who favored American independence, and it prevented the British Army from recruiting new soldiers from the Tories.

The road to Yorktown and America's independence from Great Britain led through North Carolina. As the British Army moved north from victories in Charleston and Camden, South Carolina, the Southern Division of the Continental Army and local militia prepared to meet them. Following General Daniel Morgan's victory over the British Cavalry Commander Banastre Tarleton at the Battle of Cowpens on January 17, 1781, southern commander Nathanael Greene led British Lord Charles Cornwallis across the heartland of North Carolina, and away from Cornwallis's base of supply in Charleston, South Carolina. This campaign is known as "The Race to the Dan" or "The Race for the River."^[14]

Generals Greene and Cornwallis finally met at the Battle of Guilford Courthouse in present-day Greensboro on March 15, 1781. Although the British troops held the field at the end of the battle, their casualties at the hands of the numerically superior American Army were crippling. Following this "Pyhrric victory", Cornwallis chose to move to the Virginia coastline to get reinforcements, and to allow the Royal Navy to protect his battered army. This decision would result in Cornwallis's eventual defeat at Yorktown, Virginia later in 1781. The Patriots' victory there guaranteed American independence.

[edit] Antebellum Period

On November 21, 1789, North Carolina became the twelfth state to ratify the Constitution. In 1840, it completed the state capitol building in Raleigh, still standing today. Unlike many other Southern states, North Carolina never developed a dominant slaveholding aristocracy, and middle-class yeomen tended to control the state government. Most of North Carolina's slaveowners and large plantations were located in the eastern Tidewater. Western North Carolinians tended to be non-slaveowning subsistence farmers. In mid-century, the state's rural and commercial areas were connected by the construction of a 129–mile (208 km) wooden plank road, known as a "farmer's railroad," from Fayetteville in the east to Bethania (northwest of Winston-Salem).^[15]

In addition to slaves, there were a number of free people of color in the state. Most were descended from free African Americans who had migrated along with neighbors from Virginia during the eighteenth century. After the Revolution, Quakers and Mennonites worked to persuade slaveholders to free their slaves. Enough were inspired by their efforts and the language of men's rights, and arranged for manumission of their slaves. The number of free people of color rose in the first couple of decades after the Revolution.^[16]

On October 25, 1836 construction began on the Wilmington and Raleigh Railroad^[17] to connect the port city of Wilmington with the state capital of Raleigh. In 1849 the North Carolina Railroad was created by act of the legislature to extend that railroad west to Greensboro, High Point, and Charlotte. During the Civil War the Wilmington-to-Raleigh stretch of the railroad would be vital to the Confederate war effort; supplies shipped into Wilmington would be moved by rail through Raleigh to the Confederate capital of Richmond, Virginia.

During the antebellum period North Carolina was an overwhelmingly rural state, even by Southern standards. In 1860 only one North Carolina town, the port city of Wilmington, had a population of more than 10,000. Raleigh, the state capital, had barely more than 5,000 residents.

While slaveholding was less concentrated than in some Southern states, according to the 1860 census, more than 330,000 people, or 33% of the population of 992,622 were enslaved African Americans. They lived and worked chiefly on plantations in the eastern Tidewater. In addition, 30,463 free people of color lived in the state. They were also concentrated in the eastern coastal plain, especially at port cities such as Wilmington and New Bern where they had access to a variety of jobs. Free African Americans were allowed to vote until 1835, when the state rescinded their suffrage.

[edit] American Civil War

Main article: American Civil War

In 1860, North Carolina was a slave state, in which about one-third of the population of 992,622 were enslaved African Americans. This was a smaller proportion than many Southern states. In addition, the state had a substantial number of free people of color, just over 30,000.^[18] The state did not vote to join the Confederacy until President Abraham Lincoln called on it to invade its sister-state, South Carolina, becoming the last state to join the Confederacy. North Carolina was the site of few battles, but it provided at least 125,000 troops to the Confederacy— far more than any other state. Approximately 40,000 of those troops never returned home, dying of disease, battlefield wounds, and starvation. Elected in 1862, Governor Zebulon Baird Vance tried to maintain state autonomy against Confederate President Jefferson Davis in Richmond.

Even after secession, some North Carolinians refused to support the Confederacy. This was particularly true of non-slave-owning farmers in the state's mountains and western Piedmont region. Some of these farmers remained neutral during the war, while some covertly supported the Union cause during the conflict. Even so, Confederate troops from all parts of North Carolina served in virtually all the major battles of the Army of Northern Virginia, the Confederacy's most famous army. Five regiments from North Carolina served in the western theater in the Army of Tennessee. About two thousand North Carolinans from the western part of the state enlisted into the Union army, among the regiments they were assigned to were the 2nd and 3rd North Carolina Mounted Infantry regiments, and some in the 13th Tennessee Cavalry. Two other Union regiments made up of North Carolinians, the 1st and 2nd North Carolina U.S., were organized in the coastal areas of the state. The largest battle fought in North Carolina was at Bentonville, which was a futile attempt by Confederate General Joseph Johnston to slow Union General William Tecumseh Sherman's advance through the Carolinas in the spring of 1865.^[19] In April 1865 after losing the Battle of Morrisville, Johnston surrendered to Sherman at Bennett Place, in what is today Durham, North Carolina. This was the last major Confederate Army to surrender. North Carolina's port city of Wilmington was the last Confederate port to fall to the Union. It fell in the spring of 1865 after the nearby Second Battle of Fort Fisher.

The first Confederate soldier to be killed in the Civil War was Private Henry Wyatt, a North Carolinian. He was killed in the Battle of Big Bethel in June 1861. At the Battle of Gettysburg in July 1863, the 26th North Carolina Regiment participated in Pickett/Pettigrew's Charge and advanced the farthest into the Northern lines of any Confederate regiment. During the Battle of Chickamauga the 58th North Carolina Regiment advanced farther than any other regiment on Snodgrass Hill to push back the remaining Union forces from the battlefield. At Appomattox Court House in Virginia in April 1865, the 75th North Carolina Regiment, a cavalry unit, fired the last shots of the Confederate Army of Northern Virginia in the Civil War. For many years, North Carolinians proudly boasted that they had been "First at Bethel, Farthest at Gettysburg and Chickamauga, and Last at Appomattox."

[edit] Demographics

See also: Demographics of the United States

Historical populations
Census	Pop.		%±
1790	393,751		—
1800	478,103		21.4%
1810	556,526		16.4%
1820	638,829		14.8%
1830	737,987		15.5%
1840	753,419		2.1%
1850	869,039		15.3%
1860	992,622		14.2%
1870	1,071,361		7.9%
1880	1,399,750		30.7%
1890	1,617,949		15.6%
1900	1,893,810		17.1%
1910	2,206,287		16.5%
1920	2,559,123		16.0%
1930	3,170,276		23.9%
1940	3,571,623		12.7%
1950	4,061,929		13.7%
1960	4,556,155		12.2%
1970	5,082,059		11.5%
1980	5,881,766		15.7%
1990	6,628,637		12.7%
2000	8,049,313		21.4%
Est. 2007	9,061,032		12.6%

North Carolina has 3 Metropolitan Combined Statistical Areas with a population over 1 million:

• The Metrolina: Charlotte-Gastonia-Salisbury, NC-SC - population 2,191,604
• The Triangle: Raleigh-Durham-Cary, NC- population of 1,565,223
• The Piedmont Triad: Greensboro--Winston-Salem--High Point, NC - population of 1,513,576

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, as of 2006, North Carolina has an estimated population of 8,856,505, which is an increase of 184,046, or 2.1%, from the prior year and an increase of 810,014, or 10.0%, since the year 2000.^[20] This exceeds the rate of growth for the United States as a whole. The growth comprises a natural increase since the last census of 293,761 people (that is 749,959 births minus 456,198 deaths) and an increase due to net migration of 527,991 people into the state. Immigration from outside the United States resulted in a net increase of 180,986 people. Migration within the country produced a net increase of 347,005 people. Between 2005 and 2006, North Carolina passed New Jersey to become the 10th most populous state.^[21] The state's population reported as under 5 years old was 6.7%, 24.4% were under 18, and 12.0% were 65 or older. Females made up approximately 51% of the population.

[edit] Racial Makeup and Population Trends

Demographics of North Carolina (csv)
By race	White	Black	AIAN*	Asian	NHPI*
2000 (total population)	75.27%	22.20%	1.65%	1.70%	0.11%
2000 (Hispanic only)	4.28%	0.33%	0.10%	0.05%	0.03%
2005 (total population)	74.95%	22.29%	1.65%	2.06%	0.12%
2005 (Hispanic only)	5.89%	0.37%	0.12%	0.05%	0.03%
Growth 2000–05 (total population)	7.41%	8.31%	7.51%	30.62%	17.92%
Growth 2000–05 (non-Hispanic only)	4.93%	8.13%	6.31%	30.71%	16.84%
Growth 2000–05 (Hispanic only)	48.62%	20.36%	25.79%	27.15%	21.63%
* AIAN is American Indian or Alaskan Native; NHPI is Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander

In 2007, the U.S. Census estimated that the racial makeup of North Carolina was as follows: 70% White American, 22.3% African-American, 1.2% American Indian, and the remaining 6.5% are Hispanic or Latino (of any race). North Carolina has historically been a rural state, with most of the population living on farms or in small towns. However, over the last 30 years the state has undergone rapid urbanization, and today most of North Carolina's residents live in urban and suburban areas, as is the case in most of the United States. In particular, the cities of Charlotte and Raleigh have become major urban centers, with large, diverse, mainly affluent and rapidly growing populations. Most of this growth in diversity has been fueled by immigrants from Latin America, India, and Southeast Asia.^[22] In addition, large numbers of people from the Northeastern United States and Florida have moved to the state in recent years, further swelling the population.

The center of population of North Carolina is located in Randolph County, in the town of Seagrove.^[23]

Asheville	Charlotte	Durham	Gastonia
Greensboro	Hickory	High Point	Raleigh
Salisbury	Wilmington	Winston-Salem

Ancestry	Percentage	Main article:
African	(21.6%) Of Total)	See African American
American	(13.9%)	See British American
English	(9.5%)	See English American
German	(9.5%)	See German American
Irish	(7.4%)	See Irish American
Scots-Irish	(3.2%)	See Scots-Irish American
Italian	(2.3%)	See Italian American
Scottish	(2.2%)	See Scottish American

County	Seat	2010 Projection[24]
Mecklenburg	Charlotte	925,084
Wake	Raleigh	900,072
Guilford	Greensboro	474,605
Forsyth	Winston-Salem	350,784
Cumberland	Fayetteville	311,777
Durham	Durham	262,256
Buncombe	Asheville	234,697
Gaston	Gastonia	205,489
Union	Monroe	203,527
New Hanover	Wilmington	200,401

[edit] African Americans

African Americans make up nearly a quarter of North Carolina's population. The number of middle-class blacks has increased since the 1970s. African Americans are concentrated in the state's eastern Coastal Plain and in parts of the Piedmont Plateau, where they had historically worked and where the most new job opportunities are. African-American communities number by the hundreds in rural counties in the south-central and northeast, and in predominantly black neighborhoods in the cities: Charlotte, Raleigh, Durham, Greensboro, Fayetteville, Wilmington and Winston-Salem.

Free African Americans migrated to frontier areas of North Carolina from Virginia. Detailed family histories of 80% of those counted as "all other free persons" in the 1790-1810 federal census show they were descendants of African Americans free in Virginia during the colonial period. As boundaries were then more permeable, most free African families descended from unions between white women, free or servant, and African men, free, servant or slave. Indians who adopted English customs became part of free African American communities and married into the families. Some of the lighter-skinned descendants formed their own distinct communities, often identifying themselves as Indian or Portuguese to escape effects of the color line.^[25]

Until the mid-1860s, North Carolina had more small farms and fewer plantations than adjacent South Carolina and Virginia. These "yeoman" farmers were non-slave-holding (or owning few slaves), private land owners of tracts of approximately 500 acres (2 km²) or less. Relatively few blacks live in the state's mountains and rural areas of the western Piedmont. In some mountain counties, the black population has historically numbered in the few dozens at most.

[edit] Asian Americans

The state has one of the most rapidly growing Asian American, specifically Indian and Vietnamese, populations in the country; the populations nearly quintupled and tripled, respectively, between 1990 and 2002. Recent estimates suggest that the state's Asian-American population has increased significantly since 2000. The Hmong population in North Carolina has grown by 12,000 since the 1980s.^[26]

The earliest record of Asian immigration to North Carolina goes back to the mid-1800s when the first Chinese Americans were hired as agricultural workers. The famous Chinese-Malay American Siamese twins - Eng and Chang Bunker - settled in Wilkesboro, North Carolina in 1839. Japanese Americans, Filipino Americans, and Koreans arrived in the early and mid 20th century.

[edit] European Americans

Settled first, the coastal region attracted primarily English immigrants of the early migrations, including indentured servants transported to the colonies and descendants of English who migrated from Virginia. In addition, there were waves of Protestant European immigration, including the British, Irish, French Huguenots,^[27] and Swiss-Germans who settled New Bern. A concentration of Welsh (usually included with others from Britain and Ireland) settled east of present Fayetteville in the 18th century. For a long time the wealthier, educated planters of the coastal region dominated state government.

North Carolinians of Scots-Irish, Scottish and English ancestry are spread across the state. Historically Scots-Irish and Northern English settled mostly in the Piedmont and backcountry. They were the last and most numerous of the immigrant groups from the Britain and Ireland before the Revolution, and settled throughout the Appalachian South, where they could continue their own culture.^[28] The Scots-Irish were fiercely independent and mostly yeoman farmers.

In the Winston-Salem area, there is a substantial population of ethnic German ancestry (from the modern area of the Czech Republic), descended from the immigration of members of the Protestant Moravian Church during the mid-18th century.

During the early 20th century, a small group of Orthodox immigrants from Ukraine settled in Pender County.^[29]

[edit] Hispanics/Latinos

Since 1990 the state has seen a boom in the number of Hispanics/Latinos. Once chiefly employed as migrant labor, the increase in Hispanics since 1990 can be attributed in part to the ease of access to low-skilled jobs that are the first step on the economic ladder. As a result, growing numbers of Hispanic immigrants are settling in the state, mainly from Mexico, Central America, and the Dominican Republic. Hispanic neighborhoods are found in the cities, and there are sizable populations of Cuban Americans and Puerto Ricans in North Carolina. In 2005, the Pew Hispanic Center estimated that 300,000 — roughly 65 percent of North Carolina’s Latino population — are illegal immigrants, based on the Census Bureau’s population estimates.^[30] The population has grown from 77,726 in 1990 to 517,617 in 2005, an average increase of 13.5% per year.^[30]

[edit] Native Americans

Estimated population figures for Native American in North Carolina as of 2004 is 110,198. To date, North Carolina recognizes eight Native American tribal nations within its state borders:^[31]

• The Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians were federally recognized in 1868 and received state recognition in 1889. The Eastern Cherokee live in eastern Swain County, as well as Graham and Jackson counties, and have roughly 13,400 enrolled members, most of whom live on a reservation properly called the Qualla Boundary. The Reservation is slightly more than 56,000 acres (230 km²), and is held in trust by the federal government specifically for the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians.
• The Haliwa-Saponi Tribe of Native Americans received state recognition in 1965. The tribe comprises a little more than 3,800 enrolled members who reside in northeastern North Carolina's Halifax and Warren counties.
• The almost 2,000 members of the Waccamaw Siouan Indian Tribe are located in the mid-Atlantic North Carolina counties of Bladen, and Columbus and received state recognition in 1971.
• The Coharie Tribe of Native Americans are located in Sampson and Harnett counties, and have a population of 1,781 enrolled members. The Coharie received state recognition in 1911. North Carolina rescinded recognition in 1913 but reinstated it in 1971.
• The Sappony received state recognition in 1911 and have 850 enrolled members.
• The Occaneechi Band of the Saponi Nation have a population of 800 members who reside in Orange and Alamance counties and received state recognition in 2002.
• The Meherrin are a tribe of Iroquoian-descent located primarily in rural northeastern Hertford, Bertie, and Gates counties, with a population of 557 enrolled members.

Only five states (California, Arizona, Oklahoma, New Mexico, and Texas) have a larger Native American population than North Carolina.^[32] The total Native American and Alaska Native population in the United States is 2,824,751, or 0.95% of the total.

• • While recognized by the state, the Lumbee tribe has not been fully recognized as an official tribe by the Federal government. There are numerous people in the state who identify themselves as Lumbee, mainly concentrated in the Southeastern portions of the state in Robeson, Scotland, Cumberland and nearby counties. However, researchers have classified Lumbees as a tri-racial isolate group whose ancestors migrated from Virginia as free African Americans. For instance, most of the families from the 1790 census counted as "all other free persons" have been documented as descendants of African Americans who were free in Virginia in the colonial period.^[33]

[edit] Religion

North Carolina, like other Southern states, has traditionally been overwhelmingly Protestant. By the late 19th century, the largest Protestant denomination was the Southern Baptists. However, the rapid influx of northerners and immigrants from Latin America is steadily increasing the number of Roman Catholics and Jews in the state, and the numerical dominance of the Baptist Church is beginning to decline.

This change is most evident in the urban areas of the state, where the population is more culturally diverse and the bulk of the recent growth has occurred. However, in many rural counties the Southern Baptists remain the dominant Christian church. The second-largest Protestant church in North Carolina are the Methodists, who are strong in the northern Piedmont, and especially in populous Guilford County. There are also substantial numbers of Quakers in Guilford County, and northeastern North Carolina.

The Presbyterians, historically Scots-Irish, have had a strong presence in Charlotte, the state's largest city, and in Scotland County. The current religious affiliations of the people of North Carolina are shown below:^[34]

• Christian – 80%
  • Protestant – 59%
    • Baptist – 38%
    • Methodist – 9%
    • Presbyterian – 3%
    • Lutheran – 2%
    • Pentecostal – 2%
    • Episcopal – 1%
    • Church of God – 1%
    • Congregationalist – 1%
    • Assemblies of God – 1%
    • Seventh Day Adventist – 1%
  • Roman Catholic – 10%
  • Other Christian such as Non-denominational and Mormon Church – 11%
• Judaism – 1%
• Other Religions – 9%
• Non-Religious (unaffiliated, atheists, agnostics, and others) – 10%

[edit] Economy

See also: Economy of the United States and Economic history of the United States

According to the Bureau of Economic Analysis, the state's 2006 total gross state product was $375 billion.^[35] Its 2005 per capita personal income was $31,029, 36^th in the nation.^[36] North Carolina's agricultural outputs include poultry and eggs, tobacco, hogs, milk, nursery stock, cattle, sweet potatoes, and soybeans. However, North Carolina has recently been affected by offshoring and industrial growth in countries like China; one in five manufacturing jobs in the state has been lost to overseas competition.^[37] There has been a distinct difference in the economic growth of North Carolina's urban and rural areas. While large cities such as Charlotte, Raleigh, Cary, and others have experienced rapid population and economic growth over the last thirty years, many of the state's small towns have suffered from loss of jobs and population. Most of North Carolina's small towns historically developed around textile and furniture factories. As these factories closed and moved to low-wage markets in Asia and Latin America, the small towns that depended upon them have suffered.

The first gold nugget found in the U.S. was found in Cabarrus County in 1799. The first gold dollar minted in the U.S. was minted at the Bechtler Mint in Rutherford County.

[edit] Agriculture and Manufacturing

Over the past century, North Carolina has grown to become a national leader in agriculture, financial services, and manufacturing. The state's industrial output—mainly textiles, chemicals, electrical equipment, paper and pulp/paper products—ranked eighth in the nation in the early 1990s. The textile industry, which was once a mainstay of the state's economy, has been steadily losing jobs to producers in Latin America and Asia for the past 25 years, though the state remains the largest textile employer in the United States.^[38] Over the past few years, another important Carolina industry, furniture production, has also been hard hit by jobs moving to Asia (especially China). Tobacco, one of North Carolina's earliest sources of revenue, remains vital to the local economy, although concerns about whether the federal government will continue to support subsidies for tobacco farmers has led some growers to switch to other crops like wine or leave farming altogether.^[39] North Carolina is the leading producer of tobacco in the country.^[40] Agriculture in the western counties of North Carolina (particularly Buncombe and surrounding counties) is presently experiencing a revitalization coupled with a shift to niche marketing, fueled by the growing demand for organic and local products.

[edit] Finance, Technology and Research

Charlotte, North Carolina's largest city, continues to experience rapid growth, in large part due to the banking & finance industry. Charlotte is now the second largest banking center in the United States (after New York), and is home to Bank of America and Wachovia. The Charlotte metro area is also home to 5 other Fortune 500 companies.

BB&T (Branch Banking & Trust), one of America's largest banks, was founded in Wilson, NC in 1872. Today, BB&T is headquartered out of Winston-Salem, NC and still does some operations in Wilson.

The information and biotechnology industries have been steadily on the rise since the creation of the Research Triangle Park (RTP) in the 1950s. Located between Raleigh and Durham (mostly in Durham County), its proximity to local research universities has no doubt helped to fuel growth.

The North Carolina Research Campus underway in Kannapolis (approx. 30 miles (48 km) northeast of Charlotte) promises to enrich and bolster the Charlotte area in the same way that RTP changed the Raleigh-Durham region.^[41] Encompassing 5,800,000 square feet (539,000 m²), the complex is a collaborative project involving Duke University, University of North Carolina at Charlotte, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and N.C. State University, along with private and corporate investors and developers. The facility incorporates corporate, academic, commercial and residential space, oriented toward research and development (R&D) and biotechnology. Similarly, in downtown Winston-Salem, the Piedmont Triad Research Park is undergoing an expansion. Approximately thirty miles to the east of Winston Salem's research park, the University of North Carolina at Greensboro and North Carolina A&T State University have joined forces to create the Gateway University Research Park, a technology-based research entity which will focus its efforts on areas such as nanotechnology, biotechnology & biochemistry, environmental sciences, and genetics among other science-based disciplines.

[edit] Film and the Arts

Film studios are located in Shelby, Raleigh, Durham, Charlotte, Asheville, Wilmington, and Winston-Salem. Some of the best-known films and television shows filmed in the state include: All the Real Girls, Being There, Blue Velvet, Bull Durham, The Color Purple, Cabin Fever, Cape Fear, Children of the Corn, The Crow, Dawson's Creek, Dirty Dancing, Evil Dead 2, The Fugitive, The Green Mile, Hannibal, The Last of the Mohicans, Nell, One Tree Hill, Patch Adams (film), Shallow Hal, Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby, Leatherheads, and 28 Days. The television show most associated with North Carolina is The Andy Griffith Show, which aired on CBS-TV from 1960 to 1968. The series is set in the fictional small town of Mayberry, North Carolina, and was based on the real-life town of Mount Airy, North Carolina, although it was filmed in California. Mount Airy is the hometown of actor Andy Griffith. The show is still popular in reruns and is frequently shown in syndication around the nation. North Carolina is also home to some of the Southeast's biggest film festivals, including the National Black Theatre Festival and the RiverRun International Film Festival in Winston-Salem, and the Full Frame Documentary Film Festival in Durham, North Carolina.

The School of Filmmaking at the North Carolina School of the Arts in Winston-Salem is a unique arts conservatory that combines rigorous professional training with unparalleled facilities, equipment and resources. All Second, Third and Fourth Year productions are entered into film and video festivals worldwide, and several have won major awards, including the Student Academy Award, the Angelus Award and the Cine Eagle Award. The best Fourth Year productions are also screened on film in front of large industry audiences at the Directors Guild of America in Los Angeles in June each year. School of the Arts alumni have performed in or behind the scenes of Broadway shows, film, television and regional theatre, and are members of the world’s finest symphony orchestras and opera and dance companies. They have won or been nominated for all of the major awards in the entertainment industry, including Tony, Oscar, Emmy, Grammy and others. Some well-known alumni of the NCSA School of Drama are Jada Pinkett Smith, Mary-Louise Parker, Catherine Dent, and Tom Hulce.

[edit] Tax Revenue

See also: Taxation in the United States and State tax levels

North Carolina personal income tax is slightly progressive, with four incremental brackets ranging from 6.0% to 8.25%. The base state sales tax is 4.25%.^[42] Most taxable sales or purchases are subject to the state tax as well as the 2.5% local tax rate levied by all counties, for a combined 6.75%. Mecklenburg County has an additional 0.5% local tax for public transportation, bringing sales taxes there to a total 7.25%. The total local rate of tax in Dare County is 3.5%, producing a combined state and local rate there of 7.75%.^[43] In addition, there is a 30.2¢ tax per gallon of gas, a 30¢ tax per pack of cigarettes, a 79¢ tax on wine, and a 48¢ tax on beer. There are also additional taxes levied against food and prepared foods, normally totaling 2% and 8% respectively. The property tax in North Carolina is locally assessed and collected by the counties. The three main elements of the property tax system in North Carolina are real property, motor vehicles and personal property (inventories and household personal property are exempt). Estimated at 10.5% of income, North Carolina’s state/local tax burden percentage ranks 23rd highest nationally (taxpayers pay an average of $3,526 per-capita), just below the national average of 10.6%.^[44] North Carolina ranks 40th in the Tax Foundation's State Business Tax Climate Index with neighboring states ranked as follows: Tennessee (18th), Georgia (19th), South Carolina (26th) and Virginia (13th).^[44]

[edit] Transportation

[edit] International/Major regional airports

Main article: List of airports in North Carolina

• Charlotte/Douglas International Airport (Charlotte)
• Asheville Regional Airport (Asheville)
• Fayetteville Regional Airport (Fayetteville)
• Piedmont Triad International Airport (Greensboro/Winston-Salem/High Point)
• Pitt-Greenville Airport (Greenville)
• Moore County Airport (Pinehurst/Southern Pines)
• Raleigh-Durham International Airport (Raleigh/Durham)
• Craven County Regional Airport (New Bern)
• Wilmington International Airport (Wilmington)

[edit] Mass transit

Several cities are served by mass transit systems. The Charlotte Area Transit System (CATS) operates historical trolleys, express shuttles and bus service serving Charlotte and its immediate suburbs. In 2007 it opened the LYNX light rail line connecting Charlotte with suburban Pineville.

The Fayetteville Area System of Transit (FAST) serves the city with ten bus routes and two shuttle routes.

Within Raleigh, the Capital Area Transit system operates 27 bus routes. The Triangle Transit Authority operates buses that serve the region and connect to municipal bus systems in Durham and Chapel Hill; efforts for the city of Raleigh to build a light rail from the downtown areas of Raleigh to the downtown area of Durham failed as TTA's projected ridership did not meet federal standards. The Durham Area Transit Authority (DATA) bus system runs within Durham. The Triangle Transit Authority operates buses that serve the region and connect to municipal bus systems in Raleigh and Chapel Hill, which has its own entirely fare-free bus service, Chapel Hill Transit.

Greensboro is serviced by the Greensboro Transit Authority (GTA), which operates 14 bus routes. Additionally, the Higher Education Area Transit (HEAT) system provides service to students who attend the following institutions: Bennett College, Elon University School of Law, Greensboro College, Guilford College, Guilford Technical Community College, North Carolina A&T State University, and The University of North Carolina at Greensboro. The HEAT service provides transportation between campuses and various other destinations, including downtown Greensboro.

Winston-Salem Transit Authority (WSTA) operates 30 bus routes around the city of Winston-Salem; additionally, WSTA recently completed construction of a central downtown mult-modal transportation center with 16 covered bus bays adjacent to a large enclosed lobby/waiting area. There are future plans being discussed for a $52 million streetcar system connecting Piedmont Triad Research Park/Downtown with Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center.

Piedmont Authority for Regional Transportation (PART) is the Triad's 10-county regional organization with the goal of enhancing all forms of transportation through regional cooperation. PART Express Bus provides express shuttle service to each major Triad city from Piedmont Triad International Airport, while Connections Express connects the Triad to Duke and UNC Medical Centers. PART is also administering and developing several rail service studies that include both commuter and intercity rail.

Wilmington's Wave Transit operates six bus lines within the city as well as five shuttles to nearby areas and a downtown trolley.

[edit] Major highways

Main article: North Carolina Highway System

The North Carolina Highway System consists of a vast network of Interstate highways, U.S. routes, and state routes. North Carolina has the largest state maintained highway network in the United States.^[45] Major highways include:

Interstate 26 Interstate 40 Interstate 73 Interstate 74 Interstate 77

Interstate 85 Interstate 95 U.S. Highway 1 U.S. Highway 17 U.S. Highway 64

U.S. Highway 70 U.S. Highway 74 U.S. Highway 52 U.S. Highway 421 U.S. Highway 401

[edit] Politics and government

The governor, lieutenant governor, and eight elected executive department heads form the Council of State. Ten other executive department heads appointed by the governor form the North Carolina Cabinet. The state's current governor is Democrat Mike Easley. The North Carolina General Assembly, or Legislature, consists of two houses: a 50-member Senate and a 120-member House of Representatives. For the 2007–2008 session, the current President Pro Tempore of the Senate is Democrat Marc Basnight (the Lieutenant Governor of North Carolina is the President of the Senate); The House Speaker is Democrat Joe Hackney.

The Supreme Court of North Carolina is the state's highest appellate court; it numbers seven justices. The North Carolina Court of Appeals is the only intermediate appellate court in the state; it consists of fifteen judges who rule in rotating panels of three. Together, the Supreme Court and Court of Appeals constitute the appellate division of the court system. The trial division includes the Superior Court and the District Court. All felony criminal cases, civil cases involving more than $10,000 and misdemeanor and infraction appeals from District Court are tried in Superior Court. A jury of 12 hears the criminal cases. Civil cases—such as divorce, custody, child support, and cases involving less than $10,000—are heard in District Court, along with criminal cases involving misdemeanors and lesser infractions. The trial of a criminal case in District Court is always without a jury. The District Court also hears juvenile cases involving children under the age of 16 who are delinquent and children under the age of 18 who are undisciplined, dependent, neglected, or abused. Magistrates accept guilty pleas for minor misdemeanors, accept guilty pleas for traffic violations, and accept waivers of trial for worthless-check cases among other things. In civil cases, the magistrate is authorized to try small claims involving up to $4,000 including landlord eviction cases. Magistrates also perform civil marriages.

[edit] State constitution

Main article: North Carolina Constitution

The state constitution governs the structure and function of the North Carolina government. It is the highest legal document for the state and subjugates North Carolina law. Like all state constitutions in the United States, this constitution is subject to federal judicial review. Any provision of the state constitution can be nullified if it conflicts with federal law and the United States Constitution.

North Carolina has had three constitutions:

• 1776: Ratified December 18, 1776, as the first constitution of the independent state. The Declaration of Rights was ratified the preceding day.
• 1868: Framed in accordance with the Reconstruction Acts after North Carolina was readmitted into the Union. It was a major reorganization and modification of the original into fourteen articles. It also introduced townships which each county was required to create, the only southern state to do so.
• 1971: Minor consolidation of the 1868 constitution and subsequent amendments.

[edit] Federal apportionments

North Carolina currently has 13 congressional districts, which, when combined with its two U.S. Senate seats, gives the state 15 electoral votes. In the 109th Congress, the state was represented by seven Democratic and six Republican members of congress, plus two Republican Senators. The Democrats picked up one seat (District 11) in the 2006 election for the 110th Congress.

[edit] Politics

See also: Politics of the United States

See also: Disfranchisement after the Civil War

See also: Voting rights in the United States

North Carolina is politically dominated by the Democratic and Republican political parties. Since the 19th century, third parties, such as the Green Party and Libertarian Party, have had difficulty making inroads in state politics. They have both run candidates for office with neither party's winning a state office. The Libertarian Party is engaged in a lawsuit with the state over ballot access.^[46]

Historically, North Carolina was politically divided between the eastern and western parts of the state. Before the Civil War, the eastern half of North Carolina supported the Democratic Party, primarily because the region contained most of the state's planter slaveholders who profited from large cash crops. Yeomen farmers in the western Piedmont and mountains were not slaveholders and tended to support the Whig party, seen as more moderate on slavery and more supportive of business interests.

Following the Civil War, Republicans, including newly enfranchised freedmen, controlled the state government during Reconstruction. When federal troops were removed in the national compromise of 1877, the Democratic Party gained control of the state government, partly through white paramilitary groups conducting a campaign of violence against blacks to discourage them from voting, especially in the Piedmont counties. Despite that, the number of black officeholders peaked in the 1880s as they were elected to local offices in black-majority districts.^[47]

Following a downturn in food prices, in 1892 many of the nation's farmers created the Populist Party to represent their interests. The party was strengthened by the Panic of 1893 and subsequent nationwide economic depression. In North Carolina, the Republican and Populist parties formed an interracial alliance, called an electoral fusion, in 1894 which resulted in control of the state legislature. In 1896 the Republican-Populist alliance took control of the governorship and many state offices. In response, many white Democrats began efforts to reduce voter rolls and turnout.^[48] During the late 1890s, white Democrats began to pass legislation to restrict voter registration and reduce voting by blacks and poor whites.

With the first step accomplished in 1896 by making registration more complicated and reducing black voter turnout, in 1898 the state's Democratic Party regained control of the state government. Contemporary observers described the election as a "contest unquestionably accompanied by violence, intimidation and fraud - to what extent we do not know - in the securing of a majority of 60,000 for the new arrangement".^[49] Using the slogan, "White Supremacy", and backed by influential newspapers such as the Raleigh News and Observer under publisher Josephus Daniels, the Democrats ousted the Populist-Republican majority.

Encouraged by the U.S. Supreme Court ruling that upheld the Mississippi disfranchising constitution in Williams v. Mississippi (1898), North Carolina legislators passed similar provisions in 1900, as did eight other states. Provisions included imposition of poll taxes, residency requirements, and literacy tests. Initially the grandfather clause was used to exempt illiterate whites from the literacy test, but many were gradually disfranchised as well. By these efforts, by 1904 white Democratic legislators had completely eliminated black voter turnout in North Carolina.^[50] Although African Americans mounted litigation and the U.S. Supreme Court began to find specific provisions unconstitutional (as in Guinn v. United States (1915) which struck down the grandfather clause), state legislatures responded with new mechanisms for restricting voter registration. Disfranchisement lasted until the mid-1960s.

With some notable exceptions, North Carolina then became a part of the "Solid Democratic South". The Solid South was based on disfranchisement of most African Americans and tens of thousands of poor whites. Southern states managed to keep Congressional apportionment based on total population, despite having deprived about half the citizens of the power to vote.

However, some counties in North Carolina's western Piedmont and Appalachian Mountains continued to vote Republican, continuing a tradition that dated from their yeoman culture and opposition to secession before the Civil War. In 1952, aided by the presidential candidacy of popular war hero Dwight Eisenhower, the Republicans were successful in electing a U.S. Congressman, Charles R. Jonas.

In the mid-20th century Republicans began to attract white voters in North Carolina and other Southern states. This was after passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and Voting Rights Act of 1965 under Democratic President Lyndon Johnson, which extended Federal protection and enforcement of civil rights for all American citizens. Because the Democratic Party had supported civil rights at the national level, most black voters (just under 25% of North Carolina's population in the 1960 census) initially aligned with the Democrats when they regained their franchise.^[51] In 1972, aided by the landslide re-election of Richard Nixon, Republicans in North Carolina elected their first governor and U.S. senator of the twentieth century.

Senator Jesse Helms played a major role in renewing the Republican Party and turning North Carolina into a two-party state. Under his banner, many conservative white Democrats in the central and eastern parts of North Carolina began to vote Republican, at least in national elections. In part, this was due to dissatisfaction with the national Democratic Party's stance on issues of civil rights and racial integration. In later decades, conservatives rallied to Republicans over social issues such as prayer in school, gun rights, abortion rights, and gay rights.^{[citation needed]}

Except for regional son Jimmy Carter's election in 1976, from 1968–2004 North Carolina has voted Republican in every presidential election. At the state level, however, the Democrats still control most of the elected offices. State and local elections have become highly competitive compared to the previous one-party decades of the 20th century. For example, eastern North Carolina routinely elects numerous Republican sheriffs and county commissioners, a shift that did not happen until the 1980s. The Republicans hold both U.S. Senate seats, but the Democrats retain the governorship, majorities in both houses of the state legislature, state supreme court, and a 7-6 majority of U.S. House seats, as of January 2007.

Modern North Carolina politics center less around the old east-west geographical split, and more on a growing urban-suburban-rural divide. Many of the state's rural and small-town areas are now heavily Republican, while growing urban centers such as Charlotte, Raleigh, Durham and Greensboro are increasingly Democratic. The suburban areas around the cities usually hold the power, and vote both ways.

Two Presidents of the United States were born and raised in North Carolina, but both men began their political careers in neighboring Tennessee, and were elected President from that state. The two men were James K. Polk and Andrew Johnson. A third U.S. President, Andrew Jackson, may also have been born in North Carolina. However, as he was born almost precisely on the state line with South Carolina, both states claim him as a native son, and historians have debated for decades over the precise site of Jackson's birthplace. On the grounds of the old state capitol building in Raleigh is a statue dedicated to the Presidents who were born in the state; Jackson is included in the statue. Jackson himself stated that he was born in what later became South Carolina, but at the time of his birth, the line between the states had not been surveyed.

North Carolina remains a control state. This is probably due to the state's strongly conservative Protestant heritage. Four of the state's counties - Clay, Graham, Mitchell, and Yancey, which are all located in rural areas - remain "dry" (the sale of alcoholic beverages is illegal).[2] However, the remaining 96 North Carolina counties allow the sale and consumption of alcoholic beverages, as is the case in most of the United States. Even in rural areas, the opposition to selling and drinking alcoholic beverages is declining, as the decreasing number of "dry" counties indicates.

North Carolina is one of the 12 states to decriminalize marijuana. In 1997 Marijuana and Tetrahydrocannabinols were moved from a schedule I to schedule IV . Transfer of less than 5 grams is not considered sale, and up to 1 1/2 ounces is a misdemeanor punishable by a fine or community service, at the judge's discretion, rather than imprisonment or a felony charge.^[52]

In 2005, following substantial political maneuvering, the state legislature voted to implement a state lottery, thus altering North Carolina's reputation as the "anti-lottery" state, where owning a lottery ticket from another state was once a felony. By 2005, every state surrounding North Carolina had a lottery in operation. The North Carolina Education Lottery began selling tickets on March 31, 2006. The lottery has had unexpectedly low sales since its inception.^[53]

[edit] Education

[edit] Elementary and secondary education

Elementary and secondary public schools are overseen by the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction, which is headed by the North Carolina Superintendent of Public Instruction, who is also secretary of the North Carolina State Board of Education. This body holds most of the legal authority for making public education policy.^[54] North Carolina has 115 public school systems,^[55] each of which is overseen by a local school board. A county may have one or more systems within it. The largest school systems in North Carolina are the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools, Wake County Public School System, Guilford County Schools, Winston-Salem/Forsyth County Schools, and Cumberland County Schools. In total there are 2,338 public schools in the state, including 93 charter schools.^[55]

See also: List of school districts in North Carolina

[edit] Colleges and universities

For more details on this topic, see List of colleges and universities in North Carolina

In 1795, North Carolina opened the first public university in the United States - the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. More than 200 years later, the University of North Carolina system encompasses 16 public universities including the five largest, North Carolina State University, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and East Carolina University, UNC-Charlotte, and Appalachian State University. The system also supports several well-known historically black colleges and universities such as North Carolina A&T State University, North Carolina Central University, and Winston-Salem State University. Along with its public universities, North Carolina has 58 public community colleges in its community college system.

North Carolina's private universities and colleges include Campbell University, Davidson College, Duke University, Elon University, Gardner-Webb University, High Point University,and Wake Forest University.

[edit] Sports and recreation

Main article: Sports in North Carolina

[edit] Professional sports

Despite having over nine million people, North Carolina's population being spread out over three major metropolitan areas precluded attracting any major professional sports league teams until 1974, when the New York Stars of the World Football League was relocated to Charlotte in the middle of the season and renamed the Charlotte Stars (the team would be renamed the Charlotte Hornets in 1975 and would play until the WFL folded later that year).

The first successful franchise from a major professional sports league to be created in North Carolina were the Charlotte Hornets of the National Basketball Association (NBA), which began play in the 1987-88 season. The state remains without a Major League Baseball franchise despite numerous efforts to attract a team (including the 2006 push to relocate the Florida Marlins to Charlotte).

On June 19, 2006, the Carolina Hurricanes, a National Hockey League (NHL) franchise based in Raleigh, won the Stanley Cup. The Hurricanes, who call the RBC Center home, are the first professional sports team from North Carolina to win their sport's highest championship. The National Football League (NFL) is represented by the Carolina Panthers, who began play in 1995, and call Charlotte's Bank of America Stadium home. In 2004, the NBA returned to the state with the Charlotte Bobcats who play their home games in Time Warner Cable Arena. The Carolina RailHawks are a men's professional soccer team in the United Soccer Leagues, and their home field is the WakeMed Soccer Park in Cary. The American Indoor Football Association (AIFA) is represented by the Fayetteville Guard who plays at Crown Coliseum. North Carolina was home to the Charlotte Rage and the Carolina Cobras of the Arena Football League.

The state is also a center of American motorsports, with more than 80% of NASCAR racing teams and related industries located in the Piedmont region. The largest race track in North Carolina is Lowe's Motor Speedway in Concord where the Sprint Cup Series holds three major races each year. The NASCAR Hall of Fame, located in Charlotte, is due to open in 2010. Many of NASCAR's most famous driver dynasties, the Pettys, Earnhardts, Allisons, Jarretts and Waltrips all live within an hour of Charlotte.

In off-road motocycle racing, the Grand National Cross Country series makes two stops in North Carolina, Morganton and Yadkinville; the only other state to host two GNCC events is Ohio. For sport amateurs, the state holds the State Games of North Carolina each year.

From the 1930s to the early 1990s, the Mid Atlantic Championship Wrestling professional wrestling promotion, under the Crockett family, operated almost entirely out of Charlotte. Mid Atlantic was a long-time member of the National Wrestling Alliance and many of their top stars appeared on national television on NWA and later WCW events. Many retired or still-current wrestlers live in the Charlotte/Lake Norman area, including Ric Flair, Ricky Steamboat, Matt and Jeff Hardy, Stan Lane, and Shannon Moore.

North Carolina has become a hot bed for professional bull riding (PBR). It is the home of the 1995 PRCA World Champion Bull Rider Jerome Davis. It is also home to several professional stock contractors and bull owners including Thomas Teague of Teague Bucking Bulls. The Southern Extreme Bull Riding Association SEBRA headquarters are located in Archdale.

North Carolina is a state known for minor league sports, notably the setting of the 1987 comedy Bull Durham about the Durham Bulls of the Carolina League. The state boasts over 30 minor league baseball teams in six different minor leagues, including the Triple-A International League teams in Charlotte and Durham. There is a number of indoor football, indoor soccer, minor league basketball, and minor league ice hockey teams throughout the state. North Carolina has become a top golf destination for players across the nation, notably in Pinehurst, and the community of Southern Pines of Moore County which is home to over 50 golf courses.

[edit] College Sports

Although North Carolina did not have a major-league professional sports franchise until the 1980s, the state has long been known as a hotbed of college basketball. Since the formation of the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) in 1953, the conference's North Carolina member schools have excelled in conference play. The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (UNC), Duke University, and North Carolina State University are all located within 25 miles of one another, creating fierce rivalries. Wake Forest University, another ACC member, is located less than 100 miles to the west of these schools in Winston-Salem. UNC has won four NCAA national championships in basketball, Duke has won three NCAA championships, and NC State has won two. The Duke-UNC basketball rivalry has been called one of the best rivalries in college sports, and the two schools are often contenders for the national title. In addition to the ACC schools, the University of North Carolina at Charlotte went to the NCAA's Final Four in 1977, and Davidson College near Charlotte went to the NCAA's "Elite Eight" in 1968, 1969, and 2008. In 2007 Barton College in Wilson won the NCAA Division II championship in men's basketball. Although basketball remains the dominant college sport in North Carolina, several schools have also enjoyed success in football and other sports. In 2005, 2006, and 2007 Appalachian State University won the NCAA Division I-AA national championship in football; they are the first university to win the I-AA national championship three times in a row.

[edit] Recreation

Due to geography, rich history, and growing industry, North Carolina provides a large range of recreational activities from swimming at the beach^[56] to skiing in the mountains. North Carolina offers fall colors, freshwater and saltwater fishing, hunting, birdwatching, agritourism, ATV trails, ballooning, rock climbing, biking, hiking, skiing, boating and sailing, camping, canoeing, caving (spelunking), gardens, and arboretums. North Carolina has theme parks, aquariums, zoos, museums, historic sites, lighthouses, elegant theaters, concert halls, and fine dining.^[57]

North Carolinians enjoy outdoor recreation utilizing numerous local bike paths, 34 state parks, and 14 national parks, including:

• Appalachian National Scenic Trail
• Blue Ridge Parkway
• Cape Hatteras National Seashore
• Cape Lookout National Seashore
• Carl Sandburg Home National Historic Site at Flat Rock
• Croatan National Forest in Eastern North Carolina
• Fort Raleigh National Historic Site at Manteo
• Great Smoky Mountains National Park
• Guilford Courthouse National Military Park in Greensboro
• Moores Creek National Battlefield near Currie
• Overmountain Victory National Historic Trail
• Old Salem National Historic Site in Winston-Salem
• Trail of Tears National Historic Trail
• Wright Brothers National Memorial in Kill Devil Hills, North Carolina
• Uwharrie National Forest

[edit] Other information

[edit] Famous food and drinks from North Carolina

A nationally-famous cuisine from North Carolina is pork barbecue. However, there are strong regional differences and rivalries over the sauces and method of preparation used in making the barbecue. Eastern North Carolina pork barbecue uses a vinegar-based sauce and the "whole hog" is cooked, thus using both white and dark meat. The "capital" of eastern Carolina barbecue is usually considered to be the town of Wilson, near Raleigh. Western North Carolina pork barbecue uses a ketchup-based sauce and only the pork shoulder (dark meat) is used. The "capital" of western Carolina barbecue is usually considered to be the town of Lexington, south of Winston-Salem. A third type of pork barbecue, using a sauce which is a combination of ketchup and vinegar, is "Shelby" barbecue which is made in the town of Shelby.

North Carolina is the birthplace of Pepsi-Cola, first produced in 1890 in New Bern. Regional soft drinks created and still based in the state are Sundrop and Cheerwine. Krispy Kreme, a popular chain of doughnut stores, was started in North Carolina; the company's headquarters are in Winston-Salem. Despite its name, the hotsauce Texas Pete was created in North Carolina; its headquarters are also in Winston-Salem. The Hardees fast-food chain was started in Greenville. Another fast-food chain, Bojangles', was started in Charlotte, and has its corporate headquarters there. A popular North Carolina restaurant chain is Golden Corral. Started in 1973, the chain was founded in Fayetteville.

[edit] Ships named for the state

Several ships have been named for the state. Most famous is the USS North Carolina, a World War II battleship. The ship served in several battles against the forces of Imperial Japan in the Pacific theater during the war. Now decommissioned, it is part of the USS North Carolina Battleship Memorial in Wilmington. Another USS North Carolina, a nuclear attack submarine, is to be commissioned in 2008.^[58]

[edit] State symbols

Main article: North Carolina state symbols

• State motto: Esse quam videri ("To be, rather than to seem") (1893)
• State song: "The Old North State" (1927)
• State flower: Dogwood (1941)
• State bird: Cardinal (1943)
• State colors: the red and blue of the N.C. and U.S. flags (1945)
• State toast: The Tar Heel Toast (1957)
• State tree: Pine (1963)
• State shell: Scotch bonnet (1965)
• State mammal: Eastern Grey Squirrel (1969)
• State salt water fish: Red Drum (also known as the Channel bass) (1971)
• State insect: European honey bee (1973)
• State gemstone: Emerald (1973)
• State reptile: Eastern Box Turtle (1979)
• State rock: Granite (1979)
• State beverage: Milk (1987)
• State historical boat: Shad boat (1987)
• State language: English (1987)
• State dog: Plott Hound (1989)
• State military academy: Oak Ridge Military Academy (1991)
• State tartan: Carolina tartan (1991)^[59]
• State vegetable: Sweet potato (1995)
• State red berry: Strawberry (2001)
• State blue berry: Blueberry (2001)
• State fruit: Scuppernong grape (2001)
• State wildflower: Carolina Lily (2003)
• State Christmas tree: Fraser Fir (2005)
• State carnivorous plant: Venus Flytrap (2005)
• State folk dance: Clogging (2005)
• State popular dance: Shag (2005)
• State freshwater trout: Southern Appalachian Brook Trout (2005)
• State birthplace of traditional pottery: the Seagrove area (2005)

[edit] Armed Forces installations

According to Governor Easley, North Carolina is the "most military friendly state in the nation."^[60] Fort Bragg, near Fayetteville is the largest and most comprehensive military base in the United States and is the headquarters of the XVIII Airborne Corps, 82nd Airborne Division, and the U.S. Army Special Operations Command. Serving as the airwing for Fort Bragg is Pope Air Force Base also located near Fayetteville. Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune which, when combined with nearby bases Marine Corps Air Station (MCAS) Cherry Point, MCAS New River, Camp Geiger, Camp Johnson, Stone Bay and Courthouse Bay, makes up the largest concentration of Marines and sailors in the world. MCAS Cherry Point is home of the 2nd Marine Aircraft Wing. Located in Goldsboro, Seymour Johnson Air Force Base is home of the 4th Fighter Wing and 916th Air Refueling Wing. One of the busiest air stations in the United States Coast Guard is located at the Coast Guard Air Station in Elizabeth City.

[edit] See also

• List of North Carolina-related topics

[edit] References

[edit] Further reading

[edit] External links

Find more about North Carolina on Wikipedia's sister projects:
	Dictionary definitions
	Textbooks
	Quotations
	Source texts
	Images and media
	News stories
	Learning resources

[edit] Government and education

• North Carolina state government
• North Carolina State Databases - Annotated list of searchable databases produced by North Carolina state agencies and compiled by the Government Documents Roundtable of the American Library Association.
• North Carolina Department of Commerce
• North Carolina state library
• USGS real-time, geographic, and other scientific resources of North Carolina
• North Carolina facts from US Department of Agriculture ERS
• North Carolina Court System official site
• North Carolina facts from US Census Bureau
• North Carolina Travel and Tourism Website
• NC ECHO - North Carolina Exploring Cultural Heritage Online
• North Carolina Collection, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
• Green 'N' Growing: The History of Home Demonstration and 4-H Youth Development in North Carolina - hosted by NCSU Libraries Special Collections Research Center
• NC Office of Archives and History
• NC Museum of History

[edit] Other links

• North Carolina travel guide from Wikitravel
• Old Growth Forest Wilderness Areas in Western North Carolina
• Old Growth Forest Wilderness Areas in Eastern North Carolina
• The Appalachian Trail
• Updates of statewide trends since publication of The North Carolina Atlas in 2000
• North Carolina Information
• Lost Colony Blog
• Interactive North Carolina for Kids
• Sketches of North Carolina by William Henry Foote (1846) - Full-text history book

v • d • e   State of North Carolina Raleigh (capital) Topics Climate | Culture | Economy | Geography | History | Music | North Carolinians | Wildlife Regions Western | High Country | Foothills | Piedmont | Metro Charlotte | Piedmont Triad | Triangle | Sandhills | Coastal Plain | Southeast | Inner Banks | Outer Banks Larger Cities Asheville | Cary | Charlotte | Durham | Fayetteville | Gastonia | Greensboro | Greenville | Hickory | High Point | Jacksonville | Raleigh | Wilmington | Winston‑Salem Smaller Cities Albemarle | Asheboro | Burlington | Concord | Eden | Elizabeth City | Goldsboro | Graham | Havelock | Henderson | Hendersonville | Kannapolis | Kings Mountain | Kinston | Laurinburg | Lenoir | Lexington | Lumberton | Monroe | Morganton | New Bern | Newton | Reidsville | Roanoke Rapids | Rocky Mount | Salisbury | Sanford | Shelby | Statesville | Thomasville | Waynesville | Wilson Towns Apex | Balsam | Boone | Carrboro | Chapel Hill | Cornelius | Garner | Hope Mills | Huntersville | Indian Trail | Kernersville | Matthews | Mint Hill | Mooresville | Morehead City | Smithfield | Southern Pines | Tarboro | Wake Forest Counties Alamance | Alexander | Alleghany | Anson | Ashe | Avery | Beaufort | Bertie | Bladen | Brunswick | Buncombe | Burke | Cabarrus | Caldwell | Camden | Carteret | Caswell | Catawba | Chatham | Cherokee | Chowan | Clay | Cleveland | Columbus | Craven | Cumberland | Currituck | Dare | Davidson | Davie | Duplin | Durham | Edgecombe | Forsyth | Franklin | Gaston | Gates | Graham | Granville | Greene | Guilford | Halifax | Harnett | Haywood | Henderson | Hertford | Hoke | Hyde | Iredell | Jackson | Johnston | Jones | Lee | Lenoir | Lincoln | Macon | Madison | Martin | McDowell | Mecklenburg | Mitchell | Montgomery | Moore | Nash | New Hanover | Northampton | Onslow | Orange | Pamlico | Pasquotank | Pender | Perquimans | Person | Pitt | Polk | Randolph | Richmond | Robeson | Rockingham | Rowan | Rutherford | Sampson | Scotland | Stanly | Stokes | Surry | Swain | Transylvania | Tyrrell | Union | Vance | Wake | Warren | Washington | Watauga | Wayne | Wilkes | Wilson | Yadkin | Yancey

v • d • e Political divisions of the United States States Alabama · Alaska · Arizona · Arkansas · California · Colorado · Connecticut · Delaware · Florida · Georgia · Hawaii · Idaho · Illinois · Indiana · Iowa · Kansas · Kentucky · Louisiana · Maine · Maryland · Massachusetts · Michigan · Minnesota · Mississippi · Missouri · Montana · Nebraska · Nevada · New Hampshire · New Jersey · New Mexico · New York · North Carolina · North Dakota · Ohio · Oklahoma · Oregon · Pennsylvania · Rhode Island · South Carolina · South Dakota · Tennessee · Texas · Utah · Vermont · Virginia · Washington · West Virginia · Wisconsin · Wyoming Federal district Washington, D.C. (District of Columbia) Insular areas American Samoa · Guam · Northern Mariana Islands · Puerto Rico · U.S. Virgin Islands Outlying islands Bajo Nuevo Bank · Baker Island · Howland Island · Jarvis Island · Johnston Atoll · Kingman Reef · Midway Atoll · Navassa Island · Palmyra Atoll · Serranilla Bank · Wake Island

v • d • e US South (as defined by the United States Census Bureau) South Atlantic Delaware · Washington, D.C. (District of Columbia) · Florida · Georgia · Maryland · North Carolina · South Carolina · Virginia · West Virginia East South Central Alabama · Kentucky · Mississippi · Tennessee West South Central Arkansas · Louisiana · Oklahoma · Texas

v • d • e Former Confederate States of America Alabama · Arkansas · Florida · Georgia · Louisiana · Mississippi · North Carolina · South Carolina · Tennessee · Texas · Virginia

v • d • e North Carolina's current delegation to the United States Congress Senators Elizabeth Dole (R), Richard Burr (R) Representative(s) (District maps), G. K. Butterfield (D), Bob Etheridge (D), Walter B. Jones (R), David Price (D), Virginia Foxx (R), Howard Coble (R), Mike McIntyre (D), Robin Hayes (R), Sue Myrick (R), Patrick McHenry (R), Heath Shuler (D), Mel Watt (D), Brad Miller (D) State delegations Alabama • Alaska • Arizona • Arkansas • California • Colorado • Connecticut • Delaware • Florida • Georgia • Hawaii • Idaho • Illinois • Indiana • Iowa • Kansas • Kentucky • Louisiana • Maine • Maryland • Massachusetts • Michigan • Minnesota • Mississippi • Missouri • Montana • Nebraska • Nevada • New Hampshire • New Jersey • New Mexico • New York • North Carolina • North Dakota • Ohio • Oklahoma • Oregon • Pennsylvania • Rhode Island • South Carolina • South Dakota • Tennessee • Texas • Utah • Vermont • Virginia • Washington • West Virginia • Wisconsin • Wyoming Non-voting delegations American Samoa • District of Columbia • Guam • Puerto Rico • U.S. Virgin Islands

Preceded by New York

List of U.S. states by date of statehood Ratified Constitution on November 21, 1789 (12th)

Succeeded by Rhode Island

Coordinates: 35.5° N 80° W