North Carolina

By the 1770s North Carolina was home to roughly 300,000 people of diverse backgrounds. After Congress voted for independence, the Provincial Council of Safety ordered the Declaration proclaimed across the state and formally recognized North Carolina as independent in August 1776. Its three signers—Joseph Hewes, John Penn, and William Hooper—were all enslavers, in contradiction to the liberty they proclaimed. The state was divided: by default, most residents of European background were loyal to the King. Over time, most individuals, families, and communities chose or were required to choose positions regarding the growing opposition to British rule. Highland Scots in the backcountry were called out for their oaths of loyalty to the Crown. Women like Penelope Barker asserted themselves politically, hundreds of men of color served the Patriot cause, and the Cherokee resisted settler encroachment, while the Catawba allied with the Patriots. North Carolina proudly asserts its claim to “First in Freedom,” because of an early Revolutionary milestone, the Halifax Resolves.