North Carolina Grows1830-1860

Conditions in North Carolina in 1800’s

• Known as Rip Van Winkle State- Made little progress in areas of Social and Economic life– Last state to have a bank– Lacked a major port for trade and

Transportation routes in the state– Farmers didn’t take care of land causing size

of farms to get smaller– Low taxes gave state little money too help

• What would the effect of poor conditions in North Carolina in the 1800’s be?

• What changes could you make to fix the problems in North Carolina

Conditions in NC in the early 1800s

• As conditions continued to get worse people left • Changes came in 1830

– Archibald Murphy pushed and received more government control

– Creation of a better education system (UNC Chapel-Hill Created)

– Raised taxes allowed government funded jobs and more economic opportunity

– Created roads, Railroad tracks, and canal waterways for better transportation across the state

What changes were made as a result of the

Constitutional Convention of 1835?

• Representation in state government was not fair across the state– Compromise was made. Each county would

have at least one seat. The higher the population the more seats giving the Western part of the state more representation

– Women and free blacks still could not vote

Social Improvements

• Dorthea Dix helped create first hospital for mentally handicapped

• More schools created easier access to learning including duke, wake forest and religious institutions

• What do you think farm life is like?

• How do farmers get all their work accomplished?

• What’s a plantation and what major Crop created plantations in North Carolina?

• What was life like for a slave?

North Carolina an Agrarian (Farming) Society

• Least Urban State in country• Mostly Yeoman Farmers- Farmers who

organized their life around family, seasons, and their neighborhoods

• Neighborhoods were center of life. Bought and sold goods, Religious center, Entertainment

• Plantation farming grew as need for cotton grew. Plantations had 10 or more slaves. Most North Carolinians only had 1 to 2 slaves