During the 17th and 18th centuries, American Indians in North Carolina protected their autonomy through the colonial legal system. Containing selected records such as petitions, land sales, council minutes, and depositions, this exhibit demonstrates how American Indians and colonists leveraged the colonial legal system in their interactions with one another, and often in surprising ways.
In the fall of 1774, fifty-one women in Edenton, North Carolina undertook a revolutionary act: they signed a resolution in protest of Britain's colonial taxation policies and gave their oaths to boycott British goods. Later remembered as the Edenton Tea Party, this event was an early example of women's political activism during the American Revolution.
A collection of documents outlining North Carolina women's experiences during and contributions to the War of Regulation in 1771.
A selection of the papers of Governor Locke Craig, whose term in office spanned from 1913 to 1917.
A collection of seventeen widows' pensions outlining the contributions of North Carolina women to the war effort during the American Revolution.
Thomas W. Bickett served as governor of North Carolina from 1917 to 1921. Browse this exhibit to learn more about his time in office and to view his official papers.
The Gourd Patch Affair, or the Lewelling Conspiracy, was a failed uprising against North Carolina's Patriot government in the summer of 1777. A group of Martin, Tyrrell, Pitt, and Bertie County farmers met in a pumpkin patch and crafted a secret plot. Their aim? Assassinate North Carolina's governor, overthrow the state government, and protect the Protestant religion.
Learn about the various contributions of North Carolina scientists, engineers, pilots, and more to Projects Mercury, Gemini, and Apollo. Trace the influences of this golden age of the American space program on future generations of Tar Heel space explorers.
Margaret Elizabeth Cotten (1835-1895) was a young woman who attended St. Mary's School in Raleigh prior to the Civil War. Her diary, now held by the State Archives of North Carolina, provides a unique view into her world.
In the summer of 1870, Governor William W. Holden and the reconstruction-era state government engaged in a police action—known informally as the Kirk-Holden War—against the Ku Klux Klan, a white supremacist terrorist group that had taken hold in North Carolina.