North Carolina Constitutions and Western Unionism

In this exhibit, I will argue that the division within North Carolina did not begin with secession or the Civil War. That the continuous inequalities legalized through the North Carolina state constitutions of 1776 and 1835 were to blame for the rift between the Western and Eastern regions and that that rift continued to grow during the Civil War, resulting in the widespread Union loyalty in the West. I have broken the exhibit into two main sections. The first section will discuss the NC constitutions and their role in creating union loyalty in western NC. The second section will highlight examples of Unionism in Watauga County through examining Southern Claims.