Browse Exhibits (15 total)

The subject of wartime loyalties can be a tricky one, with many vested interests governing what is acceptable and encouraged in society. With an eye toward controlling this variable, to what governments and for what reasons were the citizens of the Chowan River Basin loyal? The answer unsurprisingly is a complex one, with some having loyalties of convenience to cover for activities of terror, to others being loyal enough to volunteer at the outset of war for military service. The memory of these loyalties are equally diverse and contentious.

A common defense of slavery in the United States prior to the Civil War was a “patriarchal” one. Slave holders argued that slaves were simply part of the family, and that slavery was a system of both love and honor for both the master and the slave. Slave rebellions in the United States created a large divide between the reality of slavery and the logic behind the patriarchal argument. The reaction to Nat Turner’s rebellion in North Carolina demonstrates the contrasting ideology held by a majority of whites across the South. After the Nat Turner rebellion, residents of North Carolina demonstrated that slaves were not beloved members of the family, but instead were seen as enemies that could strike at any minute.

This research paper aims to explore the secession crisis that occurred in North Carolina and why there was so much debate over whether or not to leave the union. It begans with a breif explantion of Antebellum Era in North Carolina, leading to the Sesseion Crisis. This Exhibit examines North Carolina during the secession of the southern states and pulls items from Newspapers, political speeches, and personal letters. Further research comes from a variety of secondary sources. 

While some scholars place great emphasis on the effects of southern newspapers in shaping public opinion in favor of secession by either softening their views or implicitly espousing a secessionist message, this exhibit studies three Unionist newspapers from the important swing area of central North Carolina and their struggle to keep the state in the Union. The Raleigh Weekly Standard, the Salisbury Carolina Watchman, and the Fayetteville Observer all argued that the election of Abraham Lincoln did not constitute a just cause for secession. From the date of the election until the shelling of Fort Sumter and Lincoln's subsequent proclamation calling for 75,000 troops to put down the rebellion, these newspapers argued steadfastly for the Union. This exhibit tracks newspaper reporting and editorials centering around key events that occured during the six-month secession crisis. Although all three newspapers would eventually support North Carolina's secession from the Union, all three fought against it until the events of May 1861 proved to them that there was no chance of continued peaceful coexistance with the North.

This exhibit will look at the dismissal of Benjamin Sherwood Hedrick, from his position as the agricultural chemistry professor at University of North Carolina, due to his open support for the 1856 anti-slavery Republican Presidential nominee, John C. Fremont.  Hedrick’s experience will be used as a lens for analyzing the political landscape of the nation and North Carolina prior to the secession crisis.  A variety of sources, including correspondence, newspaper editorials, meeting minutes, political party platforms, popular songs, and published writings, will be used to explore these issues.