Fifth North Carolina Provincial Congress
| Fifth North Carolina Provincial Congress | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
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.svg) | |||||
| Overview | |||||
| Legislative body | North Carolina Provincial Congress | ||||
| Jurisdiction | North Carolina | ||||
| Meeting place | Halifax Court House | ||||
| Term | November 12, 1776 – December 23, 1776 | ||||
| Provincial Congress | |||||
| Members | 187 delegates | ||||
| President | Richard Caswell | ||||
| Vice President | Cornelius Harnett | ||||
The Fifth North Carolina Provincial Congress or 1st North Carolina Constitutional Convention was the fifth and final meeting of the North Carolina Provincial Congress. Composed of 187 delegates from 35 counties and ten towns, it met at the court house in Halifax from November 12 to December 23, 1776, in the first year of American independence. Richard Caswell of Dobbs County was unanimously chosen as president, and Cornelius Harnett of Brunswick County as vice president.[1][2][3]
History
[edit]Resolutions
[edit]This fifth provincial congress approved the first state constitution and a "Declaration of Rights" on December 18, 1776. It chose Richard Caswell as acting governor until the first General Assembly elected a state governor to replace Josiah Martin. The congress dealt extensively with raising a militia of 5,000 men to defend North Carolina. They also dealt with the ongoing Cherokee War taking place in the western part of the state.[4][2][5][6]
Delegates
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Each county was authorized five delegates to this congress. Some counties only had four delegates. In addition, nine districts or borough towns were also authorized a single delegate. These districts were the larger towns and population centers of the state. The concept of district representation was a hold over from the Province of North Carolina in colonial times. Washington District, in the western end of the state and later became a county, elected four delegates to the congress.
The following is a full list of delegates to the fifth congress by constituency.[3][5][7]
References
[edit]Footnotes
[edit]- ↑ James Hogun resigned his position after being commissioned in the North Carolina Line, and was replaced by Egbert Haywood.
- ↑ Possibly the father of William Murfree
- ↑ James Ingram was commissioned in the North Carolina Line and replaced by Thomas Parker, who was elected to replace him.
- 1 2 3 4 5 Seated on December 16, due to voting irregularities in a first pole
- ↑ James Jones was deemed ineligible due to service in the Light Horse. He resigned his commission on October 25, 1776 and was re-elected to serve in the congress.
- ↑ The Congress Journal shows that it was John Rice as delegate for Wake County. William Brown was the delegate for Bath. This appears to be an error in the Lewis delegate listing.
Citations
[edit]- ↑ Butler, Lindley (2006). Powell, William Stevens (ed.). Encyclopedia of North Carolina, Provincial Congresses. University of North Carolina Press. pp. 917–918. ISBN 0807830712.
- 1 2 "State Library of North Carolina. Information page for Tryon Palace". Archived from the original on May 3, 2008.
- 1 2 Lewis, J.D. "5th Provincial Congress". The American Revolution in North Carolina. Retrieved August 13, 2019.
- ↑ Congress (1776). Minutes of the Provincial Congress of North Carolina, North Carolina. Provincial Congress, November 12, 1776 - December 23. Vol. 10. pp. 913–1003.
- 1 2 Connor, Robert Diggs Wimberly, ed. (1913). A Manual of North Carolina Issued by the North Carolina Historical Commission for the Use of Members of the General Assembly Session 1913. Retrieved August 13, 2019.
- ↑ Orth, John V. (2006). "Declaration of Rights". NCPEDIA. Retrieved October 21, 2019.
- ↑ Norris, David A. (2006). "Borough Towns". NCPEDIA. Retrieved October 22, 2019.
- ↑ Starnes, Sam (2013). "Thomas Amis". NCPEDIA. Retrieved November 1, 2019.
- ↑ Powell, William S. (1991). "Thomas Owen". Retrieved November 4, 2019.
- ↑ Powell, William S. (1988). "Thomas Jones". NCPEDIA. Retrieved November 1, 2019.
- ↑ Powell, William S. (1996). "James White". NCPEDIA. Retrieved November 1, 2019.
- ↑ Ingram, Charles M. (1986). "William Dickson". NCPEDIA. Retrieved November 1, 2019.
- ↑ Powell, William S. (1996). "William Taylor". NCPEDIA. Retrieved November 4, 2019.
- ↑ Taylor, R. Hargus (1979). "Elisha Battle". NCPEDIA. Retrieved November 1, 2019.
- ↑ Johnston, Hugh Buckner (1988). "Johnston, Jonas | NCpedia". Retrieved November 4, 2019.
- ↑ Bell, John L. Jr. (1986). "Ralph Gorrell". NCPEDIA. Retrieved November 2, 2019.
His grandfather was Ralph Gorrell, Jr. (1735–1816), … Ralph, Jr., was a member of the Halifax Provincial Congresses of April and December 1776,
- ↑ Cotton, Jerry W. (1979). "Henry Abbot". NCPEDIA. Retrieved November 1, 2019.
- 1 2 Lewis, J.D. "William Brown". Carolana.com. Retrieved November 3, 2019.
Further reading
[edit]- Lamm, Alan (2006). Powell, William Stevens (ed.). Encyclopedia of North Carolina, First North Carolina Conflicts and the Establishment of a Provincial Government. University of North Carolina Press. pp. 40–41. ISBN 0807830712.
- Kughler, Frances Vandeveer. "Murals at the UNC School of Government, including a depiction of the 4th Provincial Congress". UNC School of Government. Retrieved August 13, 2019.
- Powell, William S. (1988). North Carolina: A History. University of North Carolina Press. p. 248. ISBN 0807842192.
