Continuing Political Troubles Continuing Political Troubles
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Continuing Political Troubles As you read, look for: • North Carolina’s first royal governors • the problems faced by the royal governors • vocabulary terms boycott, Granville District, frontier, French and Indian War, ranger
When the king of England bought North Carolina in 1729, the colonists hoped life would get better in the colony. Gabriel Johnston, sent by the king in 1734 to govern the colony, saw some hopeful signs. For one, the first formally trained physician to live in North Carolina, Armand de Rosset, had helped establish Wilmington. However, Governor Johnston would not find much peace during the eighteen years he was in North Carolina. The handicaps of geography continued to plague the colony. Because it was Gabriel Johnston was the so difficult to navigate the longest-serving governor, Outer Banks, goods cost from colonial to 50 percent more to ship contemporary times. from North Carolina than from ports like Philadelphia or Charles Town. Although the top 10 percent of North Carolina families were wealthy, they did not live as well as rich people elsewhere. For example, fewer of their sons went to college than was the case for the wealthy families of Virginia. Even North Carolina’s poor seemed poorer. Many of the farmers who pushed into the richer areas of the Coastal Plain in the 1730s went there without plows.
following objective: 8.1.01 Assess the impact of geography on the settlement and developing economy of the Carolina colony. 8.1.06 Identify reasons for the creation of a distinct North Carolina colony and evaluate the effects on its government and economics.
Above: George II was king of England when North Carolina became a royal colony.
Sectional Conflicts The settlement of the Cape Fear continued to cause conflict. The Albemarle resented the wealth and power that Cape Fear residents had gotten selling naval stores. Albemarle residents wanted their area to
Section 1: Continuing Political Troubles
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Map 13 The Granville District Map Skill: Would present-day Raleigh be located in the Granville District?
Lord Granville
continue to rule the colony. Albemarle leaders tried to stop the Cape Fear planters from taking advantage of blank patents. Because the The Granville District land deeds did not indicate how began at the Virginia much land was being claimed, border and extended some planters got very rich very fast. When the Cape Fear demandsouth for 70 miles. ed equal representation in the General Assembly, the Albemarle boycotted the Assembly from 1746 to 1754; nothing got done. (To boycott is to refuse to participate in or to buy something until certain conditions are met.) To make a bad situation worse, in 1744 the king finally figured out what to do with the claim of Lord Granville, the one Proprietor who had refused to sell his share in the colony. The king granted him what amounted to the northern half of the colony. Granville could sell this land and still collect the quit-rent each year. Since the Granville District was inside the colony, the colony was still responsible for its government. The people in the Cape Fear would be taxed to help the people in the Albemarle govern the Granville District. When it later turned out that Lord Granville’s agents demanded bribes for their services, people all across North Carolina were angry.
A New Royal Governor After the death of Governor Johnston, Arthur Dobbs was sent to govern the colony in 1754. He faced a dire situation. Only half the revenue that could be collected was actually being put into the treasury. Public expenses were higher than ever, because there were so many new settlers west of the fall line. Settlement of the frontier (the area at the edge or just beyond a settled area) was moving closer to the Cherokee. The
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Chapter 4: A Royal Colony Struggles
Cherokee were beginning to threaten the settlers. They would kill cattle left in the woods or come to the doors of cabins and ask for food or presents. They seemed to arrive most often when the father was not home, often frightening the rest of the family.
The French and Indian War The French and Indian War (1754-1763) made matters worse in North Carolina. This war, which started in America and spread to Europe, was part of a long struggle between the British and the French. This particular war was over which European kingdom would control North America. Because the French controlled the territory west of the Appalachians, they and their Indian allies could attack along the borders of the thirteen colonies. The Cherokee sided with the French. To counter this threat, colonial leaders met in Albany, New York, to discuss how to protect themselves. Benjamin Franklin of Pennsylvania proposed the “Albany Plan of Union.” Under this plan, a central government, headed by a “presidentgeneral,” would provide defense for all the colonists. A majority of the colonies, however, rejected the idea because it would weaken their authority. North Carolina did not even send a delegate to Albany. Although North Carolina did not become part of a colonial union, it did act to protect itself. Governor Dobbs got the feuding Cape Fear and Albemarle to do a better job collecting taxes. The colony used the money
Above: Royal Governor Arthur Dobbs. Below: North Carolinians were part of the Braddock expedition that invaded French territory in present-day Pennsylvania. General Braddock was killed in this ambush.
Section 1: Continuing Political Troubles
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Above: These are the surviving walls of St. Philip’s Church in Brunswick. Arthur Dobbs was married in the church while it was the colonial capital.
In Europe, during the same time, the fighting was referred to as the Seven Years War.
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to erect Fort Dobbs near the present site of Statesville. An elaborate log “blockhouse” that was both fort and barracks, Fort Dobbs served as headquarters for defending the backcountry. From the fort, Captain Hugh Waddell of Wilmington patrolled the frontier with companies of rangers, forerunners of the North Carolina’s Highway Patrol in the twentieth century. The rangers quickly rode to wherever trouble occurred. They often covered hundreds of miles each week. The Treaty of Paris ended the war in 1763. The French lost all their land in America. This left Great Britain in control of all the land east of the Mississippi River. Dobbs tried to unify the colony by setting up a permanent place for the General Assembly to meet, upriver from New Bern. No one, however, agreed to that location. He did set up more courts, making it easier for citizens to settle their disputes without having to travel too far. Dobbs’s policies put the colony in debt. There were other problems. He was accused of giving friends financial advantages. Dobbs tried to gain favor with the Cape Fear faction by living in Brunswick, but it only angered the Albemarle. He also angered the officials of the Granville District by giving away land within the district, even though he had no right to do so. To hide what he had done, Dobbs accused the Granville agents of wrongdoing. Dobbs kept the colony in an uproar. In the early 1760s, the leaders of the General Assembly sent the king fifteen different charges related to Dobbs’s leadership. Dobbs, however, held onto his office until his death in 1765.
It’s Your Turn 1. Who did the king appoint as royal governor in 1734? 2. Why did the Albemarle boycott the General Assembly from 1746 to 1754? 3. How did the Granville District come into being?
Chapter 4: A Royal Colony Struggles
Continuing Political Troubles As you read, look for: • North Carolina’s first royal governors • the problems faced by the royal governors • vocabulary terms boycott, Granville District, frontier, French and Indian War, ranger
When the king of England bought North Carolina in 1729, the colonists hoped life would get better in the colony. Gabriel Johnston, sent by the king in 1734 to govern the colony, saw some hopeful signs. For one, the first formally trained physician to live in North Carolina, Armand de Rosset, had helped establish Wilmington. However, Governor Johnston would not find much peace during the eighteen years he was in North Carolina. The handicaps of geography continued to plague the colony. Because it was Gabriel Johnston was the so difficult to navigate the longest-serving governor, Outer Banks, goods cost from colonial to 50 percent more to ship contemporary times. from North Carolina than from ports like Philadelphia or Charles Town. Although the top 10 percent of North Carolina families were wealthy, they did not live as well as rich people elsewhere. For example, fewer of their sons went to college than was the case for the wealthy families of Virginia. Even North Carolina’s poor seemed poorer. Many of the farmers who pushed into the richer areas of the Coastal Plain in the 1730s went there without plows.
following objective: 8.1.01 Assess the impact of geography on the settlement and developing economy of the Carolina colony. 8.1.06 Identify reasons for the creation of a distinct North Carolina colony and evaluate the effects on its government and economics.
Above: George II was king of England when North Carolina became a royal colony.
Sectional Conflicts The settlement of the Cape Fear continued to cause conflict. The Albemarle resented the wealth and power that Cape Fear residents had gotten selling naval stores. Albemarle residents wanted their area to
Section 1: Continuing Political Troubles
123
Map 13 The Granville District Map Skill: Would present-day Raleigh be located in the Granville District?
Lord Granville
continue to rule the colony. Albemarle leaders tried to stop the Cape Fear planters from taking advantage of blank patents. Because the The Granville District land deeds did not indicate how began at the Virginia much land was being claimed, border and extended some planters got very rich very fast. When the Cape Fear demandsouth for 70 miles. ed equal representation in the General Assembly, the Albemarle boycotted the Assembly from 1746 to 1754; nothing got done. (To boycott is to refuse to participate in or to buy something until certain conditions are met.) To make a bad situation worse, in 1744 the king finally figured out what to do with the claim of Lord Granville, the one Proprietor who had refused to sell his share in the colony. The king granted him what amounted to the northern half of the colony. Granville could sell this land and still collect the quit-rent each year. Since the Granville District was inside the colony, the colony was still responsible for its government. The people in the Cape Fear would be taxed to help the people in the Albemarle govern the Granville District. When it later turned out that Lord Granville’s agents demanded bribes for their services, people all across North Carolina were angry.
A New Royal Governor After the death of Governor Johnston, Arthur Dobbs was sent to govern the colony in 1754. He faced a dire situation. Only half the revenue that could be collected was actually being put into the treasury. Public expenses were higher than ever, because there were so many new settlers west of the fall line. Settlement of the frontier (the area at the edge or just beyond a settled area) was moving closer to the Cherokee. The
124
Chapter 4: A Royal Colony Struggles
Cherokee were beginning to threaten the settlers. They would kill cattle left in the woods or come to the doors of cabins and ask for food or presents. They seemed to arrive most often when the father was not home, often frightening the rest of the family.
The French and Indian War The French and Indian War (1754-1763) made matters worse in North Carolina. This war, which started in America and spread to Europe, was part of a long struggle between the British and the French. This particular war was over which European kingdom would control North America. Because the French controlled the territory west of the Appalachians, they and their Indian allies could attack along the borders of the thirteen colonies. The Cherokee sided with the French. To counter this threat, colonial leaders met in Albany, New York, to discuss how to protect themselves. Benjamin Franklin of Pennsylvania proposed the “Albany Plan of Union.” Under this plan, a central government, headed by a “presidentgeneral,” would provide defense for all the colonists. A majority of the colonies, however, rejected the idea because it would weaken their authority. North Carolina did not even send a delegate to Albany. Although North Carolina did not become part of a colonial union, it did act to protect itself. Governor Dobbs got the feuding Cape Fear and Albemarle to do a better job collecting taxes. The colony used the money
Above: Royal Governor Arthur Dobbs. Below: North Carolinians were part of the Braddock expedition that invaded French territory in present-day Pennsylvania. General Braddock was killed in this ambush.
Section 1: Continuing Political Troubles
125
Above: These are the surviving walls of St. Philip’s Church in Brunswick. Arthur Dobbs was married in the church while it was the colonial capital.
In Europe, during the same time, the fighting was referred to as the Seven Years War.
126
to erect Fort Dobbs near the present site of Statesville. An elaborate log “blockhouse” that was both fort and barracks, Fort Dobbs served as headquarters for defending the backcountry. From the fort, Captain Hugh Waddell of Wilmington patrolled the frontier with companies of rangers, forerunners of the North Carolina’s Highway Patrol in the twentieth century. The rangers quickly rode to wherever trouble occurred. They often covered hundreds of miles each week. The Treaty of Paris ended the war in 1763. The French lost all their land in America. This left Great Britain in control of all the land east of the Mississippi River. Dobbs tried to unify the colony by setting up a permanent place for the General Assembly to meet, upriver from New Bern. No one, however, agreed to that location. He did set up more courts, making it easier for citizens to settle their disputes without having to travel too far. Dobbs’s policies put the colony in debt. There were other problems. He was accused of giving friends financial advantages. Dobbs tried to gain favor with the Cape Fear faction by living in Brunswick, but it only angered the Albemarle. He also angered the officials of the Granville District by giving away land within the district, even though he had no right to do so. To hide what he had done, Dobbs accused the Granville agents of wrongdoing. Dobbs kept the colony in an uproar. In the early 1760s, the leaders of the General Assembly sent the king fifteen different charges related to Dobbs’s leadership. Dobbs, however, held onto his office until his death in 1765.
It’s Your Turn 1. Who did the king appoint as royal governor in 1734? 2. Why did the Albemarle boycott the General Assembly from 1746 to 1754? 3. How did the Granville District come into being?
Chapter 4: A Royal Colony Struggles
