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North Carolina Constitution
US 301 Bypass at US 301 Business, Halifax,
NC,
USA
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North Carolina State
Historical Marker |
Marker Text: "The first constitution of the independent state was adopted in Halifax on December 18, 1776." Delegates to the provincial congress meeting in Halifax on November 13, 1776, appointed a committee to prepare a constitution. Delegate Samuel Ashe took a leading role in the proceedings. The committee reviewed sets of instructions from Mecklenburg and Orange counties. Of particular value to their deliberations was a letter from William Hooper of Hillsborough, a signer of the Declaration of Independence. With his letter, the elder statesman enclosed copies of other recently adopted state constitutions.
The committee set to work and, a month later, presented proposals to the full body. The provincial congress made minor adjustments. On December 17, 1776, the delegates approved the declarations of rights, and, on December 18, 1776, the new state constitution. The full body debated the various provisions over the course of six meetings. Although approved separately, the two documents are usually treated as one whole. Over the years there has been disagreement as to the precise location in Halifax where the first state constitution was drafted and adopted.
References:
John V. Orth, North Carolina Constitution: A Reference Guide (1993)Jerry L. Cross, “Historical Research Report for the Constitution House, Halifax, North Carolina,” (unpublished report prepared for the Division of Archives and History, 1973)
Hugh T. Lefler and Albert Ray Newsome, History of a Southern State: North Carolina (1954)
R. D. W. Connor, History of North Carolina, I (1919)
W. C. Allen, History of Halifax County (1918)
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