THC Science

State symbols of North Carolina
List of state symbols
	Flag of North Carolina
	Seal of North Carolina
Motto	Esse quam videri; ("To be, rather than to seem")
Slogan	First in Flight, First in Freedom (unofficial)
Song	"The Old North State"
Living insignia
Amphibian	Pine Barrens tree frog
Bird	Cardinal
Butterfly	Eastern tiger swallowtail
Dog breed	Plott Hound
Fish	Red drum
Flower	Flowering dogwood
Insect	Western honey bee
Mammal	Eastern gray squirrel
Marsupial	Virginia opossum
Reptile	Eastern box turtle
Tree	Pine
Inanimate insignia
Beverage	Milk
Color(s)	Red and blue
Dance	Carolina shag
Food	Scuppernong grape and sweet potato
Fossil	Megalodon teeth
Gemstone	Emerald
Mineral	Gold
Rock	Granite
Shell	Scotch bonnet
Other	Marbled salamander (salamander)
State route marker
State quarter
	Released in 2001
	Lists of United States state symbols

North Carolina
North Carolina
State
	Flag Seal
	Nickname(s): The Tarheel State, The Old North State
	Motto(s): Esse quam videri "To be, rather than to seem"
	Anthem: "The Old North State"
	Map of the United States with North Carolina highlighted
Country	United States
Before statehood	Province of North Carolina
Admitted to the Union	November 21, 1789 (12th)
Capital	Raleigh
Largest city	Charlotte
Largest county or equivalent	Wake
Largest metro and urban areas	Charlotte
Government
• Governor	Roy Cooper (D)
• Lieutenant Governor	Mark Robinson (R)
Legislature	General Assembly
• Upper house	Senate
• Lower house	House of Representatives
Judiciary	North Carolina Supreme Court
U.S. senators	Thom Tillis (R); Ted Budd (R)
U.S. House delegation	7 Republicans; 7 Democrats; (list)
Area
• Total	53,819.16 sq mi (139,391.0 km2)
• Land	48,617.91 sq mi (125,919.8 km2)
• Water	5,201.25 sq mi (13,471.2 km2) 9.66%
• Rank	28th
Dimensions
• Length	500 mi (804 km)
• Width	184 mi (296 km)
Elevation	700 ft (210 m)
Highest elevation (Mount Mitchell)	6,684 ft (2,037 m)
Lowest elevation (Atlantic Ocean)	0 ft (0 m)
Population (2020)
• Total	10,439,388
• Rank	9th
• Density	214.72/sq mi (82.90/km2)
• Rank	14th
• Median household income	$52,752
• Income rank	39th
Demonym(s)	North Carolinian (official);; Tarheel (colloquial)
Language
• Official language	English
• Spoken language	As of 2010 English 90.70%; Spanish 6.93%; Other 2.73%;
Time zone	UTC−05:00 (Eastern)
• Summer (DST)	UTC−04:00 (EDT)
USPS abbreviation	NC
ISO 3166 code	US-NC
Traditional abbreviation	N.C.
Latitude	33° 50′ N to 36° 35′ N
Longitude	75° 28′ W to 84° 19′ W
Website	nc.gov

North Carolina (/ˌkærəˈlaɪnə/ ^ⓘ KARR-ə-LY-nə) is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, South Carolina to the south, Georgia to the southwest, and Tennessee to the west. The state is the 28th-largest and 9th-most populous of the United States. Along with South Carolina, it makes up the Carolinas region of the East Coast. At the 2020 census, the state had a population of 10,439,388.^[7] Raleigh is the state's capital and Charlotte is its most populous city. The Charlotte metropolitan area, with an estimated population of 2,805,115 in 2023,^[8] is the most populous metropolitan area in North Carolina, the 22nd-most populous in the United States, and the largest banking center in the nation after New York City.^[9] The Research Triangle, with an estimated population of 2,368,947 in 2023, is the second-most populous combined metropolitan area in the state, 31st-most populous in the United States,^[8] and is home to the largest research park in the United States, Research Triangle Park.

The earliest evidence of human occupation in North Carolina dates back 10,000 years, found at the Hardaway Site. North Carolina was inhabited by Carolina Algonquian, Iroquoian, and Siouan speaking tribes of Native Americans prior to the arrival of Europeans. King Charles II granted eight lord proprietors a colony they named Carolina after the king and which was established in 1670 with the first permanent settlement at Charles Town (Charleston). Because of the difficulty of governing the entire colony from Charles Town, the colony was eventually divided and North Carolina was established as a royal colony in 1729 and was one of the Thirteen Colonies. The Halifax Resolves resolution adopted by North Carolina on April 12, 1776, was the first formal call for independence from Great Britain among the American Colonies during the American Revolution.^[10]

On November 21, 1789, North Carolina became the 12th state to ratify the United States Constitution. In the run-up to the American Civil War, North Carolina reluctantly declared its secession from the Union on May 20, 1861, becoming the tenth of eleven states to join the Confederate States of America. Following the Civil War, the state was restored to the Union on July 4, 1868.^[11] On December 17, 1903, Orville and Wilbur Wright successfully piloted the world's first controlled, sustained flight of a powered, heavier-than-air aircraft at Kitty Hawk in North Carolina's Outer Banks. North Carolina often uses the slogan "First in Flight" on state license plates to commemorate this achievement, alongside a newer alternative design bearing the slogan "First in Freedom" in reference to the Mecklenburg Declaration and Halifax Resolves.

North Carolina is defined by a wide range of elevations and landscapes. From west to east, North Carolina's elevation descends from the Appalachian Mountains to the Piedmont and Atlantic coastal plain. North Carolina's Mount Mitchell at 6,684 ft (2,037 m) is the highest point in North America east of the Mississippi River.^[12] Most of the state falls in the humid subtropical climate zone; however, the western, mountainous part of the state has a subtropical highland climate.^[13]

History

Native Americans, lost colony, and permanent settlement

North Carolina was inhabited for at least 10,000 years by succeeding prehistoric Indigenous cultures. The Hardaway Site saw major periods of occupation dating to 10,000 years BCE. Before 200 AD, people were building earthwork platform mounds for ceremonial and religious purposes. Succeeding peoples, including those of the South Appalachian Mississippian culture, established by 1000 AD in the Piedmont and mountain region, continued to build this style of mounds. In contrast to some of the larger centers of the classic Mississippian culture in the area that became known as the western Carolinas, northeastern Georgia, and southeastern Tennessee, most of the larger towns had only one central platform mound. Smaller settlements had none, but were close to more prominent towns. This area became known as the homelands of the historic Cherokee people, who are believed to have migrated over time from the Great Lakes area.

In the 500–700 years preceding European contact, the Mississippian culture built elaborate cities and maintained far-flung regional trading networks. Its largest city was Cahokia, which had numerous mounds for different purposes, a highly stratified society, and was located in present-day southwestern Illinois near the Mississippi River. Starting in 1540, the Native polities of the Mississippian culture fell apart and reformed as new groups, such as the Catawba, due to a series of destabilizing events known as the "Mississippian shatter zone". Introduction of colonial trading arrangements and hostile native groups from the north such as the Westo Indians hastened changes in an already tenuous regional hierarchy.^[14] As described by anthropologist Robbie Ethridge, the Mississippian shatter zone was a time of great instability in what is now the American South, caused by the instability of Mississippian chiefdoms, high mortality from new Eurasian diseases, conversion to an agricultural society and the accompanying population increase, and the emergence of Native "militaristic slaving societies".^[15]

Historically documented tribes in the North Carolina region include the Carolina Algonquian-speaking tribes of the coastal areas, such as the Chowanoc, Roanoke, Pamlico, Machapunga, and Coree, who were the first encountered by the English; the Iroquoian-speaking Meherrin, Cherokee, and Tuscarora of the interior; and Southeastern Siouan-speaking tribes, such as the Cheraw, Waxhaw, Saponi, Waccamaw, Cape Fear Indians, and Catawba of the Piedmont.^[16]^[17]^[18]^[19]

In the late 16th century, the first Spanish explorers traveling inland recorded meeting Mississippian culture people at Joara, a regional chiefdom near what later developed as Morganton.^[20] Records of Hernando de Soto attested to his meeting with them in 1540. In 1567, Captain Juan Pardo led an expedition to claim the area for the Spanish colony and to establish another route to reach silver mines in Mexico.^[21] Pardo made a winter base at Joara, which he renamed Cuenca.^[22]^[23] His expedition built Fort San Juan and left a contingent of 30 Spaniards there, while Pardo traveled further.^[22] His forces built and garrisoned five other forts. He returned by a different route to Santa Elena on Parris Island, South Carolina, then a center of Spanish Florida. In the spring of 1568, natives killed all but one of the Spaniards and burned the six forts in the interior, including Fort San Juan.^[24] Although the Spanish never returned to the interior, this effort marked the first European attempt at colonization of the interior of what became the United States. A 16th-century journal by Pardo's scribe Bandera, and archaeological findings since 1986 at Joara, have confirmed the settlement.^[25]^[26]

Anglo-European settlement

In 1584, Elizabeth I granted a charter to Sir Walter Raleigh, for whom the state capital is named, for land in present-day North Carolina (then part of the territory of Virginia).^[27] It was the second American territory that the English attempted to colonize. Raleigh established two colonies on the coast in the late 1580s, but both failed. The colony established in 1587 saw 118 colonists 'disappear' when John White was unable to return from a supply run during battles with the Spanish Armada. The fate of the "Lost Colony" of Roanoke Island remains one of the most widely debated mysteries of American history. Two native Chieftains, Manteo and Wanchese, of which the former helped the colonists and the latter was distrustful, had involvement in the colony and even accompanied Raleigh to England on a previous voyage in 1585. Manteo was also the first Indigenous North American to be baptized by English settlers. Upon White's return in 1590, neither native nor Englishman were to be found. Popular theory holds that the colonists either traveled away with or assimilated into local native culture.^[28] Virginia Dare, the first English person to be born in North America, was born on Roanoke Island on August 18, 1587; the surrounding Dare County is named for her.

As early as 1650, settlers from the Virginia colony had moved into the Albemarle Sound region. By 1663, King Charles II of England granted a charter to start a new colony on the North American continent; this would generally establish North Carolina's borders. He named it Carolina in honor of his father, Charles I.^[29] By 1665, a second charter was issued to attempt to resolve territorial questions. This charter rewarded the Lords Proprietors, eight Englishmen to whom King Charles II granted joint ownership of a tract of land in the state. All of these men either had remained loyal to the Crown or aided Charles's restoration to the English throne after Cromwell. In 1712, owing to disputes over governance, the Carolina colony split into North Carolina and South Carolina. North Carolina became a crown colony in 1729.^[30]

Most of the English colonists had arrived as indentured servants, hiring themselves out as laborers for a fixed period to pay for their passage. In the early years the line between indentured servants and African slaves or laborers was fluid. Some Africans were allowed to earn their freedom before slavery became a lifelong status. Most of the free colored families formed in North Carolina before the Revolution were descended from unions or marriages between free whites and enslaved or free Africans or African-Americans. If the mothers were free, their children were born free. Many had migrated or were descendants of migrants from colonial Virginia.^[31] As the flow of indentured laborers to the colony decreased with improving economic conditions in Great Britain, planters imported more slaves, and the state's legal delineations between free and slave status tightened, effectively hardening the latter into a racial caste. Conditions for both slaves and workers worsened as the ranks of the former eclipsed the latter and expansion of farming operations into former Indigenous territories lowered prices. Unable to establish deep water ports such as at Charles Town and Norfolk, the economy's growth and prosperity was thus based on cheap labor and slave plantation systems, devoted primarily to the production of tobacco, then later cotton and textiles.^[32]

In 1738–1739, smallpox caused high fatalities among the Native Americans, who had no immunity to the new disease (it had become endemic over centuries in Europe).^[33] According to the historian Russell Thornton, "The 1738 epidemic was said to have killed one-half of the Cherokee, with other tribes of the area suffering equally."^[34]

Colonial period

John White returns to find the colony abandoned
Map of the coast of Virginia and North Carolina, drawn 1585–1586 by Theodor de Bry, based on map by John White of the Roanoke Colony
Reconstructed royal governor's mansion Tryon Palace in New Bern

After the Spanish in the 16th century, the first permanent European settlers of North Carolina were English colonists who migrated south from Virginia. Virginia had grown rapidly and land was less available. Nathaniel Batts was documented as one of the first of these Virginian migrants. He settled south of the Chowan River and east of the Great Dismal Swamp in 1655.^[35] By 1663, this northeastern area of the Province of Carolina, known as the Albemarle Settlements, was undergoing full-scale English settlement.^[36] During the same period, the English monarch Charles II gave provincial land grants to the Lords Proprietors, the group of noblemen who had helped restore him to the throne in 1660. These grants were predicated on an agreement that the Lords would use their influence to bring in colonists and establish ports of trade. This new Province of Carolina was named in honor and memory of his father, Charles I (Latin: Carolus).

Lacking a viable coastal port city due to geography, towns grew at a slower pace and remained small. By the late 17th century, Carolina was essentially two colonies, one centered in the Albemarle region in the north and the other located in the south around Charleston.^[32] In 1705 South Carolinian John Lawson purchased land on the Pamlico River and laid out Bath, North Carolina's first town. After returning to England, he published the book A New Voyage to Carolina, which became a travelogue and a marketing piece to encourage new colonists to Carolina. Lawson encouraged Baron Christoph Von Graffenried, the leader of a group of Swiss and German Protestants, to immigrate to Carolina. Von Graffenried purchased land between the Neuse and the Trent Rivers and established the town of New Bern. After an attack on New Bern in which hundreds were killed or injured, Lawson was caught then executed by Tuscarora Indians. A large revolt happened in the state in 1711, known as Cary's Rebellion. In 1712, North Carolina became a separate colony, and in 1729 it became a royal colony, with the exception of the Earl Granville holdings.^[37]

In June 1718, Queen Anne's Revenge, the flagship of pirate Blackbeard, ran aground at Beaufort Inlet, North Carolina, in present-day Carteret County. After the grounding, her crew and supplies were transferred to smaller ships. In November 1718, after appealing to the governor of North Carolina, who promised safe-haven and a pardon, Blackbeard was killed in an ambush by troops from Virginia.^[38] In 1996, Intersal, Inc., a private firm, discovered the remains of a vessel likely to be the Queen Anne's Revenge, which was added to the U.S. National Register of Historic Places.^[39]

North Carolina became one of the Thirteen Colonies and with the territory of South Carolina was originally known as the Province of North Carolina. The northern and southern parts of the original province separated in 1712, with North Carolina becoming a royal colony in 1729. Originally settled by small farmers, sometimes having a few slaves, who were oriented toward subsistence agriculture, the colony lacked large cities or towns. Pirates menaced the coastal settlements, but by 1718 piracy in the Carolinas was on the decline. Growth was strong in the middle of the 18th century, as the economy attracted Scots-Irish, Quaker, English and German immigrants. A majority of the North Carolina colonists generally supported the American Revolution, although there were some Loyalists. Loyalists in North Carolina were fewer in number than in some other colonies such as Georgia, South Carolina, Delaware, and New York.^[40]^[41]^[42]

During colonial times, Edenton served as the state capital beginning in 1722, followed by New Bern becoming the capital in 1766. Construction of Tryon Palace, which served as the residence and offices of the provincial governor William Tryon, began in 1767 and was completed in 1771. In 1788, Raleigh was chosen as the site of the new capital, as its central location protected it from coastal attacks. Officially established in 1792 as both county seat and state capital, the city was named after Sir Walter Raleigh, sponsor of Roanoke, the "lost colony" on Roanoke Island.^[43] The population of the colony more than quadrupled from 52,000 in 1740 to 270,000 in 1780 from high immigration from Virginia, Maryland and Pennsylvania, plus immigrants from abroad.^[44]

North Carolina did not have any printer or print shops until 1749, when the North Carolina Assembly commissioned James Davis from Williamsburg Virginia to act as their official printer. Before this time the laws and legal journals of North Carolina were handwritten and were kept in a largely disorganized manner, prompting the hiring of Davis. Davis settled in New Bern, married, and in 1755 was appointed by Benjamin Franklin as North Carolina's first postmaster. In October of that year the North Carolina Assembly awarded Davis a contract to carry mail between Wilmington, North Carolina and Suffolk, Virginia. He was also active in North Carolina politics as a member of the Assembly and later as the Sheriff. Davis also founded and printed the North-Carolina Gazette, North Carolina's first newspaper, printed in his printing house in New Bern.^[45]^[46]

Differences in the settlement patterns of eastern and western North Carolina, or the Atlantic coastal plain and uplands, affected the political, economic, and social life of the state from the 18th until the 20th century. Eastern North Carolina was settled chiefly by immigrants from rural England and Gaelic speakers from the Scottish Highlands. The Piedmont upcountry and western mountain region of North Carolina was settled chiefly by Scots-Irish, English, and German Protestants, the so-called "cohee". Arriving during the mid-to-late 18th century, the Scots-Irish, people of Scottish descent who migrated to and then emigrated from what is today Northern Ireland, were the largest non-English immigrant group before the Revolution; English indentured servants were overwhelmingly the largest immigrant group before the Revolution.^[47]^[48]^[49]^[50]

Revolutionary War

During the American Revolutionary War, the English and Gaelic speaking Highland Scots of eastern North Carolina tended to remain loyal to the British Crown, because of longstanding business and personal connections with Great Britain. The English, Welsh, Scots-Irish, and German settlers of western North Carolina tended to favor American independence from Britain. British loyalists dubbed the Mecklenburg County area to be 'a hornet's nest' of radicals, birthing the name of the future Charlotte NBA team. On April 12, 1776, the colony became the first to instruct its delegates to the Continental Congress to vote for independence from the British Crown, through the Halifax Resolves passed by the North Carolina Provincial Congress. The date of this event is memorialized on the state flag and state seal. Throughout the Revolutionary War, fierce guerrilla warfare erupted between bands of pro-independence and pro-British colonists. In some cases the war was also an excuse to settle private grudges and rivalries.^[51]^[52]

North Carolina had around 7,800 Patriots join the Continental Army under General George Washington; and an additional 10,000 served in local militia units under such leaders as General Nathanael Greene.^[53] There was some military action, especially in 1780–81. Many Carolinian frontiersmen had moved west over the mountains, into the Washington District (later known as Tennessee), but in 1789, following the Revolution, the state was persuaded to relinquish its claim to the western lands. It ceded them to the national government so the Northwest Territory could be organized and managed nationally.^[54]

A major American victory in the war took place at King's Mountain along the North Carolina–South Carolina border; on October 7, 1780, a force of 1,000 Patriots from western North Carolina (including what is today the state of Tennessee) and southwest Virginia overwhelmed a force of some 1,000 British troops led by Major Patrick Ferguson. Most of the soldiers fighting for the British side in this battle were Carolinians who had remained loyal to the Crown (they were called "Tories" or Loyalists). The American victory at King's Mountain gave the advantage to colonists who favored American independence, and it prevented the British Army from recruiting new soldiers from the Tories.^[55]

The road to Yorktown and America's independence from Great Britain led through North Carolina. As the British Army moved north from victories in Charleston and Camden, South Carolina, the Southern Division of the Continental Army and local militia prepared to meet them. Following General Daniel Morgan's victory over the British Cavalry Commander Banastre Tarleton at the Battle of Cowpens on January 17, 1781, southern commander Nathanael Greene led British Lord Charles Cornwallis across the heartland of North Carolina, and away from the latter's base of supply in Charleston, South Carolina. This campaign is known as "The Race to the Dan" or "The Race for the River".^[37]

In the Battle of Cowan's Ford, Cornwallis met resistance along the banks of the Catawba River at Cowan's Ford on February 1, 1781, in an attempt to engage General Morgan's forces during a tactical withdrawal.^[56] Morgan had moved to the northern part of the state to combine with General Greene's newly recruited forces. Generals Greene and Cornwallis finally met at the Battle of Guilford Courthouse in present-day Greensboro on March 15, 1781. Although the British troops held the field at the end of the battle, their casualties at the hands of the numerically superior Continental Army were crippling. Following this "Pyrrhic victory", Cornwallis chose to move to the Virginia coastline to get reinforcements, and to allow the Royal Navy to protect his battered army. This decision would result in Cornwallis' eventual defeat at Yorktown, Virginia, later in 1781. The Patriots' victory there guaranteed American independence. On November 21, 1789, North Carolina became the twelfth state to ratify the U.S. Constitution.

Antebellum period

After 1800, cotton and tobacco became important export crops. The eastern half of the state, especially the Coastal Plain region, developed a slave society based on a plantation system and slave labor. Planters owning large estates wielded significant political and socio-economic power in antebellum North Carolina. They placed their interests above those of the generally non-slave-holding "yeoman" farmers of North Carolina. While slaveholding was slightly less concentrated compared to some other Southern states, according to the 1860 census, more than 330,000 people, or 33% of the population out of 992,622 people in total, were enslaved African Americans.^[57] They lived and worked chiefly on plantations in the Piedmont and Coastal Plain regions of the state. In addition, 30,463 free people of color lived in the state.^[57] They were also mainly concentrated in the eastern coastal plain, especially at port cities such as Wilmington and New Bern, where a variety of jobs were available. Most were descendants from free African Americans who had migrated along with neighbors from Virginia during the 18th century. The majority were the descendants of unions in the working classes between white women, indentured servants or free, and African men, indentured, slave or free.^[58]

After the American Revolution, Quakers and Mennonites worked to persuade slaveholders to free their slaves. Some were inspired by their efforts and the language of the Revolution to arrange for manumission of their slaves. The number of free people of color rose markedly in the first couple of decades after the Revolution.^[59] Many free people of color migrated to the frontier, along with their European-American neighbors, where the social system was looser. By 1810, nearly three percent of the free population consisted of free people of color, who numbered slightly more than 10,000. The western areas of North Carolina were mainly white families of European descent, especially Scotch-Irish, who operated small subsistence farms. In the early national period, the state became a center of Jeffersonian and Jacksonian democracy, with a strong Whig presence, especially in the western part of the state. After Nat Turner's slave uprising in 1831, North Carolina and other southern states reduced the rights of free blacks. In 1835, the legislature withdrew their right to vote.

In mid-century, the state's rural and commercial areas were connected by the construction of a 129 mi (208 km) wooden plank road, known as a "farmer's railroad", from Fayetteville in the east to Bethania (northwest of Winston-Salem).^[37] On October 25, 1836, construction began on the Wilmington and Raleigh Railroad^[60] to connect the port city of Wilmington with the state capital of Raleigh. In 1840, the state capitol building in Raleigh was completed, and still stands today.

In 1849, the North Carolina Railroad was created by act of the legislature to extend that railroad west to Greensboro, High Point, and Charlotte. During the Civil War, the Wilmington-to-Raleigh stretch of the railroad would be vital to the Confederate war effort; supplies shipped into Wilmington would be moved by rail through Raleigh to the Confederate capital of Richmond, Virginia.^[61]

American Civil War

In 1860, North Carolina was a slave state, in which one-third of the state's total population were African-American slaves. The state did not vote to join the Confederacy until President Abraham Lincoln called on it to invade its sister state,^[62] South Carolina, becoming the last or penultimate state to officially join the Confederacy. The title of "last to join the Confederacy" has been disputed; although Tennessee's informal secession on May 7, 1861, preceded North Carolina's official secession on May 20,^[63]^[64] the Tennessee legislature did not formally vote to secede until June 8, 1861.^[65]

Around 125,000 troops from North Carolina served in the Confederate Army, and about 15,000 North Carolina troops (both black and white) served in Union Army regiments, including those who left the state to join Union regiments elsewhere.^[66] Over 30,000 North Carolina troops died from combat or disease during the war.^[67] Elected in 1862, Governor Zebulon Baird Vance tried to maintain state autonomy against Confederate President Jefferson Davis in Richmond. The state government was reluctant to support the demands of the national government in Richmond, and the state was the scene of only small battles. In 1865, Durham County saw the largest single surrender of Confederate soldiers at Bennett Place, when Joseph E. Johnston surrendered the Army of Tennessee and all remaining Confederate forces still active in North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, and Florida, totalling 89,270 soldiers.^[68]

Confederate troops from all parts of North Carolina served in virtually all the major battles of the Army of Northern Virginia, the Confederacy's most famous army. The largest battle fought in North Carolina was at Bentonville, which was a futile attempt by Confederate General Joseph Johnston to slow Union General William Tecumseh Sherman's advance through the Carolinas in the spring of 1865.^[37] In April 1865, after losing the Battle of Morrisville, Johnston surrendered to Sherman at Bennett Place, in what is today Durham. North Carolina's port city of Wilmington, was the last Confederate port to fall to the Union, in February 1865, after the Union won the nearby Second Battle of Fort Fisher, its major defense downriver.

The first Confederate soldier to be killed in the Civil War was Private Henry Wyatt from North Carolina, in the Battle of Big Bethel in June 1861. At the Battle of Gettysburg in July 1863, the 26th North Carolina Regiment participated in Pickett/Pettigrew's Charge and advanced the farthest into Union lines of any Confederate regiment. During the Battle of Chickamauga, the 58th North Carolina Regiment advanced farther than any other regiment on Snodgrass Hill to push back the remaining Union forces from the battlefield. At Appomattox Court House in Virginia in April 1865, the 75th North Carolina Regiment, a cavalry unit, fired the last shots of the Confederate Army of Northern Virginia in the Civil War. The phrase "First at Bethel, Farthest at Gettysburg and Chickamauga, and Last at Appomattox", later became used through much of the early 20th century.^[69]

After secession, some North Carolinians refused to support the Confederacy. Some of the yeoman farmers chiefly in the state's mountains and western Piedmont region remained neutral during the Civil War, with others covertly supporting the Union cause during the conflict.^[70] Approximately 15,000 North Carolinians (both black and white) from across the state would enlist in the Union Army. Numerous slaves would also escape to Union lines, where they became essentially free.

Reconstruction era through late 19th century

William Woods Holden, a Unionist who served as the 38th and 40th Governor of North Carolina, and during the Reconstruction era

Following the collapse of the Confederacy in 1865, North Carolina, along with other former Confederate States (except Tennessee), was put under direct control by the U.S. military and was relieved of its constitutional government and representation within the United States Congress in what is now referred to as the Reconstruction era. To earn back its rights, the state had to make concessions to Washington, one of which was ratifying the Thirteenth Amendment. Congressional Republicans during Reconstruction, commonly referred to as "radical Republicans", constantly pushed for new constitutions for each of the Southern states that emphasized equal rights for African-Americans. In 1868, a constitutional convention restored the state government of North Carolina. Though the Fifteenth Amendment was also adopted that same year, it remained in most cases ineffective for almost a century, not to mention paramilitary groups and their lynching with impunity.^[71]

The elections in April 1868 following the constitutional convention led to a narrow victory for a Republican-dominated government, with 19 African-Americans holding positions in the North Carolina State Legislature. In attempt to put the reforms into effect, the new Republican Governor William W. Holden declared martial law on any county allegedly not complying with law and order using the passage of the Shoffner Act.

A Republican Party coalition of black freedmen, northern carpetbaggers and local scalawags controlled state government for three years. The white conservative Democrats regained control of the state legislature in 1870, in part by Ku Klux Klan violence and terrorism at the polls, to suppress black voting. Republicans were elected to the governorship until 1876, when the Red Shirts, a paramilitary organization that arose in 1874 and was allied with the Democratic Party, helped suppress black voting. More than 150 black Americans were murdered in electoral violence in 1876.^[72]^[73]

Post–Civil War-debt cycles pushed people to switch from subsistence agriculture to commodity agriculture. Among this time the notorious Crop-Lien system developed and was financially difficult on landless whites and blacks, due to high amounts of usury. Also due to the push for commodity agriculture, the free range was ended. Prior to this time people fenced in their crops and had their livestock feeding on the free range areas. After the ending of the free range people now fenced their animals and had their crops in the open.^[74]^[75]

Democrats were elected to the legislature and governor's office, but the Populists attracted voters displeased with them. In 1896 a biracial, Populist-Republican Fusionist coalition gained the governor's office and passed laws that would extend the voting franchise to blacks and poor whites. The Democrats regained control of the legislature in 1896 and passed laws to impose Jim Crow and racial segregation of public facilities. Voters of North Carolina's 2nd congressional district elected a total of four African-American congressmen through these years of the late 19th century.

Political tensions ran so high a small group of white Democrats in 1898 planned to take over the Wilmington government if their candidates were not elected. In the Wilmington Insurrection of 1898, white Democrats led around 2,000 of their supporters that attacked the black newspaper and neighborhood, killed an estimated 60 to 300 people, and ran off the white Republican mayor and aldermen. They installed their own people and elected Alfred M. Waddell as mayor, in the only successful coup d'état in United States history.^[76]

In 1899, the state legislature passed a new constitution, with requirements for poll taxes and literacy tests for voter registration which disenfranchised most black Americans in the state.^[77] Exclusion from voting had wide effects: it meant black Americans could not serve on juries or in any local office. After a decade of white supremacy, many people forgot North Carolina had ever had thriving middle-class black Americans.^[78] Black citizens had no political voice in the state until after the federal Civil Rights Act of 1964 and Voting Rights Act of 1965 were passed to enforce their constitutional rights. It was not until 1992 that another African American was elected as a U.S. Representative from North Carolina.

Early through mid-20th century

After the reconstruction era, North Carolina had become a one-party state, dominated by the Democratic Party. The state mainly continued with an economy based on tobacco, cotton textiles and commodity agriculture. Large towns and cities remained in few numbers. However, a major industrial base emerged in the late 19th and early 20th century, in the counties of the Piedmont Triad, based on cotton mills established at the fall line. Railroads were built to connect the new industrializing cities.^[79]

The state was the site of the first successful controlled, powered and sustained heavier-than-air flight, by the Wright brothers, near Kitty Hawk on December 17, 1903.

Map of Research Triangle, with points representing NC State University, Duke University, and University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

In the first half of the 20th century, many African Americans left the state to go North for better opportunities, in the Great Migration. Their departure changed the demographic characteristics of many areas.

North Carolina was hard hit by the Great Depression, but the New Deal programs of Franklin D. Roosevelt for cotton and tobacco significantly helped the farmers. After World War II, the state's economy grew rapidly, highlighted by the growth of such cities as Charlotte, Raleigh, and Durham in the Piedmont region.

Research Triangle Park, established in 1959, serves as the largest research park in the United States. Formed near Raleigh, Durham, and Chapel Hill, the Research Triangle metro is a major area of universities and advanced scientific and technical research.

The Greensboro sit-ins in 1960 played a crucial role in the Civil Rights Movement to bring full equality to American blacks. By the late 1960s, spurred in part by the increasingly leftward tilt of national Democrats, conservative whites began to vote for Republican national candidates and gradually for more Republicans locally.^[80]^[81]

Late 20th century to present

North Carolina Museum of History in Raleigh, 2008

Since the 1970s, North Carolina has seen steady increases in population growth. This growth has largely occurred in metropolitan areas located within the Piedmont Crescent, in places such as Charlotte, Concord, Greensboro, Winston-Salem, Durham and Raleigh.^[82] The Charlotte metropolitan area has experienced large growth mainly due to its finance, banking, and tech industries.^[83]

By the 1990s, Charlotte had become a major regional and national banking center. Towards Raleigh, North Carolina State, Duke University, and University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, have helped the Research Triangle area attract an educated workforce and develop more jobs.^[84]

In 1988, North Carolina gained its first professional sports franchise, the Charlotte Hornets of the National Basketball Association (NBA). The hornets team name stems from the American Revolutionary War, when British General Cornwallis described Charlotte as a "hornet's nest of rebellion".^[85] The Carolina Panthers of the National Football League (NFL) became based in Charlotte as well, with their first season being in 1995. The Carolina Hurricanes of the National Hockey League (NHL) moved to Raleigh in 1997, with their colors being the same as the NC State Wolfpack, who are also located in Raleigh.

By the late 20th century and into the early 21st century, economic industries such as technology, pharmaceuticals, banking, food processing, vehicle parts, and tourism started to emerge as North Carolina's main economic drivers. This marked a shift from the state's former main industries of tobacco, textiles, and furniture. Factors that played a role in this shift were globalization, the state's higher education system, national banking, the transformation of agriculture, and new companies moving to the state.^[86]

Geography

Interactive map of North Carolina

Deer in the Eno River as it flows through the Piedmont region of North Carolina

North Carolina is bordered by South Carolina on the south, Georgia on the southwest, Tennessee on the west, Virginia on the north, and the Atlantic Ocean on the east. The United States Census Bureau places North Carolina in the South Atlantic division of the southern region.^[87] It has a total area of 53,819.16 square miles (139,391.0 km²), of which 48,617.91 square miles (125,919.8 km²) is land and 5,201.25 square miles (13,471.2 km²) (9.66%) is water.^[88]

North Carolina consists of three main geographic regions: the Atlantic coastal plain, occupying the eastern portion of the state; the central Piedmont region, and the mountain region in the west, which is part of the Appalachian Mountains. The coastal plain consists of more specifically defined areas known as the Outer Banks, a string of sandy, narrow barrier islands separated from the mainland by sounds or inlets, including Albemarle Sound and Pamlico Sound, the native home of the venus flytrap, and the inner coastal plain, where longleaf pine trees are native.

So many ships have been lost off Cape Hatteras that the area is known as the "Graveyard of the Atlantic"; more than a thousand ships have sunk in these waters since records began in 1526. The most famous of these is the Queen Anne's Revenge (flagship of the pirate Blackbeard), which went aground in Beaufort Inlet in 1718.^[89]

The coastal plain transitions to the Piedmont region along the Atlantic Seaboard fall line, the elevation at which waterfalls first appear on streams and rivers. The Piedmont region of central North Carolina is the state's most populous region, containing the six largest cities in the state by population.^[90] It consists of gently rolling countryside frequently broken by hills or low mountain ridges. Small, isolated, and deeply eroded mountain ranges and peaks are located in the Piedmont, including the Sauratown Mountains, Pilot Mountain, the Uwharrie Mountains, Crowder's Mountain, King's Pinnacle, the Brushy Mountains, and the South Mountains. The Piedmont ranges from about 300 feet (100 m) in elevation in the east to about 1,500 feet (500 m) in the west.

The western section of the state is part of the Blue Ridge Mountains of the larger Appalachian Mountain range. Among the subranges of the Blue Ridge Mountains located in the state are the Great Smoky Mountains and the Black Mountains.^[91]^[92] The Black Mountains are the highest in the eastern United States, and culminate in Mount Mitchell at 6,684 feet (2,037 m), the highest point east of the Mississippi River.^[92]^[93]

North Carolina has 17 major river basins. The five basins west of the Blue Ridge Mountains flow to the Gulf of Mexico, while the remainder flow to the Atlantic Ocean.^[94] Of the 17 basins, 11 originate within the state of North Carolina, but only four are contained entirely within the state's border—the Cape Fear, the Neuse, the White Oak, and the Tar–Pamlico basin.^[95]

Flora and fauna

Major rivers

Climate

Elevation above sea level is most responsible for temperature change across the state, with the mountainous regions being coolest year-round. The climate is also influenced by the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf Stream, especially in the coastal plain. These influences tend to cause warmer winter temperatures along the coast, where temperatures only occasionally drop below the freezing point at night. The coastal plain averages around 1 inch (2.5 cm) of snow or ice annually, and in many years, there may be no snow or ice at all.^[96]

The Atlantic Ocean exerts less influence on the climate of the Piedmont region, which has hotter summers and colder winters than along the coast, though winters are still mild.^[96]

North Carolina experiences severe weather both in summer and in winter, with summer bringing threat of hurricanes, tropical storms, heavy rain, and flooding.^[97] Destructive hurricanes that have hit North Carolina include Hurricane Fran, Hurricane Florence, Hurricane Floyd, Hurricane Hugo, and Hurricane Hazel, the latter being the strongest storm ever to make landfall in the state, as a Category 4 in 1954. Hurricane Isabel ranks as the most destructive of the 21st century.^[98]^[99]

North Carolina averages fewer than 20 tornadoes per year, many of them produced by hurricanes or tropical storms along the coastal plain. Tornadoes from thunderstorms are a risk, especially in the eastern part of the state. The western Piedmont is often protected by the mountains, which tend to break up storms as they try to cross over; the storms will often re-form farther east. A phenomenon known as "cold-air damming" often occurs in the northwestern part of the state, which can weaken storms but can also lead to major ice events in winter.^[100]

In April 2011, the worst tornado outbreak in North Carolina's history occurred. Thirty confirmed tornadoes touched down, mainly in the Eastern Piedmont and Sandhills, killing at least 24 people.^[101]^[102] In September 2019 Hurricane Dorian hit the area.

City	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec
Monthly normal high and low temperatures (Fahrenheit) for various North Carolina cities.
Asheville^[103]	47/27	51/30	59/35	68/43	75/51	81/60	84/64	83/63	77/56	68/45	59/36	49/29
Boone^[104]	42/21	45/23	52/29	61/37	69/46	76/54	79/58	78/57	72/50	63/39	54/31	45/24
Cape Hatteras^[105]	52/39	54/40	59/45	66/53	74/61	81/69	85/74	84/73	80/69	72/60	64/51	56/43
Charlotte^[103]	51/30	55/33	63/39	72/47	79/56	86/64	89/68	88/67	81/60	72/49	62/39	53/32
Fayetteville^[106]	54/33	59/35	66/42	75/50	82/59	89/68	91/72	90/70	84/64	75/52	67/43	56/35
Greensboro^[106]	48/30	53/32	61/39	70/47	78/56	85/65	88/69	86/68	80/61	70/49	61/40	51/32
Raleigh^[106]	51/31	55/34	63/40	72/48	80/57	87/66	90/70	88/69	82/62	73/50	64/41	54/33
Wilmington^[107]	56/36	60/38	66/44	74/52	81/60	87/69	90/73	88/71	84/66	76/55	68/45	59/38

Climate data for North Carolina
Month	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec	Year
Record high °F (°C)	86 (30)	90 (32)	100 (38)	102 (39)	107 (42)	108 (42)	109 (43)	110 (43)	109 (43)	102 (39)	90 (32)	87 (31)	110 (43)
Mean daily maximum °F (°C)	49.9 (9.9)	53.7 (12.1)	61.8 (16.6)	71.0 (21.7)	78.1 (25.6)	85.2 (29.6)	88.1 (31.2)	86.8 (30.4)	80.8 (27.1)	71.6 (22.0)	62.5 (16.9)	52.5 (11.4)	70.2 (21.2)
Daily mean °F (°C)	39.2 (4.0)	42.3 (5.7)	49.5 (9.7)	58.1 (14.5)	66.1 (18.9)	74.1 (23.4)	77.5 (25.3)	76.3 (24.6)	69.9 (21.1)	59.4 (15.2)	50.4 (10.2)	41.7 (5.4)	58.7 (14.8)
Mean daily minimum °F (°C)	28.4 (−2.0)	30.9 (−0.6)	37.2 (2.9)	45.2 (7.3)	54.0 (12.2)	63.0 (17.2)	66.8 (19.3)	65.8 (18.8)	58.9 (14.9)	47.2 (8.4)	38.3 (3.5)	30.8 (−0.7)	47.2 (8.4)
Record low °F (°C)	−34 (−37)	−31 (−35)	−29 (−34)	0 (−18)	13 (−11)	22 (−6)	30 (−1)	29 (−2)	23 (−5)	5 (−15)	−22 (−30)	−33 (−36)	−34 (−37)
Average precipitation inches (mm)	3.7 (94)	3.5 (89)	4.2 (110)	3.5 (89)	3.8 (97)	4.3 (110)	4.8 (120)	4.7 (120)	4.3 (110)	3.3 (84)	3.3 (84)	3.5 (89)	46.9 (1,196)
Average snowfall inches (cm)	2.0 (5.1)	1.4 (3.6)	0.6 (1.5)	0.1 (0.25)	0.0 (0.0)	0.0 (0.0)	0.0 (0.0)	0.0 (0.0)	0.0 (0.0)	0.0 (0.0)	0.1 (0.25)	0.8 (2.0)	5 (12.7)
Source 1: USA.com (averages)^[108]
Source 2: North Carolina State Climate Office (extremes)^[109]

Parks and recreation

North Carolina provides a large range of recreational activities, from swimming at the beach to skiing in the mountains. North Carolina offers fall colors, freshwater and saltwater fishing, hunting, birdwatching, agritourism, ATV trails, ballooning, rock climbing, biking, hiking, skiing, boating and sailing, camping, canoeing, caving (spelunking), gardens, and arboretums. North Carolina has theme parks, aquariums, museums, historic sites, lighthouses, elegant theaters, concert halls, and fine dining.^[110]^[111]

North Carolinians enjoy outdoor recreation using numerous local bike paths, 34 state parks, and 14 national parks. National Park Service units include the Appalachian National Scenic Trail, the Blue Ridge Parkway, Cape Hatteras National Seashore, Cape Lookout National Seashore, Carl Sandburg Home National Historic Site at Flat Rock, Fort Raleigh National Historic Site at Manteo, Great Smoky Mountains National Park, Great Smoky Mountains Railroad, Guilford Courthouse National Military Park in Greensboro, Moores Creek National Battlefield near Currie in Pender County, the Overmountain Victory National Historic Trail, Old Salem National Historic Site in Winston-Salem, the Trail of Tears National Historic Trail, and Wright Brothers National Memorial in Kill Devil Hills.

National Forests include Uwharrie National Forest in central North Carolina, Croatan National Forest in Eastern North Carolina, Pisgah National Forest in the western mountains, and Nantahala National Forest in the southwestern part of the state.

Major cities

In 2023, the U.S. Census Bureau released the 2022 population estimates for municipalities in North Carolina. Charlotte has the largest population, while Raleigh has the second-largest population in North Carolina.^[112]

Largest cities or towns in North Carolina (2022 census estimate)^[112]^[113]
	Rank	Name	County	Pop.	Rank	Name	County	Pop.
Charlotte Raleigh	1	Charlotte	Mecklenburg	897,720	11	Asheville	Buncombe	93,776	Greensboro Durham
	2	Raleigh	Wake	476,587	12	Greenville	Pitt	89,233
	3	Greensboro	Guilford	301,115	13	Gastonia	Gaston	82,653
	4	Durham	Durham	291,928	14	Apex	Wake	71,065
	5	Winston-Salem	Forsyth	251,350	15	Jacksonville	Onslow	70,420
	6	Fayetteville	Cumberland	208,873	16	Huntersville	Mecklenburg	63,035
	7	Cary	Wake	180,388	17	Chapel Hill	Orange	62,098
	8	Wilmington	New Hanover	120,324	18	Burlington	Alamance	59,287
	9	High Point	Guilford	115,067	19	Kannapolis	Cabarrus	55,448
	10	Concord	Cabarrus	109,896	20	Rocky Mount	Nash	54,013

Most populous counties

After the 2020 census, Wake County, with a population of 1,129,410, became the most populous county in the state, overtaking Mecklenburg County, with a population of 1,115,482, by a margin of about 14,000. Both counties are still the only to have populations over one million in North Carolina and the Carolinas region.^[114]^[115]

Statistical areas

North Carolina has four major combined statistical areas (CSA) with a population over 1 million (as of 2023):^[116]^[8]

Charlotte Metro: Charlotte-Concord, NC-SC; population 3,387,115
Research Triangle: Raleigh-Durham-Cary, NC; population: 2,368,947
Hampton Roads: Virginia Beach-Chesapeake, VA-NC; population: 1,866,723
Piedmont Triad: Greensboro–Winston-Salem–High Point, NC; population: 1,736,099

Demographics

Historical population
Census	Pop.	Note	%±
1790	393,751		—
1800	478,103		21.4%
1810	556,526		16.4%
1820	638,829		14.8%
1830	737,987		15.5%
1840	753,419		2.1%
1850	869,039		15.3%
1860	992,622		14.2%
1870	1,071,361		7.9%
1880	1,399,750		30.7%
1890	1,617,949		15.6%
1900	1,893,810		17.1%
1910	2,206,287		16.5%
1920	2,559,123		16.0%
1930	3,170,276		23.9%
1940	3,571,623		12.7%
1950	4,061,929		13.7%
1960	4,556,155		12.2%
1970	5,082,059		11.5%
1980	5,881,766		15.7%
1990	6,628,637		12.7%
2000	8,049,313		21.4%
2010	9,535,483		18.5%
2020	10,439,388		9.5%
2023 (est.)	10,835,491	^[7]	3.8%
Source: 1910–2020^[117]

The United States Census Bureau determined the population of North Carolina was 10,439,388 at the 2020 census.^[118]^[119]^[120] Based on numbers in 2012 of the people residing in North Carolina 58.5% were born there; 33.1% were born in another state; 1.0% were born in Puerto Rico, U.S. island areas, or born abroad to American parent(s); and 7.4% were foreign-born.^[121]

According to HUD's 2022 Annual Homeless Assessment Report, there were an estimated 9,382 homeless people in North Carolina.^[122]^[123]

The top countries of origin for North Carolina's immigrants were Mexico, India, Honduras, China and El Salvador, as of 2018^[update].^[124]

Race and ethnicity

Ethnic composition as of the 2020 census
Race and Ethnicity^[125]	Alone		Total
White (non-Hispanic)	60.5%	60.5	63.9%	63.9
African American (non-Hispanic)	20.2%	20.2	21.8%	21.8
Hispanic or Latino^[c]	—		10.7%	10.7
Asian	3.3%	3.3	4.0%	4
Native American	1.0%	1	2.5%	2.5
Pacific Islander	0.1%	0.1	0.2%	0.2
Other	0.4%	0.4	1.1%	1.1

**Historical racial demographics**
Racial composition	1990^[126]	2000^[127]	2010^[128]	2020^[129]
White	75.6%	72.1%	68.5%	62.2%
Black	22.0%	21.6%	21.4%	20.5%
Asian	0.8%	1.4%	2.2%	3.3%
Native	1.2%	1.2%	1.3%	1.2%
Native Hawaiian and other Pacific Islander	–	0.1%	0.1%	0.1%
Other race	0.5%	2.3%	4.3%	5.9%
Two or more races	–	1.3%	2.3%	6.8%

At the 2010 census,^[130] the racial composition of North Carolina was: White: 68.5% (65.3% non-Hispanic white, 3.2% White Hispanic), Black or African American: 21.5%, Latin and Hispanic American of any race: 8.4%, some other race: 4.3%, Multiracial American: 2.2%, Asian American: 2.2%, and Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander: 1%. In 2020, North Carolina like much of the U.S. experienced a decline in its non-Hispanic white population; at the 2020 census, non-Hispanic whites were 62.2%, Blacks or African Americans 20.5%, American Indian and Alaska Natives 1.2%, Asians 3.3%, Native Hawaiian and other Pacific Islanders 0.1%, people from other race 5.9%, and multiracial Americans 6.8%.^[131]

Enslaved Africans were brought to North Carolina to be sold into slavery. A majority of the black population is now concentrated in the urban areas and northeastern part of the state.^[132]

North Carolina's Hispanic population has grown rapidly. The Hispanic population more than doubled in size between 1990 and 2000. Many of North Carolina's Hispanic residents are of Mexican heritage. Many of North Carolina's newer Latino residents came from Mexico largely to work in agriculture, manufacturing, or on one of North Carolina's military installations.^[133]

The most common ancestries in North Carolina are African-American, American, German, English, and Irish.^[134]

North Carolina has the eighth-largest Native American population in the country.^[135] The state is home to eight Native American tribes and four urban Native American organizations.^[136]

Languages

**Most common languages other than English spoken in North Carolina**
Language	Percentage of population (in 2010)^[137]
Spanish	6.93%
French	0.32%
German	0.27%
Chinese (including Mandarin)	0.27%
Vietnamese	0.24%
Arabic	0.17%
Korean	0.16%
Tagalog	0.13%
Hindi	0.12%
Gujarati, Russian, and Hmong (tied)	0.11%
Italian and Japanese (tied)	0.08%
Cherokee	0.01%^[138]

North Carolina is home to a spectrum of different dialects of Southern American English and Appalachian English.

In 2010, 89.66% (7,750,904) of North Carolina residents age five and older spoke English at home as a primary language, while 6.93% (598,756) spoke Spanish, 0.32% (27,310) French, 0.27% (23,204) German, and Chinese (which includes Mandarin) was spoken as a main language by 0.27% (23,072) of the population five and older. In total, 10.34% (893,735) of North Carolina's population age five and older spoke a mother language other than English.^[137] In 2019, 87.7% of the population aged 5 and older spoke English and 12.3% spoke another language. The most common non-English language was Spanish at the 2019 American Community Survey.^[139]

Religion

Religion in North Carolina (2014)^[140]
Religion			Percent
Evangelical Protestant			35%
Unaffiliated			20%
Mainline Protestant			19%
Historically Black Protestant			12%
Catholic			9%
Mormon			1%
Eastern Orthodox			1%
Jehovah's Witness			1%
Jewish			1%
Other faith			1%

North Carolina residents since the colonial era have historically been overwhelmingly Protestant—first Anglican, then Baptist and Methodist. In 2010, the Southern Baptist Convention was the single largest Christian denomination, with 4,241 churches and 1,513,000 members. The second largest was the United Methodist Church, with 660,000 members and 1,923 churches. The third was the Roman Catholic Church, with 428,000 members in 190 parishes. The fourth largest was the Presbyterian Church (USA), with 186,000 members and 710 congregations; this denomination was brought by Scots-Irish immigrants who settled the backcountry in the colonial era.^[141] In 2020, the Southern Baptists remained the largest with 1,324,747 adherents, though Methodists and others were collectively overtaken by non/interdenominational Protestants numbering 1,053,564.^[142]

In 1845, the Baptists split into regional associations of the Northern United States and Southern U.S., over the issue of slavery. These new associations were the Northern Baptist Convention (today the American Baptist Churches USA) and Southern Baptist Convention. By the late 19th century, the largest Protestant denomination in North Carolina were Baptists. After emancipation, black Baptists quickly set up their own independent congregations in North Carolina and other states of the South, as they wanted to be free of white supervision.^[143]^[144]^[145] Black Baptists developed their own state and national associations, such as the National Baptist Convention.^[144] Other primarily African American Baptist conventions which grew in the state since the 20th century were the Progressive National Baptist Convention and Full Gospel Baptist Church Fellowship.

Methodists (the second largest group among North Carolinian Protestants) were divided along racial lines in the United Methodist Church and African Methodist Episcopal Church. The Methodist tradition tends to be strong in the northern Piedmont, especially in populous Guilford County. Other prominent Protestant groups in North Carolina as of the Pew Research Center's 2014 study were non/interdenominational Protestants and Pentecostalism. The Assemblies of God and Church of God in Christ are the largest Pentecostal denominations operating in the state, while notable minorities include Oneness Pentecostals primarily affiliated with the United Pentecostal Church International.

The state also has a special history with the Moravian Church, as settlers of this faith (largely of German origin) settled in the Winston-Salem area in the 18th and 19th centuries. Historically Scots-Irish have had a strong presence in Charlotte and in Scotland County.^[146]

A wide variety of non-Christian faiths are practiced by other residents in the state, including: Judaism, Islam, Baháʼí, Buddhism, and Hinduism. The rapid influx of Northerners and immigrants from Latin America is steadily increasing ethnic and religious diversity within the state. The number of Roman Catholics and Jews in the state has increased, along with general religious diversity as a whole. There are also a substantial number of Quakers in Guilford County and northeastern North Carolina. Many universities and colleges in the state have been founded on religious traditions, and some currently maintain that affiliation, including:^[147]

Barton College (Disciples of Christ)
Belmont Abbey College (Catholic)
Bennett College for Women (United Methodist Church)
Brevard College (United Methodist Church)
Campbell University (Baptist)
Catawba College (United Church of Christ)
Chowan University (Baptist)
Davidson College (Presbyterian)
Duke University (Historically Methodist)
Elon University (Historically United Church of Christ)
Gardner–Webb University (Cooperative Baptist Fellowship)
Greensboro College (Methodist)
Guilford College (Religious Society of Friends/Quakers)
High Point University (United Methodist Church)
Lees-McRae College (Presbyterian)
Lenoir-Rhyne University (Evangelical Lutheran Church in America)
Livingstone College (African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church)
Louisburg College (United Methodist Church)
Mars Hill University (Christian)
Methodist University (United Methodist Church)
Montreat College (Christian)
University of Mount Olive (Baptist)
North Carolina Wesleyan College (United Methodist Church)
William Peace University (Presbyterian)
Pfeiffer University (Methodist)
Queens University of Charlotte (Presbyterian)
St. Andrews Presbyterian College (Presbyterian)
Saint Augustine's College (Episcopal)
Salem College (Moravian Church)
Shaw University (Baptist)
Wake Forest University (Historically Baptist)
Warren Wilson College (Historically Presbyterian)
Wingate University (Historically Baptist)

The state also has several major seminaries, including the Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary in Wake Forest, and the Hood Theological Seminary (AME Zion) in Salisbury.

Economy

North Carolina's 2018 total gross state product was $496 billion.^[148] Based on American Community Survey 2010–2014 data, North Carolina's median household income was $46,693. It ranked forty-first out of fifty states plus the District of Columbia for median household income. North Carolina had the fourteenth highest poverty rate in the nation at 17.6%, with 13% of families that were below the poverty line.^[149]

The state has a very diverse economy because of its great availability of hydroelectric power,^[150] its pleasant climate, and its wide variety of soils. The state ranks third among the South Atlantic states in population, but leads the region in industry and agriculture.^[151]^[152] North Carolina leads the nation in the production of tobacco.^[153]

Charlotte, the state's largest city, is a major textile and trade center. According to a Forbes article written in 2013, employment in the "Old North State" has gained many different industry sectors. Science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) industries in the area surrounding North Carolina's capital have grown 17.9 percent since 2001. Raleigh ranked the third best city for technology in 2020 due to the state's growing technology sector.^[154] In 2010, North Carolina's total gross state product was $424.9 billion,^[155] while the state debt in November 2012, according to one source, totaled $2.4 billion,^[156] while according to another, was in 2012 $57.8 billion.^[157] In 2011, the civilian labor force was at around 4.5 million with employment near 4.1 million.

North Carolina is the leading U.S. state in production of flue-cured tobacco and sweet potatoes, and comes second in the farming of pigs and hogs, trout, and turkeys.^[158]^[159] In the three most recent USDA surveys (2002, 2007, 2012), North Carolina also ranked second in the production of Christmas trees.^[158]^[160]^[161]

North Carolina has 15 metropolitan areas,^[116] and in 2010 was chosen as the third-best state for business by Forbes Magazine, and the second-best state by chief executive officer Magazine.^[162] Since 2000, there has been a clear division in the economic growth of North Carolina's urban and rural areas. While North Carolina's urban areas have enjoyed a prosperous economy with steady job growth, low unemployment, and rising wages, many of the state's rural counties have suffered from job loss, rising levels of poverty, and population loss as their manufacturing base has declined. According to one estimate, one-half of North Carolina's 100 counties have lost population since 2010, primarily due to the poor economy in many of North Carolina's rural areas. However, the population of the state's urban areas is steadily increasing.^[163]

Arts and culture

North Carolina has traditions in art, music, and cuisine. The nonprofit arts and culture industry generates $1.2 billion in direct economic activity in North Carolina, supporting more than 43,600 full-time equivalent jobs and generating $119 million in revenue for local governments and the state of North Carolina.^[164] North Carolina established the North Carolina Museum of Art as the first major museum collection in the country to be formed by state legislation and funding^[165] and continues to bring millions into the NC economy.^[166]

One of the more famous arts communities in the state is Seagrove, the handmade-pottery capital of the U.S., where artisans create handcrafted pottery inspired by the same traditions that began in this community more than two hundred years ago.

TV and film

Music

North Carolina boasts a large number of noteworthy jazz musicians, some among the most important in the history of the genre. These include: John Coltrane, (Hamlet, High Point); Thelonious Monk (Rocky Mount); Billy Taylor (Greenville); Woody Shaw (Laurinburg); Lou Donaldson (Durham); Max Roach (Newland); Tal Farlow (Greensboro); Albert, Jimmy and Percy Heath (Wilmington); Nina Simone (Tryon); and Billy Strayhorn (Hillsborough).

North Carolina is also famous for its tradition of old-time music, and many recordings were made in the early 20th century by folk-song collector Bascom Lamar Lunsford. Musicians such as the North Carolina Ramblers helped solidify the sound of country music in the late 1920s, while the influential bluegrass musician Doc Watson also hailed from North Carolina. Both North and South Carolina are hotbeds for traditional rural blues, especially the style known as the Piedmont blues.

Ben Folds Five originated in Winston-Salem, and Ben Folds still records and resides in Chapel Hill.

The British band Pink Floyd is named, in part, after Chapel Hill bluesman Floyd Council.

The Research Triangle area has long been a well-known center for folk, rock, metal, jazz and punk.^[167] James Taylor grew up around Chapel Hill, and his 1968 song "Carolina in My Mind" has been called an unofficial anthem for the state.^[168]^[169]^[170] Other famous musicians from North Carolina include J. Cole, DaBaby, 9th Wonder, Shirley Caesar, Roberta Flack, Clyde McPhatter, Nnenna Freelon, Link Wray, Warren Haynes, Jimmy Herring, Michael Houser, Eric Church, Future Islands, Randy Travis, Ryan Adams, Ronnie Milsap, Anthony Hamilton, The Avett Brothers, Charlie Daniels, and Luke Combs.

Metal and punk acts such as Corrosion of Conformity, Between the Buried and Me, and Nightmare Sonata are native to North Carolina.

EDM producer Porter Robinson hails from Chapel Hill.

North Carolina is the home of more American Idol finalists than any other state: Clay Aiken (season two), Fantasia Barrino (season three), Chris Daughtry (season five), Kellie Pickler (season five), Bucky Covington (season five), Anoop Desai (season eight), Scotty McCreery (season ten), and Caleb Johnson (season thirteen). North Carolina also has the most American Idol winners with Barrino, McCreery, and Johnson.

In the mountains, the Brevard Music Center hosts choral, operatic, orchestral, and solo performances during its annual summer schedule.

North Carolina has five professional opera companies: Opera Carolina in Charlotte, NC Opera in Raleigh, Greensboro Opera in Greensboro, Piedmont Opera in Winston-Salem, and Asheville Lyric Opera in Asheville. Academic conservatories and universities also produce fully staged operas, such as the A. J. Fletcher Opera Institute of the University of North Carolina School of the Arts in Winston-Salem, the Department of Music of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and UNC Greensboro.

Among others, there are three high-level symphonic orchestras: NC Symphony in Raleigh, Charlotte Symphony, and Winston-Salem Symphony. The NC Symphony holds the North Carolina Master Chorale. The Carolina Ballet is headquartered in Raleigh, and there is also the Charlotte Ballet.

The state boasts three performing arts centers: DPAC in Durham, Duke Energy Center for the Performing Arts in Raleigh, and the Blumenthal Performing Art Centers in Charlotte. They feature concerts, operas, recitals, and traveling Broadway musicals.^[171]^[172]^[173]

Shopping

North Carolina has a variety of shopping choices. SouthPark Mall in Charlotte is the largest and most upscale mall in the Carolinas, featuring multiple luxury tenants with their sole location in the state. Other major malls in Charlotte include Northlake Mall and Carolina Place Mall in nearby suburb Pineville. Other major malls throughout the state include Hanes Mall in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, The Thruway Center in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, Crabtree Valley Mall, North Hills Mall, and Triangle Town Center in Raleigh; Friendly Center and Four Seasons Town Centre in Greensboro; Oak Hollow Mall in High Point; Concord Mills in Concord; Valley Hills Mall in Hickory; Cross Creek Mall in Fayetteville; and The Streets at Southpoint in Durham and Independence Mall in Wilmington, North Carolina, and Tanger Outlets in Charlotte, Nags Head, Blowing Rock, and Mebane, North Carolina.

Cuisine and agriculture

A culinary staple of North Carolina is pork barbecue. There are strong regional differences and rivalries over the sauces and methods used in making the barbecue. The common trend across Western North Carolina is the use of premium grade Boston butt. Western North Carolina pork barbecue uses a tomato-based sauce, and only the pork shoulder (dark meat) is used. Western North Carolina barbecue is commonly referred to as Lexington barbecue after the Piedmont Triad town of Lexington, home of the Lexington Barbecue Festival, which attracts more than 100,000 visitors each October.^[174]^[175] Eastern North Carolina pork barbecue uses a vinegar-and-red-pepper-based sauce and the "whole hog" is cooked, thus integrating both white and dark meat.^[176]

Krispy Kreme, an international chain of doughnut stores, was started in North Carolina; the company's headquarters are in Winston-Salem. Pepsi-Cola was first produced in 1898 in New Bern. A regional soft drink, Cheerwine, was created and is still based in the city of Salisbury. Despite its name, the hot sauce Texas Pete was created in North Carolina; its headquarters are also in Winston-Salem. The Hardee's fast-food chain was started in Rocky Mount. Another fast-food chain, Bojangles', was started in Charlotte, and has its corporate headquarters there. A popular North Carolina restaurant chain is Golden Corral. Started in 1973, the chain was founded in Fayetteville, with headquarters located in Raleigh. Popular pickle brand Mount Olive Pickle Company was founded in Mount Olive in 1926. Fast casual burger chain Hwy 55 Burgers, Shakes & Fries also makes its home in Mount Olive. Cook Out, a popular fast-food chain featuring burgers, hot dogs, and milkshakes in a wide variety of flavors, was founded in Greensboro in 1989 and has begun expanding outside North Carolina. In 2013 Southern Living named Durham–Chapel Hill the South's "Tastiest City".

Over the last decade, North Carolina has become a cultural epicenter and haven for internationally prize-winning wine (Noni Bacca Winery), internationally prized cheeses (Ashe County), "L'institut International aux Arts Gastronomiques: Conquerront Les Yanks les Truffes, January 15, 2010" international hub for truffles (Garland Truffles), and beer making, as tobacco land has been converted to grape orchards while state laws regulating alcohol by volume (ABV) in beer allowed a jump from six to fifteen percent. The Yadkin Valley in particular has become a strengthening market for grape production, while Asheville recently won the recognition of being named "Beer City USA". Asheville boasts the largest number of breweries per capita of any city in the United States. Recognized and marketed brands of beer in North Carolina include Highland Brewing, Duck Rabbit Brewery, Mother Earth Brewery, Weeping Radish Brewery, Big Boss Brewing, Foothills Brewing, Carolina Brewing Company, Lonerider Brewing, and White Rabbit Brewing Company.

North Carolina has large grazing areas for beef and dairy cattle. Truck farms can be found in North Carolina. A truck farm is a small farm where fruits and vegetables are grown to be sold at local markets. The state's shipping, commercial fishing, and lumber industries are important to its economy. Service industries, including education, health care, private research, and retail trade, are also important. Research Triangle Park, a large industrial complex located in the Raleigh-Durham area, is one of the major centers in the country for electronics and medical research.^[177]

Tobacco was one of the first major industries to develop after the Civil War. Many farmers grew some tobacco, and the invention of the cigarette made the product especially popular. Winston-Salem is the birthplace of R. J. Reynolds Tobacco Company (RJR), founded by R. J. Reynolds in 1874 as one of sixteen tobacco companies in the town. By 1914 it was selling 425 million packs of Camels a year. Today it is the second-largest tobacco company in the U.S. (behind Altria Group). RJR is an indirect wholly owned subsidiary of Reynolds American Inc., which in turn is 42% owned by British American Tobacco.^[178]

Ships named for the state

Several ships have been named after the state, most famously USS North Carolina in the Pacific Ocean theater of World War II. Now decommissioned, she is part of the USS North Carolina Battleship Memorial in Wilmington. Another USS North Carolina, a nuclear attack submarine, was commissioned in Wilmington on May 3, 2008.^[179]

State parks

The state maintains a group of protected areas known as the North Carolina State Park System, which is managed by the North Carolina Division of Parks & Recreation (NCDPR), an agency of the North Carolina Department of Natural and Cultural Resources (NCDNCR).^[180]

Armed forces installations

Fort Liberty, near Fayetteville and Southern Pines, is a large and comprehensive military base and is the headquarters of the XVIII Airborne Corps, 82nd Airborne Division, and the U.S. Army Special Operations Command. Serving as the air wing for Fort Liberty is Pope Field, also located near Fayetteville.

Located in Jacksonville, Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune, combined with nearby bases Marine Corps Air Station (MCAS) Cherry Point, MCAS New River, Camp Geiger, Camp Johnson, Stone Bay and Courthouse Bay, makes up the largest concentration of Marines and sailors in the world. MCAS Cherry Point is home of the 2nd Marine Aircraft Wing. Located in Goldsboro, Seymour Johnson Air Force Base is home of the 4th Fighter Wing and 916th Air Refueling Wing. One of the busiest air stations in the United States Coast Guard is located at the Coast Guard Air Station in Elizabeth City. Also stationed in North Carolina is the Military Ocean Terminal Sunny Point in Southport.

On January 24, 1961, a B-52G broke up in midair and crashed after suffering a severe fuel loss, near Goldsboro, dropping two nuclear bombs in the process without detonation.^[181] In 2013, it was revealed that three safety mechanisms on one bomb had failed, leaving just one low-voltage switch preventing detonation.^[182]

Tourism

Cape Hatteras Lighthouse, located in North Carolina's Outer Banks

Charlotte is the most-visited city in the state, attracting 28.3 million visitors in 2018.^[183] Area attractions include Carolina Panthers NFL football team and Charlotte Hornets basketball team, Carowinds amusement park, Catawba Two Kings Casino (in nearby Kings Mountain), Charlotte Motor Speedway, U.S. National Whitewater Center, Discovery Place, Great Wolf Lodge, Sea Life Aquarium,^[184] Bechtler Museum of Modern Art, Billy Graham Library, Carolinas Aviation Museum, Harvey B. Gantt Center for African-American Arts + Culture, Levine Museum of the New South, McColl Center for Art + Innovation, Mint Museum, and the NASCAR Hall of Fame.

Every year the Appalachian Mountains attract several million tourists to the western part of the state,^[185] including the historic Biltmore Estate. The scenic Blue Ridge Parkway and Great Smoky Mountains National Park are the two most visited national park and unit in the United States with more than 25 million visitors in 2013.^[186] The City of Asheville is consistently voted as one of the top places to visit and live in the United States, known for its rich art deco architecture, mountain scenery and outdoor activities.^[187]^[188]

In Raleigh, many tourists visit the capital, African American Cultural Complex,^[189] Contemporary Art Museum of Raleigh, Gregg Museum of Art & Design at NCSU, Haywood Hall House & Gardens, Marbles Kids Museum, North Carolina Museum of Art, North Carolina Museum of History, North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences, North Carolina Sports Hall of Fame, Raleigh City Museum, J. C. Raulston Arboretum, Joel Lane House, Mordecai House, Montfort Hall, and the Pope House Museum. The Carolina Hurricanes NHL hockey team is also located in the city.

In the Conover–Hickory area, attractions include Hickory Motor Speedway, RockBarn Golf and Spa,^[190] home of the Greater Hickory Classic at Rock Barn; Catawba County Firefighters Museum,^[191] the SALT Block,^[192] and Valley Hills Mall.

The Piedmont Triad, or center of the state, is home to Krispy Kreme, Mayberry, Texas Pete, the Lexington Barbecue Festival, and Moravian cookies. The internationally acclaimed North Carolina Zoo in Asheboro attracts visitors to its animals, plants, and a 57-piece art collection along five miles (8 km) of shaded pathways in the world's largest-land-area natural-habitat park. Seagrove, in the central portion of the state, attracts many tourists along Pottery Highway (NC Hwy 705). MerleFest in Wilkesboro attracts more than 80,000 people to its four-day music festival; and Wet 'n Wild Emerald Pointe water park in Greensboro is another attraction.^[193]

The Outer Banks and surrounding beaches attract millions of people to the Atlantic beaches every year.^[194]

The mainland northeastern part of the state, having recently adopted the name the Inner Banks, is also known as the Albemarle Region, for the Albemarle Settlements, some of the first settlements on North Carolina's portion of the Atlantic Coastal Plain. The region's historic sites are connected by the Historic Albemarle Tour.

Transportation

Transportation systems in North Carolina consist of air, water, road, rail, and public transportation including intercity rail via Amtrak and light rail in Charlotte. North Carolina has the second-largest state highway system in the country as well as the largest ferry system on the East Coast.^[195]

North Carolina's airports serve destinations throughout the United States and international destinations in Canada, Europe, Central America, and the Caribbean. In July 2022, Charlotte Douglas International Airport, which serves as the second busiest hub for American Airlines, ranked as the 11th busiest airport in the United States with Raleigh-Durham International Airport, a focus-city for Delta Air Lines and formerly a hub for American Airlines and Midway Airlines, ranked as the 37th busiest airport in the United States.^[196]

North Carolina has a growing passenger rail system with Amtrak serving most major cities. Charlotte is also home to North Carolina's only light rail system known as LYNX.^[197]

Major highways

Primary Interstates

Auxiliary (three-digit) Interstates

Education

Primary and secondary education

Elementary and secondary public schools are overseen by the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction. The North Carolina Superintendent of Public Instruction is the secretary of the North Carolina State Board of Education, but the board, rather than the superintendent, holds most of the legal authority for making public education policy. In 2009, the board's chairman also became the "chief executive officer" for the state's school system.^[198] North Carolina has 115 public school systems, each of which is overseen by a local school board.^[199]^[200] A county may have one or more systems within it. The largest school systems in North Carolina are the Wake County Public School System, Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools, Guilford County Schools, Winston-Salem/Forsyth County Schools, and Cumberland County Schools.^[201] In total there are 2,425 public schools in the state, including over 200 charter schools.^[202] North Carolina Schools were segregated until the Brown v. Board of Education trial and the release of the Pearsall Plan.

Previously the SAT was the dominant university entrance examination students took. In 2004 76% of NC high school students took the SAT. In 2012 state law changed which required 11th grade students to take the ACT. The SAT testing rate fell to 46% in 2019. Because students now can take that test for free, the ACT became the dominant university entrance examination. This also caused SAT average scores to rise, as in 1996 North Carolina was 48th nationally in SAT scores, but the profile of students taking the SAT has gotten smaller.^[203]

Colleges and universities

Old Well at UNC-Chapel Hill

Duke Chapel at Duke University

Memorial Belltower at NC State

Wait Chapel at Wake Forest University

The Joyner Library clock tower at East Carolina University

The New Quad at UNC Charlotte

North Carolina is also home to many well-known private colleges and universities, including Barton College, Belmont Abbey College (the only Catholic college in the Carolinas), Campbell University, Davidson College, Duke University,^[207] Elon University, Guilford College, High Point University, Laurel University, Lees-McRae College, Lenoir-Rhyne University (the only Lutheran university in North Carolina), Livingstone College, Meredith College, Methodist University, Montreat College, North Carolina Wesleyan College, Pfeiffer University, Salem College, Shaw University (the first historically black college or university in the South), University of Mount Olive, Wake Forest University,^[208] William Peace University, and Wingate University.

North Carolina is also home to the oldest and largest folk school in the United States, the John C. Campbell Folk School.^[209]^[210]

Health

The residents of North Carolina have a lower life expectancy than the U.S. national average of life expectancy. According to the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation, in 2014, males in North Carolina lived an average of 75.4 years compared to the national average of 76.7 years. Females in North Carolina lived an average of 80.2 years compared to the national average of 81.5 years. Male life expectancy in North Carolina between 1980 and 2014 increased by an average of 6.9 years, slightly higher than the male national average of a 6.7-year increase. Life expectancy for females in North Carolina between 1980 and 2014 increased by 3.2 years, lower than the female national average of a 3.9-year increase.^[211]

Using 2017–2019 data, the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation calculated that life expectancy for North Carolina counties ranged from 71.4 years for Swain County to 82.3 years for Orange County. Life expectancy for the state was 78.1 years.^[212] The Foundation estimated that life expectancy for the United States as a whole in 2021 was 79.2 years.^[213]

Media

Early newspapers were established in the eastern part of North Carolina in the mid-18th century. The Fayetteville Observer, established in 1816, is the oldest newspaper still in publication in North Carolina. The Wilmington Star-News, established 1867, is the oldest continuously running newspaper. As of January 1, 2020, there were approximately 240 North Carolina newspapers in publication in the state of North Carolina.^[214]

The News and Observer was founded in 1871 and is the largest in circulation in the state. In 2006, The Charlotte Observer was acquired by the company, it is the second largest circulating news paper in the state.^[215]

Government and politics

North Carolina registered voters as of June 15, 2024^[update]^[216]
Party		Number of Voters	Percentage
	Unaffiliated	2,806,349	37.25%
	Democratic	2,404,010	31.90%
	Republican	2,258,580	29.98%
	Libertarian	49,872	0.66%
	No Labels	12,996	0.17%
	Green	2,425	0.03%
Total		7,534,232	100.00%

The government of North Carolina is divided into three branches: executive, legislative, and judicial. These consist of the Council of State (led by the Governor), the bicameral legislature (called the General Assembly), and the state court system (headed by the North Carolina Supreme Court). The state constitution delineates the structure and function of the state government. Most municipalities in North Carolina operate under council-manager governments.^[217]

North Carolina's party loyalties have undergone a series of important shifts in the last few years: While the 2010 midterms saw Tarheel voters elect a bicameral Republican majority legislature for the first time in more than a century, North Carolina has also become a Southern swing state in presidential races. Since Southern Democrat Jimmy Carter's comfortable victory in the state in 1976, the state had consistently leaned Republican in presidential elections until Democrat Barack Obama narrowly won the state in 2008. In the 1990s, Democrat Bill Clinton came within a point of winning the state in 1992 and also only narrowly lost the state in 1996. In 2000, Republican George W. Bush easily won the state by more than 13 points.

By 2008, demographic shifts, population growth, and increased liberalization in densely populated areas such as the Research Triangle, Charlotte, Greensboro, Winston-Salem, Fayetteville, and Asheville, propelled Barack Obama to victory in North Carolina, the first Democrat to win the state since 1976. In 2012, North Carolina was again considered a competitive swing state, with the Democrats even holding their 2012 Democratic National Convention in Charlotte. However, Republican Mitt Romney ultimately eked out a two-point win in North Carolina, the only 2012 swing state Obama lost, and one of only two states (along with Indiana) to flip from Obama in 2008 to the GOP in 2012. Furthermore, Republican Donald Trump carried the state in 2016 and 2020.

In 2012, the state elected a Republican governor (Pat McCrory) and lieutenant governor (Dan Forest) for the first time in more than two decades, while also giving the Republicans veto-proof majorities in both the State House of Representatives and the State Senate. Several U.S. House of Representatives seats flipped control in 2012, with the Republicans holding nine seats to the Democrats' four. In the 2014 midterm elections, Republican David Rouzer won the state's 7th congressional district seat, increasing the congressional delegation party split to 10–3 in favor of the GOP, a split they retained in subsequent elections until 2020, when it narrowed to 8-5 in favor of the GOP.

As a result of the 2020 census, North Carolina gained another seat in the 118th United States Congress, for a total of 14.^[218] After the 2022 elections, the partisan split was an even 7–7.

In a 2020 study, North Carolina was ranked as the 23rd easiest state for citizens to vote in.^[219]

Gerrymandering

The state has been sued for racially gerrymandering the districts, which resulted in minority voting power being diluted in some areas, resulting in skewed representation. In 2000, the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina ruled that the 12th congressional district was an illegal racial gerrymander.^[220] This was again appealed, now as Easley v. Cromartie. The U.S. Supreme Court reversed the Eastern District of North Carolina in 2001 and ruled that the 12th district boundaries were not racially based but was a partisan gerrymander. They said this was a political question that the courts should not rule upon.^[221]

In 2015, federal courts again ordered redistricting.^[222] Two lawsuits challenging the state congressional district map were led by "two dozen voters, the state Democratic Party, the state chapter of the League of Women Voters, and the interest group Common Cause".^[222] They contend that the redistricting resulted in deliberate under-representation of a substantial portion of voters. This case reached the U.S. Supreme Court in March 2019, which also heard a related partisan gerrymandering case from Maryland.^[222]

On February 4, 2022, the North Carolina Supreme Court struck down the congressional and state legislative district maps drawn by the GOP-controlled General Assembly on terms of partisan gerrymandering in a 4–3 ruling.^[223] Later that month, a panel of three former judges chosen by the Wake County Superior Court drew and approved a remedial congressional map after the new map proposed by the General Assembly was struck down by the North Carolina Supreme Court. Though, the state legislative maps proposed by the General Assembly were allowed to be used. The General Assembly would then redraw all three maps for the 2024 elections in the state.^[224]^[225]

On April 28, 2023, the North Carolina Supreme Court—after it flipped Republican in the 2022 elections—overturned the same ruling in a 5–2 decision, which cleared the way for gerrymandering in the next redistricting cycle.^[226]^[227] New maps were approved by the General Assembly on October 25, 2023. All three new maps heavily favor the GOP, with allegations of racial bias made against the maps as well.^[228]^[229]^[230]

In November 2023, a lawsuit was filed against the North Carolina Senate district map—specifically the 1st and 2nd Senate districts—in the Eastern District of North Carolina, arguing the map violates Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act of 1965.^[231]^[232]^[233] In December 2023, two lawsuits were filed in the Middle District of North Carolina, with the first challenging the 1st, 6th, 12th, and 14th congressional districts in the map,^[234]^[235] and the second, challenging multiple specific districts in all three maps, as racial gerrymanders.^[236]^[237]^[238] Both lawsuits were consolidated together in March 2024.^[239]^[240]

On January 26, 2024—regarding the lawsuit currently in the Eastern District of North Carolina—a preliminary injunction to block the current North Carolina Senate district map was denied, citing the Purcell principle.^[241] The ruling was appealed to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit, which upheld the lower court's decision on March 28, 2024. The lawsuit will continue in the district court, but no ruling will be made until after the 2024 elections.^[242]

Sports

Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte, home of the Carolina Panthers and Charlotte FC
Carolina Hurricanes Stanley Cup awards ceremony at the RBC Center in Raleigh
The Spectrum Center, home arena of the NBA's Charlotte Hornets

North Carolina is home to four major league sports franchises: the Carolina Panthers of the National Football League, the Charlotte Hornets of the National Basketball Association, and Charlotte FC of Major League Soccer are based in Charlotte, while the Raleigh-based Carolina Hurricanes play in the National Hockey League. The Panthers and Hurricanes are the only two major professional sports teams that have the same geographical designation while playing in different metropolitan areas. The Hurricanes are the only major professional team from North Carolina to have won a league championship, having captured the Stanley Cup in 2006. North Carolina is also home to two other top-level professional teams — the Charlotte Hounds of Major League Lacrosse and the North Carolina Courage of the National Women's Soccer League.

While North Carolina has no Major League Baseball team, it does have numerous Minor League Baseball teams, with the highest level of play coming from the Triple-A Charlotte Knights and Durham Bulls. Additionally, North Carolina has minor league teams in other team sports including soccer and ice hockey, most notably North Carolina FC and the Charlotte Checkers, both of which play in the second tier of their respective sports.

In addition to professional team sports, North Carolina has a strong affiliation with NASCAR and stock-car racing, with Charlotte Motor Speedway in Concord hosting two Cup Series races every year. Charlotte also hosts the NASCAR Hall of Fame, while Concord is the home of several top-flight racing teams, including Hendrick Motorsports, Roush Fenway Racing, GMS Racing, Stewart-Haas Racing, and Chip Ganassi Racing. Numerous other tracks around North Carolina host races from low-tier NASCAR circuits as well.

Golf is a popular summertime leisure activity, and North Carolina has hosted several important professional golf tournaments. Pinehurst Resort in Pinehurst has hosted a PGA Championship, Ryder Cup, two U.S. Opens, and one U.S. Women's Open. The Wells Fargo Championship is a regular stop on the PGA Tour and is held at Quail Hollow Club in Charlotte, and Quail Hollow has also played host to the PGA Championship. The Wyndham Championship is played annually in Greensboro at Sedgefield Country Club.

College sports are also popular in North Carolina, with 18 schools competing at the Division I level. The Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) is headquartered in Greensboro, and both the ACC Football Championship Game (Charlotte) and the ACC men's basketball tournament (Greensboro) were most recently held in North Carolina. Additionally, the city of Charlotte is home to the National Junior College Athletics Association's (NJCAA) headquarters.^[243] College basketball is very popular in North Carolina, buoyed by the Tobacco Road rivalries between ACC members North Carolina, Duke, North Carolina State, and Wake Forest. The ACC Championship Game and the Duke's Mayo Bowl are held annually in Charlotte's Bank of America Stadium, featuring teams from the ACC and the Southeastern Conference. Additionally, the state has hosted the NCAA Men's Basketball Final Four on two occasions, in Greensboro in 1974 and in Charlotte in 1994.

Notes

^ ^a ^b In 1893, the North Carolina General Assembly adopted the Latin words "Esse Quam Videri" as the state motto and directed that these words be placed with the state's coat of arms and the date "20 May 1775" upon the great seal.
^ Elevation adjusted to North American Vertical Datum of 1988.
^ Persons of Hispanic or Latino origin are not distinguished between total and partial ancestry.

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Works cited

Lee, James Melvin (1923). History of American journalism. Boston, New York, Houghton Mifflin Company. (Alternative publication)
Powell, William S., ed. (2000). Dictionary of North Carolina biography. Vol. II. University of North Carolina Press. ISBN 978-0-8078-67013. - link to Davis biography
Lefler, Hugh (numerous editions since 1934). North Carolina History Told by Contemporaries . University of North Carolina Press.
Jones, H. G. (1984). North Carolina Illustrated, 1524–1984. University of North Carolina Press.
North Carolina Manual. Published biennially by the Department of the Secretary of State since 1941.
The Religion in North Carolina Digital Collection Archived August 17, 2020, at the Wayback Machine. A grant-funded project to provide digital access to publications of and about religious bodies in North Carolina. Partner institutions at Duke University, UNC-Chapel Hill, and Wake Forest University contributed the largest portion of the items in this collection, but the collection is enriched by unique materials from libraries and archives throughout North Carolina. The materials in this collection include local church histories, periodicals, clergy biographies, cookbooks, event programs, directories, and much more.

External links

General

Official website
North Carolina state library
North Carolina Court System official site Archived June 4, 2005, at the Wayback Machine
North Carolina at Curlie
North Carolina State Guide, from the Library of Congress Archived May 13, 2020, at the Wayback Machine

Government and education

Other

Geographic data related to North Carolina at OpenStreetMap

Preceded by New York	List of U.S. states by date of admission to the Union Ratified Constitution on November 21, 1789 (12th)	Succeeded by Rhode Island

36°N 80°W / 36°N 80°W / 36; -80 (State of North Carolina)

[motto-1] In 1893, the North Carolina General Assembly adopted the Latin words "Esse Quam Videri" as the state motto and directed that these words be placed with the state's coat of arms and the date "20 May 1775" upon the great seal.

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International	ISNI 2 VIAF WorldCat
National	Spain France BnF data Catalonia Germany Israel United States Sweden Czech Republic
Geographic	MusicBrainz area
Other	NARA IdRef

@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
-{{About|the U.S. state of North Carolina}}
+{{Short description|U.S. state}}
+{{About|the U.S. state|the former British colony|Province of North Carolina|other uses}}
-{{Redirect|The Old North State|the song of the same name|The Old North State (song)}}
+{{Redirect|The Old North State|the song|The Old North State (song)}}
-{{pp-move-indef}}
+{{pp-move}}
-{{Use mdy dates|date=July 2017}}
+{{Use mdy dates|date=August 2023}}
+{{Use American English|date=July 2022}}
 {{Infobox U.S. state
-|Fullname        = State of North Carolina
+| image_flag = Flag of North Carolina.svg
-|Flag            = Flag of North Carolina.svg
+| name = North Carolina
-|Name            = North Carolina
+| image_seal = Seal of North Carolina.svg
-|Seal            = Seal of North Carolina.svg
+| flag_link = Flag of North Carolina
+| nickname = [[Tar Heel|The Tarheel State]], The Old North State
-|Flaglink        = [[Flag of North Carolina|Flag]]
+| motto = {{lang|la|[[Esse quam videri]]}}{{efn|name=motto|In 1893, the North Carolina General Assembly adopted the Latin words "{{lang|la|Esse Quam Videri}}" as the state motto and directed that these words be placed with the state's coat of arms and the date "20 May 1775" upon the great seal.}} {{nowrap|"To be, rather than to seem"}}
-|Nickname        = Old North State; {{nowrap|[[Tar Heel]] State}}
+| anthem = "[[The Old North State (song)|The Old North State]]"<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.ncleg.net/enactedlegislation/statutes/html/bychapter/chapter_149.html|title=Chapter 149|access-date=May 20, 2022|archive-date=November 8, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201108115332/https://www.ncleg.net/enactedlegislation/statutes/html/bychapter/chapter_149.html|url-status=live}}</ref>
-|Motto           = [[Esse quam videri]]: {{nowrap|"To be, rather than to seem" (official);}} {{nowrap|[[First in flight|First in Flight]]}}: {{nowrap|First in Freedom}}
-|Map             = North Carolina in United States.svg
+| image_map = North Carolina in United States.svg
-|OfficialLang    = English<ref>{{cite web|page=§ 145-12|title=State language|quotation=(a)Purpose. English is the common language of the people of the United States of America and the State of North Carolina. This section is intended to preserve, protect and strengthen the English language, and not to supersede any of the rights guaranteed to the people by the Constitution of the United States or the Constitution of North Carolina. (b) English as the Official Language of North Carolina. English is the official language of the State of North Carolina.|url=ftp://www.ncga.state.nc.us/EnactedLegislation/Statutes/HTML/ByArticle/Chapter_145/Article_%20.html|website=Ncga.state.nc.cus|accessdate=May 23, 2016}}{{dead link|date=July 2017 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref>
+| OfficialLang = English<ref>{{cite web|page=§ 145–12|title=State language|quotation=(a) Purpose. English and Spanish are the most common languages of the people of the United States of America and the State of North Carolina. This section is intended to preserve, protect and strengthen the English language, and not to supersede any of the rights guaranteed to the people by the Constitution of the United States or the Constitution of North Carolina. (b) English as the Official Language of North Carolina. English is the official language of the State of North Carolina.|url=ftp://www.ncga.state.nc.us/EnactedLegislation/Statutes/HTML/ByArticle/Chapter_145/Article_%20.html|website=Ncga.state.nc.cus|access-date=May 23, 2016}}{{dead link|date=July 2017 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref>
+| Languages = <small>As of 2010</small><ref>{{cite web |url= http://www.mla.org/map_data_results&SRVY_YEAR=2005&geo=state&state_id=37&county_id=&mode=geographic&lang_id=&zip=&place_id=&cty_id=&region_id=&division_id=&ll=&ea=n&order=&a=n&pc=1 |title= North Carolina |publisher= [[Modern Language Association]] |access-date= August 11, 2012 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20130604191459/http://www.mla.org/map_data_results%26SRVY_YEAR%3D2005%26geo%3Dstate%26state_id%3D37%26county_id%3D%26mode%3Dgeographic%26lang_id%3D%26zip%3D%26place_id%3D%26cty_id%3D%26region_id%3D%26division_id%3D%26ll%3D%26ea%3Dn%26order%3D%26a%3Dn%26pc%3D1 |archive-date= June 4, 2013 |url-status= dead }}</ref>
-|Languages       = <small>As of 2000</small>
-*English 90.70%
+* English 90.70%
+* Spanish 6.93%
-*Spanish 6.18%<ref>{{cite web |url= http://www.mla.org/map_data_results&SRVY_YEAR=2005&geo=state&state_id=37&county_id=&mode=geographic&lang_id=&zip=&place_id=&cty_id=&region_id=&division_id=&ll=&ea=n&order=&a=n&pc=1 |title= North Carolina |publisher= [[Modern Language Association]] |accessdate=August 11, 2012}}</ref>
+* Other 2.73%
-|Demonym         = North Carolinian (official);<br />[[Tar Heel]] (colloquial)
+| population_demonym = North Carolinian (official);<br />[[Tarheel]] (colloquial)
-|LargestCity     = [[Charlotte, North Carolina|Charlotte]]
-|Capital         = [[Raleigh, North Carolina|Raleigh]]
+| LargestCity = [[Charlotte, North Carolina|Charlotte]]
+| seat = [[Raleigh, North Carolina|Raleigh]]
-|LargestMetro    = [[Charlotte metropolitan area|Charlotte metro area]]
+| LargestMetro = [[Charlotte metropolitan area|Charlotte]]
-|AreaRank        = 28th
+| area_rank = 28th
-|TotalAreaUS     = 53,819
+| area_total_sq_mi = 53819.16
-|TotalArea       = 139,390
+| area_total_km2 = 139391.0
-|WidthUS         = 170
+| width_mi = 184
-|Width           = 261
+| width_km = 296
-|LengthUS        = 560<ref>{{cite web |date=May 8, 2006 |url=http://www.secretary.state.nc.us/kidspg/geog.htm |title=North Carolina Climate and Geography |work=NC Kids Page |publisher=North Carolina Department of the Secretary of State |accessdate=November 7, 2006}}</ref>
+| length_mi = 500<ref>{{cite web |date=May 8, 2006 |url=http://www.secretary.state.nc.us/kidspg/geog.htm |title=North Carolina Climate and Geography |website=NC Kids Page |publisher=North Carolina Department of the Secretary of State |access-date=November 7, 2006 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061104080337/http://www.secretary.state.nc.us/kidspg/geog.htm |archive-date=November 4, 2006 |url-status=live }}</ref>
-|Length          = 901
+| length_km = 804
-|PCWater         = 9.5
-|Latitude        = 33° 50′ N to 36° 35′ N
+| Latitude = 33° 50′ N to 36° 35′ N
-|Longitude       = 75° 28′ W to 84° 19′ W
+| Longitude = 75° 28′ W to 84° 19′ W
-|PopRank         = 9th
+| population_rank = 9th
+| population_as_of = [[2020 United States census|2020]]
-|2000Pop = 10,146,788 (2016 est.)<ref name=PopHousingEst>{{cite web|url=https://factfinder.census.gov/faces/tableservices/jsf/pages/productview.xhtml?pid=PEP_2016_PEPANNRES&prodType=table|title=2016 Population Estimates |date=August 28, 2017 |accessdate=August 28, 2017|publisher=[[U.S. Census Bureau]]}}</ref>
+| 2020Pop = 10439388
-|MedianHouseholdIncome = $50,797 <ref>{{cite web|url=http://kff.org/other/state-indicator/median-annual-income/?currentTimeframe=0|work=The Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation|title=Median Annual Household Income|accessdate=December 9, 2016}}</ref>
+| MedianHouseholdIncome = $52,752<ref>{{cite web|url=http://kff.org/other/state-indicator/median-annual-income/?currentTimeframe=0|website=The Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation|title=Median Annual Household Income|access-date=December 8, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161220091007/http://kff.org/other/state-indicator/median-annual-income/?currentTimeframe=0|archive-date=December 20, 2016|url-status=dead}}</ref>
+| 2020DensityUS = 214.72
-|2000DensityUS   = 208.7
+| population_density_rank = 14th
-|2000Density     = 80.6
+| IncomeRank = [[List of U.S. states and territories by income#States and territories ranked by median household income|39th]]
-|DensityRank     = 15th
+| elevation_max_point = [[Mount Mitchell (North Carolina)|Mount Mitchell]]<ref name=USGS>{{cite web |url=http://egsc.usgs.gov/isb/pubs/booklets/elvadist/elvadist.html |title=Elevations and Distances in the United States |publisher=[[United States Geological Survey]] |year=2001 |access-date=October 24, 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111015012701/http://egsc.usgs.gov/isb/pubs/booklets/elvadist/elvadist.html |archive-date=October 15, 2011 }}</ref>{{efn|Elevation adjusted to [[North American Vertical Datum of 1988]].}}
-|IncomeRank      = 38th
+| elevation_max_ft = 6684
-|HighestPoint    = [[Mount Mitchell (North Carolina)|Mount Mitchell]]<ref name=USGS>{{cite web|url=http://egsc.usgs.gov/isb/pubs/booklets/elvadist/elvadist.html |title=Elevations and Distances in the United States |publisher=[[United States Geological Survey]] |year=2001 |accessdate=October 24, 2011 |deadurl=yes |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20111015012701/http://egsc.usgs.gov/isb/pubs/booklets/elvadist/elvadist.html |archivedate=October 15, 2011 |df=mdy-all }}</ref><ref name=NAVD88>Elevation adjusted to [[North American Vertical Datum of 1988]].</ref>
+| elevation_max_m = 2037
-|HighestElevUS    = 6,684
+| elevation_ft = 700
-|HighestElev      = 2037
+| elevation_m = 210
-|MeanElevUS       = 700
+| elevation_min_point = Atlantic Ocean<ref name=USGS />
-|MeanElev         = 210
+| elevation_min_m = 0
-|LowestPoint      = Atlantic Ocean<ref name=USGS/>
+| elevation_min_ft = 0
-|LowestElev       = 0
+| Former = Province of North Carolina
-|LowestElevUS     = 0
+| AdmittanceDate = November 21, 1789
-|Former          = Province of North Carolina
+| AdmittanceOrder = 12th
-|AdmittanceDate  = November 21, 1789
+| Governor = {{nowrap|[[Roy Cooper]] ([[Democratic Party (United States)|D]])}}
-|AdmittanceOrder = 12th
-|Governor        = [[Roy Cooper]] ([[Democratic Party (United States)|D]])
+| Lieutenant Governor = {{nowrap|[[Mark Robinson (American politician)|Mark Robinson]] ([[Republican Party (United States)|R]])}}
+| Legislature = [[North Carolina General Assembly|General Assembly]]
-|Lieutenant Governor = [[Dan Forest]] ([[Republican Party (United States)|R]])
-|Legislature     = [[North Carolina General Assembly|General Assembly]]
+| Upperhouse = [[North Carolina Senate|Senate]]
-|Upperhouse      = [[North Carolina Senate|Senate]]
+| Lowerhouse = [[North Carolina House of Representatives|House of Representatives]]
-|Lowerhouse      = [[North Carolina House of Representatives|House of Representatives]]
+| Judiciary = [[North Carolina Supreme Court]]
-|Senators        = [[Richard Burr]] (R)<br />[[Thom Tillis]] (R)
+| Senators = {{nowrap|[[Thom Tillis]] (R)}}<br />{{nowrap|[[Ted Budd]] (R)}}
-|Representative=10 Republicans<br />3 Democrats
+| Representative = {{plainlist|
+* 7 Republicans
-|TimeZone        = [[Eastern Time Zone (North America)|Eastern]]: [[Coordinated Universal Time|UTC]] [[Eastern Time Zone|-5]]/[[Eastern Daylight Time|-4]]
+* 7 Democrats
-|ISOCode          = US-NC
+ }}
-|PostalAbbreviation = NC
+| timezone1 = [[Eastern Time Zone|Eastern]]
-|TradAbbreviation   = N.C.
+| utc_offset1 = −05:00
-|Website          = www.nc.gov
+| timezone1_DST = [[Eastern Daylight Time|EDT]]
-|LargestCounty   = [[Wake County, North Carolina|Wake]]
+| utc_offset1_DST = −04:00
-|Old Capital     = [[New Bern 1766, Hillsborogh NC, 1754]]
+| iso_code = US-NC
-|LandAreaUS      = 48,711
+| postal_code = NC
-|LandArea        = 126,161
+| TradAbbreviation = N.C.
-|WaterArea       = 5,108
+| website = https://nc.gov
-|ElectoralVotes   = 15
+| LargestCounty = [[Wake County, North Carolina|Wake]]
+| area_land_sq_mi = 48617.91
+| area_land_km2 = 125919.8
+| area_water_sq_mi = 5201.25
+| area_water_km2 = 13471.2
+| area_water_percent = 9.66
+| Capital = Raleigh
 }}
-{{Infobox U.S. state symbols
+{{Infobox region symbols|country=United States
-|Name= North Carolina
+| state = North Carolina
-|Flag = Flag of North Carolina.svg
+| image_flag = Flag of North Carolina.svg
-|Seal = Seal of North Carolina.svg
+| image_seal = Seal of North Carolina.svg
- |Bird= [[Cardinal (bird)|Cardinal]]
+| bird = [[Northern Cardinal|Cardinal]]
- |Butterfly= [[Papilio glaucus|Eastern tiger swallowtail]]
+| butterfly = [[Papilio glaucus|Eastern tiger swallowtail]]
- |Fish= [[Red Drum]]
+| dog = [[Plott Hound]]
- |Flower= [[Flowering Dogwood]]
+| fish = [[Red drum]]
- |Insect= [[Western honeybee]]
+| flower = [[Flowering dogwood]]
+| amphibian = [[Pine Barrens tree frog]]
- |Marsupial = [[Virginia Opossum]] (state marsupial)
- |Tree= [[Longleaf Pine]]
+| insect = [[Western honey bee]]
+| mammal = [[Eastern gray squirrel]]
- |Beverage= [[Milk]]
+| marsupial = [[Virginia opossum]]
- |Dance= [[Clogging]]
+| reptile = [[Eastern box turtle]]
- |Food= [[Scuppernong|Scuppernong grape]], [[sweet potato]]
+| tree = [[Pine]]
- |Fossil= [[Megalodon|Megalodon teeth]]
- |Gemstone= [[Emerald]]
+| beverage = [[Milk]]
- |Mineral= [[Gold]]
+| colors = [[Red]] and [[blue]]
- |Rock= [[Granite]]
+| dance = [[Carolina shag]]
+| food = [[Scuppernong]] grape and [[sweet potato]]
- |Song= "[[The Old North State (song)|The Old North State]]"
+| fossil = [[Megalodon]] teeth
- |Route Marker= NC 24.svg
+| gemstone = [[Emerald]]
- |Quarter= 2001 NC Proof.png
+| mineral = [[Gold]]
- |QuarterReleaseDate= 2001
+| motto = {{lang|la|[[Esse quam videri]]}}<br />("To be, rather than to seem"){{efn|name=motto}}
+| rock = [[Granite]]
+| shell = [[Scotch bonnet (sea snail)|Scotch bonnet]]
+| slogan = First in Flight, First in Freedom (unofficial)
+| song = "[[The Old North State (song)|The Old North State]]"
+| other = [[Marbled salamander]] (salamander)
+| image_route = File:NC 8.svg
+| image_quarter = 2001 NC Proof.png
+| quarter_release_date = 2001
 }}
+'''North Carolina''' ({{IPAc-en|audio=en-us-North Carolina.ogg|ˌ|k|ær|ə|ˈ|l|aɪ|n|ə}} {{respell|KARR|ə|LY|nə}}) is a [[U.S. state|state]] in the [[Southeastern United States|Southeastern]] region of the [[United States]]. It is bordered by [[Virginia]] to the north, the [[Atlantic Ocean]] to the east, [[South Carolina]] to the south, [[Georgia (U.S. state)|Georgia]] to the southwest, and [[Tennessee]] to the west. The state is the [[List of U.S. states and territories by area|28th-largest]] and [[List of states and territories of the United States by population|9th-most populous]] of the [[List of states and territories of the United States|United States]]. Along with South Carolina, it makes up the [[Carolinas]] region of the [[East Coast of the United States|East Coast]]. At the [[2020 United States census|2020 census]], the state had a population of 10,439,388.<ref name="2020CensusQuickFacts"/> [[Raleigh, North Carolina|Raleigh]] is the state's [[List of capitals in the United States|capital]] and [[Charlotte, North Carolina|Charlotte]] is its [[List of municipalities in North Carolina|most populous city]]. The [[Charlotte metropolitan area]], with an estimated population of 2,805,115 in 2023,<ref name="PopEstCBSA"/> is the [[North Carolina statistical areas|most populous metropolitan area]] in North Carolina, the [[Metropolitan statistical area|22nd-most populous]] in the United States, and the largest banking center in the nation after New York City.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.charlotteobserver.com/news/business/banking/article221589840.html|title=Charlotte regains its place as No. 2 U.S. banking center. Will it keep it?|last=Roberts|first=Deon|date=November 15, 2018|access-date=December 1, 2018|newspaper=The Charlotte Observer|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181121161744/https://www.charlotteobserver.com/news/business/banking/article221589840.html|archive-date=November 21, 2018|url-status=live}}</ref> The [[Research Triangle]], with an estimated population of 2,368,947 in 2023, is the second-most populous combined metropolitan area in the state, [[Combined statistical area|31st-most populous]] in the United States,<ref name="PopEstCBSA"/> and is home to the largest research park in the United States, [[Research Triangle Park]].
-{{Wikivoyage|North Carolina|North Carolina}}
+The earliest evidence of human occupation in North Carolina dates back 10,000 years, found at the [[Hardaway Site]]. North Carolina was inhabited by [[Carolina Algonquian language|Carolina Algonquian]], [[Iroquoian languages|Iroquoian]], and [[Siouan languages|Siouan]] speaking tribes of Native Americans prior to the arrival of Europeans. King Charles II granted eight lord proprietors a colony they named Carolina after the king and which was established in 1670 with the first permanent settlement at Charles Town (Charleston).  Because of the difficulty of governing the entire colony from Charles Town, the colony was eventually divided and North Carolina was established as a [[Crown colony|royal colony]] in 1729 and was one of the [[Thirteen Colonies]].  The [[Halifax Resolves]] resolution adopted by North Carolina on April 12, 1776, was the first formal call for independence from Great Britain among the American Colonies during the [[American Revolution]].<ref>[https://www.nps.gov/mocr/halifax-resolves.htm#:~:text=The%20Fourth%20Provincial%20Congress,Resolves%20on%20April%2012%2C%201776. The Halifax Resolves and the Declaration of Independence] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210502231800/https://www.nps.gov/mocr/halifax-resolves.htm#:~:text=The%20Fourth%20Provincial%20Congress,Resolves%20on%20April%2012%2C%201776. |date=May 2, 2021 }}. ''National Park Service''. Retrieved May 2, 2021.</ref>
-'''North Carolina''' ({{IPAc-en|audio=en-us-North Carolina.ogg|ˌ|n|ɔr|θ|_|k|ær|ə|ˈ|l|aɪ|n|ə}}) is a [[U.S. state|state]] in the [[Southeastern United States|southeastern region]] of the [[United States]]. The state borders [[South Carolina]] and [[Georgia (U.S. state)|Georgia]] to the south, [[Tennessee]] to the west, [[Virginia]] to the north, and the Atlantic Ocean to the east. North Carolina is the [[List of U.S. states and territories by area|28th most extensive]] and the [[List of U.S. states and territories by population|9th most populous]] of the [[List of U.S. states|U.S. states]]. The state is divided into [[List of counties in North Carolina|100 counties]]. The capital is [[Raleigh, North Carolina|Raleigh]], which along with [[Durham, North Carolina| Durham]] is home to the largest research park in the [[United States]] ([[Research Triangle Park, North Carolina|Research Triangle Park]]). The most populous municipality is [[Charlotte, North Carolina|Charlotte]], which is the third largest banking center in the United States after New York City and San Francisco.<ref name="Charlotte Observer 2017-05-23">{{cite news |last=Roberts |first=Deon |url=http://www.bizjournals.com/charlotte/blog/bank_notes/2012/09/so-how-did-charlotte-become-a-banking.html |title=Goodbye Bragging Rights: Charlotte's no longer the No. 2 U.S. Banking Center  |publisher=The Charlotte Observer |date=May 23, 2017 |accessdate=September 4, 2017}}</ref>
+On November 21, 1789, North Carolina became the 12th state to ratify the [[Constitution of the United States|United States Constitution]]. In the run-up to the [[American Civil War]], North Carolina reluctantly declared its [[Secession in the United States|secession]] from the [[Union (American Civil War)|Union]] on May 20, 1861, becoming the tenth of eleven states to join the [[Confederate States of America]]. Following the Civil War, the state was restored to the Union on July 4, 1868.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Richter|first=William Lee |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Fa2_G9yaX38C |title=The A to Z of the Civil War and Reconstruction |date=2009 |publisher=Scarecrow Press |isbn=978-0-8108-6336-1 |location=Lanham |oclc=435767707}}</ref> On December 17, 1903, [[Wright brothers|Orville and Wilbur Wright]] successfully piloted the world's first controlled, sustained flight of a powered, [[Aircraft|heavier-than-air aircraft]] at [[Kitty Hawk, North Carolina|Kitty Hawk]] in North Carolina's [[Outer Banks]]. North Carolina often uses the slogan "First in Flight" on state [[Vehicle registration plate|license plates]] to commemorate this achievement, alongside a newer alternative design bearing the slogan "First in Freedom" in reference to the [[Mecklenburg Declaration]] and Halifax Resolves.
-The state has a wide range of elevations, from sea level on the coast to {{convert|6684|ft}} at [[Mount Mitchell]], the highest point in North America east of the [[Mississippi River]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://ncparks.gov/Visit/parks/momi/history.php |title=Mount Mitchell State Park  "  History|accessdate=November 7, 2010}}</ref> The climate of the coastal plains is strongly influenced by the Atlantic Ocean. Most of the state falls in the [[humid subtropical climate]] zone. More than {{convert|300|mi|km|-2}} from the coast, the western, mountainous part of the state has a [[subtropical highland climate]].
+North Carolina is defined by a wide range of elevations and landscapes. From west to east, North Carolina's elevation descends from the [[Appalachian Mountains]] to the [[Piedmont (United States)|Piedmont]] and [[Atlantic coastal plain]]. North Carolina's [[Mount Mitchell]] at {{Convert|6684|ft|m|abbr=on|sp=us|sigfig=4}} is the highest point in North America east of the [[Mississippi River]].<ref>{{cite web |title=Mount Mitchell State Park |url=http://ncparks.gov/Visit/parks/momi/history.php |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101120185237/http://www.ncparks.gov/Visit/parks/momi/history.php |archive-date=November 20, 2010 |access-date=November 7, 2010 |url-status=dead }}</ref> Most of the state falls in the [[humid subtropical climate]] zone; however, the western, mountainous part of the state has a [[Oceanic climate|subtropical highland climate]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Western North Carolina Weather and Climate Information |url=https://www.hikewnc.info/areainfo/weather-and-climate |access-date=September 22, 2022 |website=www.hikewnc.info |archive-date=September 22, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220922233252/https://www.hikewnc.info/areainfo/weather-and-climate |url-status=live }}</ref>
+==History==
+{{Main|History of North Carolina}}
+===Native Americans, lost colony, and permanent settlement===
+{{See also|Native Americans in the United States|Joara|Roanoke Island|Fort Raleigh National Historic Site}}
+[[File:North carolina algonkin-rituale01.jpg|thumb|Ceremony of [[Secotan]] warriors in North Carolina. Watercolour painted by English colonist [[John White (colonist and artist)|John White]] in 1585.]]
+North Carolina was inhabited for at least 10,000 years by succeeding [[prehistoric]] [[Indigenous peoples|Indigenous]] cultures. The [[Hardaway Site]] saw major periods of occupation dating to 10,000 years BCE. Before 200 AD, people were building [[Earthworks (archaeology)|earthwork]] [[platform mounds]] for ceremonial and religious purposes. Succeeding peoples, including those of the [[South Appalachian Mississippian culture]], established by 1000 AD in the [[Piedmont (United States)|Piedmont]] and mountain region, continued to build this style of mounds. In contrast to some of the larger centers of the classic Mississippian culture in the area that became known as the western Carolinas, northeastern Georgia, and southeastern Tennessee, most of the larger towns had only one central platform mound. Smaller settlements had none, but were close to more prominent towns. This area became known as the homelands of the historic [[Cherokee]] people, who are believed to have migrated over time from the [[Great Lakes]] area.
+In the 500–700 years preceding European contact, the Mississippian culture built elaborate cities and maintained far-flung regional trading networks. Its largest city was [[Cahokia]], which had numerous mounds for different purposes, a highly stratified society, and was located in present-day southwestern Illinois near the Mississippi River. Starting in 1540, the Native polities of the Mississippian culture fell apart and reformed as new groups, such as the [[Catawba people|Catawba]], due to a series of destabilizing events known as the "[[Mississippian shatter zone]]". Introduction of colonial trading arrangements and hostile native groups from the north such as the Westo Indians hastened changes in an already tenuous regional hierarchy.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Fox |first=William, A. |title=Mapping the Mississippian Shatter Zone |chapter=Events as Seen from the North |date=2009 |chapter-url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/j.ctt1dgn4d8.7|publisher=[[University of Nebraska Press]] |volume=3 |issue=4 |pages=63–80|doi=10.2307/j.ctt1dgn4d8.7 |jstor=j.ctt1dgn4d8.7 |isbn=9780803217591 }}</ref> As described by anthropologist [[Robbie Ethridge]], the Mississippian shatter zone was a time of great instability in what is now the American South, caused by the instability of Mississippian chiefdoms, high mortality from new Eurasian diseases, conversion to an agricultural society and the accompanying population increase, and the emergence of Native "militaristic slaving societies".<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/873985135|title=Colonial Genocide in Indigenous North America|editor-last1=Woolford |editor-first1=Andrew John |editor-last2=Benvenuto |editor-first2=Jeff |editor-last3=Hinton |editor-first3=Alexander Laban|date=October 31, 2014|isbn=978-0-8223-5763-6|location=Durham, North Carolina|oclc=873985135|access-date=September 18, 2020|archive-date=February 20, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210220154131/https://www.worldcat.org/title/colonial-genocide-in-indigenous-north-america/oclc/873985135|url-status=live |publisher=[[Duke University Press]]}}</ref>
+Historically documented tribes in the North Carolina region include the [[Carolina Algonquian]]-speaking tribes of the coastal areas, such as the [[Chowanoc]], [[Roanoke (tribe)|Roanoke]], [[Pamlico]], [[Machapunga]], and [[Coree]], who were the first encountered by the English; the [[Iroquoian]]-speaking [[Meherrin]], [[Cherokee]], and [[Tuscarora (tribe)|Tuscarora]] of the interior; and Southeastern [[Siouan]]-speaking tribes, such as the [[Cheraw (tribe)|Cheraw]], [[Waxhaws|Waxhaw]], [[Saponi]], [[Waccamaw Siouan|Waccamaw]], [[Cape Fear Indians]], and [[Catawba (tribe)|Catawba]] of the Piedmont.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Speck |first=Frank G. |date=1935 |title=Siouan Tribes of the Carolinas as Known from Catawba, Tutelo, and Documentary Sources |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/662257 |journal=American Anthropologist |volume=37 |issue=2 |pages=201–225 |doi=10.1525/aa.1935.37.2.02a00020 |jstor=662257 |issn=0002-7294 |access-date=March 24, 2024 |archive-date=March 24, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240324073242/https://www.jstor.org/stable/662257 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last=Ganyard |first=Robert L. |date=1968 |title=Threat from the West: North Carolina and the Cherokee, 1776-1778 |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/23518133 |journal=The North Carolina Historical Review |volume=45 |issue=1 |pages=47–66 |jstor=23518133 |issn=0029-2494 |access-date=March 24, 2024 |archive-date=March 24, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240324073241/https://www.jstor.org/stable/23518133 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last=Coe |first=Joffre L. |date=1979 |title=The Indian in North Carolina |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/23534827 |journal=The North Carolina Historical Review |volume=56 |issue=2 |pages=158–161 |jstor=23534827 |issn=0029-2494 |access-date=March 24, 2024 |archive-date=March 24, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240324073241/https://www.jstor.org/stable/23534827 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Davis |first1=R. P. Stephen |last2=Ward |first2=H. Trawick |date=1991 |title=The Evolution of Siouan Communities in Piedmont North Carolina |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/40712940 |journal=Southeastern Archaeology |volume=10 |issue=1 |pages=40–53 |jstor=40712940 |issn=0734-578X |access-date=March 24, 2024 |archive-date=March 24, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240324073242/https://www.jstor.org/stable/40712940 |url-status=live }}</ref>
+In the late 16th century, the first Spanish explorers traveling inland recorded meeting [[Mississippian culture]] people at [[Joara]], a regional [[chiefdom]] near what later developed as [[Morganton, North Carolina|Morganton]].<ref>{{Cite book |url=http://www.jstor.org/stable/j.ctvx073wb |title=Fort San Juan and the Limits of Empire: Colonialism and Household Practice at the Berry Site |date=2016-01-26 |publisher=University Press of Florida |isbn=978-0-8130-5567-1 |editor-last=Beck |editor-first=Robin A. |pages=31–56 |doi=10.2307/j.ctvx073wb.10 |jstor=j.ctvx073wb |editor-last2=Rodning |editor-first2=Christopher B. |editor-last3=Moore |editor-first3=David G. |access-date=April 27, 2024 |archive-date=March 24, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240324044051/https://www.jstor.org/stable/j.ctvx073wb |url-status=live }}</ref> Records of [[Hernando de Soto]] attested to his meeting with them in 1540. In 1567, Captain [[Juan Pardo (explorer)|Juan Pardo]] led an expedition to claim the area for the Spanish colony and to establish another route to reach silver mines in Mexico.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=DePratter |first1=Chester B. |last2=Hudson |first2=Charles M. |last3=Smith |first3=Marvin T. |date=1983 |title=The Route of Juan Pardo's Explorations in the Interior Southeast, 1566-1568 |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/30146259 |journal=The Florida Historical Quarterly |volume=62 |issue=2 |pages=125–158 |jstor=30146259 |issn=0015-4113 |access-date=March 24, 2024 |archive-date=January 15, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230115080912/https://www.jstor.org/stable/30146259 |url-status=live }}</ref> Pardo made a winter base at Joara, which he renamed ''Cuenca''.<ref name=":3">{{Cite web |last=Kickler |first=Troy L |date=2016-03-07 |title=Exploration in North Carolina (Spanish) - North Carolina History |url=https://northcarolinahistory.org/encyclopedia/exploration-in-north-carolina-spanish/ |access-date=2024-03-24 |website=North Carolina History - |language=en-US |archive-date=March 24, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240324044049/https://northcarolinahistory.org/encyclopedia/exploration-in-north-carolina-spanish/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Hudson |first=Charles |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=NyAD-F3Q85kC&pg=PA1537 |title=The Juan Pardo Expeditions: Exploration of the Carolinas and Tennessee, 1566-1568 |date=2005-07-24 |publisher=University of Alabama Press |isbn=978-0-8173-5190-8 |language=en}}</ref> His expedition built [[Fort San Juan (Joara)|Fort San Juan]] and left a contingent of 30 Spaniards there, while Pardo traveled further.<ref name=":3" /> His forces built and garrisoned five other forts. He returned by a different route to [[Mission Santa Elena|Santa Elena]] on [[Parris Island, South Carolina]], then a center of [[Spanish Florida]]. In the spring of 1568, natives killed all but one of the Spaniards and burned the six forts in the interior, including Fort San Juan.<ref>{{Cite book |url=http://www.jstor.org/stable/j.ctvx073wb |title=Fort San Juan and the Limits of Empire: Colonialism and Household Practice at the Berry Site |date=2016-01-26 |publisher=University Press of Florida |isbn=978-0-8130-5567-1 |editor-last=Beck |editor-first=Robin A. |doi=10.2307/j.ctvx073wb |jstor=j.ctvx073wb |editor-last2=Rodning |editor-first2=Christopher B. |editor-last3=Moore |editor-first3=David G. |access-date=April 27, 2024 |archive-date=March 24, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240324044051/https://www.jstor.org/stable/j.ctvx073wb |url-status=live }}</ref> Although the Spanish never returned to the interior, this effort marked the first European attempt at colonization of the interior of what became the United States. A 16th-century journal by Pardo's scribe Bandera, and [[archaeological]] findings since 1986 at Joara, have confirmed the settlement.<ref name=richards>{{cite web |url=http://www.warren-wilson.edu/~arch/berrysitepress/amerarchspring2008.pdf |author=Richards, Constance E. |title=Contact and Conflict |website=American Archaeology |date=Spring 2008 |page=14 |access-date=June 26, 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090624110618/http://www.warren-wilson.edu/~arch/berrysitepress/amerarchspring2008.pdf |archive-date=June 24, 2009 |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref>{{cite web|author1=Patrick Gibbs |url=http://antiquity.ac.uk/ProjGall/moore/index.html |first2=David G. |last2=Moore |first3=Robin A. Jr. |last3=Beck |first4=Christopher B. |last4=Rodning |title=Joara and Fort San Juan: culture contact at the edge of the world |volume=78 |issue=229 |publisher=Antiquity.ac.uk |date=March 2004 |access-date=July 24, 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110724171011/http://antiquity.ac.uk/ProjGall/moore/index.html |archive-date=July 24, 2011 }}</ref>
+===Anglo-European settlement===
+[[File:Sir Walter Raleigh oval portrait by Nicholas Hilliard.jpg|upright|thumb|[[Walter Raleigh|Sir Walter Raleigh]], namesake of the state capital of North Carolina, [[Raleigh, North Carolina|Raleigh]]]]
+In 1584, [[Elizabeth I]] granted a charter to [[Sir Walter Raleigh]], for whom the state capital is named, for land in present-day North Carolina (then part of the territory of [[Virginia]]).<ref>{{cite book
+|last=Randinelli
+|first=Tracey
+|title=Tanglewood Park
+|year=2002
+|publisher=Harcourt
+|location=Orlando, Florida
+|page=16
+|isbn=978-0-15-333476-4 }}</ref> It was the second American territory that the English attempted to colonize. Raleigh established two colonies on the coast in the late 1580s, but both failed. The colony established in 1587 saw 118 colonists 'disappear' when [[John White (colonist and artist)|John White]] was unable to return from a supply run during battles with the [[Spanish Armada]]. The fate of the "[[Roanoke Colony|Lost Colony]]" of [[Roanoke Island]] remains one of the most widely debated mysteries of American history. Two native Chieftains, [[Manteo (Native American leader)|Manteo]] and [[Wanchese (Native American leader)|Wanchese]], of which the former helped the colonists and the latter was distrustful, had involvement in the colony and even accompanied Raleigh to England on a previous voyage in 1585. Manteo was also the first Indigenous North American to be baptized by English settlers. Upon White's return in 1590, neither native nor Englishman were to be found. Popular theory holds that the colonists either traveled away with or assimilated into local native culture.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Anonymous |date=May 12, 2022 |title=Our roots go back to Roanoke: Investigating the Link between the Lost Colony and the Lumbee People of North Carolina |url=https://dsi.appstate.edu/projects/lumbee/sing001 |access-date=March 23, 2023 |website=Digital Scholarship and Initiatives |language=en |archive-date=March 23, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230323161527/https://dsi.appstate.edu/projects/lumbee/sing001 |url-status=live }}</ref> [[Virginia Dare]], the first English person to be born in North America, was born on Roanoke Island on August 18, 1587; the surrounding [[Dare County, North Carolina|Dare County]] is named for her.
+As early as 1650, settlers from the [[Colony of Virginia|Virginia colony]] had moved into the [[Albemarle Sound]] region. By 1663, King [[Charles&nbsp;II of England]] granted a [[charter]] to start a new colony on the North American continent; this would generally establish North Carolina's borders. He named it ''Carolina'' in honor of his father, [[Charles I of England|Charles{{spaces}}I]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://statelibrary.dcr.state.nc.us/NC/HISTORY/HISTORY.HTM |title=North Carolina State Library—North Carolina History |publisher=Statelibrary.dcr.state.nc.us |access-date=July 24, 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090205021230/http://statelibrary.dcr.state.nc.us/NC/HISTORY/HISTORY.HTM |archive-date=February 5, 2009 }}</ref> By 1665, a second charter was issued to attempt to resolve territorial questions. This charter rewarded the [[Lord proprietor|Lords Proprietors]], eight Englishmen to whom King Charles II granted joint ownership of a tract of land in the state. All of these men either had remained loyal to the Crown or aided Charles's restoration to the English throne after [[Oliver Cromwell|Cromwell]]. In 1712, owing to disputes over governance, the Carolina colony split into North Carolina and [[South Carolina]]. North Carolina became a crown colony in 1729.<ref>{{Cite web |title=North Carolina Became a Royal Colony |url=https://www.ncdcr.gov/blog/2016/07/25/north-carolina-became-royal-colony |access-date=September 22, 2022 |website=www.ncdcr.gov |date=July 25, 2016 |language=en |archive-date=January 25, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230125194827/https://www.ncdcr.gov/blog/2016/07/25/north-carolina-became-royal-colony |url-status=live }}</ref>
+[[History of slavery in North Carolina|Most of the English colonists]] had arrived as [[indentured servant]]s, hiring themselves out as laborers for a fixed period to pay for their passage. In the early years the line between indentured servants and African [[slave]]s or laborers was fluid. Some Africans were allowed to earn their freedom before slavery became a lifelong status. Most of the [[free people of color|free colored]] families formed in North Carolina before the Revolution were descended from unions or marriages between free whites and enslaved or free Africans or African-Americans. If the mothers were free, their children were born free. Many had migrated or were descendants of migrants from colonial Virginia.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.freeafricanamericans.com/ |title=Paul Heinegg, ''Free African Americans in Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Maryland and Delaware'' |publisher=Freeafricanamericans.com |access-date=July 24, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100807191511/http://www.freeafricanamericans.com/ |archive-date=August 7, 2010 |url-status=dead }}</ref> As the flow of indentured laborers to the colony decreased with improving economic conditions in [[Kingdom of Great Britain|Great Britain]], planters imported more slaves, and the state's legal delineations between free and slave status tightened, effectively hardening the latter into a racial caste. Conditions for both slaves and workers worsened as the ranks of the former eclipsed the latter and expansion of farming operations into former Indigenous territories lowered prices. Unable to establish deep water ports such as at Charles Town and Norfolk, the economy's growth and prosperity was thus based on cheap labor and slave plantation systems, devoted primarily to the production of tobacco, then later cotton and textiles.<ref name=":2">{{Cite web |last=North Carolina Department of Cultural Resources |date=March 23, 2023 |title=Birth of a Colony: North Carolina |url=https://www.ncdcr.gov/media/737/download |access-date=March 23, 2023 |archive-date=July 28, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220728121900/https://www.ncdcr.gov/media/737/download |url-status=live }}</ref>
+In [[1738–1739 North Carolina smallpox epidemic|1738–1739]], smallpox caused high fatalities among the Native Americans, who had no [[immunity (medical)|immunity]] to the new disease (it had become [[endemic]] over centuries in Europe).<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.uncpress.unc.edu/nc_encyclopedia/cherokee.html |title=Cherokee Indians |publisher=Uncpress.unc.edu |date=November 16, 1919 |access-date=July 24, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110726163819/http://www.uncpress.unc.edu/nc_encyclopedia/cherokee.html |archive-date=July 26, 2011 |url-status=dead }}</ref> According to the historian Russell Thornton, "The 1738 epidemic was said to have killed one-half of the [[Cherokee]], with other tribes of the area suffering equally."<ref>Russell Thornton (1990) ''[https://archive.org/details/americanindianho00thor_0 American Indian Holocaust and Survival: A Population History since 1492] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160108232606/https://books.google.com/books?id=9iQYSQ9y60MC |date=January 8, 2016 }}'', University of Oklahoma Press. p.79. {{ISBN|0-8061-2220-X}}</ref>
+===Colonial period===
+{{Main|Province of Carolina|Province of North-Carolina|French and Indian War|Treaty of Paris (1763)|American Revolutionary War||United States Declaration of Independence|Articles of Confederation#Ratification}}
+<gallery widths="220" heights="165" class="center" style="line-height:130%">
+File:Croatoan.jpg|[[John White (colonist and artist)|John White]] returns to find the colony abandoned
+File:The Carte of all the Coast of Virginia by Theodor de Bry 1585 1586.jpg|Map of the coast of [[Virginia]] and North Carolina, drawn 1585–1586 by [[Theodor de Bry]], based on map by [[John White (colonist and artist)|John White]] of the [[Roanoke Colony]]
+File:Tryon Palace.JPG|Reconstructed royal governor's mansion [[Governor's Palace, New Bern|Tryon Palace]] in [[New Bern, North Carolina|New Bern]]
+</gallery>
+After the Spanish in the 16th century, the first permanent European settlers of North Carolina were English colonists who migrated south from [[Virginia]]. Virginia had grown rapidly and land was less available. [[Nathaniel Batts]] was documented as one of the first of these Virginian migrants. He settled south of the [[Chowan River]] and east of the [[Great Dismal Swamp]] in 1655.<ref>Fenn and Wood, ''Natives and Newcomers'', pp. 24–25.</ref> By 1663, this northeastern area of the [[Province of Carolina]], known as the [[Albemarle Settlements]], was undergoing full-scale English settlement.<ref>Powell, ''North Carolina Through Four Centuries'', p. 105.</ref> During the same period, the English monarch Charles{{spaces}}II gave provincial land grants to the [[Lords Proprietors]], the group of noblemen who had helped restore him to the throne in 1660. These grants were predicated on an agreement that the Lords would use their influence to bring in colonists and establish ports of trade. This new [[Province of Carolina]] was named in honor and memory of his father, Charles{{spaces}}I (Latin: ''Carolus'').
+Lacking a viable coastal port city due to geography, towns grew at a slower pace and remained small. By the late 17th century, Carolina was essentially two colonies, one centered in the Albemarle region in the north and the other located in the south around Charleston.<ref name=":2" /> In 1705 South Carolinian [[John Lawson (explorer)|John Lawson]] purchased land on the Pamlico River and laid out Bath, North Carolina's first town. After returning to England, he published the book A New Voyage to Carolina, which became a travelogue and a marketing piece to encourage new colonists to Carolina. Lawson encouraged Baron Christoph Von Graffenried, the leader of a group of Swiss and German Protestants, to immigrate to Carolina. Von Graffenried purchased land between the Neuse and the Trent Rivers and established the town of [[New Bern, North Carolina|New Bern]]. After an attack on New Bern in which hundreds were killed or injured, Lawson was caught then executed by [[Tuscarora Indians]]. A large revolt happened in the state in 1711, known as [[Cary's Rebellion]]. In 1712, North Carolina became a separate colony, and in 1729 it became a royal colony, with the exception of the [[John Carteret, 2nd Earl Granville|Earl Granville]] holdings.<ref name="autogenerated1">Lefler and Newsome, (1973).</ref>
+In June 1718, ''[[Queen Anne's Revenge]]'', the flagship of pirate [[Blackbeard]], ran aground at Beaufort Inlet, North Carolina, in present-day [[Carteret County, North Carolina|Carteret County]]. After the grounding, her crew and supplies were transferred to smaller ships. In November 1718, after appealing to the governor of North Carolina, who promised safe-haven and a pardon, Blackbeard was killed in an ambush by troops from Virginia.<ref>{{cite web|title=Blackbeard killed off North Carolina|url=http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/blackbeard-killed-off-north-carolina|website=History.com|date=February 9, 2010|access-date=April 30, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150401125703/http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/blackbeard-killed-off-north-carolina|archive-date=April 1, 2015|url-status=live}}</ref> In 1996, Intersal, Inc., a private firm, discovered the remains of a vessel likely to be the ''[[Queen Anne's Revenge]]'', which was added to the U.S. [[National Register of Historic Places]].<ref>D. Moore. (1997) "A General History of Blackbeard the Pirate, the Queen Anne's Revenge and the Adventure". In Tributaries, Volume VII, 1997. pp. 31–35. (North Carolina Maritime History Council).</ref>
+North Carolina became one of the [[Thirteen Colonies]] and with the territory of [[South Carolina]] was originally known as the [[Province of North Carolina]]. The northern and southern parts of the original province separated in 1712, with North Carolina becoming a royal colony in 1729. Originally settled by small farmers, sometimes having a few slaves, who were oriented toward [[subsistence agriculture]], the colony lacked large cities or towns. [[Piracy|Pirates]] menaced the coastal settlements, but by 1718 piracy in the Carolinas was on the decline. Growth was strong in the middle of the 18th century, as the economy attracted [[Scotch-Irish American|Scots-Irish]], [[Quaker]], [[English American|English]] and [[German American|German]] immigrants. A majority of the North Carolina colonists generally supported the [[American Revolution]], although there were some [[Loyalist (American Revolution)|Loyalists]]. Loyalists in North Carolina were fewer in number than in some other colonies such as Georgia, South Carolina, Delaware, and New York.<ref>{{Cite web |title=The American Revolution in North Carolina – The Loyalists and Their Militias |url=https://www.carolana.com/NC/Revolution/revolution_loyalists_militia_nc.html |access-date=September 22, 2022 |website=www.carolana.com |archive-date=September 22, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220922233252/https://www.carolana.com/NC/Revolution/revolution_loyalists_militia_nc.html |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |author=North Carolina History Project |title=Tories |url=https://northcarolinahistory.org/encyclopedia/tories/ |access-date=September 22, 2022 |website=North Carolina History Project |date=March 7, 2016 |publisher=John Locke Foundation |language=en-US |archive-date=September 22, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220922233251/https://northcarolinahistory.org/encyclopedia/tories/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=North Carolina in the US Revolution |url=https://www.ncpedia.org/history/usrevolution/overview |access-date=September 22, 2022 |website=NCpedia |archive-date=April 1, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190401070056/https://www.ncpedia.org/history/usrevolution/overview |url-status=live }}</ref>
+During colonial times, [[Edenton, North Carolina|Edenton]] served as the state capital beginning in 1722, followed by [[New Bern, North Carolina|New Bern]] becoming the capital in 1766. Construction of [[Governor's Palace, New Bern|Tryon Palace]], which served as the residence and offices of the provincial governor [[William Tryon]], began in 1767 and was completed in 1771. In 1788, [[Raleigh, North Carolina|Raleigh]] was chosen as the site of the new capital, as its central location protected it from coastal attacks. Officially established in 1792 as both county seat and state capital, the city was named after Sir [[Walter Raleigh]], sponsor of [[Roanoke Colony|Roanoke]], the "lost colony" on [[Roanoke Island]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.nchistoricsites.org/capitol/stat_cap/ |title=Capitol History |access-date=May 16, 2013 |author=North Carolina Department of Cultural Resources |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131029200430/http://www.nchistoricsites.org/capitol/stat_cap/ |archive-date=October 29, 2013 |url-status=dead }}</ref> The population of the colony more than quadrupled from 52,000 in 1740 to 270,000 in 1780 from high immigration from Virginia, [[Maryland]] and [[Pennsylvania]], plus immigrants from abroad.<ref>Wiki Article Historical Demography of the United States.</ref>
+North Carolina did not have any printer or print shops until 1749, when the North Carolina Assembly commissioned [[James Davis (printer)|James Davis]] from Williamsburg Virginia to act as their official printer.  Before this time the laws and legal journals of North Carolina were handwritten and were kept in a largely disorganized manner, prompting the hiring of Davis. Davis settled in New Bern, married, and in 1755 was appointed by [[Benjamin Franklin]] as North Carolina's first postmaster. In October of that year the North Carolina Assembly awarded Davis a contract to carry mail between [[Wilmington, North Carolina]] and [[Suffolk, Virginia]]. He was also active in North Carolina politics as a member of the Assembly and later as the Sheriff. Davis also founded and printed the ''[[North-Carolina Gazette]]'', North Carolina's first newspaper, printed in his printing house in New Bern.<ref name=powell34-35>[[#powell2000|Powell, 2000]], pp. 34–35</ref><ref>[[#lee1923|Lee, 1923]], p. 53</ref>
+Differences in the settlement patterns of eastern and western North Carolina, or the [[Atlantic coastal plain]] and uplands, affected the political, economic, and social life of the state from the 18th until the 20th century. Eastern North Carolina was settled chiefly by immigrants from rural England and Gaelic speakers from the [[Scottish Highlands]]. The [[Piedmont (United States)|Piedmont]] upcountry and western mountain region of North Carolina was settled chiefly by [[Ulster Scots people|Scots-Irish]], English, and German Protestants, the so-called "[[cohee]]". Arriving during the mid-to-late 18th century, the Scots-Irish, people of Scottish descent who migrated to and then emigrated from what is today Northern Ireland, were the largest non-English immigrant group before the Revolution; English indentured servants were overwhelmingly the largest immigrant group before the Revolution.<ref>{{cite web |author= Bethune, Lawrence E |title= Scots to Colonial North Carolina Before 1775 |website= Lawrence E. Bethune's M.U.S.I.C.s Project |url= http://www.dalhousielodge.org/Thesis/scotstonc.htm |access-date= October 26, 2011 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20120219045151/http://www.dalhousielodge.org/Thesis/scotstonc.htm |archive-date= February 19, 2012 |url-status= dead }}</ref><ref name="census.gov">{{cite web|url=https://www.census.gov/population/www/censusdata/files/pc80-s1-10/tab03a.pdf|title=Ancestry of the Population by State: 1980—Table 3a—Persons Who Reported a Single Ancestry Group for Regions, Divisions and States|access-date=May 11, 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190830234458/https://www.census.gov/population/www/censusdata/files/pc80-s1-10/tab03a.pdf|archive-date=August 30, 2019|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="ReferenceA">{{cite web |url=https://www.census.gov/population/www/censusdata/files/pc80-s1-10/tab01.pdf |title=Table 1. ''Type of Ancestry Response for Regions, Divisions and States: 1980'' |access-date=May 11, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190708160626/https://www.census.gov/population/www/censusdata/files/pc80-s1-10/tab01.pdf |archive-date=July 8, 2019 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.geocities.com/nai_cilh/servitude.html |title=Indentured Servitude in Colonial America |publisher=Webcitation.org |access-date=May 11, 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091022161033/http://geocities.com/nai_cilh/servitude.html |archive-date=October 22, 2009 }}</ref>
+===Revolutionary War===
+[[File:Halifax Resolves plaque - North Carolina State Capitol - DSC05912.JPG|thumb|upright|[[Halifax Resolves]] plaque inside the [[North Carolina State Capitol]]]]
+During the [[American Revolutionary War]], the English and Gaelic speaking Highland Scots of eastern North Carolina tended to remain loyal to the British Crown, because of longstanding business and personal connections with Great Britain. The English, Welsh, Scots-Irish, and German settlers of western North Carolina tended to favor American independence from Britain. British loyalists dubbed the [[Mecklenburg County, North Carolina|Mecklenburg County]] area to be 'a hornet's nest' of radicals, birthing the name of the future Charlotte NBA team. On April 12, 1776, the colony became the first to instruct its delegates to the [[Continental Congress]] to vote for independence from the British Crown, through the [[Halifax Resolves]] passed by the [[North Carolina Provincial Congress]]. The date of this event is memorialized on the [[Flag of North Carolina|state flag]] and [[Seal of North Carolina|state seal]]. Throughout the Revolutionary War, fierce [[guerrilla warfare]] erupted between bands of pro-independence and pro-British colonists. In some cases the war was also an excuse to settle private grudges and rivalries.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Today in History – April 12 |url=https://www.loc.gov/item/today-in-history/april-12/ |access-date=September 22, 2022 |website=Library of Congress, Washington, D.C. 20540 USA |archive-date=September 22, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220922233252/https://www.loc.gov/item/today-in-history/april-12/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=The Halifax Resolves – April 12, 1776 |url=https://www.revolutionary-war-and-beyond.com/halifax-resolves-april-12-1776.html |access-date=September 22, 2022 |website=Revolutionary War and Beyond |archive-date=September 22, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220922233252/https://www.revolutionary-war-and-beyond.com/halifax-resolves-april-12-1776.html |url-status=live }}</ref>
+North Carolina had around 7,800 [[Patriot (American Revolution)|Patriots]] join the [[Continental Army]] under General [[George Washington]]; and an additional 10,000 served in local militia units under such leaders as General [[Nathanael Greene]].<ref>Milton Ready, ''The Tar Heel State: A History of North Carolina'' (U. of South Carolina Press, 2005), pp. 116, 120.</ref> There was some military action, especially in 1780–81. Many Carolinian frontiersmen had moved west over the mountains, into the [[Washington District, North Carolina|Washington District]] (later known as [[Tennessee]]), but in 1789, following the Revolution, the state was persuaded to relinquish its claim to the western lands. It ceded them to the national government so the [[Northwest Territory]] could be organized and managed nationally.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Six Western Counties Ceded |url=https://www.ncdcr.gov/blog/2017/02/08/six-western-counties-ceded |access-date=September 22, 2022 |website=www.ncdcr.gov |date=December 22, 2016 |language=en |archive-date=September 22, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220922233251/https://www.ncdcr.gov/blog/2017/02/08/six-western-counties-ceded |url-status=live }}</ref>
+[[Battle of Kings Mountain|A major American victory]] in the war took place at [[King's Mountain]] along the North Carolina–South Carolina border; on October 7, 1780, a force of 1,000 Patriots from western North Carolina (including what is today the state of [[Tennessee]]) and [[southwest Virginia]] overwhelmed a force of some 1,000 British troops led by Major [[Patrick Ferguson]]. Most of the soldiers fighting for the British side in this battle were Carolinians who had remained loyal to the Crown (they were called "Tories" or Loyalists). The American victory at King's Mountain gave the advantage to colonists who favored American independence, and it prevented the British Army from recruiting new soldiers from the Tories.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Kings Mountain |url=https://www.battlefields.org/learn/revolutionary-war/battles/kings-mountain |access-date=September 22, 2022 |website=American Battlefield Trust |language=en-US}}</ref>
+[[File:Battle of Guiliford Courthouse 15 March 1781.jpg|thumb|left|1st Maryland Regiment holding the line at the [[Battle of Guilford Court House]], 1781]]
+The road to [[Yorktown, Virginia|Yorktown]] and America's independence from [[Kingdom of Great Britain|Great Britain]] led through North Carolina. As the [[British Army]] moved north from victories in [[Charleston, South Carolina|Charleston]] and [[Camden, South Carolina]], the Southern Division of the [[Continental Army]] and local militia prepared to meet them. Following General [[Daniel Morgan]]'s victory over the British Cavalry Commander [[Banastre Tarleton]] at the [[Battle of Cowpens]] on January 17, 1781, southern commander [[Nathanael Greene]] led British Lord [[Charles Cornwallis]] across the heartland of North Carolina, and away from the latter's base of supply in Charleston, South Carolina. This campaign is known as "The Race to the Dan" or "The Race for the River".<ref name="autogenerated1" />
+In the [[Battle of Cowan's Ford]], Cornwallis met resistance along the banks of the [[Catawba River]] at Cowan's Ford on February 1, 1781, in an attempt to engage General Morgan's forces during a tactical withdrawal.<ref>Stonestreet, Ottis C. IV, ''The Battle of Cowan's Ford: General Davidson's Stand on the Catawba River and its place in North Carolina History'' (CreateSpace Publishing 2012) {{ISBN|978-1-4680-7730-8}} p. 2, 3, 4.</ref> Morgan had moved to the northern part of the state to combine with General Greene's newly recruited forces. Generals Greene and Cornwallis finally met at the [[Battle of Guilford Courthouse]] in present-day [[Greensboro, North Carolina|Greensboro]] on March 15, 1781. Although the [[Kingdom of Great Britain|British]] troops held the field at the end of the battle, their casualties at the hands of the numerically superior Continental Army were crippling. Following this "[[Pyrrhic victory]]", Cornwallis chose to move to the Virginia coastline to get reinforcements, and to allow the [[Royal Navy]] to protect his battered army. This decision would result in Cornwallis' eventual defeat at [[Yorktown, Virginia]], later in 1781. The Patriots' victory there guaranteed American independence. On November 21, 1789, North Carolina became the twelfth state to ratify the [[U.S. Constitution]].
+===Antebellum period===
+{{Main|Constitutional Convention (United States)|Admission to the Union|List of U.S. states by date of admission to the Union}}
+After 1800, cotton and tobacco became important export crops. The eastern half of the state, especially the Coastal Plain region, developed a slave society based on a [[plantations in the American South|plantation]] system and [[slavery|slave]] labor. Planters owning large estates wielded significant political and socio-economic power in antebellum North Carolina. They placed their interests above those of the generally non-slave-holding "yeoman" farmers of North Carolina. While slaveholding was slightly less concentrated compared to some other Southern states, according to the 1860 census, more than 330,000 people, or 33% of the population out of 992,622 people in total, were enslaved African Americans.<ref name=census>{{cite web|title=Historical Census Browser:Census Data for Year 1860 |date=2004 |access-date=June 26, 2014 |website=University of Virginia Library |url=http://mapserver.lib.virginia.edu/php/start.php?year=V1860 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141011024040/http://mapserver.lib.virginia.edu/php/start.php?year=V1860 |archive-date=October 11, 2014 }}</ref> They lived and worked chiefly on plantations in the Piedmont and Coastal Plain regions of the state. In addition, 30,463 [[free people of color]] lived in the state.<ref name=census /> They were also mainly concentrated in the eastern coastal plain, especially at port cities such as Wilmington and New Bern, where a variety of jobs were available. Most were descendants from free African Americans who had migrated along with neighbors from [[Virginia]] during the 18th century. The majority were the descendants of unions in the working classes between white women, indentured servants or free, and African men, indentured, slave or free.<ref>[http://freeafricanamericans.com/ Paul Heinegg, ''Free African Americans in Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Maryland and Delaware''] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120919165518/http://www.freeafricanamericans.com/ |date=September 19, 2012 }}, 2005.</ref>[[File:Map North Carolina roads and railroads 1854.jpg|thumb|Map of the roads and railroads of North Carolina, 1854]]
+After the American Revolution, [[Religious Society of Friends|Quakers]] and [[Mennonite]]s worked to persuade slaveholders to free their slaves. Some were inspired by their efforts and the language of the Revolution to arrange for [[manumission]] of their slaves. The number of free people of color rose markedly in the first couple of decades after the Revolution.<ref>John Hope Franklin, ''Free Negroes of North Carolina, 1789–1860'', Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 1941, reprint, 1991.</ref> Many [[free people of color]] migrated to the frontier, along with their European-American neighbors, where the social system was looser. By 1810, nearly three percent of the free population consisted of free people of color, who numbered slightly more than 10,000. The western areas of North Carolina were mainly white families of [[European Americans|European]] descent, especially [[Scotch-Irish Americans|Scotch-Irish]], who operated small subsistence farms. In the early national period, the state became a center of [[Jeffersonian democracy|Jeffersonian]] and [[Jacksonian democracy]], with a strong [[Whig Party (United States)|Whig]] presence, especially in the western part of the state. After [[Nat Turner]]'s slave uprising in 1831, North Carolina and other southern states reduced the rights of free blacks. In 1835, the legislature withdrew their right to vote.
+In mid-century, the state's rural and commercial areas were connected by the construction of a {{convert|129|mi|adj=on|abbr=on}} wooden plank road, known as a "farmer's railroad", from [[Fayetteville, North Carolina|Fayetteville]] in the east to [[Bethania, North Carolina|Bethania]] (northwest of [[Winston-Salem, North Carolina|Winston-Salem]]).<ref name="autogenerated1" /> On October 25, 1836, construction began on the [[Wilmington and Raleigh Railroad]]<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.historync.org/railroads.htm |title=NC Business History—Railroads |publisher=Historync.org |access-date=July 24, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110726152211/http://historync.org/railroads.htm |archive-date=July 26, 2011 |url-status=dead }}</ref> to connect the port city of [[Wilmington, North Carolina|Wilmington]] with the state capital of [[Raleigh, North Carolina|Raleigh]]. In 1840, the [[North Carolina State Capitol|state capitol]] building in Raleigh was completed, and still stands today.
+In 1849, the North Carolina Railroad was created by act of the legislature to extend that railroad west to [[Greensboro, North Carolina|Greensboro]], [[High Point, North Carolina|High Point]], and [[Charlotte, North Carolina|Charlotte]]. During the Civil War, the Wilmington-to-Raleigh stretch of the railroad would be vital to the Confederate war effort; supplies shipped into Wilmington would be moved by rail through Raleigh to the Confederate capital of [[Richmond, Virginia]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=State Agency Finding Aid: North Carolina Railroad Company, 1849–1965 |url=https://digital.ncdcr.gov/digital/collection/p16062coll15/id/1382 |access-date=September 22, 2022 |website=digital.ncdcr.gov |language=en |archive-date=September 22, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220922233252/https://digital.ncdcr.gov/digital/collection/p16062coll15/id/1382 |url-status=live }}</ref>
+===American Civil War===
+{{Main|Ordinance of Secession|Confederate States of America|North Carolina in the American Civil War}}
+{{Further|American Civil War}}
+[[File:Battle of Fort Fisher.jpg|thumb|right|upright=1.1|Union troops capture [[Fort Fisher]], 1865]]
+In 1860, North Carolina was a slave state, in which one-third of the state's total population were African-American slaves. The state did not vote to join the [[Confederate States of America|Confederacy]] until President [[Abraham Lincoln]] called on it to invade its sister state,<ref>{{Cite web|title=Historic Sites: The Road to Secession|url=https://historicsites.nc.gov/resources/north-carolina-civil-war/road-secession|access-date=January 25, 2021|website=historicsites.nc.gov|archive-date=January 29, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210129121230/https://historicsites.nc.gov/resources/north-carolina-civil-war/road-secession|url-status=live}}</ref> [[South Carolina]], becoming the last or penultimate state to officially join the Confederacy. The title of "last to join the Confederacy" has been disputed; although Tennessee's informal secession on May 7, 1861, preceded North Carolina's official secession on May 20,<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.civiced.org/index.php?page=timeline_lincoln |title=Center for Civic Education—Lincoln Bicentennial with Supplemental Lesson: Timeline |publisher=Civiced.org |access-date=July 24, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110719031654/http://www.civiced.org/index.php?page=timeline_lincoln |archive-date=July 19, 2011 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://docsouth.unc.edu/highlights/secession.html |title=Highlights: Secession |publisher=Docsouth.unc.edu |access-date=July 24, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110916195201/http://docsouth.unc.edu/highlights/secession.html |archive-date=September 16, 2011 |url-status=live }}</ref> the Tennessee legislature did not formally vote to secede until June 8, 1861.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/today/jun08.html |title=Today in History: June 8 |publisher=Memory.loc.gov |date=April 9, 1959 |access-date=July 24, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110514034825/http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/today/jun08.html |archive-date=May 14, 2011 |url-status=live }}</ref>
+Around 125,000 troops from North Carolina served in the Confederate Army, and about 15,000 North Carolina troops (both black and white) served in [[List of North Carolina Union Civil War units|Union Army regiments]], including those who left the state to join Union regiments elsewhere.<ref>[https://www.ncmuseumofhistory.org/faqs-about-north-carolina-and-civil-war FAQs about North Carolina and the Civil War] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210624215638/https://www.ncmuseumofhistory.org/faqs-about-north-carolina-and-civil-war |date=June 24, 2021 }}. ''North Carolina Museum of History''. Retrieved December 20, 2020.</ref> Over 30,000 North Carolina troops died from combat or disease during the war.<ref>[https://www.battlefields.org/learn/articles/civil-war-casualties Civil War Casualties | American Battlefield Trust] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210205222144/https://www.battlefields.org/learn/articles/civil-war-casualties |date=February 5, 2021 }}. Retrieved December 22, 2020.</ref> Elected in 1862, Governor [[Zebulon Baird Vance]] tried to maintain state autonomy against Confederate President [[Jefferson Davis]] in [[Richmond, Virginia|Richmond]]. The state government was reluctant to support the demands of the national government in [[Richmond, Virginia|Richmond]], and the state was the scene of only small battles. In 1865, Durham County saw the largest single surrender of Confederate soldiers at [[Bennett Place]], when [[Joseph E. Johnston]] surrendered the Army of Tennessee and all remaining Confederate forces still active in North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, and Florida, totalling 89,270 soldiers.<ref>{{Cite web |date=October 23, 2018 |title=Bennett Place Surrender |url=https://www.battlefields.org/learn/articles/bennett-place-surrender |access-date=September 22, 2022 |website=American Battlefield Trust |language=en-US |archive-date=September 22, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220922233251/https://www.battlefields.org/learn/articles/bennett-place-surrender |url-status=live }}</ref>
+[[File:2008-08-16 Bennett Place historic site.jpg|thumb|right|upright=1.1|[[Bennett Place]] historic site in [[Durham, North Carolina|Durham]]]]
+Confederate troops from all parts of North Carolina served in virtually all the major battles of the [[Army of Northern Virginia]], the Confederacy's most famous army. The largest battle fought in North Carolina was at [[Battle of Bentonville|Bentonville]], which was a futile attempt by Confederate General [[Joseph E. Johnston|Joseph Johnston]] to slow Union General [[William Tecumseh Sherman]]'s advance through the Carolinas in the spring of 1865.<ref name="autogenerated1" /> In April 1865, after losing the [[Battle of Morrisville]], Johnston surrendered to Sherman at [[Bennett Place]], in what is today [[Durham, North Carolina|Durham]]. North Carolina's port city of [[Wilmington, North Carolina|Wilmington]], was the last Confederate port to fall to the Union, in February 1865, after the Union won the nearby [[Second Battle of Fort Fisher]], its major defense downriver.
+The first Confederate soldier to be killed in the Civil War was Private Henry Wyatt from North Carolina, in the [[Battle of Big Bethel]] in June 1861. At the [[Battle of Gettysburg]] in July 1863, the 26th North Carolina Regiment participated in [[Pickett's Charge|Pickett/Pettigrew's Charge]] and advanced the farthest into Union lines of any Confederate regiment. During the [[Battle of Chickamauga]], the 58th North Carolina Regiment advanced farther than any other regiment on Snodgrass Hill to push back the remaining Union forces from the battlefield. At [[Appomattox Court House National Historical Park|Appomattox Court House]] in Virginia in April 1865, the 75th North Carolina Regiment, a cavalry unit, fired the last shots of the Confederate [[Army of Northern Virginia]] in the Civil War.  The phrase "First at Bethel, Farthest at Gettysburg and Chickamauga, and Last at Appomattox", later became used through much of the early 20th century.<ref>{{Cite web |title=First at Bethel, Farthest to the Front at Gettysburg and Chickamauga, and Last at Appomattox |url=https://www.ncpedia.org/first-bethel-farthest-front-gettysb#:~:text=%27%22First%20at%20Bethel,%20Farthest,use%20as%20early%20as%201901. |access-date=September 22, 2022 |website=NCpedia |archive-date=September 22, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220922233301/https://www.ncpedia.org/first-bethel-farthest-front-gettysb#:~:text=%27%22First%20at%20Bethel,%20Farthest,use%20as%20early%20as%201901. |url-status=live }}</ref>
+After secession, some North Carolinians refused to support the Confederacy. Some of the yeoman farmers chiefly in the state's mountains and western Piedmont region remained neutral during the Civil War, with others covertly supporting the [[Union (American Civil War)|Union]] cause during the conflict.<ref>Bochna, Allie. (2017). [https://civilwar.vt.edu/the-secret-societies-of-the-south-southern-unionist-societies-during-the-civil-war/ The Secret Societies of the South: Southern Unionist Societies During the Civil War] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210412005114/https://civilwar.vt.edu/the-secret-societies-of-the-south-southern-unionist-societies-during-the-civil-war/ |date=April 12, 2021 }}. ''Virginia Center for Civil War Studies''. Retrieved April 11, 2021.</ref> Approximately [[List of North Carolina Union Civil War units|15,000 North Carolinians]] (both black and white) from across the state would enlist in the [[Union Army]]. Numerous slaves would also escape to Union lines, where they became essentially free.
+===Reconstruction era through late 19th century===
+{{Main|Reconstruction era}}
+[[File:NCG-WilliamHolden.jpg|thumb|left|150px|[[William Woods Holden]], a Unionist who served as the 38th and 40th [[List of governors of North Carolina|Governor of North Carolina]], and during the [[Reconstruction era]]]]
+Following the collapse of the Confederacy in 1865, North Carolina, along with other former Confederate States (except Tennessee), was put under direct control by the [[U.S. military]] and was relieved of its [[Constitution of North Carolina|constitutional government]] and representation within the [[United States Congress]] in what is now referred to as the [[Reconstruction era]]. To earn back its rights, the state had to make concessions to Washington, one of which was ratifying the [[Thirteenth Amendment of the United States Constitution|Thirteenth Amendment]]. Congressional Republicans during Reconstruction, commonly referred to as "[[radical Republicans]]", constantly pushed for new constitutions for each of the Southern states that emphasized equal rights for African-Americans. In 1868, a constitutional convention restored the state government of North Carolina. Though the [[Fifteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution|Fifteenth Amendment]] was also adopted that same year, it remained [[Jim Crow laws|in most cases]] ineffective for almost a century, not to mention paramilitary groups and their [[lynching in the United States|lynching]] with impunity.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Reconstruction in North Carolina |url=https://www.ncpedia.org/anchor/reconstruction-north |access-date=September 22, 2022 |website=NCpedia |archive-date=September 22, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220922233253/https://www.ncpedia.org/anchor/reconstruction-north |url-status=live }}</ref>
+The elections in April 1868 following the constitutional convention led to a narrow victory for a Republican-dominated government, with 19 African-Americans holding positions in the [[North Carolina State Legislature]]. In attempt to put the reforms into effect, the new Republican Governor [[William W. Holden]] declared martial law on any county allegedly not complying with law and order using the passage of the [[Shoffner Act]].
+A [[Republican Party (United States)|Republican Party]] coalition of black freedmen, northern [[carpetbagger]]s and local [[scalawag]]s controlled state government for three years. The white conservative Democrats regained control of the state legislature in 1870, in part by [[Ku Klux Klan]] violence and terrorism at the polls, to suppress black voting. Republicans were elected to the governorship until 1876, when the [[Red Shirts (Southern United States)|Red Shirts]], a paramilitary organization that arose in 1874 and was allied with the [[Democratic Party (United States)|Democratic Party]], helped suppress black voting. More than 150 black Americans were murdered in electoral violence in 1876.<ref>{{Cite news |title=Documenting Reconstruction Violence |url=https://eji.org/report/reconstruction-in-america/documenting-reconstruction-violence/ |access-date=September 22, 2022 |newspaper=Equal Justice Initiative Reports |language=en-US |archive-date=September 22, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220922233252/https://eji.org/report/reconstruction-in-america/documenting-reconstruction-violence/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last=Beeby |first=James M. |date=2008 |title=Red Shirt Violence, Election Fraud, and the Demise of the Populist Party in North Carolina's Third Congressional District, 1900 |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/23523367 |journal=The North Carolina Historical Review |volume=85 |issue=1 |pages=1–28 |jstor=23523367 |issn=0029-2494 |access-date=September 22, 2022 |archive-date=September 22, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220922233252/https://www.jstor.org/stable/23523367 |url-status=live }}</ref>
+Post–Civil War-debt cycles pushed people to switch from subsistence agriculture to commodity agriculture. Among this time the notorious Crop-Lien system developed and was financially difficult on landless whites and blacks, due to high amounts of usury. Also due to the push for commodity agriculture, the free range was ended. Prior to this time people fenced in their crops and had their livestock feeding on the free range areas. After the ending of the free range people now fenced their animals and had their crops in the open.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Changes in Agriculture |url=https://www.ncpedia.org/anchor/changes-agriculture |access-date=September 22, 2022 |website=NCpedia |archive-date=September 22, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220922233252/https://www.ncpedia.org/anchor/changes-agriculture |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Primary Source: The Evils of the Crop Lien System |url=https://www.ncpedia.org/anchor/evils-crop-lien-system |access-date=September 22, 2022 |website=NCpedia |archive-date=September 22, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220922233332/https://www.ncpedia.org/anchor/evils-crop-lien-system |url-status=live }}</ref>[[File:Drinking fountain on the county courthouse lawn, Halifax, North Carolina.jpg|thumb|right|Segregated drinking fountain during the [[Jim Crow]] era in [[Halifax, North Carolina|Halifax]], 1938]]
+Democrats were elected to the legislature and governor's office, but the [[People's Party (United States)|Populists]] attracted voters displeased with them. In 1896 a biracial, Populist-Republican Fusionist coalition gained the governor's office and passed laws that would extend the voting franchise to blacks and poor whites. The Democrats regained control of the legislature in 1896 and passed laws to impose [[Jim Crow]] and [[racial segregation]] of public facilities. Voters of North Carolina's [[North Carolina's 2nd congressional district|2nd congressional district]] elected a total of four African-American [[United States Congress|congressmen]] through these years of the late 19th century.
+Political tensions ran so high a small group of white Democrats in 1898 planned to take over the [[Wilmington, North Carolina|Wilmington]] government if their candidates were not elected. In the [[Wilmington Insurrection of 1898]], white Democrats led around 2,000 of their supporters that attacked the black newspaper and neighborhood, killed an estimated 60 to 300 people, and ran off the white Republican mayor and aldermen. They installed their own people and elected [[Alfred M. Waddell]] as mayor, in the only successful coup d'état in [[List of coups and coup attempts by country#United States|United States history]].<ref>[http://www.history.ncdcr.gov/1898-wrrc/report/Chapter5.pdf "Chapter 5"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090321002041/http://www.history.ncdcr.gov/1898-wrrc/report/Chapter5.pdf |date=March 21, 2009 }}, ''1898 Wilmington Race Riot Commission Report'', North Carolina Dept. of Cultural Resources.</ref>
+In 1899, the state legislature passed a new constitution, with requirements for [[poll tax]]es and [[literacy test]]s for voter registration which [[Disenfranchisement after the Reconstruction Era|disenfranchised]] most black Americans in the state.<ref>[https://ssrn.com/abstract=224731 Richard H. Pildes, "Democracy, Anti-Democracy, and the Canon", ''Constitutional Commentary'', Vol.17, 2000, p. 27] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181121211213/https://ssrn.com/abstract=224731 |date=November 21, 2018 }}. Retrieved March 10, 2008.</ref> Exclusion from voting had wide effects: it meant black Americans could not serve on juries or in any local office. After a decade of [[white supremacy]], many people forgot North Carolina had ever had thriving middle-class black Americans.<ref>Pildes (2000), "Democracy, Anti-Democracy, and the Canon", pp. 12–13.</ref> Black citizens had no political voice in the state until after the federal [[Civil Rights Act of 1964]] and [[Voting Rights Act of 1965]] were passed to enforce their constitutional rights. It was not until 1992 that another African American was elected as a U.S. Representative from North Carolina.
+===Early through mid-20th century===
+[[File:Wright First Flight 1903Dec17 (full restore 115).jpg|thumb|left|First successful flight of the ''[[Wright Flyer]]'', near [[Kitty Hawk, North Carolina|Kitty Hawk]], 1903]]
+After the reconstruction era, North Carolina had become a one-party state, dominated by the [[Democratic Party (United States)|Democratic Party]]. The state mainly continued with an economy based on tobacco, cotton textiles and commodity agriculture. Large towns and cities remained in few numbers. However, a major industrial base emerged in the late 19th and early 20th century, in the counties of the [[Piedmont Triad]], based on cotton mills established at the [[Atlantic Seaboard fall line|fall line]]. Railroads were built to connect the new industrializing cities.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Economy |url=https://www.ncpedia.org/economy/colonial-to-2004 |access-date=September 22, 2022 |website=NCpedia |archive-date=September 22, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220922233322/https://www.ncpedia.org/economy/colonial-to-2004 |url-status=live }}</ref>
+The state was the site of [[Wright Flyer|the first successful controlled, powered and sustained heavier-than-air flight]], by the [[Wright brothers]], near [[Kitty Hawk, North Carolina|Kitty Hawk]] on December 17, 1903.
+[[File:Research-triangle-north-carolina.png|thumb|right|Map of [[Research Triangle]], with points representing [[North Carolina State University|NC State University]], [[Duke University]], and [[University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill]]]]
+In the first half of the 20th century, many African Americans left the state to go North for better opportunities, in the [[Great Migration (African American)|Great Migration]]. Their departure changed the demographic characteristics of many areas.
+North Carolina was hard hit by the [[Great Depression in the United States|Great Depression]], but the [[New Deal]] programs of [[Franklin D. Roosevelt]] for cotton and tobacco significantly helped the farmers. After [[World War&nbsp;II]], the state's economy grew rapidly, highlighted by the growth of such cities as Charlotte, Raleigh, and Durham in the Piedmont region.
+[[Research Triangle Park]], established in 1959, serves as the largest [[Science park|research park]] in the United States. Formed near Raleigh, Durham, and Chapel Hill, the [[Research Triangle]] metro is a major area of universities and advanced scientific and technical research.
+The [[Greensboro sit-ins]] in 1960 played a crucial role in the Civil Rights Movement to bring full equality to American blacks. By the late 1960s, spurred in part by the increasingly leftward tilt of national Democrats, conservative whites began to vote for Republican national candidates and gradually for more Republicans locally.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Twentieth-Century North Carolina Timeline {{!}} North Carolina Museum of History |url=https://www.ncmuseumofhistory.org/learn/in-the-classroom/timelines/twentieth-century-north-carolina |access-date=September 22, 2022 |website=www.ncmuseumofhistory.org |archive-date=July 9, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230709194543/https://www.ncmuseumofhistory.org/learn/in-the-classroom/timelines/twentieth-century-north-carolina |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Twentieth Century |url=https://www.ncpedia.org/history/20th-Century/overview |access-date=September 22, 2022 |website=NCpedia |archive-date=September 22, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220922233312/https://www.ncpedia.org/history/20th-Century/overview |url-status=live }}</ref>
+===Late 20th century to present===
+[[File:North-Carolina-Museum-of-History-20080321.jpeg|thumb|right|[[North Carolina Museum of History]] in Raleigh, 2008]]
+Since the 1970s, North Carolina has seen steady increases in population growth. This growth has largely occurred in [[metropolitan area]]s located within the [[Piedmont Crescent]], in places such as Charlotte, Concord, Greensboro, Winston-Salem, Durham and Raleigh.<ref>[https://www.thinkcurrituck.com/blog/north-carolina-population North Carolina Population Growth: More People, Bigger Economy] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210203191025/https://www.thinkcurrituck.com/blog/north-carolina-population |date=February 3, 2021 }}. ''Currituck Economic Development''. Retrieved December 22, 2020.</ref> The Charlotte metropolitan area has experienced large growth mainly due to its finance, banking, and tech industries.<ref>Duren, Carolyn & Khawaja, Armughan. (May 16, 2019). [https://www.spglobal.com/marketintelligence/en/news-insights/trending/kdZchEwDkYSXozJJ7Z8gQA2 Charlotte, NC, outpacing nationwide growth in banking, set for further expansion] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201116215730/https://www.spglobal.com/marketintelligence/en/news-insights/trending/kdZchEwDkYSXozJJ7Z8gQA2 |date=November 16, 2020 }}. ''S&P Global Market Intelligence''. Retrieved December 22, 2020.</ref>
+By the 1990s, Charlotte had become a major regional and national banking center. Towards Raleigh, [[North Carolina State University|North Carolina State]], [[Duke University]], and [[University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill]], have helped the [[Research Triangle]] area attract an educated workforce and develop more jobs.<ref>[https://raleigh-wake.org/news-and-media/news-and-rankings/job-growth-study-raleigh-no-2-in-tech-no-1-in-stem Job growth study: Raleigh No. 2 in tech, No. 1 in STEM] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201130072926/https://raleigh-wake.org/news-and-media/news-and-rankings/job-growth-study-raleigh-no-2-in-tech-no-1-in-stem |date=November 30, 2020 }}. ''Wake County Economic Development''. Retrieved December 22, 2020.</ref>
+In 1988, North Carolina gained its first professional sports franchise, the [[Charlotte Hornets]] of the [[National Basketball Association]] (NBA). The hornets team name stems from the [[American Revolutionary War]], when British General Cornwallis described Charlotte as a "hornet's nest of rebellion".<ref>[https://www.wbtv.com/story/38577831/wbtv-speak-out-editorial-a-hornets-nest-of-rebellion/ WBTV Speak Out Editorial: A Hornet's Nest of Rebellion] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220110025929/https://www.wbtv.com/story/38577831/wbtv-speak-out-editorial-a-hornets-nest-of-rebellion/ |date=January 10, 2022 }}. ''wbtv.com''. Retrieved January 28, 2022.</ref> The [[Carolina Panthers]] of the [[National Football League]] (NFL) became based in Charlotte as well, with their first season being in 1995. The [[Carolina Hurricanes]] of the [[National Hockey League]] (NHL) moved to [[Raleigh, North Carolina|Raleigh]] in 1997, with their colors being the same as the [[NC State Wolfpack]], who are also located in Raleigh.
+By the late 20th century and into the early 21st century, economic industries such as technology, [[Pharmaceutical industry|pharmaceuticals]], banking, [[food processing]], [[automotive industry|vehicle parts]], and tourism started to emerge as North Carolina's main economic drivers. This marked a shift from the state's former main industries of [[Cultivation of tobacco|tobacco]], [[Textile manufacturing|textiles]], and furniture. Factors that played a role in this shift were globalization, the state's higher education system, national banking, the transformation of agriculture, and new companies moving to the state.<ref>Smith, Rick. (September 17, 2021). [https://wraltechwire.com/2021/09/17/mike-walden-five-factors-that-made-nc-economy/ Mike Walden: The five factors that made North Carolina's economy] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220114235046/https://wraltechwire.com/2021/09/17/mike-walden-five-factors-that-made-nc-economy/ |date=January 14, 2022 }}. ''WRAL TechWire''. Retrieved January 28, 2022.</ref>
 ==Geography==
-{{Main article|Geography of North Carolina}}
+{{Main|Geography of North Carolina}}
+{{maplink|frame=yes|zoom=5|id=Q1454|type=shape-inverse|text=Interactive map of North Carolina}}
-[[File:NC_koppen.svg|thumb|Köppen climate types of North Carolina]]
+[[File:NC Topo.png|thumb|3D Topographical Map of North Carolina]]
-[[File:North carolina topographic.jpg|thumb|right|North Carolina topographic map. North Carolina's three topographic regions are evident: the [[Appalachian Mountains]] in brown, the [[Piedmont (United States)|Piedmont]] in yellow, and the [[Atlantic Coastal Plain]] in green.]]
-[[File:Rainy Blue Ridge-27527.jpg|thumb|right|The [[Blue Ridge Mountains]] as seen from the [[Blue Ridge Parkway]].]]
 [[File:Enodeer.jpg|thumb|Deer in the [[Eno River]] as it flows through the Piedmont region of North Carolina]]
+[[File:North Carolina Köppen.svg|thumb|Köppen climate types of North Carolina]]North Carolina is bordered by [[South Carolina]] on the south, [[Georgia (U.S. state)|Georgia]] on the southwest, [[Tennessee]] on the west, [[Virginia]] on the north, and the Atlantic Ocean on the east. The [[United States Census Bureau]] places North Carolina in the [[South Atlantic States|South Atlantic]] division of the [[Southern United States|southern]] region.<ref name="Census_Regions">{{cite web |url=http://www2.census.gov/geo/pdfs/maps-data/maps/reference/us_regdiv.pdf |title=Census Regions and Divisions of the United States |publisher=United States Census Bureau, Geography Division |access-date=December 15, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171219134403/https://www2.census.gov/geo/pdfs/maps-data/maps/reference/us_regdiv.pdf |archive-date=December 19, 2017 |url-status=live }}</ref> It has a total area of {{convert|53,819.16|sqmi}}, of which {{convert|48,617.91|sqmi}} is land and {{convert|5,201.25|sqmi}} (9.66%) is water.<ref name="2010TotalArea">{{cite web|url=https://www2.census.gov/library/publications/decennial/2010/cph-2/cph-2-1.pdf |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20221009/https://www.census.gov/prod/cen2010/cph-2-1.pdf |archive-date=October 9, 2022 |url-status=live|title=United States Summary: 2010, Population and Housing Unit Counts, 2010 Census of Population and Housing|publisher=[[United States Census Bureau]]|pages=V&ndash;2, 1 & 41 (Tables 1 & 18)|date=September 2012|access-date=February 7, 2014}}</ref>
-[[File:Road near Tellico Plains.jpg|thumb|View at end of [[Cherohala Skyway]] near Tellico Plains]]
-North Carolina is bordered by [[South Carolina]] on the south, [[Georgia (U.S. state)|Georgia]] on the southwest, [[Tennessee]] on the west, [[Virginia]] on the north, and the Atlantic Ocean on the east.<ref name=dpi>{{cite web |url=http://www.dpi.state.nc.us/curriculum/socialstudies/elementary/studentsampler/20geography |title=K-12 Standards, Curriculum, and Instruction |publisher=North Carolina State Board of Education |accessdate=August 7, 2016}}</ref> The [[United States Census Bureau]] places North Carolina in the [[South Atlantic States|South Atlantic]] division of the [[Southern United States|southern]] region.<ref>{{cite web |title=Regions and Divisions |url=http://www.census.gov/econ/census/help/geography/regions_and_divisions.html |publisher=United States Census Bureau |accessdate=August 7, 2016}}</ref>
-North Carolina consists of three main geographic regions: the [[Atlantic coastal plain]], occupying the eastern portion of the state; the central [[Piedmont (United States)|Piedmont]] region, and the Mountain region in the west, which is part of the [[Appalachian Mountains]].<ref name=dpi/> The coastal plain consists of more specifically-defined areas known as the [[Outer Banks]], a string of sandy, narrow [[barrier islands]] separated from the mainland by sounds or inlets, including [[Albemarle Sound]] and [[Pamlico Sound]], the [[Tidewater (geographic term)|tidewater]] region, the native home of the [[venus flytrap]], and the inner coastal plain, where [[longleaf pine]] trees are native.<ref name=dpi/>
+North Carolina consists of three main geographic regions: the [[Atlantic coastal plain]], occupying the eastern portion of the state; the central [[Piedmont (United States)|Piedmont]] region, and the mountain region in the west, which is part of the [[Appalachian Mountains]]. The coastal plain consists of more specifically defined areas known as the [[Outer Banks]], a string of sandy, narrow [[barrier island]]s separated from the mainland by sounds or inlets, including [[Albemarle Sound]] and [[Pamlico Sound]], the native home of the [[venus flytrap]], and the inner coastal plain, where [[longleaf pine]] trees are native.
-So many ships have been lost off [[Cape Hatteras]] that the area is known as the "[[Graveyard of the Atlantic]]";<ref name=dpi/> more than 1,000 ships have sunk in these waters since records began in 1526. The most famous of these is the ''[[Queen Anne's Revenge]]'' (flagship of the pirate [[Blackbeard]]), which went aground in Beaufort Inlet in 1718.<ref>{{cite web| title=Blackbeard's Queen Anne's Revenge Coming Back to Beaufort| publisher=''Beach Carolina Magazine''| date=March 30, 2011| url=http://beachcarolina.com/2011/03/30/blackbeards-queen-annes-revenge-coming-back-to-beaufort/| deadurl=yes| archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20130221030139/http://beachcarolina.com/2011/03/30/blackbeards-queen-annes-revenge-coming-back-to-beaufort/| archivedate=February 21, 2013| df=mdy-all}}</ref>
+So many ships have been lost off [[Cape Hatteras]] that the area is known as the "[[Graveyard of the Atlantic]]"; more than a thousand ships have sunk in these waters since records began in 1526. The most famous of these is the ''[[Queen Anne's Revenge]]'' (flagship of the pirate [[Blackbeard]]), which went aground in Beaufort Inlet in 1718.<ref>{{cite web| title=Blackbeard's Queen Anne's Revenge Coming Back to Beaufort| website=Beach Carolina Magazine| date=March 30, 2011| url=http://beachcarolina.com/2011/03/30/blackbeards-queen-annes-revenge-coming-back-to-beaufort/| url-status=dead| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130221030139/http://beachcarolina.com/2011/03/30/blackbeards-queen-annes-revenge-coming-back-to-beaufort/| archive-date=February 21, 2013| df=mdy-all| access-date=February 17, 2013}}</ref>
-The coastal plain transitions to the Piedmont region along the [[Atlantic Seaboard fall line]], the elevation at which waterfalls first appear on streams and rivers.<ref name=dpi/> The Piedmont region of central North Carolina is the state's most populous region, containing the six largest cities in the state by population.<ref>{{cite web |title=People of North Carolina |url=http://www.dpi.state.nc.us/curriculum/socialstudies/elementary/studentsampler/19people#populations |publisher=North Carolina State Board of Education |accessdate=August 7, 2016}}</ref> It consists of gently rolling countryside frequently broken by hills or low mountain ridges. Small, isolated, and deeply eroded mountain ranges and peaks are located in the Piedmont, including the [[Sauratown Mountains]], [[Pilot Mountain (North Carolina)|Pilot Mountain]], the [[Uwharrie Mountains]], [[Crowder's Mountain]], [[King's Pinnacle]], the [[Brushy Mountains (North Carolina)|Brushy Mountains]], and the [[South Mountains (North Carolina)|South Mountains]]. The Piedmont ranges from about {{convert|300|ft}} in elevation in the east to about {{convert|1500|ft}} in the west.<ref name=dpi/>
+The coastal plain transitions to the Piedmont region along the [[Atlantic Seaboard fall line]], the elevation at which waterfalls first appear on streams and rivers. The Piedmont region of central North Carolina is the state's most populous region, containing the six largest cities in the state by population.<ref>{{cite web |title=People of North Carolina |url=http://www.dpi.state.nc.us/curriculum/socialstudies/elementary/studentsampler/19people#populations |publisher=North Carolina State Board of Education |access-date=August 7, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160808052451/http://www.dpi.state.nc.us/curriculum/socialstudies/elementary/studentsampler/19people#populations |archive-date=August 8, 2016 |url-status=dead }}</ref> It consists of gently rolling countryside frequently broken by hills or low mountain ridges. Small, isolated, and deeply eroded mountain ranges and peaks are located in the Piedmont, including the [[Sauratown Mountains]], [[Pilot Mountain (North Carolina)|Pilot Mountain]], the [[Uwharrie Mountains]], [[Crowder's Mountain]], [[King's Pinnacle]], the [[Brushy Mountains (North Carolina)|Brushy Mountains]], and the [[South Mountains (North Carolina)|South Mountains]]. The Piedmont ranges from about {{convert|300|ft|-2}} in elevation in the east to about {{convert|1500|ft|-2}} in the west.
-The [[Western North Carolina|western section]] of the state is part of the [[Appalachian Mountain]] range. Among the subranges of the Appalachians located in the state are the [[Great Smoky Mountains]], [[Blue Ridge Mountains]], and [[Black Mountains (North Carolina)|Black Mountains]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://traveltips.usatoday.com/north-carolina-mountains-4957.html |title=Facts About North Carolina Mountains |work=[[USA Today]] |accessdate=August 7, 2016}}</ref><ref name=visitnc>{{cite web |title=Facts for North Carolina's Mountain Region |url=https://media.visitnc.com/news/facts-for-north-carolina-s-mountain-region |date=January 21, 2011 |accessdate=August 8, 2016 |publisher=Economic Development Partnership of North Carolina}}</ref> The Black Mountains are the highest in the eastern United States, and culminate in [[Mount Mitchell (North Carolina)|Mount Mitchell]] at {{convert|6684|ft}}, the highest point east of the [[Mississippi River]].<ref name=visitnc/><ref name="usgs">{{cite web
+The [[Western North Carolina|western section]] of the state is part of the [[Blue Ridge Mountains]] of the larger [[Appalachian Mountain]] range. Among the subranges of the Blue Ridge Mountains located in the state are the [[Great Smoky Mountains]] and the [[Black Mountains (North Carolina)|Black Mountains]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://traveltips.usatoday.com/north-carolina-mountains-4957.html |title=Facts About North Carolina Mountains |website=[[USA Today]] |access-date=August 7, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160819105327/http://traveltips.usatoday.com/north-carolina-mountains-4957.html |archive-date=August 19, 2016 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name=visitnc>{{cite web |title=Facts for North Carolina's Mountain Region |url=https://media.visitnc.com/news/facts-for-north-carolina-s-mountain-region |date=January 21, 2011 |access-date=August 8, 2016 |publisher=Economic Development Partnership of North Carolina |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160812103826/https://media.visitnc.com/news/facts-for-north-carolina-s-mountain-region |archive-date=August 12, 2016 }}</ref> The Black Mountains are the highest in the eastern United States, and culminate in [[Mount Mitchell (North Carolina)|Mount Mitchell]] at {{convert|6684|ft}}, the highest point east of the [[Mississippi River]].<ref name=visitnc /><ref name="usgs">{{cite web
  |date=April 29, 2005
- |url=http://erg.usgs.gov/isb/pubs/booklets/elvadist/elvadist.html#Highest
+|url=http://erg.usgs.gov/isb/pubs/booklets/elvadist/elvadist.html#Highest
  |title=Elevations and Distances in the United States
- |publisher=U.S Geological Survey
+ |publisher=U.S. Geological Survey
- |accessdate=November 6, 2006
+ |access-date=November 6, 2006
+|url-status=dead
- |deadurl=yes
- |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20080116113632/http://erg.usgs.gov/isb/pubs/booklets/elvadist/elvadist.html
+|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080116113632/http://erg.usgs.gov/isb/pubs/booklets/elvadist/elvadist.html
- |archivedate=January 16, 2008
+ |archive-date=January 16, 2008
- |df=mdy-all
 }}</ref>
 [[File:cullasaja.jpg|thumb|upright|left|[[Cullasaja Falls]] in [[Macon County, North Carolina|Macon County]]]]
-North Carolina has 17 major river basins.<ref name=rivers>{{cite web |url=http://www.ncwildlife.org/Conserving/Habitats/North-Carolina-River-Basins |title=North Carolina River Basins |publisher=North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission |accessdate=August 7, 2016}}</ref> The five basins west of the [[Blue Ridge Mountains]] flow to the [[Gulf of Mexico]], while the remainder flow to the Atlantic Ocean.<ref name=rivers/> Of the 17 basins, 11 originate within the state of North Carolina, but only four are contained entirely within the state's border – the [[Cape Fear River|Cape Fear]], the [[Neuse River|Neuse]], the [[White Oak River|White Oak]], and the [[Tar River|Tar]]&ndash;[[Pamlico Sound|Pamlico]] basin.<ref>{{cite web|title=River Basin Interactive Map|publisher=NC Office of Environmental Education|accessdate=June 10, 2014 |url=http://www.eenorthcarolina.org/riverbasins-interactive.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140411134751/http://www.eenorthcarolina.org/riverbasins-interactive.html |archive-date=April 11, 2014 |deadurl=no}}</ref>
+North Carolina has 17 major river basins. The five basins west of the [[Blue Ridge Mountains]] flow to the [[Gulf of Mexico]], while the remainder flow to the Atlantic Ocean.<ref name="Rivers">{{cite web |url=http://www.ncwildlife.org/Conserving/Habitats/North-Carolina-River-Basins |title=North Carolina River Basins |publisher=North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission |access-date=August 7, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160929024414/http://www.ncwildlife.org/Conserving/Habitats/North-Carolina-River-Basins |archive-date=September 29, 2016 |url-status=live }}</ref> Of the 17 basins, 11 originate within the state of North Carolina, but only four are contained entirely within the state's border—the [[Cape Fear River|Cape Fear]], the [[Neuse River|Neuse]], the [[White Oak River|White Oak]], and the [[Tar River|Tar]]–[[Pamlico Sound|Pamlico]] basin.<ref>{{cite web |title=River Basin Interactive Map |publisher=NC Office of Environmental Education |access-date=June 10, 2014 |url=http://www.eenorthcarolina.org/riverbasins-interactive.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140411134751/http://www.eenorthcarolina.org/riverbasins-interactive.html |archive-date=April 11, 2014 |url-status=dead }}</ref>
 ===Flora and fauna===
-{{further information|List of taxa described from North Carolina}}
+{{Further|Wildlife of North Carolina}}
-===Climate===
+===Major rivers===
-{{Main article|Climate of North Carolina}}
+{{Further|List of rivers of North Carolina}}
-[[File:Snow in old fort.JPG|thumb|right|Snow in [[Old Fort, North Carolina]] caused by the 2009 Blizzard]]
-[[File:Graveyard Fields 3.jpg|thumb|[[Graveyard Fields]] in autumn]]
-[[File:2009 Coca-Cola 600.jpg|thumb|A rainy day at [[Charlotte Motor Speedway]]]]
+===Climate===
-Elevation above sea level is most responsible for temperature change across the state, with the mountain area being coolest year-round.<ref name=ncclimate/> The climate is also influenced by the Atlantic Ocean and the [[Gulf Stream]], especially in the coastal plain.<ref name=ncclimate>{{cite web |url=http://climate.ncsu.edu/climate/ncclimate.html |title=Overview |publisher=State Climate Office of North Carolina |accessdate=August 7, 2016}}</ref> These influences tend to cause warmer winter temperatures along the coast,<ref name=ncclimate/> where temperatures only occasionally drop below the freezing point at night. The coastal plain averages around {{convert|1|in|cm|1}} of snow or ice annually, and in many years, there may be no snow or ice at all.
+{{Main|Climate of North Carolina}}
+{{See also|Climate change in North Carolina}}
+[[File:Graveyard Fields 3.jpg|thumb|[[Graveyard Fields]] in the fall]]Elevation above sea level is most responsible for temperature change across the state, with the mountainous regions being coolest year-round. The climate is also influenced by the Atlantic Ocean and the [[Gulf Stream]], especially in the coastal plain. These influences tend to cause warmer winter temperatures along the coast, where temperatures only occasionally drop below the freezing point at night. The coastal plain averages around {{convert|1|in|cm|1}} of snow or ice annually, and in many years, there may be no snow or ice at all.<ref name="NC_Climate">{{cite web |url=http://climate.ncsu.edu/climate/ncclimate.html |title=Overview |publisher=State Climate Office of North Carolina |access-date=August 7, 2016 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160731164921/http://climate.ncsu.edu/climate/ncclimate.html |archive-date=July 31, 2016 }}</ref>
-The Atlantic Ocean exerts less influence on the climate of the Piedmont region, which has hotter summers and colder winters than along the coast, though the average daily maximum is still below {{convert|90|°F|0}} in most locations.<ref name=ncclimate/>
+The Atlantic Ocean exerts less influence on the climate of the Piedmont region, which has hotter summers and colder winters than along the coast, though winters are still mild.<ref name="NC_Climate" />
-North Carolina experiences severe weather in both summer and winter, with summer bringing threat of [[tropical storm|hurricanes]], [[tropical cyclone#tropical storm|tropical storms]], heavy rain, and flooding.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.ncdot.gov/travel/severeweather/summer.html |title=Severe Weather – Summer Storms |publisher=[[North Carolina Department of Transportation]] |accessdate=August 7, 2016}}</ref> Destructive hurricanes that have hit North Carolina include [[Hurricane Fran]], [[Hurricane Floyd]], and [[Hurricane Hazel]], the latter being the strongest storm ever to make landfall in the state, as a [[Saffir–Simpson scale|Category 4]] in 1954. [[Hurricane Isabel]] ranks as the most destructive of the 21st century.{{Atlantic hurricane best track}}<ref>{{cite book |author=John Hairr |title=The Great Hurricanes of North Carolina |year=2008 |pages=139–150}}</ref>
+North Carolina experiences severe weather both in summer and in winter, with summer bringing threat of [[tropical storm|hurricanes]], [[tropical cyclone#tropical storm|tropical storms]], heavy rain, and flooding.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.ncdot.gov/travel/severeweather/summer.html |title=Severe Weather—Summer Storms |publisher=[[North Carolina Department of Transportation]] |access-date=August 7, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160815123033/https://www.ncdot.gov/travel/severeweather/summer.html |archive-date=August 15, 2016 |url-status=dead }}</ref> Destructive hurricanes that have hit North Carolina include [[Hurricane Fran]], [[Hurricane Florence]], [[Hurricane Floyd]], [[Hurricane Hugo]], and [[Hurricane Hazel]], the latter being the strongest storm ever to make landfall in the state, as a [[Saffir–Simpson scale|Category{{spaces}}4]] in 1954. [[Hurricane Isabel]] ranks as the most destructive of the 21st century.{{Atlantic hurricane best track}}<ref>{{cite book |author=John Hairr |title=The Great Hurricanes of North Carolina |year=2008 |pages=139–150}}</ref>
-North Carolina averages fewer than 20&nbsp;tornadoes per year, many of them produced by hurricanes or tropical storms along the coastal plain. Tornadoes from thunderstorms are a risk, especially in the eastern part of the state. The western Piedmont is often protected by the mountains, which tend to break up storms as they try to cross over; the storms will often re-form farther east. A phenomenon known as "[[cold-air damming]]" often occurs in the northwestern part of the state, which can weaken storms but can also lead to major ice events in winter.<ref>{{cite web|title=NOAA National Climatic Data Center|url=http://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/img/climate/research/tornado/small/avgt5304.gif|accessdate=October 24, 2006}}</ref>
+North Carolina averages fewer than 20 tornadoes per year, many of them produced by hurricanes or tropical storms along the coastal plain. Tornadoes from thunderstorms are a risk, especially in the eastern part of the state. The western Piedmont is often protected by the mountains, which tend to break up storms as they try to cross over; the storms will often re-form farther east. A phenomenon known as "[[cold-air damming]]" often occurs in the northwestern part of the state, which can weaken storms but can also lead to major ice events in winter.<ref>{{cite web|title=NOAA National Climatic Data Center|url=http://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/img/climate/research/tornado/small/avgt5304.gif|access-date=October 24, 2006|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111016174155/http://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/img/climate/research/tornado/small/avgt5304.gif|archive-date=October 16, 2011|url-status=live}}</ref>
-In April 2011, [[Mid-April 2011 Southern United States tornado outbreak|the worst tornado outbreak]] in North Carolina's history occurred. Thirty confirmed tornadoes touched down, mainly in the Eastern Piedmont and Sandhills, killing at least 24 people.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www4.ncsu.edu/~nwsfo/storage/cases/20110416/ |title=April 16, 2011 North Carolina Tornado Outbreak |publisher=National Weather Service |date=February 3, 2012|accessdate=August 7, 2016}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.ustornadoes.com/2013/04/16/north-carolinas-largest-tornado-outbreak-april-16th-2011/ |title=North Carolina's largest tornado outbreak – April 16, 2011 |accessdate=August 7, 2016 |date=April 16, 2013 |publisher=US Tornadoes}}</ref>
+In April 2011, [[Tornado outbreak of April 14–16, 2011|the worst tornado outbreak]] in North Carolina's history occurred. Thirty confirmed tornadoes touched down, mainly in the Eastern Piedmont and Sandhills, killing at least 24 people.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www4.ncsu.edu/~nwsfo/storage/cases/20110416/ |title=April 16, 2011 North Carolina Tornado Outbreak |publisher=National Weather Service |date=February 3, 2012 |access-date=August 7, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160807011402/http://www4.ncsu.edu/~nwsfo/storage/cases/20110416/ |archive-date=August 7, 2016 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.ustornadoes.com/2013/04/16/north-carolinas-largest-tornado-outbreak-april-16th-2011/ |title=North Carolina's largest tornado outbreak—April 16, 2011 |access-date=August 7, 2016 |date=April 16, 2013 |publisher=US Tornadoes |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160808222947/http://www.ustornadoes.com/2013/04/16/north-carolinas-largest-tornado-outbreak-april-16th-2011/ |archive-date=August 8, 2016 |url-status=live }}</ref> In September 2019 [[Hurricane Dorian]] hit the area.
+{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center;font-size:90%;margin:1em auto"
-<center>
-{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center;font-size:90%;"
 | colspan="13" style="text-align:center;font-size:120%;background:#E8EAFA;"|Monthly normal high and low temperatures ([[Fahrenheit]]) for various North Carolina cities.
 |-
-!  style="background:#e5afaa; color:#000; height:17px;"| City
+! style="background:#e5afaa; color:#000; height:17px;"| City
 ! style="background:#e5afaa; color:#000;"| Jan
 ! style="background:#e5afaa; color:#000;"| Feb
@@ Line 165: / Line 314: @@
 ! style="background:#e5afaa; color:#000;"| Dec
 |-
-!  style="background:#f8f3ca; color:#000; height:16px;"| Asheville<ref name = "NOAA Asheville/Charlotte">
+! style="background:#f8f3ca; color:#000; height:16px;"| Asheville<ref name="NOAA Asheville/Charlotte">{{cite web
+  |url = https://w2.weather.gov/climate/xmacis.php?wfo=gsp
-{{cite web
+  |title = NowData—NOAA Online Weather Data
-  |url = http://www.nws.noaa.gov/climate/xmacis.php?wfo=gsp
-  |title = NowData – NOAA Online Weather Data
   |publisher = [[National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration]]
-  |accessdate = December 16, 2011}}</ref>
+  |access-date = December 16, 2011
+  |archive-date = June 28, 2015
+  |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20150628163725/http://w2.weather.gov/climate/xmacis.php?wfo=gsp
+  |url-status = live
+  }}</ref>
 | style="text-align:center; background:#f8f3ca; color:#000;"| 47/27
 | style="text-align:center; background:#f8f3ca; color:#000;"| 51/30
@@ Line 184: / Line 336: @@
 | style="text-align:center; background:#f8f3ca; color:#000;"| 49/29
 |-
-!  style="background:#c5dfe1; color:#000; height:16px;"| Boone<ref name="NOAA Boone">{{cite web
+! style="background:#c5dfe1; color:#000; height:16px;"| Boone<ref>{{cite web
-  | url = http://www.nws.noaa.gov/climate/xmacis.php?wfo=rnk
+  | url = https://w2.weather.gov/climate/xmacis.php?wfo=rnk
-  | title = NOWData – NOAA Online Weather Data
+  | title = NOWData—NOAA Online Weather Data
-  | accessdate = December 4, 2012
+  | access-date = December 4, 2012
-  | publisher = [[National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration]] }}</ref>
+  | publisher = [[National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration]]
+  | archive-date = July 22, 2015
+  | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20150722235732/http://w2.weather.gov/climate/xmacis.php?wfo=rnk
+  | url-status = live
+  }}</ref>
 | style="text-align:center; background:#c5dfe1; color:#000;"| 42/21
-| style="text-align:center; background:#c5dfe1; color:#000;"| 45/23
+| style="text-align:right; background:#c5dfe1; color:#000;"| 45/23
 | style="text-align:center; background:#c5dfe1; color:#000;"| 52/29
 | style="text-align:center; background:#c5dfe1; color:#000;"| 61/37
@@ Line 202: / Line 358: @@
 | style="text-align:center; background:#c5dfe1; color:#000;"| 45/24
 |-
-!  style="background:#f8f3ca; color:#000; height:16px;"| Cape Hatteras<ref name = "NOAA Cape Hatteras">
+! style="background:#f8f3ca; color:#000; height:16px;"| Cape Hatteras<ref>{{cite web
+  |url = https://w2.weather.gov/climate/xmacis.php?wfo=mhx
-{{cite web
+  |title = NOWData—NOAA Online Weather Data
-|url = http://www.nws.noaa.gov/climate/xmacis.php?wfo=mhx
+  |publisher = [[National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration]]
-|title = NOWData – NOAA Online Weather Data
+  |access-date = April 14, 2012
-|publisher = [[National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration]]
+  |archive-date = September 5, 2015
-|accessdate = April 14, 2012}}</ref>
+  |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20150905075057/http://w2.weather.gov/climate/xmacis.php?wfo=mhx
+  |url-status = live
+  }}</ref>
 | style="text-align:center; background:#f8f3ca; color:#000;"| 52/39
 | style="text-align:center; background:#f8f3ca; color:#000;"| 54/40
@@ Line 221: / Line 380: @@
 | style="text-align:center; background:#f8f3ca; color:#000;"| 56/43
 |-
-!  style="background:#c5dfe1; color:#000; height:16px;"| Charlotte<ref name = "NOAA Asheville/Charlotte"/>
+! style="background:#c5dfe1; color:#000; height:16px;"| Charlotte<ref name="NOAA Asheville/Charlotte" />
 | style="text-align:center; background:#c5dfe1; color:#000;"| 51/30
 | style="text-align:center; background:#c5dfe1; color:#000;"| 55/33
@@ Line 235: / Line 394: @@
 | style="text-align:center; background:#c5dfe1; color:#000;"| 53/32
 |-
-!  style="background:#f8f3ca; color:#000; height:16px;"| Fayetteville<ref name = "NOAA Raleigh"/>
+! style="background:#f8f3ca; color:#000; height:16px;"| Fayetteville<ref name="NOAA Raleigh" />
-| style="text-align:center; background:#f8f3ca; color:#000;"| 52/31
+| style="text-align:center; background:#f8f3ca; color:#000;"| 54/33
-| style="text-align:center; background:#f8f3ca; color:#000;"| 56/32
+| style="text-align:center; background:#f8f3ca; color:#000;"| 59/35
-| style="text-align:center; background:#f8f3ca; color:#000;"| 64/39
+| style="text-align:center; background:#f8f3ca; color:#000;"| 66/42
-| style="text-align:center; background:#f8f3ca; color:#000;"| 73/47
+| style="text-align:center; background:#f8f3ca; color:#000;"| 75/50
-| style="text-align:center; background:#f8f3ca; color:#000;"| 80/56
+| style="text-align:center; background:#f8f3ca; color:#000;"| 82/59
-| style="text-align:center; background:#f8f3ca; color:#000;"| 87/65
+| style="text-align:center; background:#f8f3ca; color:#000;"| 89/68
+| style="text-align:center; background:#f8f3ca; color:#000;"| 91/72
 | style="text-align:center; background:#f8f3ca; color:#000;"| 90/70
-| style="text-align:center; background:#f8f3ca; color:#000;"| 89/69
+| style="text-align:center; background:#f8f3ca; color:#000;"| 84/64
-| style="text-align:center; background:#f8f3ca; color:#000;"| 83/63
+| style="text-align:center; background:#f8f3ca; color:#000;"| 75/52
-| style="text-align:center; background:#f8f3ca; color:#000;"| 74/49
+| style="text-align:center; background:#f8f3ca; color:#000;"| 67/43
-| style="text-align:center; background:#f8f3ca; color:#000;"| 63/40
+| style="text-align:center; background:#f8f3ca; color:#000;"| 56/35
-| style="text-align:center; background:#f8f3ca; color:#000;"| 54/32
 |-
-!  style="background:#c5dfe1; color:#000; height:16px;"| Greensboro<ref name = "NOAA Raleigh">
+! style="background:#c5dfe1; color:#000; height:16px;"| Greensboro<ref name="NOAA Raleigh">{{cite web
+  |url = https://w2.weather.gov/climate/xmacis.php?wfo=rah
-{{cite web
+  |title = Climate Data—NWS Raleigh North Carolina
-  |url = http://www.nws.noaa.gov/climate/xmacis.php?wfo=rah
-  |title = NowData – NOAA Online Weather Data
   |publisher = [[National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration]]
-  |accessdate = February 8, 2012}}</ref>
+  |access-date = September 6, 2019
+  |archive-date = November 16, 2018
+  |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20181116060604/http://w2.weather.gov/climate/xmacis.php?wfo=rah
+  |url-status = live
+  }}</ref>
 | style="text-align:center; background:#c5dfe1; color:#000;"| 48/30
-| style="text-align:center; background:#c5dfe1; color:#000;"| 52/32
+| style="text-align:center; background:#c5dfe1; color:#000;"| 53/32
 | style="text-align:center; background:#c5dfe1; color:#000;"| 61/39
 | style="text-align:center; background:#c5dfe1; color:#000;"| 70/47
@@ Line 268: / Line 430: @@
 | style="text-align:center; background:#c5dfe1; color:#000;"| 51/32
 |-
-!  style="background:#f8f3ca; color:#000; height:16px;"| Raleigh<ref name = "NOAA Raleigh"/>
+! style="background:#f8f3ca; color:#000; height:16px;"| Raleigh<ref name="NOAA Raleigh" />
-| style="text-align:center; background:#f8f3ca; color:#000;"| 51/30
+| style="text-align:center; background:#f8f3ca; color:#000;"| 51/31
-| style="text-align:center; background:#f8f3ca; color:#000;"| 54/32
+| style="text-align:center; background:#f8f3ca; color:#000;"| 55/34
 | style="text-align:center; background:#f8f3ca; color:#000;"| 63/40
 | style="text-align:center; background:#f8f3ca; color:#000;"| 72/48
@@ Line 280: / Line 442: @@
 | style="text-align:center; background:#f8f3ca; color:#000;"| 73/50
 | style="text-align:center; background:#f8f3ca; color:#000;"| 64/41
-| style="text-align:center; background:#f8f3ca; color:#000;"| 54/32
+| style="text-align:center; background:#f8f3ca; color:#000;"| 54/33
 |-
-!  style="background:#c5dfe1; color:#000; height:16px;"| Wilmington<ref name = "NOAA Wilmington">{{cite web
+! style="background:#c5dfe1; color:#000; height:16px;"| Wilmington<ref>{{cite web
-  |url = http://www.nws.noaa.gov/climate/xmacis.php?wfo=ilm
+  |url = https://w2.weather.gov/climate/xmacis.php?wfo=ilm
-  |title = NowData – NOAA Online Weather Data
+  |title = NowData—NOAA Online Weather Data
   |publisher = [[National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration]]
-  |accessdate = February 26, 2012}}</ref>
+  |access-date = February 26, 2012
+  |archive-date = September 5, 2015
+  |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20150905111421/http://w2.weather.gov/climate/xmacis.php?wfo=ilm
+  |url-status = live
+  }}</ref>
 | style="text-align:center; background:#c5dfe1; color:#000;"| 56/36
 | style="text-align:center; background:#c5dfe1; color:#000;"| 60/38
@@ Line 300: / Line 466: @@
 | style="text-align:center; background:#b5dfe1; color:#000;"| 59/38
 |}
+{{Weather box
-</center>
+| single line = y
+| location = North Carolina
-{{Weather box/concise_F
+| Jan record high F = 86
-| location=North Carolina (1980-2010)
+| Feb record high F = 90
-| source=USA.com<ref name="USA">
+| Mar record high F = 100
-  "Climatological Information for North Carolina",
+| Apr record high F = 102
-  USA.com, 2003. Web: [http://www.usa.com/north-carolina-state-weather.htm#HistoricalTemperature].</ref>
+| May record high F = 107
-| 49.9| 53.7| 61.8| 71| 78.1| 85.2| 88.1| 86.8| 80.8| 71.6| 62.5| 52.5 <!--highs-->
+| Jun record high F = 108
-|28.4| 30.9| 37.2| 45.2| 54| 63| 66.8| 65.8|58.9| 47.2| 38.3| 30.8 <!--lows-->
+| Jul record high F = 109
-|3.7|3.5|4.2|3.5|3.8|4.3|4.8|4.7|4.3|3.3|3.3|3.5 <!--rain-->
+| Aug record high F = 110
+| Sep record high F = 109
+| Oct record high F = 102
+| Nov record high F = 90
+| Dec record high F = 87
+| Jan high F = 49.9
+| Feb high F = 53.7
+| Mar high F = 61.8
+| Apr high F = 71.0
+| May high F = 78.1
+| Jun high F = 85.2
+| Jul high F = 88.1
+| Aug high F = 86.8
+| Sep high F = 80.8
+| Oct high F = 71.6
+| Nov high F = 62.5
+| Dec high F = 52.5
+| Jan mean F = 39.2
+| Feb mean F = 42.3
+| Mar mean F = 49.5
+| Apr mean F = 58.1
+| May mean F = 66.1
+| Jun mean F = 74.1
+| Jul mean F = 77.5
+| Aug mean F = 76.3
+| Sep mean F = 69.9
+| Oct mean F = 59.4
+| Nov mean F = 50.4
+| Dec mean F = 41.7
+| Jan low F = 28.4
+| Feb low F = 30.9
+| Mar low F = 37.2
+| Apr low F = 45.2
+| May low F = 54.0
+| Jun low F = 63.0
+| Jul low F = 66.8
+| Aug low F = 65.8
+| Sep low F = 58.9
+| Oct low F = 47.2
+| Nov low F = 38.3
+| Dec low F = 30.8
+| Jan record low F = −34
+| Feb record low F = −31
+| Mar record low F = −29
+| Apr record low F = 0
+| May record low F = 13
+| Jun record low F = 22
+| Jul record low F = 30
+| Aug record low F = 29
+| Sep record low F = 23
+| Oct record low F = 5
+| Nov record low F = −22
+| Dec record low F = −33
+| precipitation colour = green
+| Jan precipitation inch = 3.7
+| Feb precipitation inch = 3.5
+| Mar precipitation inch = 4.2
+| Apr precipitation inch = 3.5
+| May precipitation inch = 3.8
+| Jun precipitation inch = 4.3
+| Jul precipitation inch = 4.8
+| Aug precipitation inch = 4.7
+| Sep precipitation inch = 4.3
+| Oct precipitation inch = 3.3
+| Nov precipitation inch = 3.3
+| Dec precipitation inch = 3.5
+| Jan snow inch = 2.0
+| Feb snow inch = 1.4
+| Mar snow inch = 0.6
+| Apr snow inch = 0.1
+| May snow inch = 0.0
+| Jun snow inch = 0.0
+| Jul snow inch = 0.0
+| Aug snow inch = 0.0
+| Sep snow inch = 0.0
+| Oct snow inch = 0.0
+| Nov snow inch = 0.1
+| Dec snow inch = 0.8
+| source = USA.com (averages)<ref>{{cite web
+  |url= http://www.usa.com/north-carolina-state-weather.htm
+  |title= North Carolina Weather
+  |website= USA.com
+  |access-date= May 28, 2017
+  |archive-date= June 27, 2017
+  |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20170627174512/http://www.usa.com/north-carolina-state-weather.htm
+  |url-status= live
+  }}</ref>
+| source 2 = North Carolina State Climate Office (extremes)<ref>{{cite web
+  |url= http://climate.ncsu.edu/nc_extremes
+  |title= Weather Extremes
+  |publisher= North Carolina State Climate Office
+  |access-date= December 27, 2019
+  |archive-date= December 31, 2020
+  |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20201231123528/http://climate.ncsu.edu/nc_extremes
+  |url-status= dead
+  }}</ref>
 }}
+===Parks and recreation===
-==History==
+[[File:Blue Ridge NC.jpg|thumb|The [[Blue Ridge Mountains]] of the [[Shining Rock Wilderness|Shining Rock Wilderness Area]]]]
-{{Main article|History of North Carolina}}
+North Carolina provides a large range of recreational activities, from swimming at the beach to [[skiing]] in the mountains. North Carolina offers [[Autumn leaf color|fall colors]], freshwater and saltwater fishing, hunting, [[birdwatching]], [[agritourism]], [[All-terrain vehicle|ATV]] trails, [[Hot air ballooning|ballooning]], [[rock climbing]], [[biking]], hiking, [[skiing]], [[boating]] and sailing, [[camping]], [[canoeing]], [[caving]] (spelunking), gardens, and [[arboretum]]s. North Carolina has [[theme park]]s, [[public aquarium|aquariums]], museums, [[historic site]]s, [[lighthouse]]s, elegant theaters, [[concert hall]]s, and [[fine dining]].<ref name="NC_Beach">{{cite web |url=http://www.igovacation.com/search_rentals/stateinfo.asp?State=nc|title= North Carolina Vacation Rentals |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080111225659/http://www.igovacation.com/search_rentals/stateinfo.asp?State=nc |archive-date=January 11, 2008 |website=iGOvacation | access-date=July 12, 2013}}</ref><ref name="NC_Visit">{{cite web|url=http://www.visitnc.com/what_to_do.asp|title=What To Do Across North Carolina|publisher=VisitNC.com|year=2006|access-date=December 18, 2006|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061201050938/http://www.visitnc.com/what_to_do.asp<!-- Bot retrieved archive -->|archive-date=December 1, 2006|url-status=dead}}</ref>
-{{refimprove section|date=August 2016}}
-[[File:North carolina algonkin-rituale01.jpg|thumb|Ceremony of Secotan warriors in North Carolina. Watercolour painted by English colonist [[John White (colonist and artist)|John White]] in 1585.]]
-[[File:Our Savage Manteo - Stierch.jpg|thumb|right| A plaque to commemorate the first indigenous person who was converted to Christianity, [[Manteo (Croatan)|Manteo]] at the Roanoke Colony]]
-[[File:Dr. M.T. Pope.jpg|thumb|upright|Dr. M.&nbsp;T. Pope (after whom the [[Pope House Museum]] was named), a prominent citizen of [[Raleigh, North Carolina|Raleigh]], 1900]]
-[[File:North-Carolina-Museum-of-History-20080321.jpeg|thumb|The [[North Carolina Museum of History]], Raleigh]]
+North Carolinians enjoy outdoor recreation using numerous local bike paths, 34 [[List of North Carolina state parks|state parks]], and 14 [[National Park Service|national parks]]. [[National Park Service]] units include the [[Appalachian National Scenic Trail]], the [[Blue Ridge Parkway]], [[Cape Hatteras National Seashore]], [[Cape Lookout National Seashore]], [[Carl Sandburg Home National Historic Site]] at [[Flat Rock, Henderson County, North Carolina|Flat Rock]], [[Fort Raleigh National Historic Site]] at [[Manteo, North Carolina|Manteo]], [[Great Smoky Mountains National Park]], [[Great Smoky Mountains Railroad]], [[Guilford Courthouse National Military Park]] in [[Greensboro, North Carolina|Greensboro]], [[Moores Creek National Battlefield]] near [[Currie, North Carolina|Currie]] in [[Pender County, North Carolina|Pender County]], the [[Overmountain Victory National Historic Trail]], [[Old Salem]] National Historic Site in [[Winston-Salem, North Carolina|Winston-Salem]], the [[Trail of Tears National Historic Trail]], and [[Wright Brothers National Memorial]] in [[Kill Devil Hills, North Carolina|Kill Devil Hills]].
-Woodland-culture American Indians were in the area around 1000 BCE; starting around 750 CE, Mississippian-culture Indians created larger political units with stronger leadership and more stable, longer-term settlements. During this time, important buildings were constructed as pyramidal, flat-topped buildings. By 1550, many groups of American Indians lived in present-day North Carolina, including [[Chowanoke]], [[Roanoke tribe|Roanoke]], [[Pamlico]], [[Machapunga]], [[Coree]], [[Cape Fear Indians]], [[Waxhaw tribe|Waxhaw]], [[Waccamaw]], and [[Catawba people|Catawba]].<ref name=ncmuseum>{{cite web |title=North Carolina American Indian History Time Line |url=http://ncmuseumofhistory.org/learning/educators/timelines/north-carolina-american-indian-history-time-line |accessdate=September 14, 2016 |publisher=[[North Carolina Museum of History]]}}</ref>
+National Forests include [[Uwharrie National Forest]] in central North Carolina, [[Croatan National Forest]] in [[Eastern North Carolina]], [[Pisgah National Forest]] in the western mountains, and [[Nantahala National Forest]] in the southwestern part of the state.
-[[Juan Pardo (explorer)|Juan Pardo]] explored the area in 1566–1567,  establishing  [[Fort San Juan (Joara)|Fort San Juan]] in 1567 at the site of the Native American community of [[Joara]], a Mississippian culture regional [[chiefdom]] in the western interior, near the present-day city of [[Morganton, North Carolina|Morganton]]. The fort lasted only 18 months; the local inhabitants killed all but one of the 120 men Pardo had stationed at a total of six forts in the area.<ref name=richards>{{cite web |url=http://www.warren-wilson.edu/~arch/berrysitepress/amerarchspring2008.pdf |format=PDF |author=Richards, Constance E. |title=Contact and Conflict |work=American Archaeology |date=Spring 2008 |p=14 |accessdate=June 26, 2008}}</ref> A later expedition by [[Philip Amadas]] and [[Arthur Barlowe]] followed in 1584, at the direction of [[Sir Walter Raleigh]].<ref name=ncmuseum/>
+===Major cities===
-In June 1718, the pirate [[Blackbeard]] ran his flagship, the ''[[Queen Anne's Revenge]]'', aground at Beaufort Inlet, North Carolina, in present-day [[Carteret County, North Carolina|Carteret County]]. After the grounding her crew and supplies were transferred to smaller ships. In November, after appealing to the governor of North Carolina, who promised safe-haven and a pardon, Blackbeard was killed in an ambush by troops from Virginia.<ref>{{cite web|title=History.com|url=http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/blackbeard-killed-off-north-carolina}}</ref> In 1996 Intersal, Inc., a private firm, discovered the remains of a vessel likely to be the ''Queen Anne's Revenge'', which was added to the US [[National Register of Historic Places]].<ref name="D. Moore. 1997 pp. 31">D. Moore. (1997) "A General History of Blackbeard the Pirate, the Queen Anne's Revenge and the Adventure". In Tributaries, Volume VII, 1997. pp. 31–35. (North Carolina Maritime History Council)</ref>
+{{See also|List of municipalities in North Carolina}}
+In 2023, the U.S. Census Bureau released the 2022 population estimates for municipalities in North Carolina. [[Charlotte, North Carolina|Charlotte]] has the largest population, while [[Raleigh, North Carolina|Raleigh]] has the second-largest population in North Carolina.<ref name="CensusListCount">{{Cite web |date=July 1, 2022 |title=USA: North Carolina |url=https://www.citypopulation.de/en/usa/cities/northcarolina/?admid=440 |access-date=September 7, 2023 |website=City Population |archive-date=September 7, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230907222455/https://www.citypopulation.de/en/usa/cities/northcarolina/?admid=440 |url-status=live }}</ref>
+{{Largest cities
+| country = North Carolina
+| stat_ref = (2022 [[Population Estimates Program|census estimate]])<ref name="CensusListCount"/><ref>{{Cite web |title=North Carolina Cities by Population |url=https://www.northcarolina-demographics.com/cities_by_population |access-date=October 28, 2023 |website=www.northcarolina-demographics.com |archive-date=October 28, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231028150136/https://www.northcarolina-demographics.com/cities_by_population |url-status=live }}</ref>
+| div_link = Counties of North Carolina{{!}}County
+| city_1 = Charlotte, North Carolina{{!}}Charlotte
+| div_1 = Mecklenburg County, North Carolina{{!}}Mecklenburg
+| pop_1 = 897,720
+| img_1 = Uptown Charlotte 2018 taking by DJI Phantom 4 pro.jpg
+| city_2 = Raleigh, North Carolina{{!}}Raleigh
+| div_2 = Wake County, North Carolina{{!}}Wake
+| pop_2 = 476,587
+| img_2 = Raleigh Skyline.jpg
+| city_3 = Greensboro, North Carolina{{!}}Greensboro
+| div_3 = Guilford County, North Carolina{{!}}Guilford
+| pop_3 = 301,115
+| img_3 = Greensboro Skyline.jpg
+| city_4 = Durham, North Carolina{{!}}Durham
+| div_4 = Durham County, North Carolina{{!}}Durham
+| pop_4 = 291,928
+| img_4 = SKYL038 Durham Overcast Skyline DiscoverDurham.jpg
+| city_5 = Winston-Salem, North Carolina{{!}}Winston-Salem
+| div_5 = Forsyth County, North Carolina{{!}}Forsyth
+| pop_5 = 251,350
+| city_6 = Fayetteville, North Carolina{{!}}Fayetteville
+| div_6 = Cumberland County, North Carolina{{!}}Cumberland
+| pop_6 = 208,873
+| city_7 = Cary, North Carolina{{!}}Cary
+| div_7 = Wake County, North Carolina{{!}}Wake
+| pop_7 = 180,388
+| city_8 = Wilmington, North Carolina{{!}}Wilmington
+| div_8 = New Hanover County, North Carolina{{!}}New Hanover
+| pop_8 = 120,324
+| city_9 = High Point, North Carolina{{!}}High Point
+| div_9 = Guilford County, North Carolina{{!}}Guilford
+| pop_9 = 115,067
+| city_10 = Concord, North Carolina{{!}}Concord
+| div_10 = Cabarrus County, North Carolina{{!}}Cabarrus
+| pop_10 = 109,896
+| city_11 = Asheville, North Carolina{{!}}Asheville
+| div_11 = Buncombe County, North Carolina{{!}}Buncombe
+| pop_11 = 93,776
+| city_12 = Greenville, North Carolina{{!}}Greenville
+| div_12 = Pitt County, North Carolina{{!}}Pitt
+| pop_12 = 89,233
+| city_13 = Gastonia, North Carolina{{!}}Gastonia
+| div_13 = Gaston County, North Carolina{{!}}Gaston
+| pop_13 = 82,653
+| city_14 = Apex, North Carolina{{!}}Apex
+| div_14 = Wake County, North Carolina{{!}}Wake
+| pop_14 = 71,065
+| city_15 = Jacksonville, North Carolina{{!}}Jacksonville
+| div_15 = Onslow County, North Carolina{{!}}Onslow
+| pop_15 = 70,420
+| city_16 = Huntersville, North Carolina{{!}}Huntersville
+| div_16 = Mecklenburg County, North Carolina{{!}}Mecklenburg
+| pop_16 = 63,035
+| city_17 = Chapel Hill, North Carolina{{!}}Chapel Hill
+| div_17 = Orange County, North Carolina{{!}}Orange
+| pop_17 = 62,098
+| city_18 = Burlington, North Carolina{{!}}Burlington
+| div_18 = Alamance County, North Carolina{{!}}Alamance
+| pop_18 = 59,287
+| city_19 = Kannapolis, North Carolina{{!}}Kannapolis
+| div_19 = Cabarrus County, North Carolina{{!}}Cabarrus
+| pop_19 = 55,448
+| city_20 = Rocky Mount, North Carolina{{!}}Rocky Mount
+| div_20 = Nash County, North Carolina{{!}}Nash
+| pop_20 = 54,013
+}}
+===Most populous counties===
-North Carolina became one of the English [[Thirteen Colonies]] and with the territory of [[South Carolina]] was originally known as the [[Province of Carolina]]. The northern and southern parts of the original province separated in 1729. Originally settled by small farmers, sometimes having a few slaves, who were oriented toward subsistence agriculture, the colony lacked cities or towns. [[Piracy|Pirates]] menaced the coastal settlements, but by 1718 the pirates had been captured and killed. Growth was strong in the middle of the 18th century, as the economy attracted [[Scotch-Irish American|Scots-Irish]], [[Quaker]], [[English American|English]] and [[German American|German]] [[immigrants]]. The colonists generally supported the [[American Revolution]], as the number of [[Loyalist (American Revolution)|Loyalists]] was smaller than in some other colonies.
+{{See also|List of counties in North Carolina}}
+After the [[2020 United States census|2020 census]], [[Wake County, North Carolina|Wake County]], with a population of 1,129,410, became the most populous county in the state, overtaking [[Mecklenburg County, North Carolina|Mecklenburg County]], with a population of 1,115,482, by a margin of about 14,000. Both counties are still the only to have populations over one million in North Carolina and the Carolinas region.<ref name="2020CensusQuickFacts3">{{cite web |title=QuickFacts: Wake County, North Carolina |url=https://www.census.gov/quickfacts/fact/table/wakecountynorthcarolina |access-date=March 20, 2024 |publisher=United States Census Bureau |archive-date=February 26, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240226071935/https://www.census.gov/quickfacts/fact/table/wakecountynorthcarolina |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="2020CensusQuickFacts2">{{cite web |title=QuickFacts: Mecklenburg County, North Carolina |url=https://www.census.gov/quickfacts/fact/table/mecklenburgcountynorthcarolina |access-date=March 20, 2024 |publisher=United States Census Bureau}}</ref>
+===Statistical areas===
-During colonial times, [[Edenton, North Carolina|Edenton]] served as the state capital beginning in 1722, and [[New Bern, North Carolina|New Bern]] was selected as the capital in 1766. Construction of [[Tryon Palace]], which served as the residence and offices of the provincial governor [[William Tryon]], began in 1767 and was completed in 1771. In 1788 [[Raleigh, North Carolina|Raleigh]] was chosen as the site of the new capital, as its central location protected it from coastal attacks. Officially established in 1792 as both county seat and state capital, the city was named after Sir [[Walter Raleigh]], sponsor of [[Roanoke Colony|Roanoke]], the "lost colony" on [[Roanoke Island]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.nchistoricsites.org/capitol/stat_cap/ |title=Capitol History |accessdate=May 16, 2013 |author=North Carolina Department of Cultural Resources}}</ref>
+{{Main|North Carolina statistical areas|List of metropolitan areas of North Carolina}}
+North Carolina has four major [[combined statistical area]]s (CSA) with a population over 1&nbsp;million (as of 2023):<ref name="2023OMB">{{Cite web |date=July 21, 2023 |title=OMB Bulletin No. 23-01: Revised Delineations of Metropolitan Statistical Areas, Micropolitan Statistical Areas, and Combined Statistical Areas, and Guidance on Uses of the Delineations of These Areas |url=https://www.whitehouse.gov/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/OMB-Bulletin-23-01.pdf |access-date=August 10, 2023 |website=[[United States Office of Management and Budget]] |archive-date=July 21, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230721214234/https://www.whitehouse.gov/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/OMB-Bulletin-23-01.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="PopEstCBSA">{{cite web |date=March 14, 2024 |title=Metropolitan and Micropolitan Statistical Areas Population Totals: 2020-2023 |url=https://www.census.gov/data/tables/time-series/demo/popest/2020s-total-metro-and-micro-statistical-areas.html#v2023 |access-date=March 15, 2024 |publisher=[[United States Census Bureau]], Population Division |archive-date=June 29, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220629175327/https://www.census.gov/data/tables/time-series/demo/popest/2020s-total-metro-and-micro-statistical-areas.html#v2023 |url-status=live }}</ref>
+* [[Charlotte metropolitan area|Charlotte Metro]]: ''Charlotte-Concord, NC-SC''; population 3,387,115
+* [[Research Triangle]]: ''Raleigh-Durham-Cary, NC''; population: 2,368,947
+* [[Hampton Roads]]: ''Virginia Beach-Chesapeake, VA-NC''; population: 1,866,723
+* [[Piedmont Triad]]: ''Greensboro–Winston-Salem–High Point, NC''; population: 1,736,099
+==Demographics==
-North Carolina made the smallest per-capita contribution to the war of any state, as only 7,800 men joined the [[Continental Army]] under General [[George Washington]]; an additional 10,000 served in local militia units under such leaders as General [[Nathanael Greene]].<ref>Milton Ready, ''The Tar Heel State: A History of North Carolina'' (U. of South Carolina Press, 2005) pp 116, 120</ref> There was some military action, especially in 1780–81. Many Carolinian frontiersmen had moved west over the mountains, into the [[Washington District, North Carolina|Washington District]] (later known as [[Tennessee]]), but in 1789, following the Revolution,  the state was persuaded to relinquish its claim to the western lands. It ceded them to the national government so that the [[Northwest Territory]] could be organized and managed nationally.
+{{Main|Demographics of North Carolina}}
+{{US Census population
+| 1790 = 393751
+| 1800 = 478103
+| 1810 = 556526
+| 1820 = 638829
+| 1830 = 737987
+| 1840 = 753419
+| 1850 = 869039
+| 1860 = 992622
+| 1870 = 1071361
+| 1880 = 1399750
+| 1890 = 1617949
+| 1900 = 1893810
+| 1910 = 2206287
+| 1920 = 2559123
+| 1930 = 3170276
+| 1940 = 3571623
+| 1950 = 4061929
+| 1960 = 4556155
+| 1970 = 5082059
+| 1980 = 5881766
+| 1990 = 6628637
+| 2000 = 8049313
+| 2010 = 9535483
+| 2020 = 10439388
+| estyear = 2023
+| estimate = 10835491
+| estref =<ref name="2020CensusQuickFacts">{{cite web|url=https://www.census.gov/quickfacts/fact/table/NC|title=QuickFacts: North Carolina|publisher=United States Census Bureau|access-date=March 7, 2024|archive-date=March 30, 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240330185313/https://www.census.gov/quickfacts/fact/table/NC|url-status=live}}</ref>
+| align-fn = center
+| footnote = Source: 1910–2020<ref>{{cite web |title=Historical Population Change Data (1910–2020) |url=https://www.census.gov/data/tables/time-series/dec/popchange-data-text.html |website=Census.gov |publisher=United States Census Bureau |access-date=May 1, 2021 |archive-date=April 29, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210429012609/https://www.census.gov/data/tables/time-series/dec/popchange-data-text.html |url-status=dead }}</ref>
+}}
+The [[United States Census Bureau]] determined the population of North Carolina was 10,439,388 at the [[2020 United States census|2020 census]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Data |url=https://www.census.gov/programs-surveys/popest/data.html |access-date=December 22, 2022 |website=Census.gov |publisher=United States Census Bureau |archive-date=October 6, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221006035730/http://www.census.gov/programs-surveys/popest/data.html |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|last=O'Neil|first=Bill|date=April 27, 2021|title=North Carolina gains additional seat in Congress after 2020 census results released|url=https://www.wxii12.com/article/north-carolina-census-results-additional-congress-seat/36255789|access-date=April 27, 2021|website=WXII|archive-date=April 27, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210427025052/https://www.wxii12.com/article/north-carolina-census-results-additional-congress-seat/36255789|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|date=April 26, 2021|title=North Carolina among 6 states gaining House seats after 2020 Census|url=https://myfox8.com/news/north-carolina-among-6-states-gaining-house-seats-after-2020-census/|access-date=April 27, 2021|newspaper=Fox8 WGHP|archive-date=April 27, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210427025044/https://myfox8.com/news/north-carolina-among-6-states-gaining-house-seats-after-2020-census/|url-status=live}}</ref> Based on numbers in 2012 of the people residing in North Carolina 58.5% were born there; 33.1% were born in another state; 1.0% were born in Puerto Rico, U.S. island areas, or born abroad to American parent(s); and 7.4% were foreign-born.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://factfinder2.census.gov/faces/tableservices/jsf/pages/productview.xhtml? |title=American FactFinder—Results |author=Data Access and Dissemination Systems (DADS) |website=census.gov |access-date=May 29, 2012 |archive-date=March 28, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150328102018/http://factfinder2.census.gov/faces/tableservices/jsf/pages/productview.xhtml |url-status=live }}</ref>
-After 1800, cotton and [[tobacco]] became important export crops. The eastern half of the state, especially the [[Tidewater (geographic term)|Tidewater]] region, developed a slave society based on a [[plantations in the American South|plantation]] system and [[slavery|slave]] labor. Many [[free people of color]] migrated to the frontier along with their European-American neighbors, where the social system was looser. By 1810, nearly 3 percent of the free population consisted of free people of color, who numbered slightly more than 10,000. The western areas were dominated by white families, especially Scots-Irish, who operated small subsistence farms. In the early national period, the state became a center of [[Jeffersonian democracy|Jeffersonian]] and [[Jacksonian democracy]], with a strong [[Whig Party (United States)|Whig]] presence, especially in the West. After [[Nat Turner]]'s slave uprising in 1831, North Carolina and other southern states reduced the rights of free blacks. In 1835 the legislature withdrew their right to vote.
+According to [[United States Department of Housing and Urban Development|HUD]]'s 2022 [[Annual Homeless Assessment Report to Congress|Annual Homeless Assessment Report]], there were an estimated 9,382 [[Homelessness|homeless]] people in North Carolina.<ref>{{Cite web |title=2007–2022 PIT Counts by State |url=https://view.officeapps.live.com/op/view.aspx?src=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.huduser.gov%2Fportal%2Fsites%2Fdefault%2Ffiles%2Fxls%2F2007-2022-PIT-Counts-by-State.xlsx&wdOrigin=BROWSELINK |access-date=March 13, 2023 |archive-date=March 14, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230314020239/https://view.officeapps.live.com/op/view.aspx?src=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.huduser.gov%2Fportal%2Fsites%2Fdefault%2Ffiles%2Fxls%2F2007-2022-PIT-Counts-by-State.xlsx&wdOrigin=BROWSELINK |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.huduser.gov/portal/sites/default/files/pdf/2022-AHAR-Part-1.pdf|title=The 2022 Annual Homelessness Assessment Report (AHAR) to Congress|access-date=March 13, 2023|archive-date=March 11, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230311234217/https://www.huduser.gov/portal/sites/default/files/pdf/2022-AHAR-Part-1.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref>
-On May 20, 1861, North Carolina was the last of the [[Confederate States of America|Confederate states]] to declare [[secession]] from the [[Union (American Civil War)|Union]], 13 days after the Tennessee legislature voted for secession. Some 125,000 North Carolinians served in the military; 20,000 were killed in battle, the most of any state in the Confederacy, and 21,000 died of disease. The state government was reluctant to support the demands of the national government in [[Richmond, Virginia|Richmond]], and the state was the scene of only small battles.
+The top countries of origin for North Carolina's immigrants were [[Mexico]], [[India]], [[Honduras]], [[China]] and [[El Salvador]], {{As of|2018|lc=y}}.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.americanimmigrationcouncil.org/sites/default/files/research/immigrants_in_north_carolina.pdf|title=Immigrants in North Carolina}}</ref>
-With the defeat of the Confederacy in 1865, the [[Reconstruction Era]] began. The United States abolished slavery without compensation to slaveholders or reparations to [[freedmen]]. A [[Republican Party (United States)|Republican Party]] coalition of black freedmen, northern [[carpetbagger]]s and local [[scalawag]]s controlled state government for three years. The white conservative Democrats regained control of the state legislature in 1870, in part by [[Ku Klux Klan]] violence and terrorism at the polls, to suppress black voting. Republicans were elected to the governorship until 1876, when the [[Red Shirts (Southern United States)|Red Shirts]], a paramilitary organization that arose in 1874 and was allied with the [[Democratic Party (United States)|Democratic Party]], helped suppress black voting. More than 150 black Americans were murdered in electoral violence in 1876.
+===Race and ethnicity===
-Democrats were elected to the legislature and governor's office, but the [[People's Party (United States)|Populists]] attracted voters displeased with them. In 1896 a biracial, Populist-Republican Fusionist coalition gained the governor's office. The Democrats regained control of the legislature in 1896 and passed laws to impose [[Jim Crow]] and [[racial segregation]] of public facilities. Voters of North Carolina's 2nd congressional district elected a total of four African-American [[United States Congress|congressmen]] through these years of the late 19th century.
+{{See also|African Americans in North Carolina}}
+[[File:Ethnic Origins in North Carolina.png|thumb|361x361px|Ethnic origins in North Carolina]]
+{| class="wikitable sortable"; text-align:right; font-size:80%;"
+|+ style="font-size:90%" |Ethnic composition as of the [[2020 United States census|2020 census]]
+|-
+! Race and Ethnicity<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.census.gov/library/visualizations/interactive/race-and-ethnicity-in-the-united-state-2010-and-2020-census.html |title=Race and Ethnicity in the United States: 2010 Census and 2020 Census |author=<!--Not stated--> |date=August 12, 2021 |website=census.gov |publisher=United States Census Bureau |access-date=September 26, 2021 |archive-date=August 15, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210815165418/https://www.census.gov/library/visualizations/interactive/race-and-ethnicity-in-the-united-state-2010-and-2020-census.html |url-status=live }}</ref>
+! colspan="2" data-sort-type=number |Alone
+! colspan="2" data-sort-type=number |Total
+|-
+| [[Non-Hispanic or Latino whites|White (non-Hispanic)]]
+|align=right| {{bartable|60.5|%|2||background:gray}}
+|align=right| {{bartable|63.9|%|2||background:gray}}
+|-
+| [[African Americans|African American (non-Hispanic)]]
+|align=right| {{bartable|20.2|%|2||background:mediumblue}}
+|align=right| {{bartable|21.8|%|2||background:mediumblue}}
+|-
+| [[Hispanic and Latino Americans|Hispanic or Latino]]{{efn|Persons of Hispanic or Latino origin are not distinguished between total and partial ancestry.}}
+|align=right| {{bartable}}
+|align=right| {{bartable|10.7|%|2||background:green}}
+|-
+| [[Asian Americans|Asian]]
+|align=right| {{bartable|3.3|%|2||background:purple}}
+|align=right| {{bartable|4.0|%|2||background:purple}}
+|-
+| Native American
+|align=right| {{bartable|1.0|%|2||background:gold}}
+|align=right| {{bartable|2.5|%|2||background:gold}}
+|-
+| [[Pacific Islander Americans|Pacific Islander]]
+|align=right| {{bartable|0.1|%|2||background:pink}}
+|align=right| {{bartable|0.2|%|2||background:pink}}
+|-
+| Other
+|align=right| {{bartable|0.4|%|2||background:brown}}
+|align=right| {{bartable|1.1|%|2||background:brown}}
+|}
+{| class="wikitable sortable collapsible"
+|+ '''Historical racial demographics'''
+|-
+! Racial composition !! 1990<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.census.gov/population/www/documentation/twps0056/twps0056.html |title=Historical Census Statistics on Population Totals By Race, 1790 to 1990, and By Hispanic Origin, 1970 to 1990, For The United States, Regions, Divisions, and States |author=Population Division, Laura K. Yax |access-date=January 5, 2015 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080725044857/http://www.census.gov/population/www/documentation/twps0056/twps0056.html |archive-date=July 25, 2008 }}</ref>!! 2000<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://censusviewer.com/city/NC|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231204024632/https://censusviewer.com/city/NC|url-status=dead|archive-date=December 4, 2023|title=Population of North Carolina: Census 2010 and 2000 Interactive Map, Demographics, Statistics, Quick Facts|website=Censusviewer.com|access-date=July 26, 2022}}</ref>!! 2010<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.census.gov/programs-surveys/decennial-census/decade.2010.html|title=2010 Census Data|author=Center for New Media and Promotions (C2PO)|access-date=January 5, 2015|archive-date=May 22, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170522200920/https://census.gov/programs-surveys/decennial-census/decade.2010.html|url-status=live}}</ref>!! 2020<ref name="2020DP1">{{Cite web |url=https://data.census.gov/table/DECENNIALDP2020.DP1?g=040XX00US37 |title=Profile of General Population and Housing Characteristics: 2020 Demographic Profile Data (DP-1): North Carolina |publisher=United States Census Bureau |access-date=April 17, 2024 |archive-date=April 18, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240418010649/https://data.census.gov/table/DECENNIALDP2020.DP1?g=040XX00US37 |url-status=live }}</ref>
+|-
+| [[White American|White]] || 75.6% || 72.1% || 68.5% || 62.2%
+|-
+| [[African American|Black]] || 22.0% || 21.6% || 21.4% || 20.5%
+|-
+| [[Asian American|Asian]] || 0.8% || 1.4% || 2.2% || 3.3%
+|-
+| [[Native Americans in the United States|Native]] || 1.2% || 1.2% || 1.3% || 1.2%
+|-
+| [[Native Hawaiian]] and<br />[[Pacific Islander|other Pacific Islander]] || – || 0.1% || 0.1% || 0.1%
+|-
+| [[Race and ethnicity in the United States Census|Other race]] || 0.5% || 2.3% || 4.3% || 5.9%
+|-
+| [[Multiracial American|Two or more races]] || – || 1.3% || 2.3% || 6.8%
+|}
+[[File:North Carolina Counties by race (2020 census).svg|thumb|Map of counties in North Carolina by racial plurality, per the 2020 U.S. census{{Collapsible list
+| title = Legend|{{col-begin}}{{col-3}}
+'''Non-Hispanic White'''
-Political tensions ran so high that a small group of white Democrats in 1898 planned to take over the [[Wilmington, North Carolina|Wilmington]] government if their candidates were not elected. In the [[Wilmington Insurrection of 1898]], more than 1,500 white men attacked the black newspaper and neighborhood, killed numerous men, and ran off the white Republican mayor and aldermen. They installed their own people and elected [[Alfred M. Waddell]] as mayor, in the only [[coup d'état]] in United States history.<ref name="Commission">[http://www.history.ncdcr.gov/1898-wrrc/report/Chapter5.pdf "Chapter 5"], ''1898 Wilmington Race Riot Commission Report'', North Carolina Dept. of Cultural Resources</ref>
+{{legend|#e6b8af|30–40%}}
-In 1899 the state legislature passed a new constitution, with requirements for [[tax per head|poll taxes]] and [[literacy test]]s for voter registration which [[Disfranchisement after the Reconstruction Era|disfranchised]] most black Americans in the state.<ref name="Pildes">[http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=224731 Richard H. Pildes, "Democracy, Anti-Democracy, and the Canon", ''Constitutional Commentary'', Vol.17, 2000, p. 27]. Retrieved March 10, 2008</ref> Exclusion from voting had wide effects: it meant that black Americans could not serve on juries or in any local office. After a decade of [[white supremacy]], many people forgot that North Carolina had ever had thriving middle-class black Americans.<ref>Pildes (2000), "Democracy, Anti-Democracy, and the Canon", pp.12–13</ref> Black citizens had no political voice in the state until after the federal [[Civil Rights Act of 1964]] and [[Voting Rights Act of 1965]] were passed to enforce their constitutional rights. It was not until 1992 that another [[African American]] was elected as a US Representative from North Carolina.
+{{legend|#dd7e6b|40–50%}}
-As in the rest of the former Confederacy, North Carolina had become a one-party state, dominated by the [[Democratic Party (United States)|Democratic Party]]. Impoverished by the Civil War, the state continued with an economy based on tobacco, cotton and agriculture. Towns and cities remained few in the east. A major industrial base emerged in the late 19th century in the western counties of the Piedmont, based on cotton mills established at the [[Atlantic Seaboard fall line|fall line]]. Railroads were built to connect the new industrializing cities. The state was the site of the first successful controlled, powered and sustained heavier-than-air flight, by the [[Wright brothers]], near [[Kitty Hawk, North Carolina|Kitty Hawk]] on December 17, 1903. In the first half of the 20th century, many African Americans left the state to go North for better opportunities, in the [[Great Migration (African American)|Great Migration]]. Their departure changed the demographic characteristics of many areas.
+{{legend|#cc4125|50–60%}}
-North Carolina was hard hit by the [[Great Depression in the United States|Great Depression]], but the [[New Deal]] programs of [[Franklin D. Roosevelt]] for cotton and tobacco significantly helped the farmers. After World War II, the state's economy grew rapidly, highlighted by the growth of such cities as Charlotte, Raleigh, and Durham in the Piedmont. Raleigh, Durham, and Chapel Hill form the [[Research Triangle]], a major area of universities and advanced scientific and technical research. In the 1990s, Charlotte became a major regional and national banking center. Tourism has also been a boon for the North Carolina economy as people flock to the Outer Banks coastal area and the Appalachian Mountains anchored by Asheville.
+{{legend|#a61c00|60–70%}}
-By the 1970s, spurred in part by the increasingly leftward tilt of national Democrats, conservative whites began to vote for Republican national candidates and gradually for more Republicans locally. The [[Greensboro sit-ins|Greensboro Sit-ins]] played a crucial role in the Civil Rights Movement to bring full equality to American blacks.
+{{legend|#85200c|70–80%}}
-===Native Americans, lost colonies, and permanent settlement===
-{{See also|Native Americans in the United States|Joara|Roanoke Island|Fort Raleigh National Historic Site}}
-[[File:The Carte of all the Coast of Virginia by Theodor de Bry 1585 1586.jpg|thumb|left|Map of the coast of [[Virginia]] and North Carolina, drawn 1585–1586 by [[Theodor de Bry]], based on map by [[John White (colonist and artist)|John White]] of the [[Roanoke Colony]]]]
-North Carolina was inhabited for thousands of years by succeeding cultures of [[prehistoric]] [[indigenous peoples|indigenous]] cultures. Before 200 AD, they were building [[Earthworks (archaeology)|earthwork mounds]], which were used for ceremonial and religious purposes. Succeeding peoples, including those of the ancient [[Mississippian culture]] established by 1000 AD in the Piedmont, continued to build or add on to such mounds. In the 500–700 years preceding European contact, the Mississippian culture built large, complex cities and maintained far-flung regional trading networks. Its largest city was [[Cahokia]], located in present-day Illinois near the Mississippi River.
+{{legend|#5b0f00|80–90%}}
-Historically documented tribes in the North Carolina region include the [[Carolina Algonquian]]-speaking tribes of the coastal areas, such as the [[Chowanoke]], [[Roanoke (tribe)|Roanoke]], [[Pamlico]], [[Machapunga]], [[Coree]], and [[Cape Fear Indians]], who were the first encountered by the English; the [[Iroquoian]]-speaking [[Meherrin]], [[Cherokee]], and [[Tuscarora (tribe)|Tuscarora]] of the interior; and Southeastern [[Siouan]] tribes, such as the [[Cheraw (tribe)|Cheraw]], [[Waxhaws|Waxhaw]], [[Saponi]], [[Waccamaw Siouan|Waccamaw]], and [[Catawba (tribe)|Catawba]].
+{{legend|#410b00|90%+}}
-Spanish [[explorer]]s traveling inland in the 16th century met [[Mississippian culture]] people at [[Joara]], a regional [[chiefdom]] near present-day [[Morganton, North Carolina|Morganton]]. Records of [[Hernando de Soto]] attested to his meeting with them in 1540. In 1567 Captain [[Juan Pardo (explorer)|Juan Pardo]] led an expedition to claim the area for the Spanish colony and to establish another route to protect silver mines in Mexico. Pardo made a winter base at Joara, which he renamed ''Cuenca''. His expedition built Fort San Juan and left a contingent of 30 men there, while Pardo traveled further, and built and garrisoned five other forts. He returned by a different route to [[Mission Santa Elena|Santa Elena]] on [[Parris Island, South Carolina]], then a center of [[Spanish Florida]]. In the spring of 1568, natives killed all but one of the soldiers and burned the six forts in the interior, including the one at Fort San Juan. Although the Spanish never returned to the interior, this effort marked the first European attempt at colonization of the interior of what became the United States. A 16th-century journal by Pardo's scribe Bandera and [[archaeological]] findings since 1986 at Joara have confirmed the settlement.<ref name=richards/><ref>{{cite web|author1=Patrick Gibbs |url=http://antiquity.ac.uk/ProjGall/moore/index.html |first2=David G. |last2=Moore |first3=Robin A. |last3=Beck, Jr. |first4=Christopher B. |last4=Rodning |title=Joara and Fort San Juan: culture contact at the edge of the world |volume=78, No. 229 |publisher=Antiquity.ac.uk |date=March 2004 |accessdate=July 24, 2011 |deadurl=yes |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20110724171011/http://antiquity.ac.uk/ProjGall/moore/index.html |archivedate=July 24, 2011 |df=mdy-all }}</ref>
+{{col-3}}
-[[File:Croatoan.jpg|thumb|right|[[John White (colonist and artist)|John White]] returns to find the colony abandoned.]]
-In 1584, [[Elizabeth I]] granted a charter to [[Sir Walter Raleigh]], for whom the state capital is named, for land in present-day North Carolina (then part of the territory of [[Virginia]]).<ref>{{cite book
-|last=Randinelli
-|first=Tracey
-|title=Tanglewood Park
-|publisher=Harcourt
-|location=Orlando, Florida
-|page=16
-|url=
-|id=
-|isbn=0-15-333476-2 }}</ref>  It was the second American territory which the English attempted to colonize. Raleigh established two colonies on the coast in the late 1580s, but both failed. The fate of the "[[Roanoke Colony|Lost Colony]]" of [[Roanoke Island]] remains one of the most widely debated mysteries of American history. [[Virginia Dare]], the first English child to be born in North America, was born on Roanoke Island on August 18, 1587; [[Dare County, North Carolina|Dare County]] is named for her.
+'''Black or African American'''
-As early as 1650, settlers from the Virginia colony moved into the area of [[Albemarle Sound]]. By 1663, King [[Charles II of England]] granted a charter to start a new colony on the North American continent; it generally established North Carolina's borders. He named it ''Carolina'' in honor of his father [[Charles I of England|Charles I]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://statelibrary.dcr.state.nc.us/NC/HISTORY/HISTORY.HTM |title=North Carolina State Library – North Carolina History |publisher=Statelibrary.dcr.state.nc.us |accessdate=July 24, 2011 |deadurl=yes |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20090205021230/http://statelibrary.dcr.state.nc.us/NC/HISTORY/HISTORY.HTM |archivedate=February 5, 2009 |df=mdy-all }}</ref> By 1665, a second charter was issued to attempt to resolve territorial questions. In 1710, owing to disputes over governance, the Carolina colony began to split into North Carolina and [[South Carolina]]. The latter became a crown colony in 1729.
+{{legend|#ffe599|40–50%}}
-In the 1700s, a series of [[smallpox]] epidemics swept the South, causing high fatalities among the Native Americans, who had no [[immunity (medical)|immunity]] to the new disease (it had become [[endemic]] in Europe).<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.uncpress.unc.edu/nc_encyclopedia/cherokee.html |title=Cherokee Indians |publisher=Uncpress.unc.edu |date=November 16, 1919 |accessdate=July 24, 2011}}</ref> According to the historian Russell Thornton, "The 1738 epidemic was said to have killed one-half of the [[Cherokee]], with other tribes of the area suffering equally."<ref>Russell Thornton (1990) ''[https://books.google.com/books?id=9iQYSQ9y60MC&pg=&dq&hl=en#v=onepage&q=&f=false American Indian Holocaust and Survival: A Population History since 1492]'', University of Oklahoma Press. p.79. {{ISBN|0-8061-2220-X}}</ref>
+{{legend|#ffd966|50–60%}}
-===Colonial period and Revolutionary War===
-{{See also|Province of Carolina|Province of North Carolina|American Revolutionary War}}
-[[File:Tryon Palace.JPG|thumb|Reconstructed royal governor's mansion [[Tryon Palace]] in [[New Bern, North Carolina|New Bern]]]]
-After the Spanish in the 16th century, the first permanent European settlers of North Carolina were English colonists who migrated south from [[Virginia]]. The latter had grown rapidly and land was less available. [[Nathaniel Batts]] was documented as one of the first of these Virginian migrants. He settled south of the [[Chowan River]] and east of the [[Great Dismal Swamp]] in 1655.<ref>Fenn and Wood, ''Natives and Newcomers'', pp. 24–25</ref> By 1663, this northeastern area of the [[Province of Carolina]], known as the [[Albemarle Settlements]], was undergoing full-scale English settlement.<ref>Powell, ''North Carolina Through Four Centuries'', p. 105</ref>  During the same period, the English monarch [[Charles II of England|Charles II]] gave the province to the [[Lords Proprietors]], a group of noblemen who had helped restore Charles to the throne in 1660. The new province of "Carolina" was named in honor and memory of King [[Charles I of England|Charles I]] (Latin: ''Carolus''). In 1712, North Carolina became a separate colony. Except for the [[John Carteret, 2nd Earl Granville|Earl Granville]] holdings, it became a royal colony seventeen years later.<ref name="autogenerated1">Lefler and Newsome, (1973)</ref> A large revolt happened in the state in 1711 known as [[Cary's Rebellion]].
+{{legend|#f1c232|60–70%}}
-Differences in the settlement patterns of eastern and western North Carolina, or the [[South Carolina Lowcountry|Low Country]] and uplands, affected the political, economic, and social life of the state from the 18th until the 20th century. The Tidewater in eastern North Carolina was settled chiefly by immigrants from rural England and the [[Scottish Highlands]]. The upcountry of western North Carolina was settled chiefly by [[Ulster Scots people|Scots-Irish]], English, and [[Germans|German]] Protestants, the so-called "[[cohee]]". Arriving during the mid- to late 18th century, the Scots-Irish from what is today Northern Ireland were the largest non-English immigrant group before the Revolution; English indentured servants were overwhelmingly the largest immigrant group before the Revolution.<ref>{{cite web|author= Bethune, Lawrence E |title= Scots to Colonial North Carolina Before 1775 |work= Lawrence E. Bethune's M.U.S.I.C.s Project  |url=http://www.dalhousielodge.org/Thesis/scotstonc.htm }}</ref><ref name="census.gov">{{cite web|url=http://www.census.gov/population/www/censusdata/files/pc80-s1-10/tab03a.pdf |title=Ancestry of the Population by State: 1980 – Table 3a – Persons Who Reported a Single Ancestry Group for Regions, Divisions and States|format=PDF |accessdate=May 11, 2012}}</ref><ref name="ReferenceA">{{cite web|url=http://www.census.gov/population/www/censusdata/files/pc80-s1-10/tab01.pdf |title=Table 1. '&#39;Type of Ancestry Response for Regions, Divisions and States: 1980 |format=PDF |accessdate=May 11, 2012}}</ref><ref name="census.gov"/><ref name="ReferenceA"/><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.geocities.com/nai_cilh/servitude.html |title=Indentured Servitude in Colonial America |publisher=Webcitation.org |accessdate=May 11, 2012 |deadurl=yes |archiveurl=https://www.webcitation.org/5klVsFyDj?url=http://www.geocities.com/nai_cilh/servitude.html |archivedate=October 24, 2009 |df=mdy-all }}</ref>  During the [[American Revolutionary War]], the English and Highland Scots of eastern North Carolina tended to remain loyal to the British Crown, because of longstanding business and personal connections with Great Britain. The English, Welsh, Scots-Irish, and German settlers of western North Carolina tended to favor American independence from Britain.
+{{col-3}}
-Most of the English colonists had arrived as [[indentured servant]]s, hiring themselves out as laborers for a fixed period to pay for their passage. In the early years the line between indentured servants and African [[slave]]s or laborers was fluid. Some Africans were allowed to earn their freedom before slavery became a lifelong status. Most of the [[free people of color|free colored]] families formed in North Carolina before the Revolution were descended from unions or marriages between free white women and enslaved or free African or African-American men. Because the mothers were free, their children were born free. Many had migrated or were descendants of migrants from colonial Virginia.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.freeafricanamericans.com/ |title=Paul Heinegg, '&#39;Free African Americans in Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Maryland and Delaware'&#39; |publisher=Freeafricanamericans.com |accessdate=July 24, 2011}}</ref> As the flow of indentured laborers to the colony decreased with improving economic conditions in [[Kingdom of Great Britain|Great Britain]], planters imported more slaves, and the state's legal delineations between free and slave status tightened, effectively hardening the latter into a racial caste. The economy's growth and prosperity was based on slave labor, devoted first to the production of tobacco.
+'''Native American'''
-On April 12, 1776, the colony became the first to instruct its delegates to the [[Continental Congress]] to vote for independence from the British Crown, through the [[Halifax Resolves]] passed by the [[North Carolina Provincial Congress]]. The dates of both of these events are memorialized on the [[Flag of North Carolina|state flag]] and [[Seal of North Carolina|state seal]].<ref name="NCSeal">{{cite web| title=The Great Seal of North Carolina| publisher=Netstate.com| url=http://www.netstate.com/states/syMbit/seals/nc_seal.htm| accessdate=September 12, 2006}}{{Dead link|date=October 2010|bot=H3llBot}}</ref> Throughout the Revolutionary War, fierce [[guerrilla warfare]] erupted between bands of pro-independence and pro-British colonists. In some cases the war was also an excuse to settle private grudges and rivalries. A major American victory in the war took place at [[King's Mountain]] along the North Carolina–South Carolina border; on October 7, 1780, a force of 1000 mountain men from western North Carolina (including what is today the state of [[Tennessee]]) and [[southwest Virginia]] overwhelmed a force of some 1000 British troops led by Major [[Patrick Ferguson]]. Most of the soldiers fighting for the British side in this battle were Carolinians who had remained loyal to the Crown (they were called "Tories" or Loyalists). The American victory at Kings Mountain gave the advantage to colonists who favored American independence, and it prevented the British Army from recruiting new soldiers from the Tories.
-[[File:Battle of Guiliford Courthouse 15 March 1781.jpg|thumb|left|1st Maryland Regiment holding the line at the [[Battle of Guilford]]]]
+{{legend|#b6d7a8|40–50%}}
-The road to [[Yorktown, Virginia|Yorktown]] and America's independence from [[Kingdom of Great Britain|Great Britain]] led through North Carolina. As the [[British Army]] moved north from victories in [[Charleston, South Carolina|Charleston]] and [[Camden, South Carolina]], the Southern Division of the [[Continental Army]] and local militia prepared to meet them. Following General [[Daniel Morgan]]'s victory over the British Cavalry Commander [[Banastre Tarleton]] at the [[Battle of Cowpens]] on January 17, 1781, southern commander [[Nathanael Greene]] led British Lord [[Charles Cornwallis]] across the heartland of North Carolina, and away from the latter's base of supply in Charleston, South Carolina. This campaign is known as "The Race to the Dan" or "The Race for the River."<ref name="autogenerated1"/>
+{{col-end}}
-In the [[Battle of Cowan's Ford]], Cornwallis met resistance along the banks of the [[Catawba River]] at Cowan's Ford on February 1, 1781, in an attempt to engage General Morgan's forces during a tactical withdrawal.<ref>Stonestreet, Ottis C. IV, ''The Battle of Cowan's Ford: General Davidson's Stand on the Catawba River and its place in North Carolina History'' (CreateSpace Publishing 2012) {{ISBN|978-1-4680-7730-8}} p. 3.</ref> Morgan had moved to the northern part of the state to combine with General Greene's newly recruited forces. Generals Greene and Cornwallis finally met at the [[Battle of Guilford Courthouse]] in present-day [[Greensboro, North Carolina|Greensboro]] on March 15, 1781. Although the [[Kingdom of Great Britain|British]] troops held the field at the end of the battle, their casualties at the hands of the numerically superior Continental Army were crippling. Following this "[[Pyrrhic victory]]", Cornwallis chose to move to the Virginia coastline to get reinforcements, and to allow the [[Royal Navy]] to protect his battered army. This decision would result in Cornwallis' eventual defeat at [[Yorktown, Virginia]], later in 1781. The Patriots' victory there guaranteed American independence.
+}}|303x303px]]
+At the [[2010 United States census|2010 census]],<ref>{{cite web|title=2010 Census|url=http://www2.census.gov/geo/maps/dc10_thematic/2010_Profile/2010_Profile_Map_North_Carolina.pdf|publisher=United States Census Bureau|access-date=August 21, 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110911083610/http://www2.census.gov/geo/maps/dc10_thematic/2010_Profile/2010_Profile_Map_North_Carolina.pdf|archive-date=September 11, 2011|url-status=live}}</ref> the racial composition of North Carolina was: [[White American|White]]: 68.5% (65.3% [[non-Hispanic white]], 3.2% [[White Hispanic]]), [[black people|Black]] or African American: 21.5%, [[Latin American|Latin]] and [[Hispanic and Latino Americans|Hispanic American]] of any race: 8.4%, [[race in the United States|some other race]]: 4.3%, [[Multiracial American]]: 2.2%, Asian American: 2.2%, and [[Native Hawaiian]] and [[Pacific Islander]]: 1%. In 2020, North Carolina like much of the U.S. experienced a decline in its non-Hispanic white population; at the 2020 census, non-Hispanic whites were 62.2%, Blacks or African Americans 20.5%, American Indian and Alaska Natives 1.2%, Asians 3.3%, Native Hawaiian and other Pacific Islanders 0.1%, people from other race 5.9%, and multiracial Americans 6.8%.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web|title=North Carolina: 2020 Census|url=https://www.census.gov/library/stories/state-by-state/north-carolina-population-change-between-census-decade.html|access-date=September 19, 2021|website=United States Census Bureau|language=EN-US|archive-date=September 20, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210920213308/https://www.census.gov/library/stories/state-by-state/north-carolina-population-change-between-census-decade.html|url-status=live}}</ref>
-===Antebellum period===
-On November 21, 1789, North Carolina became the twelfth state to ratify the [[United States Constitution|Constitution]]. In 1840, it completed the [[North Carolina State Capitol|state capitol]] building in Raleigh, still standing today. Most of North Carolina's slave owners and large [[plantations in the American South|plantations]] were located in the eastern portion of the state. Although North Carolina's plantation system was smaller and less cohesive than that of [[Virginia]], [[Georgia (U.S. state)|Georgia]], or [[South Carolina]], significant numbers of planters were concentrated in the counties around the port cities of Wilmington and Edenton, as well as suburban planters around the cities of Raleigh, Charlotte, and [[Durham, North Carolina|Durham]] in the Piedmont. Planters owning large estates wielded significant political and socio-economic power in antebellum North Carolina, which was a slave society. They placed their interests above those of the generally non-slave-holding "yeoman" farmers of western North Carolina. In mid-century, the state's rural and commercial areas were connected by the construction of a 129-mile (208&nbsp;km) wooden plank road, known as a "farmer's railroad", from [[Fayetteville, North Carolina|Fayetteville]] in the east to [[Bethania, North Carolina|Bethania]] (northwest of [[Winston-Salem, North Carolina|Winston-Salem]]).<ref name="autogenerated1"/>
-[[File:Map North Carolina roads and railroads 1854.jpg|thumb|[[Map]] of the roads and railroads of North Carolina, 1854]]
-Besides slaves, there were a number of [[free people of color]] in the state. Most were descended from free African Americans who had migrated along with neighbors from [[Virginia]] during the 18th century. The majority were the descendants of unions in the working classes between white women, indentured servants or free, and African men, indentured, slave or free.<ref>[http://freeafricanamericans.com/ Paul Heinegg, ''Free African Americans in Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Maryland and Delaware''], 2005</ref> After the [[American Revolutionary War|Revolution]], [[Religious Society of Friends|Quakers]] and [[Mennonite]]s worked to persuade slaveholders to free their slaves. Some were inspired by their efforts and the language of the Revolution to arrange for [[manumission]] of their slaves. The number of free people of color rose markedly in the first couple of decades after the Revolution.<ref>John Hope Franklin, ''Free Negroes of North Carolina, 1789–1860'', Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 1941, reprint, 1991</ref>
+[[Atlantic slave trade|Enslaved Africans]] were brought to North Carolina to be sold into [[Slavery in the United States|slavery]]. A majority of the black population is now concentrated in the urban areas and northeastern part of the state.<ref>{{cite web |last=Tippett |first=Rebecca |date=February 27, 2015 |title=NC in Focus: Black Population |url=https://carolinademography.cpc.unc.edu/2015/02/27/nc-in-focus-black-population/ |access-date=October 8, 2023 |website=Carolina Demography |publisher=University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill |archive-date=October 15, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231015040523/https://carolinademography.cpc.unc.edu/2015/02/27/nc-in-focus-black-population/ |url-status=live }}</ref>
-On October 25, 1836, construction began on the [[Wilmington and Raleigh Railroad]]<ref>{{cite web| url=http://www.historync.org/railroads.htm |title=NC Business History – Railroads |publisher=Historync.org |accessdate=July 24, 2011}}</ref> to connect the port city of [[Wilmington, North Carolina|Wilmington]] with the state capital of [[Raleigh, North Carolina|Raleigh]]. In 1849 the North Carolina Railroad was created by act of the legislature to extend that railroad west to [[Greensboro, North Carolina|Greensboro]], [[High Point, North Carolina|High Point]], and [[Charlotte, North Carolina|Charlotte]]. During the Civil War, the Wilmington-to-Raleigh stretch of the railroad would be vital to the Confederate war effort; supplies shipped into Wilmington would be moved by rail through Raleigh to the Confederate capital of [[Richmond, Virginia]].
+North Carolina's Hispanic population has grown rapidly. The Hispanic population more than doubled in size between 1990 and 2000. Many of North Carolina's Hispanic residents are of [[Mexican Americans|Mexican]] heritage. Many of North Carolina's newer Latino residents came from Mexico largely to work in agriculture, manufacturing, or on one of North Carolina's military installations.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.britannica.com/place/North-Carolina-state/Climate|title=North Carolina - Humid, Temperate, Coastal &#124; Britannica|website=www.britannica.com|access-date=November 19, 2023|archive-date=November 19, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231119150845/https://www.britannica.com/place/North-Carolina-state/Climate|url-status=live}}</ref>
-During the antebellum period, North Carolina was an overwhelmingly rural state, even by Southern standards. In 1860 only one North Carolina town, the port city of [[Wilmington, North Carolina|Wilmington]], had a population of more than 10,000. [[Raleigh, North Carolina|Raleigh]], the state capital, had barely more than 5,000 residents.
+The most common ancestries in North Carolina are African-American, American, German, English, and Irish.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Tippett |first=Rebecca |date=March 17, 2014 |title=One in 11 North Carolinians Claim Irish Ancestry |url=https://carolinademography.cpc.unc.edu/2014/03/17/one-in-11-north-carolinians-claim-irish-ancestry/ |access-date=December 12, 2023 |website=Carolina Demography |publisher=University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill |archive-date=December 12, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231212094426/https://carolinademography.cpc.unc.edu/2014/03/17/one-in-11-north-carolinians-claim-irish-ancestry/ |url-status=live }}</ref>
-While slaveholding was slightly less concentrated than in some Southern states, according to the 1860 census, more than 330,000 people, or 33% of the population of 992,622, were enslaved African Americans.<ref name=census>{{cite web|title=Historical Census Browser:Census Data for Year 1860 |date=2004 |accessdate=June 26, 2014 |website=University of Virginia Library |url=http://mapserver.lib.virginia.edu/php/start.php?year=V1860 |deadurl=yes |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20141011024040/http://mapserver.lib.virginia.edu/php/start.php?year=V1860 |archivedate=October 11, 2014 |df= }}</ref> They lived and worked chiefly on plantations in the eastern [[Tidewater (geographic term)|Tidewater]]. In addition, 30,463 [[free people of color]] lived in the state.<ref name=census/> They were also concentrated in the eastern coastal plain, especially at port cities such as Wilmington and [[New Bern]], where a variety of jobs were available. Free African Americans were allowed to vote until 1835, when the state revoked their suffrage in restrictions following the slave rebellion of 1831 led by [[Nat Turner]]. Southern slave codes criminalized willful killing of a slave in most cases.<ref name="slaves">{{cite book |last=Morris |first=Thomas D. |title=''Southern Slavery and the Law, 1619-1860'' |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=VmPWCKh0hZAC&pg=PA172  |publisher=University of North Carolina Press|year=1999|page=172| isbn=0807864307}}</ref>
+North Carolina has the eighth-largest Native American population in the country.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Richardson |first=Gregory A. |year=2005 |title=American Indian Tribes in North Carolina |url=https://www.ncpedia.org/tribes |access-date=December 12, 2023 |website=NCpedia |publisher=Tar Heel Junior Historian Association |archive-date=December 12, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231212094922/https://www.ncpedia.org/tribes |url-status=live }}</ref> The state is home to eight Native American tribes and four urban Native American organizations.<ref>{{Cite web |title=About NC Native Communities |url=https://americanindiancenter.unc.edu/resources/about-nc-native-communities/ |access-date=December 12, 2023 |website=American Indian Center |archive-date=December 13, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231213185728/https://americanindiancenter.unc.edu/resources/about-nc-native-communities/ |url-status=live }}</ref>
-===American Civil War===
-{{Main article|North Carolina in the American Civil War}}
-{{Further information|American Civil War}}
-[[File:Battle of Fort Fisher.jpg|thumb|right|Union captures [[Fort Fisher]], 1865]]
-In 1860, North Carolina was a slave state, in which one-third of the population was enslaved. This was a smaller proportion than in many Southern states. The state did not vote to join the [[Confederate States of America|Confederacy]] until President [[Abraham Lincoln]] called on it to invade its sister state, [[South Carolina]], becoming the last or second-to-last state to officially join the Confederacy. The title of "last to join the Confederacy" has been disputed; although Tennessee's informal secession on May 7, 1861, preceded North Carolina's official secession on May 20,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.civiced.org/index.php?page=timeline_lincoln |title=Center for Civic Education – Lincoln Bicentennial with Supplemental Lesson: Timeline |publisher=Civiced.org |accessdate=July 24, 2011}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://docsouth.unc.edu/highlights/secession.html |title=Highlights: Secession |publisher=Docsouth.unc.edu |accessdate=July 24, 2011}}</ref> the Tennessee legislature did not formally vote to secede until June 8, 1861.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/today/jun08.html |title=Today in History: June 8 |publisher=Memory.loc.gov |date=April 9, 1959 |accessdate=July 24, 2011}}</ref>
-North Carolina was the site of few battles, but it provided the Confederacy with at least 125,000 troops, which is far more than any other state did. Approximately 40,000 of those troops died: more than half of disease, the remainder from battlefield wounds and from starvation. North Carolina also supplied about 15,000 Union troops.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.classbrain.com/artstate/publish/NC_civil_war_facts.shtml |title=Civil War Facts About North Carolina |publisher=Classbrain.com |accessdate=July 24, 2011 |deadurl=yes |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20110723153245/http://www.classbrain.com/artstate/publish/NC_civil_war_facts.shtml |archivedate=July 23, 2011 |df=mdy-all }}</ref> Elected in 1862, Governor [[Zebulon Baird Vance]] tried to maintain state autonomy against Confederate President [[Jefferson Davis]] in [[Richmond, Virginia|Richmond]].
-[[File:Silent Sam.jpg|thumb|left|Sculpture of [[Confederate States of America|Confederate]] soldier [[Silent Sam]], [[University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill]], by [[John Wilson (sculptor)|John Wilson]]]]
-After secession, some North Carolinians refused to support the Confederacy. Some of the yeoman farmers in the state's mountains and western Piedmont region remained neutral during the Civil War, while some covertly supported the [[Union (American Civil War)|Union]] cause during the conflict. Approximately 2,000 North Carolinians from western North Carolina enlisted in the [[Union Army]] and fought for the North in the war. Two additional Union Army regiments were raised in the coastal areas of the state, which were occupied by Union forces in 1862 and 1863. Numerous slaves escaped to Union lines, where they became essentially free.
-Confederate troops from all parts of North Carolina served in virtually all the major battles of the [[Army of Northern Virginia]], the Confederacy's most famous army. The largest battle fought in North Carolina was at [[Battle of Bentonville|Bentonville]], which was a futile attempt by Confederate General [[Joseph E. Johnston|Joseph Johnston]] to slow Union General [[William Tecumseh Sherman]]'s advance through the Carolinas in the spring of 1865.<ref name="autogenerated1" /> In April 1865, after losing the [[Battle of Morrisville]], Johnston surrendered to Sherman at [[Bennett Place]], in what is today [[Durham, North Carolina|Durham]]. North Carolina's port city of [[Wilmington, North Carolina|Wilmington]] was the last Confederate port to fall to the Union, in February 1865, after the Union won the nearby [[Second Battle of Fort Fisher]], its major defense downriver.
-[[File:2008-08-16 Bennett Place historic site.jpg|thumb|right|[[Bennett Place]] historic site in [[Durham, North Carolina|Durham]]]]
-The first Confederate soldier to be killed in the Civil War was Private Henry Wyatt from North Carolina, in the [[Battle of Big Bethel]] in June 1861. At the [[Battle of Gettysburg]] in July 1863, the 26th North Carolina Regiment participated in [[Pickett's Charge|Pickett/Pettigrew's Charge]] and advanced the farthest into the Northern lines of any Confederate regiment. During the [[Battle of Chickamauga]], the 58th North Carolina Regiment advanced farther than any other regiment on Snodgrass Hill to push back the remaining Union forces from the battlefield. At [[Appomattox Court House National Historical Park|Appomattox Court House]] in Virginia in April 1865, the 75th North Carolina Regiment, a cavalry unit, fired the last shots of the Confederate [[Army of Northern Virginia]] in the Civil War. For many years, North Carolinians proudly boasted that they had been "First at Bethel, Farthest at Gettysburg and Chickamauga, and Last at Appomattox."
-==Demographics==
-{{main article|Demographics of North Carolina}}
-{{refimprove section|date=August 2016}}
-{{US Census population
-|1790= 393751
-|1800= 478103
-|1810= 556526
-|1820= 638829
-|1830= 737987
-|1840= 753419
-|1850= 869039
-|1860= 992622
-|1870= 1071361
-|1880= 1399750
-|1890= 1617949
-|1900= 1893810
-|1910= 2206287
-|1920= 2559123
-|1930= 3170276
-|1940= 3571623
-|1950= 4061929
-|1960= 4556155
-|1970= 5082059
-|1980= 5881766
-|1990= 6628637
-|2000= 8049313
-|2010= 9535471
-|estimate= 10146788
-|estyear= 2016
-|align-fn=center
-|footnote=Source: 1910–2010<ref>{{cite web|author=Resident Population Data |url=http://2010.census.gov/2010census/data/apportionment-pop-text.php |title=Resident Population Data – 2010 Census |publisher=2010.census.gov |accessdate=December 22, 2012 |deadurl=yes |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20121220045933/http://2010.census.gov/2010census/data/apportionment-pop-text.php |archivedate=December 20, 2012 |df=mdy-all }}</ref><br />2016 estimate<ref name=PopHousingEst/>
-}}
-The [[United States Census Bureau]] estimates that the population of North Carolina was 10,146,788 on July 1, 2016, a 6.4% increase since the [[2010 United States Census]].<ref name="PopHousingEst" /> Of the people residing in North Carolina, 58.5% were born in North Carolina, 33.1% were born in another US state, 1.0% were born in Puerto Rico, U.S. Island areas, or born abroad to American parent(s), and 7.4% were born in another country.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://factfinder2.census.gov/faces/tableservices/jsf/pages/productview.xhtml?src=bkmk |title=American FactFinder – Results |author=Data Access and Dissemination Systems (DADS) |work=census.gov |deadurl=yes |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20140815134909/http://factfinder2.census.gov/faces/tableservices/jsf/pages/productview.xhtml?src=bkmk |archivedate=August 15, 2014 |df=mdy-all }}</ref>
-As of 2011, 49.8% of North Carolina's population younger than age 1 were minorities.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.cleveland.com/datacentral/index.ssf/2012/06/americas_under_age_1_populatio.html|title=Americans under age 1 now mostly minorities, but not in Ohio: Statistical Snapshot|last=Exner|first=Rich|date=June 3, 2012|work=[[The Plain Dealer]]}}</ref>
-===Ethnicity===
-'''Demographics of North Carolina''' covers the varieties of ethnic groups that reside in North Carolina, along with the relevant trends.
-The state's racial composition in the 2010 Census:<ref>{{cite web|title=2010 Census|url=http://www2.census.gov/geo/maps/dc10_thematic/2010_Profile/2010_Profile_Map_North_Carolina.pdf|publisher=US Census|accessdate=August 21, 2011}}</ref>
-* [[White American|White]]: 68.5% (65.3% [[non-Hispanic white]], 3.2% [[White Hispanic]])
-* [[black people|Black]] or [[African American]]: 21.5%
-*[[Latin American|Latin]] and [[Hispanic and Latin Americans|Hispanic American]] of any race: 8.4%
-*[[race in the United States|Some other race]]: 4.3%
-* [[Multiracial American]]: 2.2%
-* [[Asian American]]: 2.2%
-* [[Native Hawaiian]] and [[Pacific Islander]]: 1%
-{| class="wikitable sortable collapsible"
-|+ '''North Carolina Racial Breakdown of Population'''
-|-
-! Racial composition  !! 1990<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.census.gov/population/www/documentation/twps0056/twps0056.html |title=Historical Census Statistics on Population Totals By Race, 1790 to 1990, and By Hispanic Origin, 1970 to 1990, For The United States, Regions, Divisions, and States |author=Population Division, Laura K. Yax |publisher= |accessdate=January 5, 2015 |deadurl=yes |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20080725044857/http://www.census.gov/population/www/documentation/twps0056/twps0056.html |archivedate=July 25, 2008 |df=mdy-all }}</ref>!! 2000<ref>[http://censusviewer.com/city/NC Population of North Carolina: Census 2010 and 2000 Interactive Map, Demographics, Statistics, Quick Facts]{{dead link|date=March 2017 |bot=Beta7 |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref>!! 2010<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.census.gov/2010census/data/|title=2010 Census Data|author=Center for New Media and Promotions(C2PO)|publisher=|accessdate=January 5, 2015}}</ref>
-|-
-| [[White American|White]] || 75.6% || 72.1% || 68.5%
-|-
-| [[African American|Black]] || 22.0% || 21.6% || 21.4%
-|-
-| [[Asian American|Asian]] || 0.8% || 1.4% || 2.2%
-|-
-| [[Native Americans in the United States|Native]] || 1.2% || 1.2% || 1.3%
-|-
-| [[Native Hawaiian]] and<br />[[Pacific Islander|other Pacific Islander]] || – || 0.1% || 0.1%
-|-
-| [[Race and ethnicity in the United States Census|Other race]] || 0.5% || 2.3% || 4.3%
-|-
-| [[Multiracial American|Two or more races]] || – || 1.3% || 2.3%
-|}
-As of 2011, 49.8% of North Carolina's population younger than age 1 were minorities (meaning that they had at least one parent who was not non-Hispanic white).<ref>{{cite news|url = http://www.cleveland.com/datacentral/index.ssf/2012/06/americas_under_age_1_populatio.html|title= Americans under age 1 now mostly minorities, but not in Ohio: Statistical Snapshot|last=Exner|first=Rich|date= June 3, 2012 |work=[[The Plain Dealer]]}}</ref>
 ===Languages===
-As of 2010, 89.66% (7,750,904) of North Carolina residents age 5 and older spoke English at home as a [[primary language]], while 6.93% (598,756) spoke Spanish, 0.32% (27,310) French, 0.27% (23,204) German, and Chinese (which includes [[Standard Chinese|Mandarin]]) was spoken as a [[main language]] by 0.27% (23,072) of the population over the age of five. In total, 10.34% (893,735) of North Carolina's population age 5 and older spoke a [[mother language]] other than English.<ref name="MLA Data">{{cite web|url=http://www.mla.org/map_data |title=North Carolina|publisher=[[Modern Language Association]]|accessdate=August 16, 2013}}</ref>
 {| class="wikitable sortable" style="margin-left:1em; float:center"
-|+ '''Top 15 Non-English Languages Spoken in North Carolina'''
+|+ '''Most common languages other than English spoken in North Carolina'''
 |-
-! Language !! Percentage of population<br /><small>(as of 2010)</small><ref name="MLA Data"/>
+! Language !! Percentage of population<br /><small>(in 2010)</small><ref name="MLA Data" />
 |-
 | Spanish || 6.93%
@@ Line 518: / Line 840: @@
 | Italian and Japanese (tied)|| 0.08%
 |-
-| [[Cherokee language|Cherokee]] || 0.01%<ref name="Cherokee">{{cite web
+| [[Cherokee language|Cherokee]] || 0.01%<ref>{{cite web
 | title = Cherokee
-| work = Ethnologue
+| website = Ethnologue
-| accessdate = April 11, 2014
+| access-date = April 11, 2014
 | url = http://www.ethnologue.com/language/chr
+| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20150730231052/http://www.ethnologue.com/language/chr
-}}</ref>
+| archive-date = July 30, 2015
+| url-status = live
+}}</ref>
 |}
+North Carolina is home to a spectrum of different dialects of [[Southern American English]] and [[Appalachian English]].
+In 2010, 89.66% (7,750,904) of North Carolina residents age five and older spoke English at home as a [[primary language]], while 6.93% (598,756) spoke Spanish, 0.32% (27,310) French, 0.27% (23,204) German, and Chinese (which includes [[Standard Chinese|Mandarin]]) was spoken as a [[main language]] by 0.27% (23,072) of the population five and older. In total, 10.34% (893,735) of North Carolina's population age five and older spoke a [[mother language]] other than English.<ref name="MLA Data">{{cite web|url=http://www.mla.org/map_data|title=North Carolina|publisher=[[Modern Language Association]]|access-date=August 16, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071201170638/http://www.mla.org/map_data|archive-date=December 1, 2007|url-status=live}}</ref> In 2019, 87.7% of the population aged 5 and older spoke English and 12.3% spoke another language. The most common non-English language was Spanish at the 2019 [[American Community Survey]].<ref>{{Cite web|title=Languages spoken at home in 2019|url=https://data.census.gov/cedsci/table?q=North%20Carolina%20languages&tid=ACSST1Y2019.S1601|access-date=June 21, 2021|website=data.census.gov|archive-date=June 24, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210624204119/https://data.census.gov/cedsci/table?q=North%20Carolina%20languages&tid=ACSST1Y2019.S1601|url-status=live}}</ref>
 ===Religion===
+{{bar box
-{| class="wikitable"  style="float:right; margin-left:15px; margin-top:0;"
+|title = Religion in North Carolina (2014)<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.pewforum.org/religious-landscape-study/state/north-carolina/|title=Religion in America: U.S. Religious Data, Demographics and Statistics—Pew Research Center|access-date=December 9, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171210015631/http://www.pewforum.org/religious-landscape-study/state/north-carolina/|archive-date=December 10, 2017|url-status=live}}</ref>
-|-
+|titlebar=#ddd |left1=Religion |right1=Percent |float=right
-|  style="background:#ccf; text-align:center;" colspan="3"| '''Religious affiliation'''
+|bars =
-|-
+{{bar percent|[[Evangelicalism|Evangelical Protestant]]|Indigo|35}}
-| colspan="2" style="border-bottom:0;"|[[Christianity|Christian]]
+{{bar percent|[[Irreligion in the United States|Unaffiliated]]|Grey|20}}
-|align=right|84%
+{{bar percent|[[Mainline Protestant]]|Blue|19}}
-|-
+{{bar percent|[[Black Church (African American)|Historically Black Protestant]]|Violet|12}}
-| rowspan="4" style="border-top:0;"|
+{{bar percent|[[Catholic]]|DarkOrchid|9}}
-|[[Evangelicalism#Evangelicalism in the United States|Evangelical Protestant]]
+{{bar percent|[[Mormon]]|blue|1}}
-|align=right|41%
+{{bar percent|[[Eastern Orthodox]]|pink|1}}
-|-
+{{bar percent|[[Jehovah's Witness]]|yellow|1}}
-|[[Mainline (Protestant)|Mainline Protestant]]
+{{bar percent|[[American Jews|Jewish]]|green|1}}
-|align=right|21%
+{{bar percent|Other faith|grey|1}}
-|-
+}}
-|[[Black church|Black Protestant]]
-|align=right|13%
+North Carolina residents since the colonial era have historically been overwhelmingly [[Protestant]]—first [[Anglicanism|Anglican]], then [[Baptism|Baptist]] and [[Methodism|Methodist]]. In 2010, the Southern Baptist Convention was the single largest Christian denomination, with 4,241 churches and 1,513,000 members. The second largest was the [[United Methodist Church]], with 660,000 members and 1,923 churches. The third was the [[Catholic Church|Roman Catholic Church]], with 428,000 members in 190 [[Parish (Catholic Church)|parishes]]. The fourth largest was the [[Presbyterian Church (USA)]], with 186,000 members and 710 congregations; this denomination was brought by Scots-Irish immigrants who settled the backcountry in the colonial era.<ref>{{cite web |title=North Carolina: Religious Traditions |date=2010 |access-date=June 10, 2014 |website=State Membership Report |url=http://www.thearda.com/rcms2010/r/s/37/rcms2010_37_state_adh_2010.asp |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131217003206/http://www.thearda.com/rcms2010/r/s/37/rcms2010_37_state_adh_2010.asp |archive-date=December 17, 2013 |url-status=dead |publisher=Association of Religious Data Archives }}</ref> In 2020, the Southern Baptists remained the largest with 1,324,747 adherents, though Methodists and others were collectively overtaken by non/interdenominational Protestants numbering 1,053,564.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Maps and data files for 2020 {{!}} U.S. Religion Census {{!}} Religious Statistics & Demographics |url=https://www.usreligioncensus.org/index.php/node/1639 |access-date=February 2, 2023 |website=www.usreligioncensus.org |archive-date=January 15, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230115001940/https://www.usreligioncensus.org/index.php/node/1639 |url-status=live }}</ref>
-|-
-|[[Roman Catholicism in the United States|Roman Catholic]]&nbsp;
-|align=right|9%
-|-
-|colspan=2|[[Buddhist]]
-|align=right|1%
-|-
-|colspan=2|Other religions
-|align=right|2%
-|-
-|colspan=2|[[Irreligion|Irreligious]]
-|align=right|12%
-|-
-|colspan=2|Don't know/refuse
-|align=right|1%
-|-
-|  style="background:#ccf; text-align:center;" colspan="3"|{{refbegin}}''Data as of 2008''<ref>{{cite web|url=http://religions.pewforum.org/maps|title=Religion in America: U.S. Religious Data, Demographics and Statistics – Pew Research Center|date=May 11, 2015|work=Pew Research Center's Religion & Public Life Project}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://religions.pewforum.org/pdf/report-religious-landscape-study-full.pdf |title=RLS report 2-22.indd |format=PDF |website=Religions.pewforum.org |date= |accessdate=May 23, 2016}}</ref>{{refend}}
-|}
-North Carolina residents, like those of other [[Southern United States|Southern]] states, since the colonial era have historically been overwhelmingly [[Protestant]], first Anglican, then Baptist and Methodist. By the late 19th century, the largest Protestant denomination was the [[Baptist]]. After the Civil War, black Baptists were not allowed in white churches, due to segregation, and set up their own independent congregations. Black Baptists went on to develop their own state and national associations, to be free of white supervision.
+In 1845, the Baptists split into regional associations of the Northern United States and Southern U.S., over the issue of slavery. These new associations were the Northern Baptist Convention (today the [[American Baptist Churches USA]]) and [[Southern Baptist Convention]]. By the late 19th century, the largest Protestant denomination in North Carolina were [[Baptists]]. After [[emancipation]], black Baptists quickly set up their own independent congregations in North Carolina and other states of the South, as they wanted to be free of white supervision.<ref name="brooks">{{cite journal|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=FEKdAAAAMAAJ&pg=PA11|title=The Evolution of the Negro Baptist Church|last=Brooks|first=Walter Henderson (1851–1945)|journal=Journal of Negro History|volume=7|number=1|date=January 1922|pages=11–22|access-date=May 19, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190830234438/https://books.google.com/books?id=FEKdAAAAMAAJ&pg=PA11|archive-date=August 30, 2019|url-status=live|doi=10.2307/2713578|jstor=2713578|s2cid=149662445}}</ref><ref name="raboteau" /><ref>Wilson Fallin Jr., ''Uplifting the People: Three Centuries of Black Baptists in Alabama'' (2007) pp. 52–53</ref> Black Baptists developed their own state and national associations, such as the [[National Baptist Convention USA, Inc.|National Baptist Convention]].<ref name="raboteau">Albert J. Raboteau, ''Slave Religion: The "Invisible Institution" in the Antebellum South'', New York: Oxford University Press, 1979</ref> Other primarily African American Baptist conventions which grew in the state since the 20th century were the [[Progressive National Baptist Convention]] and [[Full Gospel Baptist Church Fellowship]].
-While the Baptists in total (counting both blacks and whites) have maintained the majority in this part of the country (known as the [[Bible Belt]]), the population in North Carolina practices a wide variety of faiths, including [[Judaism]], [[Islam]], [[Baha'i]], [[Buddhism]], and [[Hinduism]]. As of 2010 the [[Southern Baptist Church]] was the biggest denomination, with 4,241 churches and 1,513,000 members; the second largest was the United Methodist Church, with 660,000 members and 1,923 churches. The third was the Roman Catholic Church, with 428,000 members in 190 congregations. The fourth greatest was the [[Presbyterian Church (USA)]], with 186,000 members and 710 congregations; this denomination was brought by Scots-Irish immigrants who settled the backcountry in the colonial era.<ref>{{cite web|title=North Carolina: Religious Traditions |date=2010 |accessdate=June 10, 2014 |website=State Membership Report |url=http://www.thearda.com/rcms2010/r/s/37/rcms2010_37_state_adh_2010.asp |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131217003206/http://www.thearda.com/rcms2010/r/s/37/rcms2010_37_state_adh_2010.asp |archive-date=December 17, 2013 |deadurl=no |publisher=Association of Religious Data Archives |df=mdy-all }}</ref>
+[[Methodism|Methodists]] (the second largest group among North Carolinian Protestants) were divided along racial lines in the [[United Methodist Church]] and [[African Methodist Episcopal Church]]. The Methodist tradition tends to be strong in the northern Piedmont, especially in populous [[Guilford County, North Carolina|Guilford County]]. Other prominent Protestant groups in North Carolina as of the [[Pew Research Center]]'s 2014 study were [[Nondenominational Christianity|non/interdenominational Protestants]] and [[Pentecostalism]]. The [[Assemblies of God USA|Assemblies of God]] and [[Church of God in Christ]] are the largest Pentecostal denominations operating in the state, while notable minorities include [[Oneness Pentecostalism|Oneness Pentecostals]] primarily affiliated with the [[United Pentecostal Church International]].
-The state also has a special history with the [[Moravian Church]], as settlers of this faith (largely of German origin) found a home in the [[Winston-Salem]] area in the 18th and 19th centuries. [[Presbyterians]], historically Scots-Irish, have had a strong presence in [[Charlotte]] and in [[Scotland County, North Carolina|Scotland County]].
+The state also has a special history with the [[Moravian Church]], as settlers of this faith (largely of German origin) settled in the [[Winston-Salem, North Carolina|Winston-Salem]] area in the 18th and 19th centuries. [[Presbyterians|Historically Scots-Irish]] have had a strong presence in [[Charlotte, North Carolina|Charlotte]] and in [[Scotland County, North Carolina|Scotland County]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Presbyterian Church |url=https://www.ncpedia.org/presbyterian-church |access-date=September 22, 2022 |website=NCpedia |archive-date=September 22, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220922233302/https://www.ncpedia.org/presbyterian-church |url-status=live }}</ref>
-Currently, the rapid influx of [[Northern United States|northerners]] and immigrants from Latin America is steadily increasing ethnic and religious diversity: the number of [[Roman Catholics]] and [[Judaism|Jews]] in the state has increased, as well as general religious diversity. The second-largest Protestant denomination in North Carolina after Baptist traditions is [[Methodism]], which is strong in the northern Piedmont, especially in populous [[Guilford County]]. There are also a substantial number of [[Quakers]] in [[Guilford County]] and northeastern North Carolina. Many universities and colleges in the state have been founded on religious traditions, and some currently maintain that affiliation, including:<ref>{{cite web|first1=Robin |last1=Whitsell |title=Religiously-Affiliated North Carolina Colleges |date=February 26, 2008 |accessdate=June 10, 2014 |website=Carolina Parent |url=http://www.carolinaparent.com/articlemain.php?Religiously-Affiliated-North-Carolina-Colleges-552 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131029192246/http://www.carolinaparent.com/articlemain.php?Religiously-Affiliated-North-Carolina-Colleges-552 |archive-date=October 29, 2013 |deadurl=yes |df=mdy-all }}</ref>
-{{colbegin}}
+A wide variety of non-Christian faiths are practiced by other residents in the state, including: [[Judaism]], [[Islam]], [[Baháʼí Faith|Baháʼí]], [[Buddhism]], and [[Hinduism]]. The rapid influx of [[Northern United States|Northerners]] and immigrants from Latin America is steadily increasing ethnic and religious diversity within the state. The number of Roman Catholics and Jews in the state has increased, along with general religious diversity as a whole. There are also a substantial number of [[Quakers]] in Guilford County and northeastern North Carolina. Many universities and colleges in the state have been founded on religious traditions, and some currently maintain that affiliation, including:<ref>{{cite web |first1=Robin |last1=Whitsell |title=Religiously-Affiliated North Carolina Colleges |date=February 26, 2008 |access-date=June 10, 2014 |website=Carolina Parent |url=http://www.carolinaparent.com/articlemain.php?Religiously-Affiliated-North-Carolina-Colleges-552 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131029192246/http://www.carolinaparent.com/articlemain.php?Religiously-Affiliated-North-Carolina-Colleges-552 |archive-date=October 29, 2013 |url-status=dead }}</ref>{{colbegin}}
+* [[Barton College]] (Disciples of Christ)
 * [[Belmont Abbey College]] (Catholic)
 * [[Bennett College for Women]] (United Methodist Church)
+* [[Brevard College]] (United Methodist Church)
 * [[Campbell University]] (Baptist)
 * [[Catawba College]] (United Church of Christ)
@@ Line 576: / Line 890: @@
 * [[Davidson College]] (Presbyterian)
 * [[Duke University]] (Historically Methodist)
-* [[Elon University]] (United Church of Christ)
+* [[Elon University]] (Historically United Church of Christ)
 * [[Gardner–Webb University]] (Cooperative Baptist Fellowship)
 * [[Greensboro College]] (Methodist)
-* [[Guilford College]] (Religious Society of Friends [Quakers])
+* [[Guilford College]] (Religious Society of Friends/Quakers)
 * [[High Point University]] (United Methodist Church)
 * [[Lees-McRae College]] (Presbyterian)
@@ Line 602: / Line 916: @@
 {{colend}}
-The state also has several major seminaries, including the [[Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary]] in [[Wake Forest, North Carolina|Wake Forest]], and the [[Hood Theological Seminary]] (AME Zion) in [[Salisbury]].
+The state also has several major seminaries, including the [[Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary]] in [[Wake Forest, North Carolina|Wake Forest]], and the [[Hood Theological Seminary]] (AME Zion) in [[Salisbury, North Carolina|Salisbury]].
-===Most populated counties===
+== Economy ==
-{{See also|List of counties in North Carolina}}
+{{Main|Economy of North Carolina}}
-In 2016, the US Census Bureau released 2015 population estimate counts for North Carolina's counties. [[Mecklenburg County, North Carolina|Mecklenburg County]] has the largest population, while [[Wake County, North Carolina|Wake County]] has the second largest population in North Carolina.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.census.gov/popest/data/counties/totals/2015/CO-EST2015-01.html |title=Annual Estimates of the Resident Population for Counties: April 1, 2010 to July 1, 2015 – U.S Census Bureau |publisher=Census.gov |accessdate=May 19, 2016}}</ref>
+North Carolina's 2018 total [[gross state product]] was $496 billion.<ref name="NCGDP">{{cite web|url=https://www.statista.com/statistics/188097/gdp-of-the-us-federal-state-of-north-carolina-since-1997/|title=Real Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of the federal state of North Carolina from 1997 to 2018 (in billion U.S. dollars)|website=Statista|access-date=September 9, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191027084004/https://www.statista.com/statistics/188097/gdp-of-the-us-federal-state-of-north-carolina-since-1997/|archive-date=October 27, 2019|url-status=live}}</ref> Based on American Community Survey 2010–2014 data, North Carolina's median household income was $46,693. It ranked forty-first out of fifty states plus the District of Columbia for median household income. North Carolina had the fourteenth highest poverty rate in the nation at 17.6%, with 13% of families that were below the poverty line.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.usa.com/rank/us--population-in-poverty-percentage--state-rank.htm?hl=SC&hlst=SC&wist=&yr=9000&dis=&sb=ASC&plow=&phigh=&ps= |title=U.S. Population in Poverty Percentage State Rank Based on ACS 2010–2014 data |website=Usa.com |access-date=July 14, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170911080636/http://www.usa.com/rank/us--population-in-poverty-percentage--state-rank.htm?hl=SC&hlst=SC&wist=&yr=9000&dis=&sb=ASC&plow=&phigh=&ps= |archive-date=September 11, 2017 |url-status=live }}</ref>
-===Major cities===
+[[File:BofA Corp Center.jpg|thumb|Charlotte is home to the corporate headquarters of [[Bank of America]] (foreground) and [[Truist Financial|Truist]] (background), two of the [[List of largest banks in the United States|largest banks in the United States]]. Bank of America is the largest company headquartered in North Carolina.]]
-{{See also|List of municipalities in North Carolina}}
+The state has a very diverse economy because of its great availability of hydroelectric power,<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.wunc.org/environment/2015-09-16/hydropower-does-ncs-original-renewable-have-a-place-in-its-future|title=Hydropower: Does NC's Original Renewable Have A Place In Its Future?|date=September 16, 2015|website=WUNC|access-date=October 21, 2021|archive-date=October 21, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211021015501/https://www.wunc.org/environment/2015-09-16/hydropower-does-ncs-original-renewable-have-a-place-in-its-future|url-status=live}}</ref> its pleasant climate, and its wide variety of soils. The state ranks third among the South Atlantic states in population, but leads the region in industry and agriculture.<ref>{{Cite web|title=North Carolina Economics|url=https://www.usnews.com/news/best-states/north-carolina|website=U.S. News & World Report|access-date=December 30, 2020|archive-date=January 29, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210129141418/https://www.usnews.com/news/best-states/north-carolina|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title=The number of farms in North Carolina is declining |publisher= UNC Charlotte Urban Institute |url=https://ui.uncc.edu/story/number-farms-north-carolina-declining|access-date=June 21, 2021 |archive-date=June 24, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210624204029/https://ui.uncc.edu/story/number-farms-north-carolina-declining|url-status=live}}</ref> North Carolina leads the nation in the production of tobacco.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://ipmdata.ipmcenters.org/documents/cropprofiles/NCtobacco2015.pdf|title=Crop Profile for Tobacco in North Carolina|date=December 2015|website=Regional IPM Centers|access-date=January 17, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190119121641/https://ipmdata.ipmcenters.org/documents/cropprofiles/NCtobacco2015.pdf|archive-date=January 19, 2019|url-status=live}}</ref>
-In 2016, the US Census Bureau released 2015 population estimate counts for North Carolina's cities with populations above 70,000. [[Charlotte, North Carolina|Charlotte]] has the largest population, while [[Raleigh, North Carolina|Raleigh]] has the highest population density of North Carolina's largest cities.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.census.gov/popest/data/cities/totals/2015/SUB-EST2015-3.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161019182931/https://www.census.gov/popest/data/cities/totals/2015/SUB-EST2015-3.html |dead-url=yes |archive-date=October 19, 2016 |title=nnual Estimates of the Resident Population for Incorporated Places: April 1, 2010 to July 1, 2015 – U.S Census Bureau |publisher=Census.gov |accessdate=May 19, 2016 }}</ref>
-{{Largest cities
-| name         = Largest cities
-| country      = North Carolina
-| stat_ref     = Source:<ref>{{cite web |url=http://factfinder.census.gov/faces/tableservices/jsf/pages/productview.xhtml |title=North Carolina (USA): State, Major Cities, Towns & Places |date=May 19, 2016 |work= |publisher=City Population |accessdate=July 1, 2015}}</ref>
-| list_by_pop  =
-| class        = nav
-| div_name     =
-| div_link     = Counties of North Carolina{{!}}County
-| city_1 = Charlotte, North Carolina{{!}}Charlotte
-| div_1 = Mecklenburg County, North Carolina{{!}}Mecklenburg
-| pop_1 = 827,097
-| img_1 = Skyline_seen_from_Marshall_Park,_Charlotte,_NC.jpg
-| city_2 = Raleigh, North Carolina{{!}}Raleigh
-| div_2 = Wake County, North Carolina{{!}}Wake
-| pop_2 = 451,066
-| img_2 = Raleigh_downtown_skyline.jpg
-| city_3 = Greensboro, North Carolina{{!}}Greensboro
-| div_3 = Guilford County, North Carolina{{!}}Guilford
-| pop_3 = 285,342
-| img_3 = Greensboro_Skyline.jpg
-| city_4 = Durham, North Carolina{{!}}Durham
-| div_4 = Durham County, North Carolina{{!}}Durham
-| pop_4 = 257,636
-| img_4 = Durham NC downtown skyline.jpg
-| city_5 = Winston-Salem, North Carolina{{!}}Winston-Salem
-| div_5 = Forsyth County, North Carolina{{!}}Forsyth
-| pop_5 = 241,218
-| img_5 =
-| city_6 = Fayetteville, North Carolina{{!}}Fayetteville
-| div_6 = Cumberland County, North Carolina{{!}}Cumberland
-| pop_6 = 201,963
-| img_6 =
-| city_7 = Cary, North Carolina{{!}}Cary
-| div_7 = Wake County, North Carolina{{!}}Wake
-| pop_7 = 159,769
-| img_7 =
-| city_8 = Wilmington, North Carolina{{!}}Wilmington
-| div_8 = New Hanover County, North Carolina{{!}}New Hanover
-| pop_8 = 115,933
-| img_8 =
-| city_9 = High Point, North Carolina{{!}}High Point
-| div_9 = Guilford County, North Carolina{{!}}Guilford
-| pop_9 = 110,268
-| img_9 =
-| city_10 = Greenville, North Carolina{{!}}Greenville
-| div_10 = Pitt County, North Carolina{{!}}Pitt
-| pop_10 = 90,597
-| img_10 =
-}}
+Charlotte, the state's largest city, is a major textile and trade center. According to a Forbes article written in 2013, employment in the "Old North State" has gained many different industry sectors. Science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) industries in the area surrounding North Carolina's capital have grown 17.9 percent since 2001. Raleigh ranked the third best city for technology in 2020 due to the state's growing technology sector.<ref>{{Cite web|date=November 10, 2020|title=Raleigh ranks as No. 3 'Tech Town' in new study; average pay hits $94,000 |publisher= WRAL TechWire |url=https://www.wraltechwire.com/2020/11/10/raleigh-ranks-as-no-3-tech-town-in-new-study-average-pay-hits-94000/|access-date=June 21, 2021|language=en-US|archive-date=August 13, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210813164246/https://www.wraltechwire.com/2020/11/10/raleigh-ranks-as-no-3-tech-town-in-new-study-average-pay-hits-94000/|url-status=live}}</ref> In 2010, North Carolina's total gross state product was $424.9 billion,<ref>{{cite web|title=GDP by State|url=http://greyhill.com/gdp-by-state|publisher=Greyhill Advisors|access-date=September 7, 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120216110805/http://greyhill.com/gross-state-product/|archive-date=February 16, 2012|url-status=live}}</ref> while the state debt in November 2012, according to one source, totaled $2.4 billion,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.newsobserver.com/2012/11/23/2500740/no-easy-solutions-for-states-24.html |title=Local & North Carolina state news from Raleigh, NC—NewsObserver.com |access-date=January 5, 2015 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140308225922/http://www.newsobserver.com/2012/11/23/2500740/no-easy-solutions-for-states-24.html |archive-date=March 8, 2014 }}</ref> while according to another, was in 2012 $57.8 billion.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.statedatalab.org/library/doclib/NC-2012-1.pdf|title=The 19th worst state|website=Truth in Accounting|access-date=February 27, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140305090727/http://www.statedatalab.org/library/doclib/NC-2012-1.pdf|archive-date=March 5, 2014|url-status=live}}</ref> In 2011, the civilian labor force was at around 4.5 million with employment near 4.1 million.
-===Largest combined statistical areas===
-[[File:Charlotte Skyline 2011 - Ricky W.jpg|thumb|[[Charlotte, North Carolina|Charlotte]] skyline]]
-North Carolina has three major [[Combined Statistical Areas]] with populations of more than 1.6 million ([[U.S. Census Bureau]] 2015 estimates):<ref name="U.S. Census Bureau">{{cite web|url=http://factfinder.census.gov/faces/tableservices/jsf/pages/productview.xhtml|title=Population Estimates 2015 Combined Statistical Areas: April 1, 2010 to July 1, 2015 |publisher=U.S. Census Bureau |date= |accessdate=March 24, 2016}}</ref>
-*'''[[Charlotte metropolitan area|Metrolina]]''': ''Charlotte–Gastonia–Salisbury, North Carolina-South Carolina'' – population 2,583,956<ref name="U.S. Census Bureau"/>
-*'''The [[Research Triangle]]''': ''Raleigh–Durham–Chapel Hill, North Carolina'' – population 2,117,103<ref name="U.S. Census Bureau"/>
-*'''The [[Piedmont Triad]]''': ''Greensboro–Winston-Salem–High Point, North Carolina'' – population 1,642,506<ref name="U.S. Census Bureau"/>
+North Carolina is the leading U.S. state in production of [[flue-cured tobacco]] and [[sweet potato]]es, and comes second in the farming of pigs and hogs, [[trout]], and turkeys.<ref name=ncgov>{{cite web |url=http://www.nc.gov/about |title=About NC |access-date=August 7, 2016 |publisher=State of North Carolina |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160817220340/http://www.nc.gov/about |archive-date=August 17, 2016 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://statelibrary.ncdcr.gov/ghl/themes/may.html |title=North Carolina Agriculture |publisher=State Library of North Carolina |access-date=August 7, 2016 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160811214635/http://statelibrary.ncdcr.gov/ghl/themes/may.html |archive-date=August 11, 2016 }}</ref> In the three most recent [[USDA]] surveys (2002, 2007, 2012), North Carolina also ranked second in the production of [[Christmas tree]]s.<ref name=ncgov /><ref>{{cite web |url=http://christmastree.org/dnn/Portals/22/Files/STATES%20BY%20TREES%20HARVESTED.pdf |title=States by Total Trees Harvested |publisher=National Christmas Tree Association |access-date=August 7, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161018044640/http://christmastree.org/dnn/Portals/22/Files/STATES%20BY%20TREES%20HARVESTED.pdf |archive-date=October 18, 2016 |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.agcensus.usda.gov/About_the_Census/ |title=About the Census |publisher=United States Department of Agriculture |access-date=August 7, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160819123819/https://www.agcensus.usda.gov/About_the_Census/ |archive-date=August 19, 2016 |url-status=live }}</ref>
-==Economy==
-{{main article|Economy of North Carolina}}
-{{See also|North Carolina locations by per capita income}}
-North Carolina has a very diverse economy because of its great availability of hydroelectric power,{{citation needed|date=September 2016}} its pleasant climate, and its wide variety of soils. The state ranks third among the South Atlantic states in population, but leads the region in industry{{citation needed|date=September 2016}} and agriculture.{{citation needed|date=September 2016}} North Carolina leads the nation in the production of tobacco{{citation needed|date=September 2016}}, textiles{{citation needed|date=September 2016}}, and furniture{{citation needed|date=September 2016}}. Charlotte, the state's largest city, is a major textile and trade center. According to a Forbes article written in 2013 Employment in the "Old North State" has gained many different industry sectors. See the following article summary: science, technology, energy and math, or STEM, industries in the area surrounding North Carolina's capital have grown 17.9 percent since 2001, placing Raleigh-Cary at No. 5 among the 51 largest metro areas in the country where technology is booming. In 2010, North Carolina's total gross state product was $424.9&nbsp;billion,<ref name=stategdp>{{cite web|title=GDP by State|url=http://greyhill.com/gdp-by-state|publisher=Greyhill Advisors|accessdate=September 7, 2011}}</ref> while the state debt in November 2012, according to one source, totalled US$2.4bn,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.newsobserver.com/2012/11/23/2500740/no-easy-solutions-for-states-24.html |title=Local & North Carolina state news from Raleigh, NC – NewsObserver.com |publisher= |accessdate=January 5, 2015 |deadurl=yes |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20140308225922/http://www.newsobserver.com/2012/11/23/2500740/no-easy-solutions-for-states-24.html |archivedate=March 8, 2014 |df=mdy-all }}</ref> while according to another, was in 2012 US$57.8bn.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.statedatalab.org/library/doclib/NC-2012-1.pdf|title=statedatalab.org: "The 19th worst state", Truth in Accounting|publisher=}}</ref>  In 2011, the civilian labor force was at around 4.5&nbsp;million with employment near 4.1&nbsp;million. The working population is employed across the major employment sectors. The '''economy of North Carolina''' covers 15 metropolitan areas.<ref name=glance>[http://www.bls.gov/eag/eag.nc.htm Economy at a Glance]. For North Carolina. U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. 2011.</ref> In 2010, North Carolina was chosen as the third-best state for business by Forbes Magazine, and the second-best state by Chief Executive Officer Magazine.<ref>{{cite web|title=Site Selection Rankings|url=http://greyhill.com/site-selection-rankings/|publisher=Greyhill Advisors|accessdate=October 17, 2011}}</ref>
+North Carolina has 15 metropolitan areas,<ref name="2023OMB"/> and in 2010 was chosen as the third-best state for business by Forbes Magazine, and the second-best state by chief executive officer Magazine.<ref>{{cite web|title=Site Selection Rankings|url=http://greyhill.com/site-selection-rankings/|publisher=Greyhill Advisors|access-date=October 17, 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111106074019/http://greyhill.com/site-selection-rankings/|archive-date=November 6, 2011|url-status=live}}</ref> Since 2000, there has been a clear division in the economic growth of North Carolina's urban and rural areas. While North Carolina's urban areas have enjoyed a prosperous economy with steady job growth, low unemployment, and rising wages, many of the state's rural counties have suffered from job loss, rising levels of poverty, and population loss as their manufacturing base has declined. According to one estimate, one-half of North Carolina's 100 counties have lost population since 2010, primarily due to the poor economy in many of North Carolina's rural areas. However, the population of the state's urban areas is steadily increasing.<ref name="Urban_">{{cite news |url=http://www.newsobserver.com/news/politics-government/state-politics/article107009877.html |title=NC economy a mixed bag |publisher=Raleigh News & Observer |date=October 8, 2016 |author1=Doran, Will |author2=Raynor, David |access-date=September 3, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170602024452/http://www.newsobserver.com/news/politics-government/state-politics/article107009877.html |archive-date=June 2, 2017 |url-status=live}}</ref>
-North Carolina is the leading U.S. state in production of [[flue-cured tobacco]] and [[sweet potatoes]], and comes second in the farming of pigs and hogs, [[trout]], and [[turkeys]].<ref name=ncgov>{{cite web |url=http://www.nc.gov/about |title=About NC |accessdate=August 7, 2016 |publisher=State of North Carolina}}</ref><ref name=lib>{{cite web |url=http://statelibrary.ncdcr.gov/ghl/themes/may.html |title=North Carolina Agriculture |publisher=[[State Library of North Carolina]] |accessdate=August 7, 2016 |deadurl=yes |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20160811214635/http://statelibrary.ncdcr.gov/ghl/themes/may.html |archivedate=August 11, 2016 |df=mdy-all }}</ref> In the three most recent [[USDA]] surveys (2002, 2007, 2012), North Carolina also ranked second in the production of [[Christmas trees]].<ref name=ncgov/><ref>{{cite web |url=http://christmastree.org/dnn/Portals/22/Files/STATES%20BY%20TREES%20HARVESTED.pdf |title=States by Total Trees Harvested |publisher=National Christmas Tree Association |accessdate=August 7, 2016}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.agcensus.usda.gov/About_the_Census/ |title=About the Census |publisher=[[United States Department of Agriculture]] |accessdate=August 7, 2016}}</ref>
+==Arts and culture==
-Based on American Community Survey 2010-2014 data, North Carolina's median household income was $46,693. It ranked forty-first out of fifty states plus the District of Columbia for median household income. North Carolina had the fourteenth highest poverty rate in the nation at 17.6%. 13% of families were below the poverty line.
+{{Main|Culture of North Carolina|List of museums in North Carolina}}
-<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.usa.com/rank/us--population-in-poverty-percentage--state-rank.htm?hl=SC&hlst=SC&wist=&yr=9000&dis=&sb=ASC&plow=&phigh=&ps= |title=U.S. Population in Poverty Percentage State Rank Based on ACS 2010-2014 data |website=Usa.com |date= |accessdate=July 14, 2017}}</ref>
+North Carolina has traditions in art, music, and cuisine. The nonprofit arts and culture industry generates $1.2{{spaces}}billion in direct economic activity in North Carolina, supporting more than 43,600 full-time equivalent jobs and generating $119{{spaces}}million in revenue for local governments and the state of North Carolina.<ref>{{cite web|title=North Carolina Arts Council|url=http://www.ncarts.org/|website=Ncarts.org|access-date=July 14, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170716122140/http://ncarts.org/|archive-date=July 16, 2017|url-status=live}}</ref> North Carolina established the [[North Carolina Museum of Art]] as the first major museum collection in the country to be formed by state legislation and funding<ref>{{cite web|title=North Carolina Museum of Art Museum Backgrounder|url=http://www.ncartmuseum.org/images/uploads/MuseumBackgrounder.pdf|website=Ncartmuseum.org|access-date=July 14, 2017|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121019013914/http://ncartmuseum.org/images/uploads/MuseumBackgrounder.pdf|archive-date=October 19, 2012}}</ref> and continues to bring millions into the NC economy.<ref>{{cite web|title=N.C. Museum of Art: Rembrandt Exhibit Pumped $13 Million Into Wake County Economy|url=http://sgrtoday.com/categories/local-government/1767-nc-museum-of-art-rembrandt-exhibit-pumped-13-million-into-wake-county-economy-.html|website=SGR Today|access-date=November 11, 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121018110626/http://sgrtoday.com/categories/local-government/1767-nc-museum-of-art-rembrandt-exhibit-pumped-13-million-into-wake-county-economy-.html|archive-date=October 18, 2012|url-status=live}}</ref>
+One of the more famous arts communities in the state is [[Seagrove]], the handmade-pottery capital of the U.S., where artisans create handcrafted pottery inspired by the same traditions that began in this community more than two hundred years ago.
+===TV and film===
+{{Further|Category:Films shot in North Carolina|Category:Television shows filmed in North Carolina|Films and television shows produced in Wilmington, North Carolina}}
+===Music===
+{{Main|Music of North Carolina|North Carolina Music Hall of Fame}}
+North Carolina boasts a large number of noteworthy [[list of jazz musicians|jazz musicians]], some among the most important in the history of the genre. These include: [[John Coltrane]], ([[Hamlet, North Carolina|Hamlet]], [[High Point, North Carolina|High Point]]); [[Thelonious Monk]] ([[Rocky Mount, North Carolina|Rocky Mount]]); [[Billy Taylor]] ([[Greenville, North Carolina|Greenville]]); [[Woody Shaw]] ([[Laurinburg, North Carolina|Laurinburg]]); [[Lou Donaldson]] ([[Durham, North Carolina|Durham]]); [[Max Roach]] ([[Newland, North Carolina|Newland]]); [[Tal Farlow]] ([[Greensboro, North Carolina|Greensboro]]); [[Albert Heath|Albert]], [[Jimmy Heath|Jimmy]] and [[Percy Heath]] ([[Wilmington, North Carolina|Wilmington]]); [[Nina Simone]] ([[Tryon, North Carolina|Tryon]]); and [[Billy Strayhorn]] ([[Hillsborough, North Carolina|Hillsborough]]).
+[[File:Fiddlin' Bill Hensley, mountain fiddler, Asheville, North Carolina (LOC).jpg|thumb|Fiddlin' Bill Hensley, mountain fiddler, [[Asheville, North Carolina|Asheville]], 1937]]
+North Carolina is also famous for its tradition of [[old-time music]], and many recordings were made in the early 20th century by folk-song collector [[Bascom Lamar Lunsford]]. Musicians such as the [[North Carolina Ramblers]] helped solidify the sound of [[country music]] in the late 1920s, while the influential [[bluegrass music|bluegrass]] musician [[Doc Watson]] also hailed from North Carolina. Both North and South Carolina are hotbeds for traditional rural [[blues]], especially the style known as the [[Piedmont blues]].
+[[Ben Folds Five]] originated in [[Winston-Salem, North Carolina|Winston-Salem]], and [[Ben Folds]] still records and resides in [[Chapel Hill, North Carolina|Chapel Hill]].
+The British band [[Pink Floyd]] is named, in part, after Chapel Hill bluesman [[Floyd Council]].
+The [[Research Triangle]] area has long been a well-known center for [[Folk music|folk]], rock, [[Heavy metal music|metal]], jazz and [[punk rock|punk]].<ref>{{cite book|last=Unterberger|first=Richie|title=Music USA: The Rough Guide|publisher=The Rough Guides|year=1999|isbn=978-1-85828-421-7|url-access=registration|url=https://archive.org/details/musicusaroughgui0000unte}}</ref> [[James Taylor]] grew up around Chapel Hill, and his 1968 song "[[Carolina in My Mind]]" has been called an unofficial anthem for the state.<ref>{{cite news | url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=XuYGAAAAIBAJ&pg=3430,2859475&dq=carolina-in-my-mind+anthem | title=Hey, James Taylor—You've got a ... bridge? | work=[[Rome News-Tribune]] | date=May 21, 2002 | access-date=June 28, 2009 | archive-url=http://webarchive.loc.gov/all/20110131041936/http%3A//news%2Egoogle%2Ecom/newspapers | archive-date=January 31, 2011 | url-status=dead }}</ref><ref>{{cite news | url=http://www.newsobserver.com/161/story/493529.html | title=You must forgive him if he's ... | author=Hoppenjans, Lisa | work=[[The News & Observer]] | date=October 2, 2006 | access-date=June 28, 2009}}{{dead link|date=October 2010|bot=H3llBot}}</ref><ref>{{cite news | url=https://www.usatoday.com/life/music/2008-10-17-2062938384_x.htm | title=James Taylor to play 5 free NC concerts for Obama | author=Waggoner, Martha | agency=[[Associated Press]] | work=USA Today | date=October 17, 2008 | access-date=June 28, 2009 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100524155646/http://www.usatoday.com/life/music/2008-10-17-2062938384_x.htm | archive-date=May 24, 2010 | url-status=live }}</ref> Other famous musicians from North Carolina include [[J. Cole]], [[DaBaby]], [[9th Wonder]], [[Shirley Caesar]], [[Roberta Flack]], [[Clyde McPhatter]], [[Nnenna Freelon]], [[Link Wray]], [[Warren Haynes]], [[Jimmy Herring]], [[Michael Houser]], [[Eric Church]], [[Future Islands]], [[Randy Travis]], [[Ryan Adams]], [[Ronnie Milsap]], [[Anthony Hamilton (musician)|Anthony Hamilton]], [[The Avett Brothers]], [[Charlie Daniels]], and [[Luke Combs]].
+[[Heavy metal music|Metal]] and [[Punk rock|punk]] acts such as [[Corrosion of Conformity]], [[Between the Buried and Me]], and Nightmare Sonata are native to North Carolina.
+EDM producer [[Porter Robinson]] hails from [[Chapel Hill, North Carolina|Chapel Hill]].
+North Carolina is the home of more ''[[American Idol]]'' finalists than any other state: [[Clay Aiken]] (season two), [[Fantasia Barrino]] (season three), [[Chris Daughtry]] (season five), [[Kellie Pickler]] (season five), [[Bucky Covington]] (season five), [[Anoop Desai]] (season eight), [[Scotty McCreery]] (season ten), and [[Caleb Johnson (singer)|Caleb Johnson]] (season thirteen). North Carolina also has the most ''American Idol'' winners with Barrino, McCreery, and Johnson.
+In the mountains, the [[Brevard Music Center]] hosts choral, operatic, orchestral, and solo performances during its annual summer schedule.
+North Carolina has five professional opera companies: [[Opera Carolina]] in Charlotte, NC Opera in Raleigh, Greensboro Opera in Greensboro, Piedmont Opera in Winston-Salem, and [[Asheville Lyric Opera]] in Asheville. Academic conservatories and universities also produce fully staged operas, such as the A. J. Fletcher Opera Institute of the [[University of North Carolina School of the Arts]] in Winston-Salem, the Department of Music of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and UNC Greensboro.
+Among others, there are three high-level symphonic orchestras: [[NC Symphony]] in Raleigh, [[Charlotte Symphony]], and Winston-Salem Symphony. The NC Symphony holds the North Carolina Master Chorale. The [[Carolina Ballet]] is headquartered in Raleigh, and there is also the [[Charlotte Ballet]].
+The state boasts three performing arts centers: DPAC in Durham, Duke Energy Center for the Performing Arts in Raleigh, and the Blumenthal Performing Art Centers in Charlotte. They feature concerts, operas, recitals, and traveling Broadway musicals.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Site |first=DPAC Official |title=DPAC Official Site |url=https://www.dpacnc.com/ |access-date=September 22, 2022 |website=www.dpacnc.com |language=en |archive-date=September 22, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220922233251/https://www.dpacnc.com/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Duke Energy Center for the Performing Arts |url=https://www.dukeenergycenterraleigh.com/ |access-date=September 22, 2022 |website=Duke Energy Center for the Performing Arts |language=en |archive-date=September 22, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220922233252/https://www.dukeenergycenterraleigh.com/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Arts |first=Blumenthal Performing |title=Blumenthal Performing Arts |url=https://www.blumenthalarts.org/ |access-date=September 22, 2022 |website=www.blumenthalarts.org |language=en |archive-date=September 22, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220922233251/https://www.blumenthalarts.org/ |url-status=live }}</ref>
+=== Shopping ===
+North Carolina has a variety of shopping choices. [[SouthPark Mall (Charlotte, North Carolina)|SouthPark Mall]] in [[Charlotte, North Carolina|Charlotte]] is the largest and most upscale mall in the Carolinas, featuring multiple luxury tenants with their sole location in the state. Other major malls in Charlotte include [[Northlake Mall (Charlotte)|Northlake Mall]] and [[Carolina Place Mall]] in nearby suburb [[Pineville, North Carolina|Pineville]]. Other major malls throughout the state include [[Hanes Mall]] in [[Winston-Salem, North Carolina]], [[The Thruway Center]] in [[Winston-Salem, North Carolina]], [[Crabtree Valley Mall]], [[North Hills (Raleigh)|North Hills Mall]], and [[Triangle Town Center]] in [[Raleigh, North Carolina|Raleigh]]; [[Friendly Center]] and [[Four Seasons Town Centre]] in [[Greensboro, North Carolina|Greensboro]]; [[Oak Hollow Mall]] in [[High Point, North Carolina|High Point]]; [[Concord Mills]] in [[Concord, North Carolina|Concord]]; [[Valley Hills Mall]] in [[Hickory, North Carolina|Hickory]]; [[Cross Creek Mall]] in [[Fayetteville, North Carolina|Fayetteville]]; and [[The Streets at Southpoint]] in [[Durham, North Carolina|Durham]] and [[Independence Mall (North Carolina)|Independence Mall]] in Wilmington, North Carolina, and Tanger Outlets in Charlotte, Nags Head, Blowing Rock, and Mebane, North Carolina.
+=== Cuisine and agriculture ===
+[[File:Lexington Barbecue Festival - Rides.jpg|thumb|2008 [[Lexington Barbecue Festival]]]]
+A culinary staple of North Carolina is pork [[barbecue]]. There are strong regional differences and rivalries over the sauces and methods used in making the barbecue. The common trend across Western North Carolina is the use of premium grade [[Boston butt]]. Western North Carolina pork barbecue uses a tomato-based sauce, and only the pork shoulder (dark meat) is used. Western North Carolina barbecue is commonly referred to as Lexington barbecue after the [[Piedmont Triad]] town of [[Lexington, North Carolina|Lexington]], home of the [[Lexington Barbecue Festival]], which attracts more than 100,000 visitors each October.<ref>{{cite book | title = Bob Garner's Guide to North Carolina Barbecue | last = Garner | first = Bob | publisher = John F. Blair, publisher | year = 2007 | isbn = 9780895872548 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web | title = What is North Carolina-Style BBQ? | url = http://ncbbq.com/Modules/Articles/article.aspx?id=20 | last = Craig | first = H. Kent | year = 2006 | publisher = ncbbq.com | access-date = February 15, 2010 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20100413145552/http://www.ncbbq.com/Modules/Articles/article.aspx?id=20 | archive-date = April 13, 2010 | url-status = live }}</ref> Eastern North Carolina pork barbecue uses a vinegar-and-red-pepper-based sauce and the "whole hog" is cooked, thus integrating both white and dark meat.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Eastern North Carolina Barbecue |url=https://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/eastern-north-carolina-barbecue-recipe-2125693 |access-date=22 September 2022 |publisher=Food Network |archive-date=September 22, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220922233252/https://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/eastern-north-carolina-barbecue-recipe-2125693 |url-status=live }}</ref>
+[[Krispy Kreme]], an international chain of doughnut stores, was started in North Carolina; the company's headquarters are in [[Winston-Salem, North Carolina|Winston-Salem]]. [[Pepsi-Cola]] was first produced in 1898 in New Bern. A regional soft drink, [[Cheerwine]], was created and is still based in the city of Salisbury. Despite its name, the hot sauce [[Texas Pete]] was created in North Carolina; its headquarters are also in Winston-Salem. The [[Hardee's]] fast-food chain was started in [[Rocky Mount, North Carolina|Rocky Mount]]. Another fast-food chain, [[Bojangles']], was started in [[Charlotte, North Carolina|Charlotte]], and has its corporate headquarters there. A popular North Carolina restaurant chain is [[Golden Corral]]. Started in 1973, the chain was founded in [[Fayetteville, North Carolina|Fayetteville]], with headquarters located in [[Raleigh, North Carolina|Raleigh]]. Popular [[Pickled cucumber|pickle]] brand [[Mount Olive Pickle Company]] was founded in [[Mount Olive, North Carolina|Mount Olive]] in 1926. Fast casual burger chain [[Hwy 55 Burgers, Shakes & Fries]] also makes its home in [[Mount Olive, North Carolina|Mount Olive]]. [[Cook Out (restaurant)|Cook Out]], a popular fast-food chain featuring burgers, hot dogs, and milkshakes in a wide variety of flavors, was founded in Greensboro in 1989 and has begun expanding outside North Carolina. In 2013 ''Southern Living'' named Durham–Chapel Hill the South's "Tastiest City".
+Over the last decade, North Carolina has become a cultural epicenter and haven for internationally prize-winning wine (Noni Bacca Winery), internationally prized cheeses (Ashe County), "L'institut International aux Arts Gastronomiques: Conquerront Les Yanks les Truffes, January 15, 2010" international hub for truffles (Garland Truffles), and beer making, as tobacco land has been converted to grape orchards while state laws regulating [[alcohol by volume]] (ABV) in beer allowed a jump from six to fifteen percent. The Yadkin Valley in particular has become a strengthening market for grape production, while [[Asheville, North Carolina|Asheville]] recently won the recognition of being named "Beer City USA". Asheville boasts the largest number of [[Brewing in North Carolina#Breweries|breweries]] per capita of any city in the United States. Recognized and marketed brands of beer in North Carolina include Highland Brewing, Duck Rabbit Brewery, Mother Earth Brewery, Weeping Radish Brewery, Big Boss Brewing, Foothills Brewing, Carolina Brewing Company, Lonerider Brewing, and White Rabbit Brewing Company.
+North Carolina has large grazing areas for beef and dairy cattle. Truck farms can be found in North Carolina. A truck farm is a small farm where fruits and vegetables are grown to be sold at local markets. The state's shipping, commercial fishing, and lumber industries are important to its economy. Service industries, including education, health care, private research, and retail trade, are also important. [[Research Triangle Park]], a large industrial complex located in the Raleigh-Durham area, is one of the major centers in the country for electronics and medical research.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Where People + Ideas Converge |url=https://www.rtp.org/ |access-date=22 September 2022 |publisher=Research Triangle Park |archive-date=May 24, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130524163633/http://www.rtp.org/ |url-status=live }}</ref>
+Tobacco was one of the first major industries to develop after the [[American Civil War|Civil War]]. Many farmers grew some tobacco, and the invention of the cigarette made the product especially popular. Winston-Salem is the birthplace of [[R. J. Reynolds Tobacco Company]] (RJR), founded by [[R. J. Reynolds]] in 1874 as one of sixteen tobacco companies in the town. By 1914 it was selling 425 million packs of Camels a year. Today it is the second-largest tobacco company in the U.S. (behind [[Altria Group]]). RJR is an indirect wholly owned subsidiary of Reynolds American Inc., which in turn is 42% owned by [[British American Tobacco]].<ref>Nannie M. Tilley, ''The R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Company'' (2009).</ref>
+===Ships named for the state===
+{{Further|USS North Carolina}}
+[[File:U.S.S. North Carolina.jpg|thumb|USS ''North Carolina'' on permanent display in Wilmington]]
+Several ships have been named after the state, most famously {{USS|North Carolina|BB-55|6}} in the [[Pacific Ocean theater of World War&nbsp;II]]. Now decommissioned, she is part of the USS ''North Carolina'' Battleship Memorial in Wilmington. Another {{USS|North Carolina|SSN-777|6}}, a nuclear attack [[submarine]], was commissioned in Wilmington on May 3, 2008.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.wral.com/news/local/story/2829981/|title=USS North Carolina 'brought to life' again|date=May 3, 2008|access-date=February 4, 2010|publisher=[[WRAL-TV]]|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110613222303/http://www.wral.com/news/local/story/2829981/|archive-date=June 13, 2011|url-status=live}}</ref>
+===State parks===
+The state maintains a group of [[protected area]]s known as the [[List of North Carolina state parks|North Carolina State Park System]], which is managed by the North Carolina Division of Parks & Recreation (NCDPR), an agency of the [[North Carolina Department of Natural and Cultural Resources]] (NCDNCR).<ref>{{Cite web |title=North Carolina State Parks |url=https://www.ncparks.gov/ |access-date=September 22, 2022 |website=www.ncparks.gov |archive-date=September 22, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220922000906/https://www.ncparks.gov/ |url-status=live }}</ref>
+===Armed forces installations===
+[[File:Flickr - The U.S. Army - Marksmanship training (1).jpg|thumb|Troopers of the 82nd Airborne Division training at Fort Bragg (now [[Fort Liberty]]), March 2011]]
+[[Fort Liberty]], near [[Fayetteville, North Carolina|Fayetteville]] and [[Southern Pines, North Carolina|Southern Pines]], is a large and comprehensive military base and is the headquarters of the [[XVIII Airborne Corps]], [[U.S. 82nd Airborne Division|82nd Airborne Division]], and the [[U.S. Army Special Operations Command]]. Serving as the air wing for Fort Liberty is [[Pope Air Force Base|Pope Field]], also located near Fayetteville.
+Located in [[Jacksonville, North Carolina|Jacksonville]], [[Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune]], combined with nearby bases [[MCAS Cherry Point|Marine Corps Air Station (MCAS) Cherry Point]], [[Marine Corps Air Station New River|MCAS New River]], [[Camp Geiger]], [[Camp Gilbert H. Johnson|Camp Johnson]], [[Stone Bay]] and Courthouse Bay, makes up the largest concentration of Marines and sailors in the world. [[MCAS Cherry Point]] is home of the [[2nd Marine Aircraft Wing]]. Located in [[Goldsboro, North Carolina|Goldsboro]], [[Seymour Johnson Air Force Base]] is home of the [[4th Fighter Wing]] and [[916th Air Refueling Wing]]. One of the busiest air stations in the [[United States Coast Guard]] is located at the [[Coast Guard Air Station Elizabeth City|Coast Guard Air Station]] in [[Elizabeth City, North Carolina|Elizabeth City]]. Also stationed in North Carolina is the [[Military Ocean Terminal Sunny Point]] in [[Southport, North Carolina|Southport]].
+On January 24, 1961, a B-52G [[1961 Goldsboro B-52 crash|broke up in midair and crashed]] after suffering a severe fuel loss, near [[Goldsboro, North Carolina|Goldsboro]], dropping two [[nuclear weapon|nuclear bombs]] in the process without detonation.<ref>Schneider, Barry. [https://books.google.com/books?id=dQsAAAAAMBAJ "Big Bangs from little bombs"]. ''[[Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists]]'', May 1975, p. 28.</ref> In 2013, it was revealed that three safety mechanisms on one bomb had failed, leaving just one low-voltage switch preventing detonation.<ref>[https://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/sep/20/usaf-atomic-bomb-north-carolina-1961 "USAF Atomic Bomb in North Carolina 1961"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161201223356/https://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/sep/20/usaf-atomic-bomb-north-carolina-1961 |date=December 1, 2016 }}, ''[[The Guardian]]'', September 20, 2013</ref>
+==Tourism==
+[[File:Biltmore Estate, 2012.jpg|thumb|[[Biltmore Estate]], [[Asheville, North Carolina|Asheville]]]]
+[[File:USCGHatteras.jpg|thumb|upright|[[Cape Hatteras Lighthouse]], located in North Carolina's [[Outer Banks]]]]
+Charlotte is the most-visited city in the state, attracting 28.3{{spaces}}million visitors in 2018.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.crva.com/news/2017-visitor-spending-hits-record-7-billion-charlotte-region-nearly-54-billion-mecklenburg |title=2017 visitor spending hits a record $7 billion in Charlotte region, nearly $5.4 billion in Mecklenburg County |access-date=November 1, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191101232635/http://www.crva.com/news/2017-visitor-spending-hits-record-7-billion-charlotte-region-nearly-54-billion-mecklenburg |archive-date=November 1, 2019 |url-status=dead }}</ref> Area attractions include [[Carolina Panthers]] NFL football team and [[Charlotte Hornets]] basketball team, [[Carowinds]] amusement park, [[Catawba Two Kings Casino]] (in nearby [[Kings Mountain, North Carolina|Kings Mountain]]), [[Charlotte Motor Speedway]], [[U.S. National Whitewater Center]], [[Discovery Place]], [[Great Wolf Lodge]], Sea Life Aquarium,<ref>{{Cite web |title=SEA LIFE Charlotte – Concord Aquarium at Concord Mills Mall |url=https://www.visitsealife.com/charlotte-concord/ |access-date=June 22, 2022 |website=Sea Life Charlotte-Concord |language=en-US |archive-date=July 5, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220705150414/https://www.visitsealife.com/charlotte-concord/ |url-status=live }}</ref> [[Bechtler Museum of Modern Art]], [[Billy Graham Library]], [[Carolinas Aviation Museum]], [[Harvey B. Gantt Center for African-American Arts + Culture]], [[Levine Museum of the New South]], [[McColl Center for Art + Innovation]], [[Mint Museum]], and the [[NASCAR Hall of Fame]].
+Every year the [[Appalachian Mountains]] attract several million tourists to the western part of the state,<ref>{{Cite web |title=Tourism {{!}} Western North Carolina Vitality Index |url=http://www.wncvitalityindex.org/employment-sectors/tourism |access-date=June 22, 2022 |website=Wncvitalityindex.org |archive-date=May 18, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220518201930/http://www.wncvitalityindex.org/employment-sectors/tourism |url-status=live }}</ref> including the historic [[Biltmore Estate]]. The scenic [[Blue Ridge Parkway]] and [[Great Smoky Mountains National Park]] are the two most visited national park and unit in the United States with more than 25{{spaces}}million visitors in 2013.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://irma.nps.gov/Stats/SSRSReports/Park%20Specific%20Reports/Monthly%20Public%20Use?Park=BLRI|title=Stats Report Viewer|website=nps.gov|access-date=January 18, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150118232859/https://irma.nps.gov/Stats/SSRSReports/Park%20Specific%20Reports/Monthly%20Public%20Use?Park=BLRI|archive-date=January 18, 2015|url-status=live}}</ref> The City of [[Asheville, North Carolina|Asheville]] is consistently voted as one of the top places to visit and live in the United States, known for its rich art deco architecture, mountain scenery and outdoor activities.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.ashevilleguidebook.com/asheville/asheville-information/asheville.htm|title=All About Asheville|website=ashevilleguidebook.com|access-date=January 18, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150202020354/http://ashevilleguidebook.com/asheville/asheville-information/asheville.htm|archive-date=February 2, 2015|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://holykaw.alltop.com/the-united-states-happiest-places-infographic|title=The United States' happiest places [infographic]—Holy Kaw!|author=Kate Rinsema|website=Holy Kaw!|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150118233931/http://holykaw.alltop.com/the-united-states-happiest-places-infographic|archive-date=January 18, 2015|access-date=January 18, 2015}}</ref>
+In [[Raleigh, North Carolina|Raleigh]], many tourists visit the capital, African American Cultural Complex,<ref>{{Cite web |title=AACC |url=https://www.aaccmuseum.com/ |access-date=June 22, 2022 |website=Aaccmuseum.com |archive-date=August 16, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220816072430/https://www.aaccmuseum.com/ |url-status=live }}</ref> [[Contemporary Art Museum of Raleigh]], [[Gregg Museum of Art & Design|Gregg Museum of Art & Design at NCSU]], [[Haywood Hall|Haywood Hall House & Gardens]], [[Marbles Kids Museum]], [[North Carolina Museum of Art]], [[North Carolina Museum of History]], [[North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences]], [[North Carolina Sports Hall of Fame]], [[Raleigh City Museum]], [[J. C. Raulston Arboretum]], [[Joel Lane House]], [[Mordecai House]], [[Montfort Hall]], and the [[Pope House Museum]]. The [[Carolina Hurricanes]] NHL hockey team is also located in the city.
+In the [[Conover, North Carolina|Conover]]–[[Hickory, North Carolina|Hickory]] area, attractions include [[Hickory Motor Speedway]], RockBarn Golf and Spa,<ref>{{Cite web |title=European Day Spa at Rock Barn – Rock Barn Country Club & Spa -Conover, NC |url=https://www.rockbarn.com/Spa |access-date=June 22, 2022 |website=Rockbarn.com |archive-date=May 27, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220527003801/https://www.rockbarn.com/spa |url-status=live }}</ref> home of the [[Greater Hickory Classic at Rock Barn]]; [[Catawba County]] Firefighters Museum,<ref>{{Cite web |last=Government |first=Catawba County |title=Catawba County Government – Catawba County North Carolina |url=https://www.catawbacountync.gov/ |access-date=June 22, 2022 |website=Catawba County Government |language=en |archive-date=June 26, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220626062847/https://catawbacountync.gov/ |url-status=live }}</ref> the SALT Block,<ref>{{Cite web |title=SALT Block Foundation |url=https://www.saltblockfoundation.org/ |access-date=June 22, 2022 |website=SALT Block Foundation |language=en-us |archive-date=June 14, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220614151038/https://www.saltblockfoundation.org/ |url-status=live }}</ref> and [[Valley Hills Mall]].
+The [[Piedmont Triad]], or center of the state, is home to [[Krispy Kreme]], [[Mayberry]], [[Texas Pete]], the [[Lexington Barbecue Festival]], and [[Moravian spice cookies|Moravian cookies]]. The internationally acclaimed [[North Carolina Zoo]] in [[Asheboro]] attracts visitors to its animals, plants, and a 57-piece art collection along {{Convert | 5 | mi |0 | spell = in}} of shaded pathways in the world's largest-land-area natural-habitat park. [[Seagrove]], in the central portion of the state, attracts many tourists along [[Pottery Highway]] (NC Hwy 705). [[MerleFest]] in [[Wilkesboro, North Carolina|Wilkesboro]] attracts more than 80,000 people to its four-day music festival; and Wet 'n Wild Emerald Pointe water park in [[Greensboro, North Carolina|Greensboro]] is another attraction.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Greensboro, North Carolina Water Park |url=https://www.emeraldpointe.com/ |access-date=June 22, 2022 |website=Emeraldpointe.com |language=en |archive-date=June 25, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220625161453/https://www.emeraldpointe.com/ |url-status=live }}</ref>
+The [[Outer Banks]] and surrounding beaches attract millions of people to the Atlantic beaches every year.<ref>{{Cite web |date=May 25, 2022 |title=Dare County Tourism Board Recap {{!}} May 2022 |url=https://www.outerbanksvoice.com/2022/05/25/dare-county-tourism-board-recap-may-2022/ |access-date=June 22, 2022 |website=The Outer Banks Voice |language=en-US |archive-date=May 26, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220526050930/https://www.outerbanksvoice.com/2022/05/25/dare-county-tourism-board-recap-may-2022/ |url-status=live }}</ref>
+The mainland northeastern part of the state, having recently adopted the name the [[Inner Banks]], is also known as the Albemarle Region, for the [[Albemarle Settlements]], some of the first settlements on North Carolina's portion of the [[Atlantic Coastal Plain]]. The region's historic sites are connected by the [[Historic Albemarle Tour]].
-Since 2000, there has been a clear division in the economic growth of North Carolina's urban and rural areas.<ref name="auto">(http://www.newsobserver.com/news/politics-government/state-politics/article107009877.html)</ref> While North Carolina's urban areas have enjoyed a prosperous economy with steady job growth, low unemployment, and rising wages,<ref name="auto"/> many of the state's rural counties have suffered from job loss, rising levels of poverty, and population loss as their manufacturing base has declined.<ref name="auto"/> According to one estimate, one-half of North Carolina's 100 counties have lost population since 2010, primarily due to the poor economy in many of North Carolina's rural areas.<ref name="auto"/> However, the population of the state's urban areas is steadily increasing.<ref name="auto"/>
 ==Transportation==
-{{main article|Transportation in North Carolina}}
+{{Main|Transportation in North Carolina}}
+{{See also|Vehicle registration plates of North Carolina|List of North Carolina railroads}}
-{{refimprove section|date=August 2016}}
-[[File:Balloonduck.png|thumb|left|A North Carolina license plate.]]
+[[File:2020 North Carolina License Plate.png|thumb|Most common license plate design in the state; includes the ''[[Wright Flyer]]'' in the background]]
+[[File:LYNX Car 104 at TremontStation.jpg|thumb|[[Charlotte Area Transit System|LYNX]] light rail car in Charlotte]]
-Transportation systems in North Carolina consist of air, water, road, rail, and public transportation including intercity rail via Amtrak and light rail in Charlotte. North Carolina has the second-largest state highway system in the country as well as the largest ferry system on the east coast.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.ncdot.gov/careers/|title=NC Department of Transportation Article: North Carolina's Future Rides on Us |publisher=NC Department of Transportation|accessdate=September 22, 2012}}</ref>
+[[File:Piedmont High Point.jpg|thumb|State-owned ''[[Piedmont (train)|Piedmont]]'' train in High Point]]
+Transportation systems in North Carolina consist of air, water, road, rail, and public transportation including intercity rail via Amtrak and light rail in Charlotte. North Carolina has the second-largest state highway system in the country as well as the largest ferry system on the [[East Coast of the United States|East Coast]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.ncdot.gov/careers/|title=NC Department of Transportation Article: North Carolina's Future Rides on Us|publisher=NC Department of Transportation|access-date=September 22, 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120920045238/http://ncdot.gov/careers/|archive-date=September 20, 2012|url-status=live}}</ref>
-North Carolina's airports serve destinations throughout the United States and international destinations in Canada, Europe, Central America, and the Caribbean. In 2013 [[Charlotte Douglas International Airport]] ranked as the 23rd busiest airport in the world.<ref>[[World's busiest airports by passenger traffic#2013 statistics]]</ref>
+North Carolina's airports serve destinations throughout the United States and international destinations in Canada, Europe, Central America, and the Caribbean. In July 2022, [[Charlotte Douglas International Airport]], which serves as the second busiest hub for [[American Airlines]], ranked as the 11th busiest airport in the United States with [[Raleigh-Durham International Airport]], a focus-city for [[Delta Air Lines]] and formerly a hub for American Airlines and [[Midway Airlines (1993-2003)|Midway Airlines]], ranked as the 37th busiest airport in the United States.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.stratosjets.com/blog/busiest-us-airports/|title=200 Busiest US Airports List [July 2022 Update]|date=January 4, 2022|website=Stratosjets.com|access-date=July 26, 2022|archive-date=July 23, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220723032901/https://www.stratosjets.com/blog/busiest-us-airports/|url-status=live}}</ref>
-North Carolina has a growing passenger rail system with Amtrak serving most major cities. Charlotte is also home to North Carolina's only light rail system known as the Lynx.
+North Carolina has a growing passenger rail system with [[Amtrak]] serving most major cities. Charlotte is also home to North Carolina's only light rail system known as [[Charlotte Area Transit System|LYNX]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Rail |url=https://charlottenc.gov/cats/rail |access-date=September 22, 2022 |website=City of Charlotte Government |language=en |archive-date=May 2, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230502231455/https://www.charlottenc.gov/CATS/Rail |url-status=live }}</ref>
+===Major highways===
-==Government and politics==
-{{main article|Government of North Carolina|Politics of North Carolina}}
+{{Main|North Carolina Highway System|Interstate Highways in North Carolina|List of U.S. Highways in North Carolina|List of state highways in North Carolina}}
-{{refimprove section|date=August 2016}}
-{| class="wikitable" style="float:right; margin-left:1em; font-size:83%;"
-|+ North Carolina statewide election results
-|-
-! Year
-! Office
-! [[Republican Party (United States)|Republican]]
-! [[Democratic Party (United States)|Democratic]]
-! Other
-|-
-|rowspan="3"|2016
-|[[North Carolina gubernatorial election, 2016|Governor]]<ref name="2016 Gov.">{{cite web|title=2016 Gubernatorial General Election Results|url=http://uselectionatlas.org/RESULTS/state.php?fips=37&year=2016&f=0&off=5&elect=0|publisher=[[Dave Leip's Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections]]|accessdate=December 20, 2016}}</ref>
-|style="background:#FFB6B6;text-align:left;"|48.8% ''2,298,880''
-|style="background:#B0CEFF;text-align:left;"|'''49.0%''' ''2,309,157''
-|style="background:#fdffdf;text-align:left;"|2.2% ''102,977''
-|-
-|[[United States presidential election in North Carolina, 2016|President]]<ref name="2016 Pres.">{{cite web|title=2016 Presidential General Election Results|url=http://uselectionatlas.org/RESULTS/state.php?fips=37&year=2016&f=0&off=0&elect=0|publisher=[[Dave Leip's Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections]]|accessdate=December 12, 2016}}</ref>
-|style="background:#FFB6B6;text-align:left;"|'''49.8%''' ''2,362,631''
-|style="background:#B0CEFF;text-align:left;"|46.2% ''2,189,316''
-|style="background:#fdffdf;text-align:left;"|4.0% ''189,617''
-|-
-|[[United States Senate election in North Carolina, 2016|Senate]]<ref name="2016 Sen.">{{cite web|title=2016 Senatorial General Election Results|url=http://uselectionatlas.org/RESULTS/state.php?fips=37&year=2016&f=0&off=3&elect=0&class=3|publisher=[[Dave Leip's Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections]]|accessdate=December 20, 2016}}</ref>
-|style="background:#FFB6B6;text-align:left;"|'''51.1%''' ''2,395,376''
-|style="background:#B0CEFF;text-align:left;"|45.4% ''2,128,165''
-|style="background:#fdffdf;text-align:left;"|3.6% ''167,592''
-|-
-|2014
-|[[United States Senate election in North Carolina, 2014|Senate]]<ref name="2014 Sen.">{{cite web|title=2014 Senatorial General Election Results|url=http://uselectionatlas.org/RESULTS/state.php?fips=37&year=2014&f=0&off=3&elect=0&class=2|publisher=[[Dave Leip's Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections]]|accessdate=December 10, 2014}}</ref>
-|style="background:#FFB6B6;text-align:left;"|'''48.8%''' ''1,423,259''
-|style="background:#B0CEFF;text-align:left;"|47.3% ''1,377,651''
-|style="background:#fdffdf;text-align:left;"|3.9% ''114,371''
-|-
-|rowspan="2"|2012
-|[[North Carolina gubernatorial election, 2012|Governor]]<ref name="2012 Gov.">{{cite web|title=2012 Gubernatorial General Election Results|url=http://uselectionatlas.org/RESULTS/state.php?fips=37&year=2012&f=0&off=5&elect=0|publisher=[[Dave Leip's Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections]]|accessdate=December 10, 2014}}</ref>
-|style="background:#FFB6B6;text-align:left;"|'''54.6%''' ''2,440,707''
-|style="background:#B0CEFF;text-align:left;"|43.2% ''1,931.580''
-|style="background:#fdffdf;text-align:left;"|2.2% ''96,008''
-|-
-|[[United States presidential election in North Carolina, 2012|President]]<ref name="2012 Pres.">{{cite web|title=2012 Presidential General Election Results|url=http://uselectionatlas.org/RESULTS/state.php?fips=37&year=2012&f=0&off=0&elect=0|publisher=[[Dave Leip's Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections]]|accessdate=December 10, 2014}}</ref>
-|style="background:#FFB6B6;text-align:left;"|'''50.4%''' ''2,270,395''
-|style="background:#B0CEFF;text-align:left;"|48.4% ''2,178,391''
-|style="background:#fdffdf;text-align:left;"|1.3% ''56,586''
-|-
-|2010
-|[[United States Senate election in North Carolina, 2010|Senate]]<ref name="2010 Sen.">{{cite web|title=2010 Senatorial General Election Results|url=http://uselectionatlas.org/RESULTS/state.php?fips=37&year=2010&f=0&off=3&elect=0&class=3|publisher=[[Dave Leip's Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections]]|accessdate=December 10, 2014}}</ref>
-|style="background:#FFB6B6;text-align:left;"|'''54.8%''' ''1,458,046''
-|style="background:#B0CEFF;text-align:left;"|43.1% ''1,145,074''
-|style="background:#fdffdf;text-align:left;"|2.1% ''56,959''
-|-
-|rowspan="3"|2008
-|[[North Carolina gubernatorial election, 2008|Governor]]<ref name="2008 Gov.">{{cite web|title=2008 Gubernatorial General Election Results|url=http://uselectionatlas.org/RESULTS/state.php?fips=37&year=2008&f=0&off=5&elect=0|publisher=[[Dave Leip's Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections]]|accessdate=December 10, 2014}}</ref>
-|style="background:#FFB6B6;text-align:left;"|46.9% ''2,001,168''
-|style="background:#B0CEFF;text-align:left;"|'''50.3%''' ''2,146,189''
-|style="background:#fdffdf;text-align:left;"|2.9% ''121,584''
-|-
-|[[United States presidential election in North Carolina, 2008|President]]<ref name="2008 Pres.">{{cite web|title=2008 Presidential General Election Results|url=http://uselectionatlas.org/RESULTS/state.php?fips=37&year=2008&f=0&off=0&elect=0|publisher=[[Dave Leip's Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections]]|accessdate=December 10, 2014}}</ref>
-|style="background:#FFB6B6;text-align:left;"|49.4% ''2,128,474''
-|style="background:#B0CEFF;text-align:left;"|'''49.7%''' ''2,142,651''
-|style="background:#fdffdf;text-align:left;"|0.9% ''39,664''
-|-
-|[[United States Senate election in North Carolina, 2008|Senate]]<ref name="2008 Sen.">{{cite web|title=2008 Senatorial General Election Results|url=http://uselectionatlas.org/RESULTS/state.php?fips=37&year=2008&f=0&off=3&elect=0&class=2|publisher=[[Dave Leip's Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections]]|accessdate=December 10, 2014}}</ref>
-|style="background:#FFB6B6;text-align:left;"|44.2% ''1,887,510''
-|style="background:#B0CEFF;text-align:left;"|'''52.7%''' ''2,249,311''
-|style="background:#fdffdf;text-align:left;"|3.2% ''135,149''
-|-
-|rowspan="3"|2004
-|[[North Carolina gubernatorial election, 2004|Governor]]<ref name="2004 Gov.">{{cite web|title=2004 Gubernatorial General Election Results|url=http://uselectionatlas.org/RESULTS/state.php?fips=37&year=2004&f=0&off=5&elect=0|publisher=[[Dave Leip's Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections]]|accessdate=December 10, 2014}}</ref>
-|style="background:#FFB6B6;text-align:left;"|42.9% ''1,495,021''
-|style="background:#B0CEFF;text-align:left;"|'''55.6%''' ''1,939,154''
-|style="background:#fdffdf;text-align:left;"|1.5% ''52,513''
-|-
-|[[United States presidential election in North Carolina, 2004|President]]<ref name="2004 Pres.">{{cite web|title=2004 Presidential General Election Results|url=http://uselectionatlas.org/RESULTS/state.php?fips=37&year=2004&f=0&off=0&elect=0|publisher=[[Dave Leip's Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections]]|accessdate=December 10, 2014}}</ref>
-|style="background:#FFB6B6;text-align:left;"|'''56.0%''' ''1,961,166''
-|style="background:#B0CEFF;text-align:left;"|43.6% ''1,525,849''
-|style="background:#fdffdf;text-align:left;"|0.4% ''13,992''
-|-
-|[[United States Senate election in North Carolina, 2004|Senate]]<ref name="2004 Sen.">{{cite web|title=2004 Senatorial General Election Results|url=http://uselectionatlas.org/RESULTS/state.php?fips=37&year=2004&f=0&off=3&elect=0&class=2|publisher=[[Dave Leip's Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections]]|accessdate=December 10, 2014}}</ref>
-|style="background:#FFB6B6;text-align:left;"|'''51.6%''' ''1,791,450''
-|style="background:#B0CEFF;text-align:left;"|47.0% ''1,632,527''
-|style="background:#fdffdf;text-align:left;"|1.4% ''48,105''
-|-
-|2002
-|[[United States Senate election in North Carolina, 2002|Senate]]<ref name="2002 Sen.">{{cite web|title=2002 Senatorial General Election Results|url=http://uselectionatlas.org/RESULTS/state.php?fips=37&year=2002&f=0&off=3&elect=0&class=2|publisher=[[Dave Leip's Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections]]|accessdate=December 10, 2014}}</ref>
-|style="background:#FFB6B6;text-align:left;"|'''53.6%''' ''1,248,664''
-|style="background:#B0CEFF;text-align:left;"|45.0% ''1,047,983''
-|style="background:#fdffdf;text-align:left;"|1.5% ''34,534''
-|-
-|rowspan="2"|2000
-|[[North Carolina gubernatorial election, 2000|Governor]]<ref name="2000 Gov.">{{cite web|title=2000 Gubernatorial General Election Results|url=http://uselectionatlas.org/RESULTS/state.php?fips=37&year=2000&f=0&off=5&elect=0|publisher=[[Dave Leip's Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections]]|accessdate=December 10, 2014}}</ref>
-|style="background:#FFB6B6;text-align:left;"|46.3% ''1,360,960''
-|style="background:#B0CEFF;text-align:left;"|'''52.0%''' ''1,530,324''
-|style="background:#fdffdf;text-align:left;"|1.7% ''50,778''
-|-
-|[[United States presidential election in North Carolina, 2000|President]]<ref name="2000 Pres.">{{cite web|title=2000 Presidential General Election Results|url=http://uselectionatlas.org/RESULTS/state.php?fips=37&year=2000&f=0&off=0&elect=0|publisher=[[Dave Leip's Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections]]|accessdate=December 10, 2014}}</ref>
-|style="background:#FFB6B6;text-align:left;"|'''56.0%''' ''1,631,163''
-|style="background:#B0CEFF;text-align:left;"|43.2% ''1,257,692''
-|style="background:#fdffdf;text-align:left;"|0.8% ''22,407''
-|-
-|1998
-|[[United States Senate election in North Carolina, 1998|Senate]]<ref name="1998 Sen.">{{cite web|title=1998 Senatorial General Election Results|url=http://uselectionatlas.org/RESULTS/state.php?fips=37&year=1998&f=0&off=3&elect=0&class=3|publisher=[[Dave Leip's Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections]]|accessdate=December 10, 2014}}</ref>
-|style="background:#FFB6B6;text-align:left;"|47.0% ''945,943''
-|style="background:#B0CEFF;text-align:left;"|'''51.2%''' ''1,029,237''
-|style="background:#fdffdf;text-align:left;"|1.8% ''36,963''
-|-
-|rowspan="3"|1996
-|[[North Carolina gubernatorial election, 1996|Governor]]<ref name="1996 Gov.">{{cite web|title=1996 Gubernatorial General Election Results|url=http://uselectionatlas.org/RESULTS/state.php?fips=37&year=1996&f=0&off=5&elect=0|publisher=[[Dave Leip's Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections]]|accessdate=December 10, 2014}}</ref>
-|style="background:#FFB6B6;text-align:left;"|42.8% ''1,097,053
-|style="background:#B0CEFF;text-align:left;"|'''56.0%''' ''1,436,638''
-|style="background:#fdffdf;text-align:left;"|1.3% ''32,494''
-|-
-|[[United States presidential election in North Carolina, 1996|President]]<ref name="1996 Pres.">{{cite web|title=1996 Presidential General Election Results|url=http://uselectionatlas.org/RESULTS/state.php?fips=37&year=1996&f=0&off=0&elect=0|publisher=[[Dave Leip's Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections]]|accessdate=December 10, 2014}}</ref>
-|style="background:#FFB6B6;text-align:left;"|'''48.7%''' ''1,225,938''
-|style="background:#B0CEFF;text-align:left;"|44.0% ''1,107,849''
-|style="background:#fdffdf;text-align:left;"|7.2% ''182,020''
-|-
-|[[United States Senate election in North Carolina, 1996|Senate]]<ref name="1996 Sen.">{{cite web|title=1996 Senatorial General Election Results|url=http://uselectionatlas.org/RESULTS/state.php?fips=37&year=1996&f=0&off=3&elect=0&class=2|publisher=[[Dave Leip's Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections]]|accessdate=December 10, 2014}}</ref>
-|style="background:#FFB6B6;text-align:left;"|'''52.6%''' ''1,345,833''
-|style="background:#B0CEFF;text-align:left;"|45.9% ''1,173,875''
-|style="background:#fdffdf;text-align:left;"|1.4% ''36,748''
-|-
-|rowspan="3"|1992
-|[[North Carolina gubernatorial election, 1992|Governor]]<ref name="1992 Gov.">{{cite web|title=1992 Gubernatorial General Election Results|url=http://uselectionatlas.org/RESULTS/state.php?fips=37&year=1992&f=0&off=5&elect=0|publisher=[[Dave Leip's Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections]]|accessdate=December 10, 2014}}</ref>
-|style="background:#FFB6B6;text-align:left;"|43.2% ''1,121,955''
-|style="background:#B0CEFF;text-align:left;"|'''52.7%''' ''1,368,246''
-|style="background:#fdffdf;text-align:left;"|4.1% ''104,983''
-|-
-|[[United States presidential election in North Carolina, 1992|President]]<ref name="1992 Pres.">{{cite web|title=1992 Presidential General Election Results|url=http://uselectionatlas.org/RESULTS/state.php?fips=37&year=1992&f=0&off=0&elect=0|publisher=[[Dave Leip's Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections]]|accessdate=December 10, 2014}}</ref>
-|style="background:#FFB6B6;text-align:left;"|'''43.4%''' ''1,134,661''
-|style="background:#B0CEFF;text-align:left;"|42.7% ''1,114,042''
-|style="background:#fdffdf;text-align:left;"|13.9% ''363,147''
-|-
-|[[United States Senate election in North Carolina, 1992|Senate]]<ref name="1992 Sen.">{{cite web|title=1992 Senatorial General Election Results|url=http://uselectionatlas.org/RESULTS/state.php?fips=37&year=1992&f=0&off=3&elect=0&class=2|publisher=[[Dave Leip's Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections]]|accessdate=December 10, 2014}}</ref>
-|style="background:#FFB6B6;text-align:left;"|'''50.4%''' ''1,297,892''
-|style="background:#B0CEFF;text-align:left;"|46.3% ''1,194,015''
-|style="background:#fdffdf;text-align:left;"|3.3% ''85,984''
-|}
-[[File:United States presidential election in North Carolina, 2016.svg|thumb|right|305px|[[Treemap]] of the popular vote by county, 2016 presidential election.]]
-[[File:NC Legislature.JPG|thumb|right|[[North Carolina State Legislative Building]]]]
-The government of North Carolina is divided into three branches: executive, legislative, and judicial. These consist of the [[North Carolina Council of State|Council of State]] (led by the [[Governor of North Carolina|Governor]]), the [[bicameral]] legislature (called the [[North Carolina General Assembly|General Assembly]]), and the state court system (headed by the [[North Carolina Supreme Court]]). The [[North Carolina Constitution|state constitution]] delineates the structure and function of the state government. North Carolina has 13 seats in the [[U.S. House of Representatives]] and two seats in the [[U.S. Senate]].
+====Primary Interstates====
-North Carolina's party loyalties have undergone a series of important shifts in the last few years: While the 2010 midterms saw Tar Heel voters elect a bicameral [[North Carolina Republican Party|Republican]] majority legislature for the first time in over a century, North Carolina has also become a Southern [[swing state]] in presidential races. Since Southern Democrat [[Jimmy Carter]]'s comfortable victory in the state in [[United States presidential election in North Carolina, 1976|1976]], the state had consistently leaned Republican in presidential elections until Democrat [[Barack Obama]] narrowly won the state in [[United States presidential election in North Carolina, 2008|2008]]. In the 1990s, Democrat [[Bill Clinton]] came within a point of winning the state in [[United States presidential election in North Carolina, 1992|1992]] and also only narrowly lost the state in [[United States presidential election in North Carolina, 1996|1996]]. In the early 2000s, Republican [[George W. Bush]] easily won the state by over 12 points, but by 2008, demographic shifts, population growth, and increased liberalization in heavily populated areas such as the [[Research Triangle]], [[Charlotte, North Carolina|Charlotte]], [[Greensboro, North Carolina|Greensboro]], [[Winston-Salem, North Carolina|Winston-Salem]], [[Fayetteville, North Carolina|Fayetteville]], and [[Asheville, North Carolina|Asheville]], propelled Barack Obama to victory in North Carolina, the first Democrat to win the state since 1976. In [[United States presidential election in North Carolina, 2012|2012]], North Carolina was again considered a competitive swing state, with the Democrats even holding their [[2012 Democratic National Convention]] in Charlotte. However, Republican [[Mitt Romney]] ultimately eked out a 2-point win in North Carolina, the only 2012 swing state that Obama lost, and one of only two states (along with [[United States presidential election in Indiana, 2012|Indiana]]) to flip from Obama in 2008 to the GOP in 2012.
+{{colbegin}}
+* {{Jct|state=NC|I|26}}
+* {{Jct|state=NC|I|40}}
+* {{Jct|state=NC|I-Future|42}}
+* {{Jct|state=NC|I|73}}
+* {{Jct|state=NC|I|74}}
+* {{Jct|state=NC|I|77}}
+* {{Jct|state=NC|I|85}}
+* {{Jct|state=NC|I|87}}
+* {{Jct|state=NC|I|95}}
+{{colend}}
+====Auxiliary (three-digit) Interstates====
-In 2012, the state elected a Republican Governor ([[Pat McCrory]]) and Lieutenant Governor ([[Dan Forest]]) for the first time in more than two decades, while also giving the Republicans veto-proof majorities in both the State House of Representatives and the State Senate. Several U.S. House of Representatives seats also flipped control, with the Republicans holding nine seats to the Democrats' four. In the 2014 mid-term elections, Republican [[David Rouzer]] won the state's Seventh Congressional District seat, increasing the congressional delegation party split to 10-3 in favor of the GOP.
+{{colbegin}}
+* {{Jct|state=NC|I|140}}
+* {{Jct|state=NC|I|240}}
+* {{Jct|state=NC|I-Future|274}}
+* {{Jct|state=NC|I|277}}
+* {{Jct|state=NC|I|285}}
+* {{Jct|state=NC|I|295}}
+* {{Jct|state=NC|I|440}}
+* {{Jct|state=NC|I|485}}
+* {{Jct|state=NC|I|495}}
+* {{Jct|state=NC|I|540}}
+* {{Jct|state=NC|I|587}}
+* {{Jct|state=NC|I-Future|685}}
+* {{Jct|state=NC|I|785}}
+* {{Jct|state=NC|I|795}}
+* {{Jct|state=NC|I|840}}
+* {{Jct|state=NC|I|885}}
+{{colend}}
 ==Education==
+{{Main|Education in North Carolina}}
 ===Primary and secondary education===
 {{See also|List of school districts in North Carolina|List of high schools in North Carolina}}
+[[File:Kituwah Academy.png|thumb|right|A lesson at [[New Kituwah Academy]] on the [[Qualla Boundary]] in North Carolina. This bilingual [[language immersion]] school, operated by the [[Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians]], teaches the same curriculum as other state elementary schools.]]
+Elementary and secondary public schools are overseen by the [[North Carolina Department of Public Instruction]]. The [[North Carolina Superintendent of Public Instruction]] is the secretary of the [[North Carolina State Board of Education]], but the board, rather than the superintendent, holds most of the legal authority for making public education policy. In 2009, the board's chairman also became the "chief executive officer" for the state's school system.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.ncpublicschools.org/ |title=North Carolina Public Schools |publisher=Ncpublicschools.org |access-date=January 31, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120204102252/http://www.ncpublicschools.org/ |archive-date=February 4, 2012 |url-status=live }}</ref> North Carolina has 115 public school systems, each of which is overseen by a local school board.<ref name="SchoolQF">{{cite web |url=http://www.ncpublicschools.org/quickfacts/facts/ |title=NC Public School Facts |publisher=Ncpublicschools.org |access-date=July 24, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110706091440/http://www.ncpublicschools.org/quickfacts/facts/ |archive-date=July 6, 2011 |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref name="Dpi">{{cite web |url=http://www.dpi.state.nc.us/curriculum/ |title=K-12 Standards, Curriculum, and Instruction |publisher=North Carolina State Board of Education |access-date=August 7, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160816172125/http://www.dpi.state.nc.us/curriculum/ |archive-date=August 16, 2016 |url-status=live }}</ref> A county may have one or more systems within it. The largest school systems in North Carolina are the [[Wake County Public School System]], [[Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools]], [[Guilford County Schools]], [[Winston-Salem/Forsyth County Schools]], and [[Cumberland County Schools]].<ref>[http://proximityone.com/sd_nc.htm North Carolina School District Demographics] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130425152315/http://proximityone.com/sd_nc.htm |date=April 25, 2013 }}. Proximityone.com. Retrieved July 12, 2013.</ref> In total there are 2,425 public schools in the state, including over 200 [[Charter school (North Carolina)|charter schools]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.dpi.nc.gov/students-families/innovative-school-options/charter-schools/schools|title=NC DPI: Schools|website=Dpi.nc.gov|access-date=July 7, 2020|archive-date=December 29, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201229033622/https://www.dpi.nc.gov/students-families/innovative-school-options/charter-schools/schools|url-status=dead}}</ref> North Carolina Schools were segregated until the ''[[Brown v. Board of Education]]'' trial and the release of the [[Pearsall Plan]].
+Previously the [[SAT]] was the dominant university entrance examination students took. In 2004 76% of NC high school students took the SAT. In 2012 state law changed which required 11th grade students to take the [[ACT (test)|ACT]]. The SAT testing rate fell to 46% in 2019. Because students now can take that test for free, the ACT became the dominant university entrance examination. This also caused SAT average scores to rise, as in 1996 North Carolina was 48th nationally in SAT scores, but the profile of students taking the SAT has gotten smaller.<ref>{{cite web|last1=Hui|first1=T. Keung|url=https://www.newsobserver.com/news/local/education/article235402092.html|title=See the 2019 SAT scores for every high school in Raleigh, Durham, Chapel Hill and NC|newspaper=[[The News & Observer]]|date=September 24, 2019|access-date=July 1, 2021|archive-date=July 9, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210709182930/https://www.newsobserver.com/news/local/education/article235402092.html|url-status=live}}</ref>
-[[File:Kituwah Academy.png|thumb|right|300px|A lesson at Kituwah Academy on the [[Qualla Boundary]] in North Carolina. The [[language immersion]] school, operated by the [[Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians]], teaches the same curriculum as other state [[primary schools]], but the [[Native Americans in the United States|Native American]] [[Cherokee language]] is the medium of instruction from [[pre-school]] on up and students learn it as a [[first language]]. Such schools have proven instrumental in the preservation and perpetuation of the Cherokee language.]]
-Elementary and secondary public schools are overseen by the [[North Carolina Department of Public Instruction]]. The [[North Carolina Superintendent of Public Instruction]] is the secretary of the [[North Carolina State Board of Education]], but the board, rather than the superintendent, holds most of the legal authority for making public education policy. In 2009, the board's chairman also became the "chief executive officer" for the state's school system.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.ncpublicschools.org/ |title=North Carolina Public Schools |publisher=Ncpublicschools.org |accessdate=January 31, 2012}}</ref><ref>[http://www.newsobserver.com/politics/story/1429983.html News & Observer: Perdue's choice to lead state's school system takes office]{{dead link|date=July 2011}}</ref> North Carolina has 115 public school systems,<ref name="SchoolQF">{{cite web|url=http://www.ncpublicschools.org/quickfacts/facts/ |title=NC Public School Facts |publisher=Ncpublicschools.org |accessdate=July 24, 2011}}</ref> each of which is overseen by a local school board. A county may have one or more systems within it. The largest school systems in North Carolina are the [[Wake County Public School System]], [[Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools]], [[Guilford County Schools]], [[Winston-Salem/Forsyth County Schools]], and [[Cumberland County Schools]].<ref>[http://proximityone.com/sd_nc.htm North Carolina School District Demographics]. Proximityone.com. Retrieved July 12, 2013.</ref> In total there are 2,425 public schools in the state, including 99 [[Charter school (North Carolina)|charter schools]].<ref name="SchoolQF"/> North Carolina Schools were segregated until the [[Brown v. Board of Education]] trial and the release of the [[Pearsall Plan]].
 ===Colleges and universities===
-{{further information|List of colleges and universities in North Carolina|List of universities in North Carolina by enrollment}}
+{{Further|List of colleges and universities in North Carolina|List of universities in North Carolina by enrollment}}
-In 1795, North Carolina opened the first public university in the United States—the University of North Carolina (now named the [[University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill]]). More than 200 years later, the [[University of North Carolina system]] encompasses 17 [[public university|public universities]] including [[North Carolina State University]], [[North Carolina A&T State University]], [[North Carolina Central University]], the [[University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill]], the [[University of North Carolina at Greensboro]], [[East Carolina University]], [[Western Carolina University]], [[Winston-Salem State University]], the [[University of North Carolina at Asheville]], the [[University of North Carolina at Charlotte]], the [[University of North Carolina at Pembroke]], [[UNC Wilmington]], [[Elizabeth City State University]], [[Appalachian State University]], [[Fayetteville State University]], and [[UNC School of the Arts]], and .<ref>{{cite web|title=Our 17 Institutions |url=http://www.northcarolina.edu/campus_profiles/index.php |accessdate=January 5, 2012 |author=The University of North Carolina |deadurl=yes |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20120107134507/http://www.northcarolina.edu/campus_profiles/index.php |archivedate=January 7, 2012 |df= }}</ref>  Along with its public universities, North Carolina has 58 public [[community college]]s in its [[North Carolina Community College System|community college system]].The largest university in North Carolina is currently [[North Carolina State University]], with more than 34,000 students.<ref>{{cite web|title=About NC State:Discovery begins at NC State|url=http://www.ncsu.edu/about-nc-state/index.php|accessdate=January 5, 2012|author=NCSU}}</ref>
+In 1795, North Carolina opened the first public university in the United States—the University of North Carolina (now named the [[University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill]]).<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.unc.edu/about/history-and-traditions/|title=History and Traditions|website=unc.edu|publisher=University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill|access-date=April 21, 2020|archive-date=April 27, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200427130634/https://www.unc.edu/about/history-and-traditions/|url-status=live}}</ref> More than 200 years later, the [[University of North Carolina System]] encompasses 16 [[public university|public universities]], which are [[Appalachian State University]], [[East Carolina University]], [[Elizabeth City State University]], [[Fayetteville State University]], [[North Carolina A&T State University]], [[North Carolina Central University]], [[North Carolina State University]], the [[University of North Carolina at Asheville]], the [[University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill]], the [[University of North Carolina at Charlotte]], the [[University of North Carolina at Greensboro]], the [[University of North Carolina at Pembroke]], the [[University of North Carolina School of the Arts]], the [[University of North Carolina at Wilmington]], [[Western Carolina University]], and [[Winston-Salem State University]], and one public, boarding high school, the [[North Carolina School of Science and Mathematics]].<ref>{{cite web |title=Our 17 Institutions |url=http://www.northcarolina.edu/campus_profiles/index.php |access-date=January 5, 2012 |author=The University of North Carolina |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120107134507/http://www.northcarolina.edu/campus_profiles/index.php |archive-date=January 7, 2012 }}</ref> Along with its public universities, North Carolina has 58 public [[community college]]s in its [[North Carolina Community College System|community college system]]. The largest university in North Carolina is currently [[North Carolina State University]], with more than 34,000 students.<ref>{{cite web|title=About NC State:Discovery begins at NC State|url=http://www.ncsu.edu/about-nc-state/index.php|access-date=January 5, 2012|author=NC State University|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120103175737/http://www.ncsu.edu/about-nc-state/index.php|archive-date=January 3, 2012|url-status=live}}</ref>
 {{multiple image
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+| caption1 = [[Old Well]] at UNC-Chapel Hill
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+| caption4 = [[Wait Chapel]] at Wake Forest University|alt4
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+}}
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- }}
-North Carolina is also home to many well-known private colleges and universities, including [[Duke University]], [[Wake Forest University]], [[Pfeiffer University]], [[Lees-McRae College]], [[Davidson College]], [[Barton College]], [[North Carolina Wesleyan College]], [[Elon University]], [[Guilford College]], Livingstone College, [[Salem College]], [[Shaw University]] (the first [[HBCU|historically black college or university]] in the South), [[Laurel University]], [[Meredith College]], [[Methodist University]], [[Belmont Abbey College]] (the only Catholic college in the Carolinas), [[Campbell University]], [[University of Mount Olive]], [[Montreat College]], [[High Point University]], [[Lenoir-Rhyne University]] (the only Lutheran university in North Carolina) and [[Wingate University]].
+North Carolina is also home to many well-known private colleges and universities, including [[Barton College]], [[Belmont Abbey College]] (the only Catholic college in the Carolinas), [[Campbell University]], [[Davidson College]], [[Duke University]],<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://library.duke.edu/rubenstein/uarchives/history/articles/narrative-history|title=Duke University: A brief narrative History|website=library.duke.edu|date=July 11, 2013|publisher=Duke University|access-date=April 21, 2020|archive-date=April 6, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180406170029/https://library.duke.edu/rubenstein/uarchives/history/articles/narrative-history|url-status=live}}</ref> [[Elon University]], [[Guilford College]], [[High Point University]], [[Laurel University]], [[Lees-McRae College]], [[Lenoir-Rhyne University]] (the only Lutheran university in North Carolina), [[Livingstone College]], [[Meredith College]], [[Methodist University]], [[Montreat College]], [[North Carolina Wesleyan College]], [[Pfeiffer University]], [[Salem College]], [[Shaw University]] (the first [[HBCU|historically black college or university]] in the South), [[University of Mount Olive]], [[Wake Forest University]],<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://about.wfu.edu/history/|title=History|website=about.wfu.edu|publisher=Wake Forest University|access-date=April 21, 2020|archive-date=August 8, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200808090217/https://about.wfu.edu/history/|url-status=live}}</ref> [[William Peace University]], and [[Wingate University]].
-{{wide image|Tree Map of Universities in North Carolina.png|1100px|Tree map depicting post-secondary education institutions in North Carolina. Each is sized by its relative share of degrees awarded. The colors noted in the key below refer to the type of institution. From left to right, these are 1) Public, 4+ year, 2) Public, 2 year 3) Private, not-for-profit 4+ year 4) Private, for-profit 4+ year, 5) Private, for-profit, 2 year 6) Private, for-profit, <2 year 7) Private, non-profit, 2 year 8) Private, non-profit, <2 year.}}
+North Carolina is also home to the oldest and largest [[Folk high school|folk school]] in the United States, the [[John C. Campbell Folk School]].<ref>{{cite web |last=Eiben |first=Vicky |date=2015 |title=A brief history of folk schools |url=https://folkschoolalliance.org/a-brief-history-of-folk-schools |work=Folk Education Association of America |publisher=Folk School Alliance |quote=The John C. Campbell Folk School founded in 1925 in Brasstown, North Carolina is the largest folk school in the U.S. today. |access-date=March 6, 2024 |archive-date=February 24, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240224032329/https://folkschoolalliance.org/a-brief-history-of-folk-schools |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=region: Brasstown, Hayesville |url=https://www.visitsmokies.org/regions/brasstown-hayesville/ |work=Great Smoky Mountains North Carolina |quote=Nation’s oldest folk school founded in 1925. |access-date=March 6, 2024 |archive-date=December 7, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231207205641/https://www.visitsmokies.org/regions/brasstown-hayesville/ |url-status=live }}</ref>
-==Media==
-{{See also|:Category:North Carolina media}}
-{{Expand section|date=March 2017 }}
-==Sports==
+==Health==
+The residents of North Carolina [[List of U.S. states and territories by life expectancy|have a lower life expectancy]] than the U.S. national average of life expectancy. According to the [[Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation]], in 2014, males in North Carolina lived an average of 75.4 years compared to the national average of 76.7 years. Females in North Carolina lived an average of 80.2 years compared to the national average of 81.5 years. Male life expectancy in North Carolina between 1980 and 2014 increased by an average of 6.9 years, slightly higher than the male national average of a 6.7-year increase. Life expectancy for females in North Carolina between 1980 and 2014 increased by 3.2 years, lower than the female national average of a 3.9-year increase.<ref>{{cite web |title=US Health Map |url=https://vizhub.healthdata.org/subnational/usa |website=Institute of Health Metrics and Evaluation |publisher=University of Washington |access-date=December 27, 2020 |archive-date=December 23, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201223175609/https://vizhub.healthdata.org/subnational/usa |url-status=live }}</ref>
-{{Main article|Sports in North Carolina}}
-{{refimprove section|date=August 2016}}
+Using 2017–2019 data, the [[Robert Wood Johnson Foundation]] calculated that life expectancy for North Carolina counties ranged from 71.4 years for [[Swain County]] to 82.3 years for [[Orange County, North Carolina|Orange County]]. Life expectancy for the state was 78.1 years.<ref name="Robert Wood Johnson">{{cite web |title=North Carolina: Life Expectancy |url=https://www.countyhealthrankings.org/app/north-carolina/2021/measure/outcomes/147/data |website=Robert Wood Johnson Foundation |access-date=December 28, 2020 |archive-date=June 28, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210628114834/https://www.countyhealthrankings.org/app/north-carolina/2021/measure/outcomes/147/data |url-status=live }}</ref> The Foundation estimated that life expectancy for the United States as a whole in 2021 was 79.2 years.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Square |first=Samuel Stebbins, 24/7 Wall St via The Center |title=Here's How Life Expectancy in North Carolina Compares to the Nation |url=https://www.thecentersquare.com/north_carolina/here-s-how-life-expectancy-in-north-carolina-compares-to-the-nation/article_e7559bd2-19be-559f-8dd8-a847a12b607c.html |access-date=September 22, 2022 |website=The Center Square |date=December 28, 2021 |language=en |archive-date=September 22, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220922233252/https://www.thecentersquare.com/north_carolina/here-s-how-life-expectancy-in-north-carolina-compares-to-the-nation/article_e7559bd2-19be-559f-8dd8-a847a12b607c.html |url-status=live }}</ref>
-North Carolina is home to three [[Major professional sports leagues in the United States and Canada|major league]] sports franchises: the [[Carolina Panthers]] of the [[National Football League]] and the [[Charlotte Hornets]] of the [[National Basketball Association]] are based in Charlotte, while the Raleigh-based [[Carolina Hurricanes]] play in the [[National Hockey League]]. The Panthers and Hurricanes are the only two major professional sports teams that have the same geographical designation while playing in different metropolitan areas. The Hurricanes are the only major professional team from North Carolina to have won a league championship, [[2006 Stanley Cup Finals|having captured the Stanley Cup in 2006.]] North Carolina is also home to two other top-level professional teams in less prominent sports—the Charlotte Hounds of [[Major League Lacrosse]] and the [[North Carolina Courage]] of the [[National Women's Soccer League]].
+==Media==
-While North Carolina has no [[Major League Baseball]] team, it does have numerous minor league baseball teams, with the highest level of play coming from the [[Triple-A (baseball)|AAA]]-affiliated [[Charlotte Knights]] and [[Durham Bulls]]. Additionally, North Carolina has minor league teams in other team sports including [[Association football|soccer]] and [[ice hockey]], most notably [[North Carolina FC]] and the [[Charlotte Checkers]], both of which play in the second tier of their respective sports.
+{{See also|:Category:Mass media in North Carolina|List of newspapers in North Carolina|List of defunct newspapers of North Carolina|List of radio stations in North Carolina|List of television stations in North Carolina}}
+Early newspapers were established in the eastern part of North Carolina in the mid-18th century. [[The Fayetteville Observer]], established in 1816, is the oldest newspaper still in publication in North Carolina. The [[Wilmington Star-News]], established 1867, is the oldest continuously running newspaper. As of January 1, 2020, there were approximately 240 North Carolina newspapers in publication in the state of North Carolina.<ref name="LOC1">{{cite web|url=https://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/search/titles/results/?city=&rows=50&terms=&language=&lccn=&material_type=&year1=2020&year2=2020&labor=&county=&state=North+Carolina&frequency=&ethnicity=&page=1&sort=date|title=Search of Library of Congress for North Carolina newspapers currently in publiication|website=Library of Congress|access-date=January 7, 2020|archive-date=February 20, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210220145601/https://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/search/titles/results/?city=&rows=50&terms=&language=&lccn=&material_type=&year1=2020&year2=2020&labor=&county=&state=North+Carolina&frequency=&ethnicity=&page=1&sort=date|url-status=live}}</ref>
+The [[News and Observer]] was founded in 1871 and is the largest in circulation in the state. In 2006, [[The Charlotte Observer]] was acquired by the company, it is the second largest circulating news paper in the state.<ref>{{Cite web |date=March 16, 2022 |title=Charlotte Observer becomes fourth McClatchy-owned newspaper to unionize in Carolinas |url=https://www.cislm.org/charlotte-observer-becomes-fourth-mcclatchy-owned-newspaper-to-unionize-in-carolinas/ |access-date=June 22, 2022 |language=en-US |archive-date=May 16, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220516191749/https://www.cislm.org/charlotte-observer-becomes-fourth-mcclatchy-owned-newspaper-to-unionize-in-carolinas/ |url-status=live }}</ref>
-In addition to professional team sports, North Carolina has a strong affiliation with [[NASCAR]] and stock-car racing, with [[Charlotte Motor Speedway]] in [[Concord, North Carolina|Concord]] hosting two [[Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series|Cup Series]] races every year. Charlotte also hosts the [[NASCAR Hall of Fame]], while Concord is the home of several top-flight racing teams, including [[Hendrick Motorsports]], [[Roush Fenway Racing]], [[Richard Petty Motorsports]], [[Stewart-Haas Racing]], and [[Chip Ganassi Racing]]. Numerous other tracks around North Carolina host races from low-tier NASCAR circuits as well.
+==Government and politics==
-Golf is a popular summertime leisure activity, and North Carolina has hosted several important professional golf tournaments. [[Pinehurst Resort]] in [[Pinehurst, North Carolina|Pinehurst]] has hosted a [[PGA Championship]], [[Ryder Cup]], two [[U.S. Open (golf)|U.S. Opens]], and one [[United States Women's Open Championship (golf)|U.S. Women's Open]]. The [[Wells Fargo Championship]] is a regular stop on the [[PGA Tour]] and is held at [[Quail Hollow Club]] in Charlotte, while the [[Wyndham Championship]] is played annually in Greensboro at [[Sedgefield Country Club]].
+{{Main|Government of North Carolina|Politics of North Carolina|Political party strength in North Carolina}}
+{| class="wikitable floatright"
+! colspan = 4 | North Carolina registered voters {{As of|2024|June|15|lc=y|df=US}}<ref>{{cite web|url=https://vt.ncsbe.gov/RegStat/|title=Voter Registration Statistics|publisher=[[North Carolina State Board of Elections]]|access-date=May 25, 2023|archive-date=September 11, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220911021330/https://vt.ncsbe.gov/RegStat/|url-status=live}}</ref>
+|-
+! colspan = 2 | Party
+! Number of Voters
+! Percentage
+|-
+| {{party color cell|Independent Party (United States)}}
+| [[Independent politician (United States)|Unaffiliated]]
+| style="text-align:center;"| 2,806,349
+| style="text-align:center;"| 37.25%
+|-
+| {{party color cell|Democratic Party (United States)}}
+| [[North Carolina Democratic Party|Democratic]]
+| style="text-align:center;"| 2,404,010
+| style="text-align:center;"| 31.90%
+|-
+| {{party color cell|Republican Party (United States)}}
+| [[North Carolina Republican Party|Republican]]
+| style="text-align:center;"| 2,258,580
+| style="text-align:center;"| 29.98%
+|-
+| {{party color cell|Libertarian Party (United States)}}
+| [[Libertarian Party of North Carolina|Libertarian]]
+| style="text-align:center;"| 49,872
+| style="text-align:center;"| 0.66%
+|-
+| {{party color cell|No Labels}}
+| [[No Labels]]
+| style="text-align:center;"| 12,996
+| style="text-align:center;"| 0.17%
+|-
+| {{party color cell|Green Party (United States)}}
+| [[Green Party of North Carolina|Green]]
+| style="text-align:center;"| 2,425
+| style="text-align:center;"| 0.03%
+|-
+! colspan = 2 | Total
+! style="text-align:center;"| 7,534,232
+! style="text-align:center;"| 100.00%
+|}
+[[File:NC Legislature.JPG|thumb|[[North Carolina State Legislative Building]], Raleigh]]
+The government of North Carolina is divided into three branches: executive, legislative, and judicial. These consist of the [[North Carolina Council of State|Council of State]] (led by the [[Governor of North Carolina|Governor]]), the [[bicameral]] legislature (called the [[North Carolina General Assembly|General Assembly]]), and the state court system (headed by the [[North Carolina Supreme Court]]). The [[Constitution of North Carolina|state constitution]] delineates the structure and function of the state government. Most municipalities in North Carolina operate under [[council-manager government]]s.<ref>{{cite web| url = https://www.ncpedia.org/towns-and-cities| title = Towns and Cities| last = Stick| first = David| date = 2006| website = NCPedia| publisher = North Carolina Government & Heritage Library| access-date = August 4, 2022| archive-date = August 4, 2022| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20220804045543/https://www.ncpedia.org/towns-and-cities| url-status = live}}</ref>
-[[College athletics in the United States|College sports]] are also popular in North Carolina, with 18 schools competing at the [[NCAA Division I|Division I]] level. The [[Atlantic Coast Conference]] (ACC) is headquartered in [[Greensboro, North Carolina|Greensboro]], and both the [[ACC Championship Game|ACC Football Championship Game]] (Charlotte) and the [[ACC Men's Basketball Tournament]] (Greensboro) were most recently held in North Carolina. [[College basketball]] in particular is very popular, buoyed by the [[Tobacco Road]] rivalries between [[Duke Blue Devils men's basketball|Duke]], [[North Carolina Tar Heels men's basketball|North Carolina]], [[NC State Wolfpack men's basketball|North Carolina State]], and [[Wake Forest Demon Deacons men's basketball|Wake Forest]]. The [[ACC Championship Game]] and the [[Belk Bowl]] are held annually in Charlotte's [[Bank of America Stadium]], featuring teams from the ACC and the [[Southeastern Conference]]. Additionally, the state has hosted the NCAA Men's Basketball [[Final Four (college basketball)|Final Four]] on two occasions, in Greensboro in 1974 and in Charlotte in 1994.
+North Carolina's party loyalties have undergone a series of important shifts in the last few years: While the 2010 midterms saw [[Tarheel]] voters elect a bicameral [[North Carolina Republican Party|Republican]] majority legislature for the first time in more than a century, North Carolina has also become a Southern [[swing state]] in presidential races. Since Southern Democrat [[Jimmy Carter]]'s comfortable victory in the state [[1976 United States presidential election in North Carolina|in 1976]], the state had consistently leaned Republican in presidential elections until Democrat [[Barack Obama]] narrowly won the state [[2008 United States presidential election in North Carolina|in 2008]]. In the 1990s, Democrat [[Bill Clinton]] came within a point of winning the state [[1992 United States presidential election in North Carolina|in 1992]] and also only narrowly lost the state [[1996 United States presidential election in North Carolina|in 1996]]. In [[2000 United States presidential election in North Carolina|2000]], Republican [[George W. Bush]] easily won the state by more than 13 points.
-==Tourism==
-{{refimprove section|date=August 2016}}
-[[File:Biltmore Estate 14.jpg|left| thumb|The [[Biltmore Estate]], [[Asheville, North Carolina|Asheville]]]] Every year the [[Appalachian Mountains]] attract several million tourists to the Western part of the state, including the historic [[Biltmore Estate]]. The scenic [[Blue Ridge Parkway]] and [[Great Smoky Mountains National Park]] are the two most visited national park and unit in the United States with over 25 million visitors in 2013.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://irma.nps.gov/Stats/SSRSReports/Park%20Specific%20Reports/Monthly%20Public%20Use?Park=BLRI|title=Stats Report Viewer|work=nps.gov}}</ref> The City of [http://www.exploreasheville.com/ Asheville] is consistently voted as one of the top places to visit and live in the United States, known for its rich art deco architecture, mountain scenery and outdoor activities, and liberal and happy residents.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.ashevilleguidebook.com/asheville/asheville-information/asheville.htm|title=All About Asheville|work=ashevilleguidebook.com}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://holykaw.alltop.com/the-united-states-happiest-places-infographic|title=The United States' happiest places [infographic] – Holy Kaw!|author=Kate Rinsema|work=Holy Kaw!}}</ref>
+By [[2008 United States presidential election in North Carolina|2008]], demographic shifts, population growth, and increased liberalization in densely populated areas such as the [[Research Triangle]], [[Charlotte, North Carolina|Charlotte]], [[Greensboro, North Carolina|Greensboro]], [[Winston-Salem, North Carolina|Winston-Salem]], [[Fayetteville, North Carolina|Fayetteville]], and [[Asheville, North Carolina|Asheville]], propelled Barack Obama to victory in North Carolina, the first Democrat to win the state since 1976. In [[2012 United States presidential election in North Carolina|2012]], North Carolina was again considered a competitive swing state, with the Democrats even holding their [[2012 Democratic National Convention]] in Charlotte. However, Republican [[Mitt Romney]] ultimately eked out a two-point win in North Carolina, the only 2012 swing state Obama lost, and one of only two states (along with [[2012 United States presidential election in Indiana|Indiana]]) to flip from Obama in 2008 to the GOP in 2012. Furthermore, Republican Donald Trump carried the state in [[2016 United States presidential election in North Carolina|2016]] and [[2020 United States presidential election in North Carolina|2020]].
-In [[Raleigh, North Carolina|Raleigh]] many tourists visit the Capital, [[African American Cultural Complex]], [[Contemporary Art Museum of Raleigh]], [[Gregg Museum of Art & Design at NCSU]], [[Haywood Hall House & Gardens]], [[Marbles Kids Museum]], [[North Carolina Museum of Art]], [[North Carolina Museum of History]], [[North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences]], [[North Carolina Sports Hall of Fame]], [[Raleigh City Museum]], [[J. C. Raulston Arboretum]], [[Joel Lane House]], [[Mordecai House]], [[Montfort Hall]], and the [[Pope House Museum]]. The [[Carolina Hurricanes]] NHL hockey team is also located in the city.
+In 2012, the state elected a Republican governor ([[Pat McCrory]]) and lieutenant governor ([[Dan Forest]]) for the first time in more than two decades, while also giving the Republicans veto-proof majorities in both the State House of Representatives and the State Senate. Several U.S. House of Representatives seats flipped control in 2012, with the Republicans holding nine seats to the Democrats' four. In the [[2014 United States House of Representatives elections in North Carolina|2014 midterm]] elections, Republican [[David Rouzer]] won the state's [[North Carolina's 7th congressional district|7th congressional district]] seat, increasing the congressional delegation party split to 10–3 in favor of the GOP, a split they retained in subsequent elections until 2020, when it narrowed to 8-5 in favor of the GOP.
-In the Charlotte area, amenities include the [[Carolina Panthers]] NFL football team and [[Charlotte Hornets]] basketball team, [[Carowinds]] amusement park, [[Charlotte Motor Speedway]], [[U.S. National Whitewater Center]], and the Discovery Place. Nearby [[Concord, North Carolina|Concord]] has the [[Great Wolf Lodge]] and Sea Life Aquarium.
+As a result of the 2020 census, North Carolina gained another seat in the [[118th United States Congress]], for a total of 14.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Murphy |first1=Brian |last2=Stradling |first2=Richard |url=https://www.newsobserver.com/news/politics-government/article250944864.html |access-date=February 10, 2022 |work=Raleigh News & Observer |issue=August 13, 2021 |title=Census data gives North Carolina a new seat in US Congress &#124; Raleigh News & Observer |archive-date=August 18, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210818143846/https://www.newsobserver.com/news/politics-government/article250944864.html |url-status=live }}</ref> After the 2022 elections, the partisan split was an even 7–7.
-In the [[Conover, North Carolina|Conover]] – [[Hickory, North Carolina|Hickory]] area, [[Hickory Motor Speedway]], RockBarn Golf and Spa, home of the [[Greater Hickory Classic at Rock Barn]]; [[Catawba County]] Firefighters Museum, and SALT Block attract many tourists to Conover. Hickory which has [[Valley Hills Mall]].
+In a 2020 study, North Carolina was ranked as the 23rd easiest state for citizens to vote in.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=J. Pomante II |first1=Michael |last2=Li |first2=Quan |title=Cost of Voting in the American States: 2020 |journal=Election Law Journal: Rules, Politics, and Policy |date=December 15, 2020 |volume=19 |issue=4 |pages=503–509 |doi=10.1089/elj.2020.0666 |s2cid=225139517 |doi-access=free }}</ref>
-The [[Piedmont Triad]], or center of the state, is home to [[Krispy Kreme]], [[Mayberry]], [[Texas Pete]], the [[Lexington Barbecue Festival]], and [[Moravian spice cookies|Moravian cookies]]. The internationally acclaimed [[North Carolina Zoo]] in [[Asheboro]] attracts visitors to its animals, plants, and a 57-piece art collection along five miles of shaded pathways in the world's largest-land-area natural-habitat park. [[Seagrove]], in the central portion of the state, attracts many tourists along [[Pottery Highway]] (NC Hwy 705). [[MerleFest]] in [[Wilkesboro, North Carolina|Wilkesboro]] attracts more than 80,000 people to its four-day music festival; and Wet 'n Wild Emerald Pointe water park in [[Greensboro, North Carolina|Greensboro]] is another attraction.
+===Gerrymandering===
-The [[Outer Banks]] and surrounding beaches attract millions of people to the Atlantic beaches every year.
+{{See also|Gerrymandering in the United States|North Carolina's congressional districts}}
+The state has been sued for [[gerrymandering|racially gerrymandering]] the districts, which resulted in minority voting power being diluted in some areas, resulting in skewed representation. In 2000, the [[U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina]] ruled that the [[North Carolina's 12th congressional district|12th congressional district]] was an illegal racial gerrymander.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://law.justia.com/cases/federal/district-courts/FSupp2/133/407/2292720/|title = Cromartie v. Hunt, 133 F. Supp. 2d 407 (E.D.N.C. 2000)}}</ref> This was again appealed, now as ''[[Easley v. Cromartie]]''. The [[U.S. Supreme Court]] reversed the Eastern District of North Carolina in 2001 and ruled that the 12th district boundaries were not racially based but was a [[gerrymandering|partisan gerrymander]]. They said this was a political question that the courts should not rule upon.<ref name=":1">{{Cite web|url=https://supreme.justia.com/cases/federal/us/532/234/|title=Easley v. Cromartie, 532 U.S. 234 (2001)|website=Justia Law|language=en|access-date=March 5, 2019|archive-date=April 10, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190410124931/https://supreme.justia.com/cases/federal/us/532/234/|url-status=live}}</ref>
+In 2015, federal courts again ordered redistricting.<ref name="stohr">{{cite web|url=https://www.bloomberg.com/graphics/2019-north-carolina-gerrymander-map-supreme-court/|last1=Stohr|first1=Greg|last2=McCartney|first2=Allison|title=The Supreme Court Has Never Struck Down a Partisan Voter Map. Will North Carolina's Be the First?|work=Bloomberg|date=March 22, 2019|access-date=May 19, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190517163303/https://www.bloomberg.com/graphics/2019-north-carolina-gerrymander-map-supreme-court/|archive-date=May 17, 2019|url-status=live}}</ref> Two lawsuits challenging the state congressional district map were led by "two dozen voters, the state Democratic Party, the state chapter of the League of Women Voters, and the interest group Common Cause".<ref name="stohr" /> They contend that the redistricting resulted in deliberate under-representation of a substantial portion of voters. This case reached the U.S. Supreme Court in March 2019, which also heard a related partisan gerrymandering case from Maryland.<ref name="stohr" />
-The mainland northeastern part of the state, having recently adopted the name the [[Inner Banks]], is also known as the Albemarle Region, for the [[Albemarle Settlements]], some of the first settlements on North Carolina's portion of the [[Atlantic Coastal Plain]]. The regions historic sites are connected by the [[Historic Albemarle Tour]].
+On February 4, 2022, the North Carolina Supreme Court struck down the congressional and state legislative district maps drawn by the GOP-controlled [[North Carolina General Assembly|General Assembly]] on terms of partisan gerrymandering in a 4–3 ruling.<ref>{{Cite news |date=February 5, 2022 |title=NC Supreme Court strikes down redrawn voting maps |work=[[WTVD]] |url=https://abc11.com/nc-supreme-court-decision-redistricting-voting-maps-north-carolina/11538537/ |url-status=dead |access-date=February 8, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220205184948/https://abc11.com/nc-supreme-court-decision-redistricting-voting-maps-north-carolina/11538537/ |archive-date=February 5, 2022 }}</ref> Later that month, a panel of three former judges chosen by the Wake County Superior Court drew and approved a remedial congressional map after the new map proposed by the General Assembly was struck down by the North Carolina Supreme Court. Though, the state legislative maps proposed by the General Assembly were allowed to be used. The General Assembly would then redraw all three maps for the [[2024 United States elections|2024 elections]] in the state.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Wilkie |first=Jordan |date=February 23, 2022 |title=All sides appeal redistricting decision to NC Supreme Court |work=Carolina Public Press |url=https://carolinapublicpress.org/51820/all-sides-appeal-redistricting-decision-to-nc-supreme-court/ |url-status=live |access-date=February 24, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220224081504/https://carolinapublicpress.org/51820/all-sides-appeal-redistricting-decision-to-nc-supreme-court/ |archive-date=February 24, 2022}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=Doyle |first=Steve |date=February 23, 2022 |title=Check out new election maps: NC Supreme Court rejects appeals, approves special masters' districts |work=[[WGHP]] |url=https://myfox8.com/your-local-election-hq/today-is-the-day-for-court-to-choose-new-election-maps-in-north-carolina-how-will-it-play-out/ |url-status=live |access-date=February 24, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220224081504/https://carolinapublicpress.org/51820/all-sides-appeal-redistricting-decision-to-nc-supreme-court/ |archive-date=February 24, 2022}}</ref>
-==Recreation==
-{{refimprove section|date=August 2016}}
-[[File:Blue Ridge NC.jpg|thumb|The [[Blue Ridge Mountains]] of the Shining Rock Wilderness Area]]
-[[File:Cape Hatteras National Seashore.jpg|thumb|Cape Hatteras National Seashore near [[Avon, North Carolina]]]]
+On April 28, 2023, the North Carolina Supreme Court—after it [[2022 North Carolina judicial elections|flipped Republican in the 2022 elections]]—overturned the same ruling in a 5–2 decision, which cleared the way for gerrymandering in the next redistricting cycle.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Timm |first=Jane C. |date=April 28, 2023 |title=N.C.'s new GOP-controlled high court reverses itself on gerrymandering and voter ID |url=https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/elections/north-carolinas-supreme-court-reverses-gerrymandering-rcna81996 |access-date=October 25, 2023 |website=NBC News |language=en |archive-date=October 26, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231026220310/https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/elections/north-carolinas-supreme-court-reverses-gerrymandering-rcna81996 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last1=Zach |first1=Montellaro |last2=Josh |first2=Gerstein |last3=Ally |first3=Mutnick |date=April 28, 2023 |title=North Carolina Supreme Court clears way for partisan gerrymandering |url=https://www.politico.com/news/2023/04/28/north-carolina-supreme-court-clears-way-for-partisan-gerrymandering-00094433 |access-date=October 25, 2023 |website=POLITICO |language=en |archive-date=October 25, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231025205331/https://www.politico.com/news/2023/04/28/north-carolina-supreme-court-clears-way-for-partisan-gerrymandering-00094433 |url-status=live }}</ref> New maps were approved by the General Assembly on October 25, 2023. All three new maps heavily favor the GOP, with allegations of racial bias made against the maps as well.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Robertson |first=Gary D. |date=October 25, 2023 |title=North Carolina Republicans put exclamation mark on pivotal annual session with redistricting maps |url=https://apnews.com/article/north-carolina-redistricting-congress-legislature-221ff5ae9f825687c053b248d078296f |access-date=October 26, 2023 |website=AP News |language=en |archive-date=October 25, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231025220533/https://apnews.com/article/north-carolina-redistricting-congress-legislature-221ff5ae9f825687c053b248d078296f |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Lopez |first=Ashley |date=October 25, 2023 |title=North Carolina lawmakers approve maps creating gains for the GOP in Congress |url=https://www.npr.org/2023/10/25/1208002456/north-carolina-redistricting-congressional-districts |access-date=October 26, 2023 |website=NPR |archive-date=October 26, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231026021123/https://www.npr.org/2023/10/25/1208002456/north-carolina-redistricting-congressional-districts |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last1=Schouten |first1=Fredreka |last2=Gallagher |first2=Dianne |date=October 25, 2023 |title=North Carolina legislature approves map that could help Republicans gain at least 3 House seats in 2024 |url=https://www.cnn.com/2023/10/25/politics/north-carolina-map-republicans/index.html |access-date=October 26, 2023 |website=CNN Politics |language=en |archive-date=October 26, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231026103121/https://www.cnn.com/2023/10/25/politics/north-carolina-map-republicans/index.html |url-status=live }}</ref>
-North Carolina provides a large range of recreational activities, from swimming at the beach<ref>[http://www.igovacation.com/search_rentals/stateinfo.asp?State=nc igovacation.com] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080111225659/http://www.igovacation.com/search_rentals/stateinfo.asp?State=nc |date=January 11, 2008 }}. igovacation.com. Retrieved July 12, 2013.</ref> to [[skiing]] in the mountains. North Carolina offers [[Autumn leaf color|fall colors]], freshwater and saltwater fishing, hunting, [[birdwatching]], [[agritourism]], [[All-terrain vehicle|ATV]] trails, [[Hot air ballooning|ballooning]], [[rock climbing]], [[biking]], hiking, [[skiing]], [[boating]] and sailing, [[camping]], [[canoeing]], [[caving]] (spelunking), gardens, and [[arboretum]]s. North Carolina has [[theme park]]s, [[aquarium]]s, museums, [[historic site]]s, [[lighthouse]]s, elegant theaters, [[concert hall]]s, and [[fine dining]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.visitnc.com/what_to_do.asp|title=What To Do Across North Carolina|publisher=VisitNC.com|year=2006|accessdate=December 18, 2006 |archiveurl = https://web.archive.org/web/20061201050938/http://www.visitnc.com/what_to_do.asp <!-- Bot retrieved archive --> |archivedate = December 1, 2006}}</ref>
+In November 2023, a lawsuit was filed against the [[North Carolina Senate]] district map—specifically the [[North Carolina's 1st Senate district|1st]] and [[North Carolina's 2nd Senate district|2nd]] Senate districts—in the Eastern District of North Carolina, arguing the map violates Section 2 of the [[Voting Rights Act of 1965]].<ref>{{Cite web |last=Jacobs |first=Rusty |date=November 21, 2023 |title=Let the litigation begin: A federal lawsuit seeks to block new North Carolina Senate district map |url=https://www.wunc.org/politics/2023-11-21/federal-lawsuit-black-voters-north-carolina-redistricting |access-date=December 9, 2023 |website=WUNC |language=en |archive-date=December 9, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231209191535/https://www.wunc.org/politics/2023-11-21/federal-lawsuit-black-voters-north-carolina-redistricting |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Selzer |first=Rachel |date=November 20, 2023 |title=Black Voters Challenge North Carolina's 2023 State Senate Map in New Federal Lawsuit |url=https://www.democracydocket.com/news-alerts/black-voters-challenge-north-carolinas-2023-state-senate-map-in-new-federal-lawsuit/ |access-date=December 9, 2023 |website=Democracy Docket |language=en-US |archive-date=December 9, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231209191534/https://www.democracydocket.com/news-alerts/black-voters-challenge-north-carolinas-2023-state-senate-map-in-new-federal-lawsuit/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=November 20, 2023 |title=North Carolina State Senate Map Challenge |url=https://www.democracydocket.com/cases/north-carolina-state-senate-map-challenge/ |access-date=December 9, 2023 |website=Democracy Docket |language=en-US |archive-date=December 9, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231209191534/https://www.democracydocket.com/cases/north-carolina-state-senate-map-challenge/ |url-status=live }}</ref> In December 2023, two lawsuits were filed in the [[United States District Court for the Middle District of North Carolina|Middle District of North Carolina]], with the first challenging the [[North Carolina's 1st congressional district|1st]], [[North Carolina's 6th congressional district|6th]], [[North Carolina's 12th congressional district|12th]], and [[North Carolina's 14th congressional district|14th]] congressional districts in the map,<ref>{{Cite web |last=Robertson |first=Gary D. |date=December 4, 2023 |title=New North Carolina congressional districts challenged in federal court on racial bias claims |url=https://apnews.com/article/north-carolina-congressional-redistricting-lawsuit-ba9e21540021c792e942ef4f166f02cc |access-date=December 9, 2023 |website=AP News |language=en |archive-date=December 9, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231209191534/https://apnews.com/article/north-carolina-congressional-redistricting-lawsuit-ba9e21540021c792e942ef4f166f02cc |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Gallagher |first=Dianne |date=December 5, 2023 |title=Lawsuit seeks to block North Carolina congressional map, alleging it discriminates against minority voters |url=https://www.cnn.com/2023/12/05/politics/north-carolina-congressional-map-lawsuit/index.html |access-date=December 9, 2023 |website=CNN Politics |language=en |archive-date=December 9, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231209191534/https://www.cnn.com/2023/12/05/politics/north-carolina-congressional-map-lawsuit/index.html |url-status=live }}</ref> and the second, challenging multiple specific districts in all three maps, as racial gerrymanders.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Robertson |first=Gary D. |date=December 19, 2023 |title=North Carolina's election maps for 2024 are racially biased, advocates say in lawsuit |url=https://apnews.com/article/north-carolina-redistricting-lawsuit-congressional-legislative-republicans-8a174d89870519cf23c62278bd765f5f |access-date=January 26, 2024 |website=AP News |language=en |archive-date=January 26, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240126223148/https://apnews.com/article/north-carolina-redistricting-lawsuit-congressional-legislative-republicans-8a174d89870519cf23c62278bd765f5f |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Selzer |first=Rachel |date=December 19, 2023 |title=Civil Rights Groups and Black Voters Sue Over New North Carolina Maps |url=https://www.democracydocket.com/news-alerts/civil-rights-groups-and-black-voters-sue-over-new-north-carolina-congressional-and-legislative-maps/ |access-date=January 26, 2024 |website=Democracy Docket |language=en-US |archive-date=January 26, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240126223148/https://www.democracydocket.com/news-alerts/civil-rights-groups-and-black-voters-sue-over-new-north-carolina-congressional-and-legislative-maps/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Bonner |first=Lynn |date=December 19, 2024 |title=Voting rights groups file sweeping lawsuit against NC redistricting plans |url=https://ncnewsline.com/2023/12/19/voting-rights-groups-file-sweeping-lawsuit-against-nc-redistricting-plans/ |access-date=January 26, 2024 |website=NC Newsline |language=en-US |archive-date=January 26, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240126223150/https://ncnewsline.com/2023/12/19/voting-rights-groups-file-sweeping-lawsuit-against-nc-redistricting-plans/ |url-status=live }}</ref> Both lawsuits were consolidated together in March 2024.<ref>{{Cite web |date=March 19, 2024 |title=North Carolina Congressional Redistricting Challenge (2023) |url=https://www.democracydocket.com/cases/north-carolina-congressional-redistricting-challenge-2023/ |access-date=March 28, 2024 |website=Democracy Docket |language=en-US |archive-date=March 29, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240329000013/https://www.democracydocket.com/cases/north-carolina-congressional-redistricting-challenge-2023/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=March 19, 2024 |title=North Carolina 2023 Redistricting Challenge |url=https://www.democracydocket.com/cases/north-carolina-2023-redistricting-challenge/ |access-date=March 28, 2024 |website=Democracy Docket |language=en-US |archive-date=March 29, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240329000012/https://www.democracydocket.com/cases/north-carolina-2023-redistricting-challenge/ |url-status=live }}</ref>
-North Carolinians enjoy outdoor recreation utilizing numerous local bike paths, 34 [[List of North Carolina state parks|state parks]], and 14 [[National Park Service|national parks]]. [[National Park Service]] units include the [[Appalachian National Scenic Trail]], the [[Blue Ridge Parkway]], [[Cape Hatteras National Seashore]], [[Cape Lookout National Seashore]], [[Carl Sandburg Home National Historic Site]] at [[Flat Rock, Henderson County, North Carolina|Flat Rock]], [[Fort Raleigh National Historic Site]] at [[Manteo, North Carolina|Manteo]], [[Great Smoky Mountains National Park]], [[Guilford Courthouse National Military Park]] in [[Greensboro, North Carolina|Greensboro]], [[Moores Creek National Battlefield]] near [[Currie, North Carolina|Currie]] in [[Pender County, North Carolina|Pender County]], the [[Overmountain Victory National Historic Trail]], [[Old Salem|Old Salem National Historic Site]] in [[Winston-Salem, North Carolina|Winston-Salem]], the [[Trail of Tears National Historic Trail]], and [[Wright Brothers National Memorial]] in [[Kill Devil Hills, North Carolina|Kill Devil Hills]]. National Forests include [[Uwharrie Mountains|Uwharrie National Forest]] in central North Carolina, [[Croatan National Forest]] in [[Eastern North Carolina]], [[Pisgah National Forest]] in the northern mountains, and [[Nantahala National Forest]] in the southwestern part of the state.
+On January 26, 2024—regarding the lawsuit currently in the Eastern District of North Carolina—a preliminary injunction to block the current North Carolina Senate district map was denied, citing the [[Purcell principle|''Purcell'' principle]].<ref>{{Cite web |last=Selzer |first=Rachel |date=January 26, 2024 |title=Federal Judge Declines to Block New North Carolina Senate Map for 2024 Elections |url=https://www.democracydocket.com/news-alerts/federal-judge-declines-to-block-new-north-carolina-senate-map-for-2024-elections/ |access-date=March 28, 2024 |website=Democracy Docket |language=en-US |archive-date=March 28, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240328234011/https://www.democracydocket.com/news-alerts/federal-judge-declines-to-block-new-north-carolina-senate-map-for-2024-elections/ |url-status=live }}</ref> The ruling was appealed to the [[United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit|U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit]], which upheld the lower court's decision on March 28, 2024. The lawsuit will continue in the district court, but no ruling will be made until after the 2024 elections.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Selzer |first=Rachel |date=March 28, 2024 |title=4th Circuit Declines to Block New North Carolina Senate Map for 2024 Elections |url=https://www.democracydocket.com/news-alerts/4th-circuit-declines-to-block-new-north-carolina-senate-map-for-2024-elections/ |access-date=March 28, 2024 |website=Democracy Docket |language=en-US |archive-date=March 28, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240328224342/https://www.democracydocket.com/news-alerts/4th-circuit-declines-to-block-new-north-carolina-senate-map-for-2024-elections/ |url-status=live }}</ref>
-==Arts and culture==
-{{Main article|Culture of North Carolina}}
-{{refimprove section|date=August 2016}}
-North Carolina has rich traditions in art, music, and cuisine. The nonprofit arts and culture industry generates $1.2 billion in direct economic activity in North Carolina, supporting more than 43,600 full-time equivalent jobs and generating $119 million in revenue for local governments and the state of North Carolina.<ref>{{cite web|title=North Carolina Arts Council|url=http://www.ncarts.org/|website=Ncarts.org|accessdate=July 14, 2017}}</ref> North Carolina established the [[North Carolina Museum of Art]] as the first major museum collection in the country to be formed by state legislation and funding<ref>{{cite web|title=North Carolina Museum of Art Museum Backgrounder|url=http://www.ncartmuseum.org/images/uploads/MuseumBackgrounder.pdf|format=PDF|website=Ncartmuseum.org|accessdate=July 14, 2017}}</ref>  and continues to bring millions into the NC economy.<ref>{{cite web|title=N.C. Museum of Art: Rembrandt Exhibit Pumped $13 Million Into Wake County Economy|url=http://sgrtoday.com/categories/local-government/1767-nc-museum-of-art-rembrandt-exhibit-pumped-13-million-into-wake-county-economy-.html|work=SGR Today}}</ref>  Also see this [[list of museums in North Carolina]].
+==Sports==
-One of the more famous arts communities in the state is [[Seagrove]], the handmade-pottery capital of the U.S., where artisans create handcrafted pottery inspired by the same traditions that began in this community more than 200 years ago. With nearly 100 shops and galleries scattered throughout the area, visitors can find everything from traditional tableware to folk and collectible art pieces and historical reproductions.
+{{Main|Sports in North Carolina}}
+<gallery widths="220" heights="165" class="center" style="line-height:130%">
-===Music===
+File:Bank of America Stadium.jpg|[[Bank of America Stadium]] in [[Charlotte, North Carolina|Charlotte]], home of the [[Carolina Panthers]] and [[Charlotte FC]]
-{{Main article|Music of North Carolina}}
+File:RBC Center Stanley Cup Championship.jpg|[[Carolina Hurricanes]] Stanley Cup awards ceremony at the [[PNC Arena|RBC Center]] in [[Raleigh, North Carolina|Raleigh]]
-North Carolina boasts a large number of noteworthy [[list of jazz musicians|jazz musicians]], some among the most important in the history of the genre. These include: [[John Coltrane]], ([[Hamlet, North Carolina|Hamlet]], [[High Point, North Carolina|High Point]]); [[Thelonious Monk]] ([[Rocky Mount, North Carolina|Rocky Mount]]); [[Billy Taylor]] ([[Greenville, North Carolina|Greenville]]); [[Woody Shaw]] ([[Laurinburg, North Carolina|Laurinburg]]); [[Lou Donaldson]] ([[Durham, North Carolina|Durham]]); [[Max Roach]] ([[Newland, North Carolina|Newland]]); [[Tal Farlow]] ([[Greensboro, North Carolina|Greensboro]]); [[Albert Heath|Albert]], [[Jimmy Heath|Jimmy]] and [[Percy Heath]] ([[Wilmington, North Carolina|Wilmington]]); [[Nina Simone]] ([[Tryon, North Carolina|Tryon]]); and [[Billy Strayhorn]] ([[Hillsborough, North Carolina|Hillsborough]]).
+File:Spectrum Center 2018.jpg|The [[Spectrum Center (arena)|Spectrum Center]], home arena of the [[National Basketball Association|NBA]]'s [[Charlotte Hornets]]
+</gallery>
+North Carolina is home to four [[Major professional sports leagues in the United States and Canada|major league]] sports franchises: the [[Carolina Panthers]] of the [[National Football League]], the [[Charlotte Hornets]] of the [[National Basketball Association]], and [[Charlotte FC]] of [[Major League Soccer]] are based in Charlotte, while the Raleigh-based [[Carolina Hurricanes]] play in the [[National Hockey League]]. The Panthers and Hurricanes are the only two major professional sports teams that have the same geographical designation while playing in different metropolitan areas. The Hurricanes are the only major professional team from North Carolina to have won a league championship, [[2006 Stanley Cup Finals|having captured the Stanley Cup in 2006.]] North Carolina is also home to two other top-level professional teams — the Charlotte Hounds of [[Major League Lacrosse]] and the [[North Carolina Courage]] of the [[National Women's Soccer League]].
-[[File:Fiddlin' Bill Hensley, mountain fiddler, Asheville, North Carolina (LOC).jpg|thumb|Fiddlin' Bill Hensley, mountain fiddler, [[Asheville, North Carolina|Asheville]], 1937]]
-North Carolina is also famous for its tradition of [[old-time music]], and many recordings were made in the early 20th century by folk-song collector [[Bascom Lamar Lunsford]]. Musicians such as the [[North Carolina Ramblers]] helped solidify the sound of [[country music]] in the late 1920s, while the influential [[bluegrass music|bluegrass]] musician [[Doc Watson]] also hailed from North Carolina. Both North and South Carolina are hotbeds for traditional rural [[blues]], especially the style known as the [[Piedmont blues]].
+While North Carolina has no [[Major League Baseball]] team, it does have numerous [[Minor League Baseball]] teams, with the highest level of play coming from the [[Triple-A (baseball)|Triple-A]] [[Charlotte Knights]] and [[Durham Bulls]]. Additionally, North Carolina has minor league teams in other team sports including soccer and [[ice hockey]], most notably [[North Carolina FC]] and the [[Charlotte Checkers]], both of which play in the second tier of their respective sports.
-[[Ben Folds Five]] originated in [[Winston-Salem, North Carolina|Winston-Salem]], and [[Ben Folds]] still records and resides in [[Chapel Hill, North Carolina|Chapel Hill]].
+In addition to professional team sports, North Carolina has a strong affiliation with [[NASCAR]] and stock-car racing, with [[Charlotte Motor Speedway]] in [[Concord, North Carolina|Concord]] hosting two [[NASCAR Cup Series|Cup Series]] races every year. Charlotte also hosts the [[NASCAR Hall of Fame]], while Concord is the home of several top-flight racing teams, including [[Hendrick Motorsports]], [[Roush Fenway Racing]], [[GMS Racing]], [[Stewart-Haas Racing]], and [[Chip Ganassi Racing]]. Numerous other tracks around North Carolina host races from low-tier NASCAR circuits as well.
-The British band [[Pink Floyd]] is named, in part, after Chapel Hill bluesman [[Floyd Council]].
-The [[Research Triangle]] area has long been a well-known center for [[Folk music|folk]], rock, [[Heavy metal music|metal]], jazz and [[punk rock|punk]].<ref name="richie">{{cite book|last=Unterberger|first=Richie|title=Music USA: The Rough Guide|publisher=The Rough Guides|year=1999|isbn=1-85828-421-X}}</ref> [[James Taylor]] grew up around Chapel Hill, and his 1968 song "[[Carolina in My Mind]]" has been called an unofficial anthem for the state.<ref>{{cite news | url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=XuYGAAAAIBAJ&sjid=6TsDAAAAIBAJ&pg=3430,2859475&dq=carolina-in-my-mind+anthem | title=Hey, James Taylor – You've got a ... bridge? | work=[[Rome News-Tribune]] | date=May 21, 2002 | accessdate=June 28, 2009}}</ref><ref name="nando100206">{{cite news | url=http://www.newsobserver.com/161/story/493529.html | title=You must forgive him if he's ... | author=Hoppenjans, Lisa | work=[[The News & Observer]] | date=October 2, 2006 | accessdate=June 28, 2009}}{{Dead link|date=October 2010|bot=H3llBot}}</ref><ref>{{cite news | url=https://www.usatoday.com/life/music/2008-10-17-2062938384_x.htm | title=James Taylor to play 5 free NC concerts for Obama | author=Waggoner, Martha | agency=[[Associated Press]] |work=USA Today | date=October 17, 2008 | accessdate=June 28, 2009}}</ref> Other famous musicians from North Carolina include [[J. Cole]], [[Shirley Caesar]], [[Roberta Flack]], [[Clyde McPhatter]], [[Nnenna Freelon]], [[Warren Haynes]], [[Jimmy Herring]], [[Michael Houser]], [[Eric Church]], [[Future Islands]], [[Randy Travis]], [[Ryan Adams]], [[Ronnie Milsap]], [[Anthony Hamilton (musician)|Anthony Hamilton]], [[The Avett Brothers]] and [[Luke Combs]].
-[[Heavy metal music|Metal]] and [[Punk rock|punk]] acts such as [[Corrosion of Conformity]], [[Between the Buried and Me]], and [[Nightmare Sonata]] are native to North Carolina.
-EDM producer [[Porter Robinson]] hails from [[Chapel Hill, North Carolina|Chapel Hill]].
-North Carolina is the home of more ''[[American Idol]]'' finalists than any other state: [[Clay Aiken]] (season two), [[Fantasia Barrino]] (season three), [[Chris Daugherty]] (season five), [[Kellie Pickler]] (season five), [[Bucky Covington]] (season five), [[Anoop Desai]] (season eight), [[Scotty McCreery]] (season ten), and [[Caleb Johnson (singer)|Caleb Johnson]] (season thirteen). North Carolina also has the most ''American Idol'' winners with Barrino, McCreery, and Johnson.
-In the mountains, the [[Brevard Music Center]] hosts choral, orchestral, and solo performances during its annual summer schedule.
-Also, see the [[North Carolina Music Hall of Fame]].
-===Shopping===
-North Carolina has a variety of shopping choices. [[SouthPark Mall (Charlotte, North Carolina)|SouthPark Mall]] in [[Charlotte, North Carolina|Charlotte]] is currently the largest in the Carolinas, with almost 2.0&nbsp;million square feet. Other major malls in Charlotte include [[Northlake Mall (Charlotte)|Northlake Mall]] and [[Carolina Place Mall]] in nearby suburb [[Pineville, North Carolina|Pineville]]. Other major malls throughout the state include [[Hanes Mall]] in [[Winston-Salem, North Carolina|Winston-Salem]]; [[Crabtree Valley Mall]], [[North Hills (Raleigh)|North Hills Mall]], and [[Triangle Town Center]] in [[Raleigh, North Carolina|Raleigh]]; [[Friendly Center]] and [[Four Seasons Town Centre]] in [[Greensboro, North Carolina|Greensboro]]; [[Oak Hollow Mall]] in [[High Point, North Carolina|High Point]]; [[Concord Mills]] in [[Concord, North Carolina|Concord]]; [[Valley Hills Mall]] in [[Hickory, North Carolina|Hickory]]; [[Cross Creek Mall]] in [[Fayetteville, North Carolina|Fayetteville]]; and [[The Streets at Southpoint]] and [[Northgate Mall (Durham)|Northgate Mall]] in [[Durham, North Carolina|Durham]] and [[Independence Mall (North Carolina)|Independence Mall]] in  Wilmington, North Carolina, and Tanger Outlets in Charlotte, Nags Head, Blowing Rock, and Mebane, North Carolina.
-===Cuisine and agriculture===
-[[File:Lexington Barbecue Festival - Rides.jpg|thumb|2008 [[Lexington Barbecue Festival]]]]
-A culinary staple of North Carolina is pork [[barbecue]]. There are strong regional differences and rivalries over the sauces and methods used in making the barbecue. The common trend across Western North Carolina is the use of premium grade [[Boston butt]]. Western North Carolina pork barbecue uses a tomato-based sauce, and only the pork shoulder (dark meat) is used. Western North Carolina barbecue is commonly referred to as Lexington barbecue after the [[Piedmont Triad]] town of [[Lexington, North Carolina|Lexington]], home of the [[Lexington Barbecue Festival]], which attracts over 100,000 visitors each October.<ref>{{cite book | title = Bob Garner's Guide to North Carolina Barbecue | last = Garner | first = Bob | url = https://books.google.com/?id=PswNCQWI9RsC&printsec=frontcover&dq=north+carolina+barbecue | publisher=John F. Blair, Publisher | year = 2007 | isbn = 978-0-89587-254-8}}</ref><ref>{{cite web | title = What is North Carolina-Style BBQ? | url = http://ncbbq.com/Modules/Articles/article.aspx?id=20 | last = Craig | first = H. Kent | year = 2006 | publisher=ncbbq.com | accessdate = February 15, 2010}}</ref>  Eastern North Carolina pork barbecue uses a [[vinegar]]-and-red-pepper-based sauce and the "whole hog" is cooked, thus integrating both white and dark meat.
+Golf is a popular summertime leisure activity, and North Carolina has hosted several important professional golf tournaments. [[Pinehurst Resort]] in [[Pinehurst, North Carolina|Pinehurst]] has hosted a [[PGA Championship]], [[Ryder Cup]], two [[U.S. Open (golf)|U.S. Opens]], and one [[United States Women's Open Championship (golf)|U.S. Women's Open]]. The [[Wells Fargo Championship]] is a regular stop on the [[PGA Tour]] and is held at [[Quail Hollow Club]] in Charlotte, and Quail Hollow has also played host to the PGA Championship. The [[Wyndham Championship]] is played annually in Greensboro at [[Sedgefield Country Club]].
-[[Krispy Kreme]], an international chain of doughnut stores, was started in North Carolina; the company's headquarters are in [[Winston-Salem, North Carolina|Winston-Salem]]. [[Pepsi-Cola]] was first produced in 1898 in [[New Bern, North Carolina|New Bern]]. A regional [[soft drink]], [[Cheerwine]], was created and is still based in the city of Salisbury. Despite its name, the hot sauce [[Texas Pete]] was created in North Carolina; its headquarters are also in Winston-Salem. The [[Hardee's]] fast-food chain was started in [[Rocky Mount, North Carolina|Rocky Mount]]. Another fast-food chain, [[Bojangles']], was started in [[Charlotte, North Carolina|Charlotte]], and has its corporate headquarters there. A popular North Carolina restaurant chain is [[Golden Corral]]. Started in 1973, the chain was founded in [[Fayetteville, North Carolina|Fayetteville]], with headquarters located in [[Raleigh, North Carolina|Raleigh]]. Popular [[Pickled cucumber|pickle]] brand [[Mount Olive Pickle Company]] was founded in [[Mount Olive, North Carolina|Mount Olive]] in 1926. Fast casual burger chain [[Hwy 55 Burgers, Shakes & Fries]] also makes its home in [[Mount Olive, North Carolina|Mount Olive]]. [[Cook Out (restaurant)|Cook Out]], a popular fast-food chain featuring burgers, hot dogs, and milkshakes in a wide variety of flavors, was founded in Greensboro in 1989 and has begun expanding outside of North Carolina. In 2013, Southern Living named Durham – Chapel Hill the South's "Tastiest City."
+[[College athletics in the United States|College sports]] are also popular in North Carolina, with 18 schools competing at the [[NCAA Division I|Division I]] level. The [[Atlantic Coast Conference]] (ACC) is headquartered in [[Greensboro, North Carolina|Greensboro]], and both the [[ACC Championship Game|ACC Football Championship Game]] (Charlotte) and the [[ACC men's basketball tournament]] (Greensboro) were most recently held in North Carolina. Additionally, the city of [[Charlotte, North Carolina|Charlotte]] is home to the [[National Junior College Athletic Association|National Junior College Athletics Association]]'s (NJCAA) headquarters.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://njcaa.org/about/Staff_Bio/NJCAA_National_Staff_Directory|title=NJCAA|website=NJCAA|access-date=August 22, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190406140847/http://njcaa.org/about/Staff_Bio/NJCAA_National_Staff_Directory|archive-date=April 6, 2019|url-status=dead}}</ref> [[College basketball]] is very popular in North Carolina, buoyed by the [[Tobacco Road (rivalry)|Tobacco Road]] rivalries between ACC members [[North Carolina Tar Heels men's basketball|North Carolina]], [[Duke Blue Devils men's basketball|Duke]], [[NC State Wolfpack men's basketball|North Carolina State]], and [[Wake Forest Demon Deacons men's basketball|Wake Forest]]. The [[ACC Championship Game]] and the [[Duke's Mayo Bowl]] are held annually in Charlotte's [[Bank of America Stadium]], featuring teams from the ACC and the [[Southeastern Conference]]. Additionally, the state has hosted the NCAA Men's Basketball [[Final Four (college basketball)|Final Four]] on two occasions, in Greensboro in 1974 and in Charlotte in 1994.
-Over the last decade, North Carolina has become a cultural epicenter and haven for internationally prize-winning wine (Noni Bacca Winery), internationally prized cheeses (Ashe County), "L'institut International aux Arts Gastronomiques: Conquerront Les Yanks les Truffes, January 15, 2010"  international hub for truffles (Garland Truffles), and beer making, as tobacco land has been converted to grape orchards while state laws regulating alcohol content in beer allowed a jump in ABV from 6% to 15%. The Yadkin Valley in particular has become a strengthening market for grape production, while [[Asheville, North Carolina|Asheville]] recently won the recognition of being named 'Beer City USA.' [[Asheville, North Carolina|Asheville]] boasts the largest [[North Carolina breweries#Breweries|breweries]] per capita of any city in the United States. Recognized and marketed brands of beer in North Carolina include Highland Brewing, Duck Rabbit Brewery, Mother Earth Brewery, Weeping Radish Brewery, Big Boss Brewing, Foothills Brewing, Carolina Brewing Company, Lonerider Brewing, and White Rabbit Brewing Company. North Carolina has large grazing areas for beef and dairy cattle. Truck farms can be found in North Carolina. A truck farm is a small farm where fruits and vegetables are grown to be sold at local markets. The state's shipping, commercial fishing, and lumber industries are important to its economy. Service industries, including education, health care, private research, and retail trade, are also important. Research Triangle Park, a large industrial complex located in the Raleigh-Durham area, is one of the major centers in the country for electronics and medical research
-[[Tobacco]] was one of the first major industries to develop after the [[American Civil War|Civil War]]. Many farmers grew some tobacco, and the invention of the cigarette made the product especially popular. Winston-Salem is the birthplace of [[R. J. Reynolds Tobacco Company]] (RJR), founded by [[R. J. Reynolds]] in 1874 as one of 16 tobacco companies in the town. By 1914 it was selling 425 million packs of Camels a year. Today it is the second-largest tobacco company in the U.S. (behind [[Altria Group]]). RJR is an indirect wholly owned subsidiary of Reynolds American Inc., which in turn is 42% owned by [[British American Tobacco]].<ref>Nannie M. Tilley, ''The R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Company'' (2009)</ref>
-===Ships named for the state===
-[[File:U.S.S. North Carolina.jpg|thumb|225x225px|USS ''North Carolina'' on permanent display in Wilmington]]
-{{Further information|USS North Carolina}}
-Several ships have been named after the state. Most famous is the {{USS|North Carolina|BB-55|6}}, a World War II [[battleship]]. The ship served in several battles against the forces of Imperial Japan in the [[Pacific Ocean theater of World War II|Pacific theater]] during the [[World War II|war]]. Now decommissioned, it is part of the USS ''North Carolina'' Battleship Memorial in Wilmington. Another {{USS|North Carolina|SSN-777|6}}, a nuclear attack [[submarine]], was commissioned in Wilmington, North Carolina, on May 3, 2008.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.wral.com/news/local/story/2829981/|title=USS North Carolina 'brought to life' again|date=May 3, 2008 |accessdate=February 4, 2010 |publisher=[[WRAL-TV]]}}</ref>
-===State parks===
-{{main article|List of North Carolina state parks}}
-The state maintains a group of [[protected area]]s known as the '''North Carolina State Park System''', which is managed by the North Carolina Division of Parks & Recreation (NCDPR), an agency of the [[North Carolina Department of Environment and Natural Resources|North Carolina Department of Environment and Natural Resources (NCDENR)]].
-===State symbols===
-{{Infobox U.S. state symbols
-|Flag = Flag of North Carolina.svg
-|Seal = Seal of North Carolina.svg
-|Name = North Carolina
-|Amphibian =
-|Bird = [[Cardinal (bird)]]
-|Butterfly =
-|Crustacean =
-|Fish = [[Red drum]]
-|Flower = [[Flowering Dogwood]]
-|Grass =
-|Insect = [[Western honey bee]]<br />(Apis mellifera)
-|Mammal = [[Eastern Gray Squirrel]]
-|Reptile = [[Eastern Box Turtle]]
-|Tree = [[Longleaf Pine]]<br />(Pinus palustris)
-|Beverage = [[Milk]]
-|Colors = red and blue
-|Dance = [[Clogging]]
-|Dinosaur =
-|Food = [[Sweet potato]]
-|Fossil =
-|Gemstone = [[Emerald]]
-|Mineral = [[Gold]]
-|Motto = ''[[Esse quam videri]]''<br />("To be, rather than to seem")
-|Musical Instrument =
-|Poem =
-|Rock = [[Granite]]
-|Shell = [[Scotch bonnet (sea snail)]]
-|Ships =
-|Slogan = ''First Flight (unofficial)''
-|Soil =
-|Song = "[[The Old North State (song)]]"
-|Sport =
-|Tartan =
-|Toy =
-|Other =
-|Route Marker = NC_24.svg
-|Quarter = 2001 NC Proof.png
-|QuarterReleaseDate = 2001
-}}
-{{multiple image
-| align     = right
-| direction = vertical
-| header    =
-| header_align = left/right/center
-| header_background =
-| footer    =
-| footer_align = left/right/center
-| footer_background =
-| width     =
-| image1    = Northern Cardinal Male-27527-3.jpg
-| width1    = 150
-| caption1  = [[Northern cardinal|Cardinal]], North Carolina state bird
-| alt1      =
-| image2    = Flowering Dogwood Cornus florida Multiple Flowers 2000px.JPG
-| width2    = 150
-| caption2  = [[Cornus florida|Dogwood]], North Carolina state flower
-| alt2      =
-}}
-{{Main article|List of North Carolina state symbols}}
-*'''[[List of U.S. state mottoes|State motto]]''': ''[[Esse quam videri]]'' ("To be, rather than to seem") (1893)
-*'''[[List of U.S. state songs|State song]]''': "[[The Old North State (song)|The Old North State]]" (1927)
-*'''[[List of U.S. state flowers|State flower]]''': [[Cornus florida|Dogwood]] (1941)
-*'''[[List of U.S. state birds|State bird]]''': [[Northern cardinal|Cardinal]] (1943)
-*'''[[List of U.S. state colors|State colors]]''': The red and blue of the [[Flag of North Carolina|N.C.]] and [[Flag of the United States|U.S.]] flags (1945)
-* '''State toast''': "[[North Carolina State Toast|The Tar Heel Toast]]" (1957)
-*'''[[List of U.S. state trees|State tree]]''': [[Pine|Pine (''Pinus'')]] (1963)<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.ncleg.net/EnactedLegislation/Statutes/HTML/BySection/Chapter_145/GS_145-3.html|title=General Assembly of North Carolina|last=|first=|date=|website=|publisher=|accessdate=November 8, 2016}}</ref>
-*'''[[List of U.S. state shells|State shell]]''': [[Scotch bonnet (shell)|Scotch bonnet]] (1965)
-*'''[[List of U.S. state mammals|State mammal]]''': [[Eastern gray squirrel]] (1969)
-*'''[[List of U.S. state fish|State salt water fish]]''': [[Red drum]] (also known as the channel bass) (1971)
-*'''[[List of U.S. state insects|State insect]]''': [[Western honey bee|European honey bee]] (1973)
-*'''[[List of U.S. state minerals, rocks, stones and gemstones|State gemstone]]''': [[Emerald]] (1973)
-*'''[[List of U.S. state reptiles|State reptile]]''': [[Eastern box turtle]] (1979)
-*'''[[List of U.S. state minerals, rocks, stones and gemstones|State rock]]''': [[Granite]] (1979)
-*'''[[List of U.S. state beverages|State beverage]]''': Milk (1987)
-*'''[[List of U.S. state ships|State historical boat]]''': [[Shad boat]] (1987)
-* '''State language''': English (1987)
-* '''State dog''': [[Plott Hound]] (1989)
-* '''State military academy''': [[Oak Ridge Military Academy]] (1991)
-*'''[[List of U.S. state tartans|State tartan]]''': [[Carolina Tartan]] (1991)<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.secretary.state.nc.us/images/Carolina_Tartan.jpg |title=Secretary of State of North Carolina |accessdate=July 24, 2011}}</ref>
-*'''[[List of U.S. state foods|State vegetable]]''': [[Sweet potato]] (1995)
-*'''[[List of U.S. state foods|State red berry]]''': [[Garden strawberry|Strawberry]] (2001)
-*'''[[List of U.S. state foods|State blue berry]]''': [[Blueberry]] (2001)
-*'''[[List of U.S. state foods|State fruit]]''': [[Scuppernong]] grape (2001)
-*'''[[List of U.S. state flowers|State wildflower]]''': [[Lilium michauxii|Carolina lily]] (2003)
-* '''State Christmas tree''': [[Fraser fir]] (2005)
-* '''State carnivorous plant''': [[Venus flytrap]] (2005)
-*'''[[List of U.S. state dances|State folk dance]]''': [[Clogging]] (2005)
-*'''[[List of U.S. state dances|State popular dance]]''': [[Carolina shag]] (2005)
-* '''State birthplace of traditional pottery''': [[Seagrove (NC)|The Seagrove area]] (2005)
-* '''State sport''': [[NASCAR]] (2011)<ref>{{cite web|title=NASCAR made North Carolina's official state sport|url=http://aol.sportingnews.com/nascar/story/2011-06-21/nascar-made-north-carolinas-official-state-sport|work=SportingNews.com|accessdate=January 26, 2012}}</ref>
-===Armed forces installations===
-{{refimprove section|date=August 2016}}
-[[File:Defense.gov News Photo 110323-A-3108M-004 - U.S. Army paratroopers participate in an advanced rifle marksmanship course at Fort Bragg N.C. on March 23 2011. The paratroopers are assigned.jpg|thumb|Troopers of the 82nd Airborne Division training on [[Fort Bragg]], March 2011]]
-[[Fort Bragg, North Carolina|Fort Bragg]], near [[Fayetteville, North Carolina|Fayetteville]] and [[Southern Pines, North Carolina|Southern Pines]], is a large and comprehensive military base and is the headquarters of the [[XVIII Airborne Corps]], [[U.S. 82nd Airborne Division|82nd Airborne Division]], and the [[U.S. Army Special Operations Command]]. Serving as the air wing for Fort Bragg is [[Pope Air Force Base|Pope Field]], also located near Fayetteville.
-Located in [[Jacksonville, North Carolina|Jacksonville]], [[Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune]], combined with nearby bases [[MCAS Cherry Point|Marine Corps Air Station (MCAS) Cherry Point]], [[Marine Corps Air Station New River|MCAS New River]], [[Camp Geiger]], [[Camp Gilbert H. Johnson|Camp Johnson]], [[Stone Bay]] and Courthouse Bay, makes up the largest concentration of Marines and sailors in the world. [[MCAS Cherry Point]] is home of the [[2nd Marine Aircraft Wing]]. Located in [[Goldsboro, North Carolina|Goldsboro]], [[Seymour Johnson Air Force Base]] is home of the [[4th Fighter Wing]] and [[916th Air Refueling Wing]]. One of the busiest air stations in the [[United States Coast Guard]] is located at the [[Coast Guard Air Station Elizabeth City|Coast Guard Air Station]] in [[Elizabeth City, North Carolina|Elizabeth City]]. Also stationed in North Carolina is the [[Military Ocean Terminal Sunny Point]] in [[Southport]].
 ==See also==
-{{portal|North Carolina}}
+{{Portal|United States|North Carolina}}
-*[[Index of North Carolina-related articles]]
+* [[Index of North Carolina–related articles]]
-*[[Outline of North Carolina]] – organized list of topics about North Carolina
+* [[Outline of North Carolina]]
+* [[List of people from North Carolina]]
+{{Clear}}
+==Notes==
-{{Clear}}
+{{notelist}}
 ==References==
-{{Reflist|30em}}
+{{Reflist}}
-==Primary sources==
+==Works cited==
+* {{cite book |last=Lee |first=James Melvin |title=History of American journalism |publisher=Boston, New York, Houghton Mifflin Company |year=1923 |url=https://archive.org/details/historyofamerica00leejuoft |ref=lee1923 }} [https://archive.org/details/historyofamerica00leej/page/n5/mode/2up (Alternative publication)]
-*  Lefler, Hugh (numerous editions since 1934). ''North Carolina History Told by Contemporaries ''. [[University of North Carolina Press]].
+* {{cite book |editor-last=Powell |editor-first=William S. |title=Dictionary of North Carolina biography |volume=II |author-link= |publisher=University of North Carolina Press |year=2000 |isbn=978-0-8078-67013 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=BdAGnn0SZX0C&q=%22james+davis%22 |ref=powell2000}} - [https://books.google.com/books?id=BdAGnn0SZX0C&q=%22james+davis%22 link to Davis biography]
+* Lefler, Hugh (numerous editions since 1934). ''North Carolina History Told by Contemporaries ''. [[University of North Carolina Press]].
 * Jones, H. G. (1984). ''North Carolina Illustrated, 1524–1984''. University of North Carolina Press.
-*''North Carolina Manual''. Published biennially by the Department of the Secretary of State since 1941.
+* ''North Carolina Manual''. Published biennially by the Department of the Secretary of State since 1941.
-* [http://library.divinity.duke.edu/ncreligion The Religion in North Carolina Digital Collection]. A grant-funded project to provide digital access to publications of and about religious bodies in North Carolina. Partner institutions at [[Duke University]], [[UNC-Chapel Hill]], and [[Wake Forest University]] contributed the largest portion of the items in this collection, but the collection is enriched by unique materials from libraries and archives throughout North Carolina. The materials in this collection include local church histories, periodicals, clergy biographies, cookbooks, event programs, directories, and much more.
+* [http://library.divinity.duke.edu/ncreligion The Religion in North Carolina Digital Collection] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200817123401/https://library.divinity.duke.edu/ncreligion/ |date=August 17, 2020 }}. A grant-funded project to provide digital access to publications of and about religious bodies in North Carolina. Partner institutions at [[Duke University]], [[UNC-Chapel Hill]], and [[Wake Forest University]] contributed the largest portion of the items in this collection, but the collection is enriched by unique materials from libraries and archives throughout North Carolina. The materials in this collection include local church histories, periodicals, clergy biographies, cookbooks, event programs, directories, and much more.
 ==Further reading==
 * James, Clay; Orr, Douglas, eds. (1971). ''North Carolina Atlas: Portrait of a Changing Southern State''.
-* Christensen, Rob (2008). ''The Paradox of Tar Heel Politics''. Chapel Hill: [[University of North Carolina Press]].
+* Christensen, Rob (2008). ''The Paradox of Tarheel Politics''. Chapel Hill: [[University of North Carolina Press]].
 * Cooper, Christopher A.; Knotts, H. Gibbs, eds. (2008). ''The New Politics of North Carolina''. Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press.
-* Crow; Jeffrey J.; Tise, Larry E. (1979). ''Writing North Carolina History''. [https://www.questia.com/PM.qst?a=o&d=59237933 Online.]
+* Crow; Jeffrey J.; Tise, Larry E. (1979). ''Writing North Carolina History''. [https://www.questia.com/PM.qst?a=o&d=59237933 Online.] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120717081929/http://www.questia.com/PM.qst?a=o&d=59237933 |date=July 17, 2012 }}
-* Eamon, Tom (2014). ''The Making of a Southern Democracy: North Carolina Politics from Kerr Scott to Pat McCrory.'' Chapel Hill, North Carolina: University of North Carolina Press.
+* Eamon, Tom (2014). ''[[The Making of a Southern Democracy: North Carolina Politics from Kerr Scott to Pat McCrory]]''. [[Chapel Hill, North Carolina]]: [[University of North Carolina Press]].
-* Fleer, Jack D. (1994). ''North Carolina Government & Politics''. [https://www.questia.com/PM.qst?a=o&d=98712979 Online political science textbook.]
+* Fleer, Jack D. (1994). ''North Carolina Government & Politics''. [https://www.questia.com/PM.qst?a=o&d=98712979 Online political science textbook.] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120717081823/http://www.questia.com/PM.qst?a=o&d=98712979 |date=July 17, 2012 }}
 * Hawks, Francis L. (1857). ''History of North Carolina, Volumes I and II''.
 * Kersey, Marianne M.; Coble, Ran, eds. (1989). ''North Carolina Focus: An Anthology on State Government, Politics, and Policy''. 2d ed. Raleigh: North Carolina Center for Public Policy Research.
-* Lefler, Hugh Talmage (1963). ''A Guide to the Study and Reading of North Carolina History''. [https://www.questia.com/PM.qst?a=o&d=65419833 Online.]
+* Lefler, Hugh Talmage (1963). ''A Guide to the Study and Reading of North Carolina History''. [https://www.questia.com/PM.qst?a=o&d=65419833 Online.] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120717081607/http://www.questia.com/PM.qst?a=o&d=65419833 |date=July 17, 2012 }}
 * Lefler, Hugh Talmage; Newsome, Albert Ray (1954, 1963, 1973). ''North Carolina: The History of a Southern State''. Standard textbook.
 * Link, William A. (2009). ''North Carolina: Change and Tradition in a Southern State''. History by leading scholar.
 * Luebke, Paul (1990). ''Tar Heel Politics: Myths and Realities''.
+* Orr, Doug, and Alfred W. Stuart. (2000) ''The North Carolina Atlas: Portrait for a New Century'' (U of North Carolina Press, 2000) [https://uncpress.org/book/9780807825075/the-north-carolina-atlas/ online]
 * Powell, William S. (1979–88). ''Dictionary of North Carolina Biography''. Vol. 1, A-C; vol. 2, D-G; vol. 3, H-K.
 * Powell, William S. (1958). ''North Carolina Fiction, 1734–1957: An Annotated Bibliography''.
 * Powell, William S. (1989). ''North Carolina through Four Centuries''. Standard textbook.
 * Powell, William S.; Mazzocchi, Jay, eds. (2006). ''Encyclopedia of North Carolina''.
-* Ready, Milton. (2005). ''The Tar Heel State: A History of North Carolina''.
+* Ready, Milton. (2005). ''The Tarheel State: A History of North Carolina''.
 * Thuesen, Sarah Caroline. (2013). ''Greater Than Equal: African American Struggles for Schools and Citizenship in North Carolina, 1919–1965''. Chapel Hill, North Carolina: University of North Carolina Press.
 * WPA Federal Writers' Project (1939). ''North Carolina: A Guide to the Old North State''. Famous [[Works Progress Administration|WPA]] guide to every town.
@@ Line 1,138: / Line 1,277: @@
 ==External links==
 {{Sister project links|voy=North Carolina}}
-'''General'''
-*[http://northcarolinawineries.org/ Wineries, Restaurants and Tourism in the state]
-*{{dmoz|Regional/North_America/United_States/North_Carolina}}
+===General===
-'''History'''
+* {{Official website|https://www.nc.gov}}
-*[http://www.loc.gov/rr/program/bib/states/northcarolina/ North Carolina State Guide, from the Library of Congress]
+* [https://web.archive.org/web/20090205023136/http://statelibrary.dcr.state.nc.us/ North Carolina state library]
-*[https://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/sep/20/usaf-atomic-bomb-north-carolina-1961 The Guardian: "US nearly detonated atomic bomb over North Carolina – secret document"]
+* [http://www.nccourts.org/Courts/Default.asp North Carolina Court System official site] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050604000354/http://www.nccourts.org/Courts/Default.asp |date=June 4, 2005 }}
+* {{curlie|Regional/North_America/United_States/North_Carolina}}
+* [https://www.loc.gov/rr/program/bib/states/northcarolina/ North Carolina State Guide, from the Library of Congress] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200513143221/http://www.loc.gov/rr/program/bib/states/northcarolina/ |date=May 13, 2020 }}
-'''Government and education'''
+===Government and education===
+* [https://web.archive.org/web/20110117024221/http://tonto.eia.doe.gov/state/state_energy_profiles.cfm?sid=NC Energy & Environmental Data for North Carolina]
-*[http://www.nc.gov/ North Carolina state government]
+* [https://web.archive.org/web/20161209123338/https://www2.usgs.gov/state/state.asp?State=NC USGS real-time, geographic, and other scientific resources of North Carolina]
-*[http://statelibrary.dcr.state.nc.us/ North Carolina state library]
+* [http://www.ers.usda.gov/data-products/state-fact-sheets/state-data.aspx?StateFIPS=37&StateName=North%20Carolina North Carolina facts from U.S. Department of Agriculture ERS] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140813033015/http://www.ers.usda.gov/data-products/state-fact-sheets/state-data.aspx?StateFIPS=37&StateName=North%20Carolina |date=August 13, 2014 }}
-*[http://tonto.eia.doe.gov/state/state_energy_profiles.cfm?sid=NC Energy & Environmental Data for North Carolina]
+* [http://www.ncecho.org/ NC ECHO—North Carolina Exploring Cultural Heritage Online] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070429195244/http://www.ncecho.org/ |date=April 29, 2007 }}
-*[http://www.usgs.gov/state/state.asp?State=NC USGS real-time, geographic, and other scientific resources of North Carolina]
+* [https://web.archive.org/web/20080226181127/http://www.lib.unc.edu/ncc/ North Carolina Collection, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill]
-*[http://www.ers.usda.gov/data-products/state-fact-sheets/state-data.aspx?StateFIPS=37&StateName=North%20Carolina#.U8UmL7EXtQs North Carolina facts from US Department of Agriculture ERS]
+* [https://web.archive.org/web/20160204215609/http://www.ah.dcr.state.nc.us/ NC Office of Archives and History]
-*[http://www.nccourts.org/Courts/Default.asp North Carolina Court System official site]
-*[https://web.archive.org/web/20140119192023/http://quickfacts.census.gov/qfd/states/37000.html North Carolina facts from US Census Bureau]
-*[http://www.ncecho.org/ NC ECHO – North Carolina Exploring Cultural Heritage Online]
-*[http://www.lib.unc.edu/ncc/ North Carolina Collection, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill]
-*[http://www.lib.ncsu.edu/specialcollections/greenngrowing/ Green 'N' Growing: The History of Home Demonstration and 4-H Youth Development in North Carolina] – hosted by NCSU Libraries Special Collections Research Center
-*[http://www.ah.dcr.state.nc.us/ NC Office of Archives and History]
-*[http://docsouth.unc.edu/commland/ Commemorative Landscapes of North Carolina]
-*[http://docsouth.unc.edu/blueridgeparkway/ Driving Through Time: The Blue Ridge Parkway in North Carolina]
-*[http://library.divinity.duke.edu/ncreligion/ The Religion in North Carolina Digital Collection]
-'''Other'''
+===Other===
 * {{OSM relation|224045}}
-<br/><!--this break is to put visual space between the last information and the following template if needed-->
 {{s-start}}
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+{{s-bef|before=New York}}
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 |list =
 {{North Carolina|expanded}}
-{{North Carolina cities and mayors of 100,000 population}}
 {{Protected areas of North Carolina}}
 {{Southern United States}}
+{{Thirteen Colonies}}
 {{Confederate States political divisions}}
 {{United States political divisions}}
 |state=expanded}}
-{{Coord|display=title|35.5|N|80|W|region:US-NC_type:adm1st_scale:3000000}}
 {{Authority control}}
+{{coord|36|-80|dim:300000_region:US-NC_type:adm1st|name=State of North Carolina|display=title}}
-[[Category:1789 establishments in the United States]]
+[[Category:North Carolina| ]]<!-- please leave the empty space as standard -->
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 [[Category:Southern United States]]
 [[Category:Spanish colonization of the Americas]]
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 [[Category:States of the East Coast of the United States]]
 [[Category:States of the United States]]
+[[Category:Contiguous United States]]

North Carolina
State
Flag Seal
Nickname(s): The Tarheel State, The Old North State
Motto(s): Esse quam videri^[a] "To be, rather than to seem"
Anthem: "The Old North State"^[1]
Map of the United States with North Carolina highlighted
Country	United States
Before statehood	Province of North Carolina
Admitted to the Union	November 21, 1789 (12th)
Capital	Raleigh
Largest city	Charlotte
Largest county or equivalent	Wake
Largest metro and urban areas	Charlotte
Government
• Governor	Roy Cooper (D)
• Lieutenant Governor	Mark Robinson (R)
Legislature	General Assembly
• Upper house	Senate
• Lower house	House of Representatives
Judiciary	North Carolina Supreme Court
U.S. senators	Thom Tillis (R) Ted Budd (R)
U.S. House delegation	7 Republicans 7 Democrats (list)
Area
• Total	53,819.16 sq mi (139,391.0 km²)
• Land	48,617.91 sq mi (125,919.8 km²)
• Water	5,201.25 sq mi (13,471.2 km²) 9.66%
• Rank	28th
Dimensions
• Length	500^[2] mi (804 km)
• Width	184 mi (296 km)
Elevation	700 ft (210 m)
Highest elevation (Mount Mitchell^[3]^[b])	6,684 ft (2,037 m)
Lowest elevation (Atlantic Ocean^[3])	0 ft (0 m)
Population (2020)
• Total	10,439,388
• Rank	9th
• Density	214.72/sq mi (82.90/km²)
• Rank	14th
• Median household income	$52,752^[4]
• Income rank	39th
Demonym(s)	North Carolinian (official); Tarheel (colloquial)
Language
• Official language	English^[5]
• Spoken language	As of 2010^[6] English 90.70% Spanish 6.93% Other 2.73%
Time zone	UTC−05:00 (Eastern)
• Summer (DST)	UTC−04:00 (EDT)
USPS abbreviation	NC
ISO 3166 code	US-NC
Traditional abbreviation	N.C.
Latitude	33° 50′ N to 36° 35′ N
Longitude	75° 28′ W to 84° 19′ W
Website	nc.gov

Revision as of 19:43, 21 June 2024