NC's Top Ten

Posted: March 9, 2011

I’m thoroughly enjoying another CD lecture series from The Teaching Company. The professor is one of my all-time favorites – J. Rufus Fears of the University of Oklahoma. Dr. Fears is a compelling storyteller who makes learning fun. The latest lectures are on 36 events that changed world history. I’ve already learned new things about Julius Caesar, the Bubonic Plague, Constantine and Christopher Columbus.

The series got me to thinking about the major events in North Carolina history. Professor William Powell of UNC has written a series of history books on North Carolina. He takes us back to colonial times and on through the Civil War era and a time when we were known as the Rip Van Winkle State because of a sleepy apathy among our leaders.

Help me put together a top ten list of the most significant events in North Carolina history. Also, who are the greatest figures in North Carolina history and why? What are our best stories? I would love to get your input.

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15 Comments

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Not a proud event, but the overthrow of Wilmington's elected government in 1898 was certainly a major event, and had a powerful effect on the state and the way it treated it's African American citizens for the next 70 years. If you don't know about it, you should.

bloodread
March 14, 2011 12:03 a.m.

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I would definitely include the Roanoke settlement, most importantly for the interest generated by the paintings and engravings by John White and Theodor de Bry. Thomas Harriot's Brief and True Report of Virginia let people in the old world really see the new world, and encouraged the continued settlement attempts that led to Jamestown, Plymouth Rock and beyond.

bloodread
March 13, 2011 11:53 p.m.

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Start with the Halifax Resolves instructing delegates in 1776 to vote for Independence.

dharper22
March 10, 2011 4:11 p.m.

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The introduction in the State Senate yesterday of a Joint Resolution calling for the pardoning of impeached Governor William W. Holden (1871) should not be overlooked. Those interested in the history of Reconstruction in this state will find this to be of great interest and amazement.

history6557
March 10, 2011 9:32 a.m.

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Too many to list in a top ten list! How about a top ten for each region: coast, Piedmont, and mountains?

moppie
March 10, 2011 9:28 a.m.

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If you enjoy lecture series on CD, you might also enjoy The Great Courses.com. A wide range of disciplines - music, philosophy, history, science, psychology, etc. and more. Great source of CD lectures.

allisontaylor
March 9, 2011 9:12 p.m.

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Wright brothers, Lost Colony, Edenton Tea Party, Bennett Place surrender - actual end of the Civil War, Linn Cove Viaduct.

heelsrule
March 9, 2011 6:05 p.m.

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7th president Andrew Jackson is said to be from the Waxhaws region of North Carolina, but some historians are unsure as the region borders North and South Carolina.

genegeneandnancy
March 9, 2011 4:26 p.m.

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Edenton Tea Party. A boycott organized by women in a time (1773) when women were absent in politics.

szulakpa
March 9, 2011 4:26 p.m.

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First Flight, The Lost Colony, The Greensboro Sit In as all mentioned before...and the creation of Research Triangle Park.

pulstar40
March 9, 2011 3:34 p.m.

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