North Carolina

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State of North Carolina
Flag of North Carolina Seal Nickname(s): Tar Heel State; Old North State Motto(s): Esse quam videri (Latin; "To be, rather than to seem") First in Flight
Official language(s)	English
Demonym	North Carolinian
Capital	Raleigh
Largest city	Charlotte
Largest metro area	Charlotte metro area
Area	Ranked 28th in the US
- Total	53,865 sq mi (139,509 km²)
- Width	150 miles (340 km)
- Length	560[1] miles (900 km)
- % water	9.5
- Latitude	33° 50′ N to 36° 35′ N
- Longitude	75° 28′ W to 84° 19′ W
Population	Ranked 10th in the US
- Total	9,061,032 (2007 est.) [2]
- Density	165.24/sq mi  63.80/km² (Ranked 15th in the US)
Elevation
- Highest point	Mt. Mitchell[3] 6,684 ft  (2,038 m)
- Mean	705 ft  (215 m)
- Lowest point	Atlantic Ocean[3] 0 ft  (0 m)
Admission to Union	November 21, 1789 (12th)
Governor	Mike Easley (D)
Lieutenant Governor	Beverly Perdue (D)
U.S. Senators	Elizabeth Dole (R) Richard Burr (R)
Congressional Delegation	List
Time zone	Eastern: UTC-5/-4
Abbreviations	NC US-NC
Website	www.nc.gov

North Carolina portal

North Carolina (IPA: /ˌnɔrθˌkɛrəˈlaɪnə/) is a state located on the Atlantic Seaboard in the southeastern United States. The state borders South Carolina and Georgia to the south, Tennessee to the west and Virginia to the north. North Carolina contains 100 counties and its capital is Raleigh.

North Carolina was one of the original Thirteen Colonies, originally known as Carolina. Joara, a native village near present-day Morganton, was the site in 1567 of Fort San Juan, the first Spanish colonial settlement in the interior of what became the United States.^[4] The state was also the home of the Roanoke Island colony, the first attempt by the English to establish a presence in the Americas.^[5]

On May 20, 1861, North Carolina was the last of the Confederate states to secede from the Union. It was readmitted on July 4, 1868. The state was the location of the first successful controlled, powered and sustained heavier-than-air flight, by the Wright brothers, at Kill Devil Hills near Kitty Hawk in 1903. Today, it is a fast-growing state with an increasingly diverse economy and population. As of July 1, 2007, the population was estimated to be 9,061,032 (a 12% increase since April 1, 2000).^[6] Recognizing eight Native American tribes, North Carolina has the largest population of American Indians of any state east of the Mississippi.

North Carolina has a wide range of elevations, from sea level on the coast to almost 6,700 feet (2,042 m) in the mountains. The climate ranges widely from the coastal Tidewater and Piedmont to the western mountains. The coastal plains are strongly influenced by the Atlantic Ocean. Most of the state falls in the humid subtropical zone. More than 300 miles (500 km) from the coast, the western, mountainous part of the state has a humid continental climate.

Geography

See also: Geography of the United States, East Coast of the United States, Geography of North Carolina, and List of counties in North Carolina

Stream within a Linville community

The Blue Ridge Mountains in the foreground with Grandfather Mountain in the extreme background as seen from Blowing Rock, NC.

The Western North Carolina mountains as seen from Sunset Rock in Highlands, North Carolina.

Bodie Island Lighthouse, one of the Outer Banks attractions.

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 classifies North Carolina as a southern state in the subcategory of being one of the South Atlantic States.

North Carolina topographic map

North Carolina consists of three main geographic sections: the coastal plain, which occupies the eastern 45% of the state; the Piedmont region, which contains the middle 35%; and the Appalachian Mountains and foothills. The extreme eastern section of the state contains the Outer Banks, a string of sandy, narrow islands which form a barrier between the Atlantic Ocean and inland waterways. The Outer Banks form two sounds—Albemarle Sound in the north and Pamlico Sound in the south. They are the two largest landlocked sounds in the United States. Immediately inland, the coastal plain is relatively flat, with rich soils ideal for growing tobacco, soybeans, melons, and cotton. The coastal plain is North Carolina's most rural section, with few large towns or cities. Agriculture remains an important industry. The major rivers of this section: the Neuse, Tar, Pamlico, and Cape Fear, tend to be slow-moving and wide.

The coastal plain transitions to the Piedmont region along the "fall line", a line which marks the elevation at which waterfalls first appear on streams and rivers. The Piedmont region of central North Carolina is the state's most urbanized and densely populated section - all five of the state's largest cities are located in the Piedmont. It consists of gently rolling countryside frequently broken by hills or low mountain ridges. A number of 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 300–400 feet (90–120 m) elevation in the east to over 1,000 feet (300 m) in the west. Due to the rapid population growth of the Piedmont, many of the farms and much of the rural countryside in this region is being replaced by suburbanization: shopping centers, housing developments, and large corporate office parks. Agriculture is steadily declining in importance in this region. The major rivers of the Piedmont, such as the Yadkin and Catawba, tend to be fast-flowing, shallow, and narrow.

The 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, Great Balsam Mountains, Pisgah Mountains, and the Black Mountains. The Black Mountains are the highest in the Eastern United States, and culminate in Mount Mitchell at 6,684 feet (2,037 m).^[3] It is the highest point east of the Mississippi River. Although agriculture remains important, tourism has become the dominant industry in the mountains. One agricultural pursuit which has prospered and grown in recent decades is the growing and selling of Christmas Trees. Due to the higher altitude of the mountains, the climate often differs markedly from the rest of the state. Winters in western North Carolina typically feature significant snowfall and subfreezing temperatures more akin to a midwestern state than a southern one.

North Carolina has 17 major river basins. Five of the state's river basins: the Hiwassee, Little Tennessee, French Broad, Watauga and New, are part of the Mississippi River Basin, which drains to the Gulf of Mexico. All the others flow to the Atlantic Ocean. Of the 17 basins, 11 originate within the state of North Carolina, but only four are contained entirely within the state's borders - the Cape Fear, Neuse, White Oak and Tar-Pamlico.^[7]

Climate

Main article: Climate of North Carolina

The geographical divisions of North Carolina are useful when discussing the climate of the state.

The coastal plain is influenced by the Atlantic Ocean which keeps temperatures mild in winter and moderate in the summer. Daytime high temperatures on the coast average less than 89 °F (31.6 °C) during the summer. In the winter, the coast has the mildest temperatures in the state, with daytime temperatures rarely dropping below 40 °F (4.4 °C); the average daytime winter temperature in the coastal plain is usually in the mid-60's. Temperatures in the coastal plain rarely drop below freezing even at night. The coastal plain usually receives only one inch (2.5 cm) of snow and/or ice annually, and in some years there may be no snow or ice at all.

The Atlantic Ocean has less influence on the Piedmont region, and as a result the Piedmont has hotter summers and colder winters than the coast. Daytime highs in the Piedmont often average over 90 °F (32.2 °C) in the summer. While it is not common for temperatures to reach over 100 °F (37.8 °C) in North Carolina, when it happens, the highest temperatures are to be found in the lower areas of the Piedmont, especially around the city of Fayetteville. Additionally, the weaker influence of the Atlantic Ocean means that temperatures in the Piedmont often fluctuate more widely than the coast.

In the winter, the Piedmont is much less mild than the coast, with daytime temperatures that are usually in the mid 50's, and temperatures often drop below freezing at night. The region averages from 3-5 inches of snowfall annually in the Charlotte area to 6-8 inches in the Raleigh-Durham area. The Piedmont is especially notorious for sleet and freezing rain. It can be heavy enough in some storms to snarl traffic and collapse trees and power lines. Annual precipitation and humidity is lower in the Piedmont than either the mountains or the coast, but even at its lowest, the precipitation is a generous 40 in (102 cm) per year.

The Appalachian Mountains are the coolest area of the state, with daytime temperatures averaging in the low 40's and upper 30's for highs in the winter and often falling into the teens (−9 °C) or lower in winter nights. Relatively cool summers have temperatures rarely rising above 80 °F (26.7 °C). Snowfall in the mountains is usually 14–20 in (36–51 cm) per year, but it is often greater in the higher elevations. For example, during the Blizzard of 1993 more than 50 inches (130 cm) of snow fell on Mount Mitchell.

Severe weather occurs regularly in North Carolina. On average, the state receives a direct hit from a hurricane once a decade. Tropical storms arrive every 3 or 4 years. In some years, several hurricanes or tropical storms can directly strike the state or brush across the coastal areas. Only Florida and Louisiana are hit by hurricanes more often. On average, North Carolina has 50 days of thunderstorm activity per year, with some storms becoming severe enough to produce hail and damaging winds. Although many people believe that hurricanes menace only coastal areas, the rare hurricane which moves inland quickly enough can cause severe damage. In 1989 Hurricane Hugo caused heavy damage in Charlotte and even as far inland as the Blue Ridge Mountains in the northwestern part of the state.

North Carolina averages fewer than 20 tornadoes per year. Many of these are 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 breaking storms up as they try to cross over them. The storms will often reform farther east. Also a weather feature known as "cold air damming" occurs in the western part of the state . This can also weaken storms but can also lead to major ice events in winter ."^[8]

History

Main article: History of North Carolina

Native Americans, Lost Colonies and Permanent Settlement

Main articles: Native Americans in the United States, Joara, and Roanoke Island

North Carolina was originally inhabited by many different native peoples, including those of the ancient Mississippian culture established by 1000 A.D. in the Piedmont. Historically documented tribes included Cherokee, Tuscarora, Cheraw, Pamlico, Meherrin, Coree, Machapunga, Cape Fear Indians, Waxhaw, Saponi, Tutelo, Waccamaw, Coharie, and Catawba.

Spanish explorers traveling inland encountered the last of the Mississippian culture at Joara, near present-day Morganton. Records of Hernando de Soto attested to his meeting with them in 1540. In 1567 Captain Juan Pardo led an expedition into the interior of North Carolina on a journey to claim the area for the Spanish colony, as well as establish another route to protect silver mines in Mexico (the Spanish did not realize the distances involved.) Pardo made a winter base at Joara, which he renamed Cuenca. The expedition built Fort San Juan and left 30 men, while Pardo traveled further, establishing 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 the soldiers and burned the six forts in the interior, including the one at Fort San Juan. The Spanish never returned to the interior to press their colonial claim, but this marked the first European attempt at colonization of the interior of what became the United States. A journal by Pardo's scribe Bandera and archaeological findings at Joara have confirmed the settlement.^[9][10]

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 Virginia).^[11] Raleigh established two colonies on the coast in the late 1580s, both ending in failure. It was the second American territory the British attempted to colonize. The demise of one, the "Lost Colony" of Roanoke Island, remains one of the great 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 is named for her.

Main article: Province of Carolina

As early as 1650, colonists from the Virginia colony moved into the area of Albemarle Sound. By 1663, King Charles II of England granted a charter to establish a new colony on the North American continent which generally established its borders. He named it Carolina in honor of his father Charles I.^[12] By 1665, a second charter was issued to attempt to resolve territorial questions. In 1710, due to disputes over governance, the Carolina colony began to split into North Carolina and South Carolina. The latter became a crown colony in 1729.

Colonial Period and Revolutionary War

Main article: American Revolutionary War

The first permanent European settlers of North Carolina were British colonists who migrated south from Virginia, following a rapid growth of the colony and the subsequent shortage of available farmland. 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.^[13] By 1663, this northeastern area of the Province of Carolina, known as the Albemarle Settlements, was undergoing full-scale British settlement.^[14] During the same period, the English monarch 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 (Latin: Carolus). In 1712, North Carolina became a separate colony. With the exception of the Earl Granville holdings, it became a royal colony seventeen years later.^[15]

Differences in the settlement patterns of eastern and western North Carolina, or the low country and uplands, affected the political, economic, and social life of the state from the eighteenth until the twentieth century. The Tidewater in eastern North Carolina was settled chiefly by immigrants from England and the Scottish Highlands. The upcountry of western North Carolina was settled chiefly by Scots-Irish and German Protestants, the so-called "cohee". Arriving during the mid-to-late 18th century, the Scots-Irish from Ireland were the largest immigrant group before the Revolution. During the 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 Scots-Irish and German settlers of western North Carolina tended to favor American independence from Britain.

Most of the English colonists 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 relationships or marriages between free white women and enslaved or free African or African-American men. Many had migrated or were descendants of migrants from colonial Virginia.^[16] As the flow of indentured laborers to the colony decreased with improving economic conditions in Great Britain, more slaves were imported and the state's restrictions on slavery hardened. The economy's growth and prosperity was based on slave labor, devoted first to the production of tobacco.

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 independence-related events are memorialized on the state flag and state seal.^[17] Throughout the Revolutionary War, fierce guerilla 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 Pinnacle 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) overwhelmed a force of some 1000 British troops led by Major Patrick Ferguson. Most of the British soldiers in this battle were Carolinians who had remained loyal to the British Crown (they were called "Tories"). 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.

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 Cornwallis's base of supply in Charleston, South Carolina. This campaign is known as "The Race to the Dan" or "The Race for the River."^[15]

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 American Army were crippling. Following this "Pyhrric 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's eventual defeat at Yorktown, Virginia later in 1781. The Patriots' victory there guaranteed American independence.

Antebellum Period

On November 21, 1789, North Carolina became the twelfth state to ratify the Constitution. In 1840, it completed the state capitol building in Raleigh, still standing today. Most of North Carolina's slave owners and large plantations were located in the eastern portion of the state. Although North Carolina's plantation system was smaller and less cohesive than those of Virginia, Georgia or South Carolina, there were significant numbers of planters 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. Planters owning large estates wielded significant political and socio-economic power in antebellum North Carolina, often to the derision 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 km) wooden plank road, known as a "farmer's railroad," from Fayetteville in the east to Bethania (northwest of Winston-Salem).^[15]

In addition to 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 eighteenth century. After the Revolution, Quakers and Mennonites worked to persuade slaveholders to free their slaves. Enough were inspired by their efforts and the language of men's rights, and arranged for manumission of their slaves. The number of free people of color rose in the first couple of decades after the Revolution.^[18]

On October 25, 1836 construction began on the Wilmington and Raleigh Railroad^[19] to connect the port city of Wilmington with the state capital of Raleigh. 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.

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, had a population of more than 10,000. Raleigh, the state capital, had barely more than 5,000 residents.

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. They lived and worked chiefly on plantations in the eastern Tidewater. In addition, 30,463 free people of color lived in the state. They were also concentrated in the eastern coastal plain, especially at port cities such as Wilmington and New Bern where they had access to a variety of jobs. Free African Americans were allowed to vote until 1835, when the state rescinded their suffrage.

American Civil War

Main article: American Civil War

In 1860, North Carolina was a slave state, in which about one-third of the population of 992,622 were enslaved African Americans. This was a smaller proportion than many Southern states. In addition, the state had a substantial number of Free Negroes, just over 30,000.^[20] The state did not vote to join the Confederacy until President Abraham Lincoln called on it to invade its sister-state, South Carolina, becoming one of the last states to join the Confederacy. North Carolina was the site of few battles, but it provided at least 125,000 troops to the Confederacy— far more than any other state. Approximately 40,000 of those troops never returned home, dying of disease, battlefield wounds, and starvation. Elected in 1862, Governor Zebulon Baird Vance tried to maintain state autonomy against Confederate President Jefferson Davis in Richmond.

Even after secession, some North Carolinians refused to support the Confederacy. This was particularly true of non-slave-owning farmers in the state's mountains and western Piedmont region. Some of these farmers remained neutral during the war, while some covertly supported the Union cause during the conflict. Even so, 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. Five regiments from North Carolina served in the western theater in the Army of Tennessee. About two thousand North Carolinans from the western part of the state enlisted into the Union army, among the regiments they were assigned to were the 2nd and 3rd North Carolina Mounted Infantry regiments, and some in the 13th Tennessee Cavalry. Two other Union regiments made up of North Carolinians, the 1st and 2nd North Carolina U.S., were organized in the coastal areas of the state. 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.^[15] In April 1865 after losing the Battle of Morrisville, Johnston surrendered to Sherman at Bennett Place, in what is today Durham, North Carolina. This was the last major Confederate Army to surrender. North Carolina's port city of Wilmington was the last Confederate port to fall to the Union. It fell in the spring of 1865 after the nearby Second Battle of Fort Fisher.

The first Confederate soldier to be killed in the Civil War was Private Henry Wyatt, a North Carolinian. He was killed 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 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 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

See also: Demographics of the United States

North Carolina has 3 major Metropolitan Combined Statistical Areas with populations of more than 1 million:

• The Metrolina: Charlotte-Gastonia-Salisbury, NC-SC - population 2,191,604
• The Triangle: Raleigh-Durham-Cary, NC- population of 1,635,974
• The Piedmont Triad: Greensboro--Winston-Salem--High Point, NC - population of 1,513,576

North Carolina Population Density Map

Two thirds of North Carolina's population resides in the middle one third of its landmass. This implies that the middle one third of North Carolina is about four times more densely populated than the remaining two thirds.

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, as of 2006, North Carolina has an estimated population of 8,856,505, which is an increase of 184,046, or 2.1%, from the prior year and an increase of 810,014, or 10.0%, since the year 2000.^[21] This exceeds the rate of growth for the United States as a whole. The growth comprises a natural increase since the last census of 293,761 people (that is 749,959 births minus 456,198 deaths) and an increase due to net migration of 527,991 people into the state. Immigration from outside the United States resulted in a net increase of 180,986 people. Migration within the country produced a net increase of 347,005 people. Between 2005 and 2006, North Carolina passed New Jersey to become the 10th most populous state.^[22] The state's population reported as under 5 years old was 6.7%, 24.4% were under 18, and 12.0% were 65 or older. Females made up approximately 51% of the population.

Racial Makeup and Population Trends

In 2007, the U.S. Census estimated that the racial makeup of North Carolina was as follows: 70% White American, 25.3% African-American, 1.2% American Indian, and the remaining 6.5% are Hispanic or Latino (of any race). North Carolina has historically been a rural state, with most of the population living on farms or in small towns. However, over the last 30 years the state has undergone rapid urbanization, and today most of North Carolina's residents live in urban and suburban areas, as is the case in most of the United States. In particular, the cities of Charlotte and Raleigh have become major urban centers, with large, diverse, mainly affluent and rapidly growing populations. Most of this growth in diversity has been fueled by immigrants from Latin America, India, and Southeast Asia.^[23]

In addition, large numbers of people from the Northeastern United States, Florida and even from as far away as California have moved to the state in recent years, further swelling the population. North Carolina is one of the country's fastest growing states in the 1980s and 1990's, but the growth rate subsided in the 2000s due to changed economic conditions affected the state as much it had on the country.^{[citation needed]} Some locals compared the suburbs of Cary as a miniature "New Jersey" or a haven of Yankee/ West coast "yuppie" prosperity in a historically Dixie or rural "Southern" state, and the high number of European based (esp. German) businesses established American headquarters or branch offices along route I-40 from Charlotte to Greensboro to Raleigh, it's jokingly called the "American Autobahn".^{[citation needed]}

The center of population of North Carolina is located in Randolph County, in the town of Seagrove.^[24]

Asheville	Charlotte	Durham	Gastonia
Greensboro	Hickory	High Point	Raleigh
Salisbury	Wilmington	Winston-Salem

African Americans

African Americans make up nearly a quarter of North Carolina's population. The number of middle-class blacks has increased since the 1970s. African Americans are concentrated in the state's eastern Coastal Plain and in parts of the Piedmont Plateau, where they had historically worked and where the most new job opportunities are. African-American communities number by the hundreds in rural counties in the south-central and northeast, and in predominantly black neighborhoods in the cities: Charlotte, Raleigh, Durham, Greensboro, Fayetteville, Wilmington and Winston-Salem.

Free African Americans migrated to frontier areas of North Carolina from Virginia. Detailed family histories of 80% of those counted as "all other free persons" in the 1790-1810 federal census show they were descendants of African Americans free in Virginia during the colonial period. As boundaries were then more permeable, most free African families descended from unions between white women, free or servant, and African men, free, servant or slave. Indians who adopted English customs became part of free African American communities and married into the families. Some of the lighter-skinned descendants formed their own distinct communities, often identifying themselves as Indian or Portuguese to escape effects of the color line.^[26]

Until the mid-1820s, North Carolina had more small farms and fewer plantations than adjacent South Carolina and Virginia. These "yeoman" farmers were non-slave-holding (or owning few slaves), private land owners of tracts of approximately 500 acres (2 km²) or less. Relatively few blacks live in the state's mountains and rural areas of the western Piedmont. In some mountain counties, the black population has historically numbered in the few dozens at most.

Asian Americans

The state has one of the most rapidly growing Asian American, specifically Indian and Vietnamese, populations in the country; the populations nearly quintupled and tripled, respectively, between 1990 and 2002. Recent estimates suggest that the state's Asian-American population has increased significantly since 2000. The Hmong population in North Carolina has grown by 12,000 since the 1980s, as refugees fled wars and communist rule in their native Laos.^[27] A small Hmong farming colony can be found near Marion.

The earliest record of Asian immigration to North Carolina goes back to the mid-1800s when the first Chinese were hired as miners and agricultural workers. The famous Chinese-Malaysian American "Siamese" twins - Eng and Chang Bunker - conjoined together at their chests, settled in Wilkesboro, North Carolina in 1839. Smaller numbers of Japanese, Filipinos, and Koreans arrived to work as farmers, but many also worked in the Atlantic fishing industries in the early and mid-20th century.

European Americans

Settled first, the coastal region attracted primarily English immigrants of the early migrations, including indentured servants transported to the colonies and descendants of English who migrated from Virginia. In addition, there were waves of Protestant European immigration, including the British, Irish, French Huguenots,^[28] and Swiss-Germans who settled New Bern. A concentration of Welsh (usually included with others from Britain and Ireland) settled east of present Fayetteville in the 18th century. For a long time the wealthier, educated planters of the coastal region dominated state government.

North Carolinians of Scots-Irish, Scottish and English ancestry are spread across the state. Historically Scots-Irish and Northern English settled mostly in the Piedmont and backcountry. They were the last and most numerous of the immigrant groups from the Britain and Ireland before the Revolution, and settled throughout the Appalachian South, where they could continue their own culture.^[29] The Scots-Irish were fiercely independent and mostly yeoman farmers.

In the Winston-Salem area, there is a substantial population of ethnic German ancestry (from the modern area of the Czech Republic), descended from immigration of members of the Protestant Moravian Church during the mid-18th century. The Moravians of Winston-Salem are not primarily of Czech ancestry, but mostly of German descent, and members of the Moravian Church in America, a Protestant denomination takes its name from a spiritual movement that began in 15th century Moravia and nearby Bohemia.^{[citation needed]}

During the early 20th century, a small group of Orthodox immigrants from Ukraine settled in Pender County.^[30] There's somewhat of a long history of Portuguese settlement along the state's Atlantic coast whose families were fishermen originated from the Azores islands and the country of Portugal, and there are over 50,000 residents of Portuguese descent.^{[citation needed]} And finally, the seasonal residents known as "snowbirds" the majority are Canadians either English and French speaking live in coastal sections and beach towns every summer.

Hispanics/Latinos

Since 1990 the state has seen a boom in the number of Hispanics/Latinos. Once chiefly employed as migrant labor, the increase in Hispanics in the 1990s and early 2000s can be attributed in part to the ease of access to low-skilled jobs that are the first step on the economic ladder. As a result, growing numbers of Hispanic immigrants are settling in the state, mainly from Mexico, Central America, and the Dominican Republic. Hispanic neighborhoods are found in the cities like Eastland in Charlotte where Mexican Americans became the ethnic majority, and newly-formed barrios carried a transplanted Latin American culture throughout the Raleigh area, and there are sizable populations of Cuban Americans and Puerto Ricans in North Carolina, some of their families lived in the state hired as migrant laborers since the 1940s. In 2005, the Pew Hispanic Center estimated that 300,000 — roughly 65 percent of North Carolina’s Latino population — are illegal immigrants, based on the Census Bureau’s population estimates.^[31] The population has grown from 77,726 in 1990 to 517,617 in 2005, an average increase of 13.5% per year.^[31]

Native Americans

North Carolina has the highest American Indian population in the East Coast. The estimated population figures for Native Americans in North Carolina (as of 2004) is 110,198. To date, North Carolina recognizes eight Native American tribal nations within its state borders:^[32]

• The Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians were federally recognized in 1868 and received state recognition in 1889. The Eastern Cherokee live in eastern Swain County, as well as Graham and Jackson counties, and have roughly 13,400 enrolled members, most of whom live on a reservation properly called the Qualla Boundary. The Reservation is slightly more than 56,000 acres (230 km²), and is held in trust by the federal government specifically for the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians.
• The Haliwa-Saponi Tribe of Native Americans received state recognition in 1965. The tribe comprises a little more than 3,800 enrolled members who reside in northeastern North Carolina's Halifax and Warren counties.
• The Waccamaw Siouan Indian Tribe received state recognition in 1971. The almost 2,000 members are located in the mid-Atlantic North Carolina counties of Bladen, and Columbus.
• The Coharie Tribe first received state recognition in 1911. North Carolina rescinded recognition in 1913 but formally recognized the tribe in 1971. The population of 1,781 enrolled members is located in Sampson and Harnett counties.
• The Sappony received state recognition in 1911 as the Indians of Person County. In 2003 they officially received state permission to change their name to the Sappony Tribe. They have 850 enrolled members.
• The Occaneechi Band of the Saponi Nation received state recognition in 2002. They have a population of 800 members who reside in Orange and Alamance counties.
• The Meherrin are a tribe of Iroquoian-descent located primarily in rural northeastern Hertford, Bertie, and Gates counties, with a population of 557 enrolled members.
• Like others of the tribes recognized by the state, the Lumbee tribe has not been fully recognized as an official tribe by the Federal government. There are numerous people in the state who identify themselves as Lumbee, concentrated chiefly in the southeastern portions of the state in Robeson, Scotland, Cumberland and nearby counties. Some researchers have classified Lumbees as a tri-racial isolate group whose ancestors migrated from colonial Virginia as free African Americans.^[33]

Only five states: (California, Arizona, Oklahoma, New Mexico, and Texas), have larger Native American populations than North Carolina.^[34] The total Native American and Alaska Native population in the United States is 2,824,751, or 0.95% of the total.

Religion

North Carolina, like other Southern states, has traditionally been overwhelmingly Protestant. By the late 19th century, the largest Protestant denomination was the Southern Baptists. However, the rapid influx of northerners and immigrants from Latin America is steadily increasing the number of Roman Catholics and Jews in the state, and the numerical dominance of the Baptist Church is beginning to decline.

This change is most evident in the urban areas of the state, where the population is more culturally diverse and the bulk of the recent growth has occurred. However, in many rural counties the Southern Baptists remain the dominant Christian church. The second-largest Protestant church in North Carolina are the Methodists, who are strong in the northern Piedmont, and especially in populous Guilford County. There are also substantial numbers of Quakers in Guilford County, and northeastern North Carolina.

The Presbyterians, historically Scots-Irish, have had a strong presence in Charlotte, the state's largest city, and in Scotland County. The current religious affiliations of the people of North Carolina are shown below:^[35]

• Christian: 80%