State Archives To Display Original 1776 State Constitution At Capitol 250: NC Freedom Fest July 4

RALEIGH, N.C. -The State Archives, a division of the North Carolina Department of Natural and Cultural Resources (DNCR), will showcase original state constitutional documents with a July 4 exhibition, “To Preserve the Blessings of Liberty,” at the State Capitol. The display is part of the Capitol 250: NC Freedom Fest, July 4, 10 a.m.-4 p.m.

As one of 13 original states, North Carolina will celebrate its 250th birthday this year, along with that of the United States. The July 4 exhibit will showcase the first North Carolina Constitution, ratified on Dec. 18, 1776, and the state’s Declaration of Rights, alongside John Adams’s “Thoughts on Government” letter to William Hooper, one of North Carolina’s three signers of the Declaration of Independence. Adams’s guidance in March 1776 profoundly influenced the new state government. Exhibit panels and staff will discuss ways the North Carolina Constitution has changed over time including the current constitution, third in the state’s history and ratified in 1971.

Additional documents on display include:

     • the 1868 North Carolina Constitution, written during Reconstruction with the state’s first “Black Caucus” of 13 African American delegates at the Constitutional Convention

     • a 1777 draft broadside of the Articles of Confederation, the document that established the United States’ federal government.

     • a 1787 broadside edition of the U.S. Constitution, debated in the state’s General Assembly

The State Archives serves as the custodian of North Carolina’s historical records, preserving and providing public access to a wealth of archival materials.