Hillsborough Convention

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Proceedings and Debates of the Convention of North Carolina in 1788
Governor Samuel Johnston presided

The Hillsborough Convention, was the first of two North Carolina conventions to ratify the United States Constitution. Delegates represented 7 boroughs and 59 counties, including six western counties that became part of Tennessee when it was created in 1796. They met in Hillsborough, North Carolina from July 21 to August 4, 1788 to deliberate and determine whether to ratify the Constitution recommended to the states by the General Convention that had been held in Philadelphia the previous summer. The delegates had won their seats through special elections held in March 1788, as mandated by the North Carolina General Assembly.[1] Governor Samuel Johnston presided over the Convention.[2] The Hillsborough Convention was dominated by anti-Federalists, and North Carolina did not ratify the Constitution until the Fayetteville Convention, which met a year later.

Location[]

The convention was held in Hillsborough, North Carolina, at the St. Matthew's Episcopal (Church of England) Church. The church was located on lot 98 in Hillsborough. It was also the location of the third Provincial Congress of North Carolina of 1775 and the meeting place of the North Carolina Legislature in 1778, 1782 and 1783. The church was destroyed by fire before 1800s. A new structure was built on the site in 1814 and became the Hillsborough Presbyterian Church in 1816.[3][4][5]

Division[]

Key state Federalists were James Iredell Sr., William Richardson Davie, and William Blount. Anti-Federalist leaders included Willie Jones, Samuel Spencer, and Timothy Bloodworth. The Anti-Federalist delegates outnumbered their Federalist colleagues by a margin of two to one. The Federalists wanted to strengthen the powers of the federal government to help the country keep from dissolving. They argued that the powers granted to the federal government in the Articles of Confederation were not sufficient. On the other side, the Anti-Federalists were suspicious of the federal government and did not want self-rule to come under fire from a government that could intrude on state and individual rights. Knowing that they would likely lose, members of the Federalist minority brought a stenographer to the convention to record their arguments for publication in the hopes of changing public opinion in the future.[6]

Outcome[]

The debate resulted in the delegates voting 184 to 84 to neither ratify nor reject the Constitution. One of the major reasons for North Carolina not ratifying the Constitution was its lack of a Bill of Rights. The delegates, however, proposed a series of amendments to personal liberties and urged the new federal Congress to adopt measures to incorporate a bill of rights into the Constitution.[7] North Carolina would not join the Union until after it ratified the Constitution, more than a year later, at the November 1789 Fayetteville Convention.[8][9][10][11]

Delegates[]

Richard Dobbs Spaight, Craven County delegate
William Richardson Davie, Halifax delegate
later Gov. Benjamin Smith, Brunswick delegate
Willie Jones, Halifax delegate
Benjamin Williams, Craven delegate
William Lenoir, Wilkes delegate
Joseph Graham, Mecklenburg delegate
James Kenan, Duplin delegate
Joseph McDowell, Jr, Burke delegate
Richard Caswell, Dobbs delegate
James Iredell, Edenton delegate

There were 294 known delegates from the 59 counties and seven boroughs of North Carolina. Some counties (Greene, Sullivan, Sumner, Tennessee, Washington) later became part of the state of Tennessee in 1796.[12][13] The election of delegates from Dobbs County was declared invalid because of violence that led to the loss of the ballot box.[14][15]

Governor Samuel Johnston was the President of the Convention. While his home was in Chowan County, he represented Perquimans County in the Convention. was the secretary and was the assistant secretary of the Convention. The doorkeepers of the convention were , , , and .[15]

Order County or Borough Delegate Yeas Nays
1 Perquimans Johnston, Samuel, Esq., President x
2 Borough of Edenton Iredell, James x
3 Borough of Wilmington x
4 Beaufort x
5 Beaufort x
6 Beaufort x
7 Bertie x
8 Bertie x
9 Bladen x
10 Burke McDowell, Charles x
11 Craven Spaight, Richard Dobbs x
12 Bertie x
13 Cumberland x
14 Cumberland x
15 Cumberland x
16 Carteret x
17 Carteret x
18 Currituck x
19 Currituck x
20 Chowan x
21 Chowan Johnson, Charles x
22 Chowan x
23 Chowan x
24 Camden x
25 Camden Gregory, Isaac x
26 Camden x
27 Camden x
28 Camden x
29 Chatham x
30 Robeson x
31 Robeson x
32 Robeson x
33 Robeson x
34 Sumner x
35 Sumner x
36 Tyrrell (sometimes Stewart) x
37 Tyrrell x
38 Wake x
39 Wake x
40 Borough of Salisbury Steele, John x
41 Borough of Halifax Davie, William Richardson x
42 Gates Riddick, Joseph x
43 Gates x
44 Gates x
45 Hertford x
46 Hyde x
47 Hyde x
48 Hyde x
49 Hyde x
50 Hyde (Harvey) x
51 Lincoln x
52 Lincoln x
53 Lincoln x
54 Martin x
55 Martin x
56 Martin x
57 Mecklenburg Irwin, Robert x
58 Pasquotank x
59 Pasquotank x
60 Pasquotank x
61 Pasquotank x
62 Pasquotank x
63 Perquimans Skinner, William x
64 Perquimans x
65 Perquimans x
66 Perquimans x
67 Hertford x
68 Craven x
69 Johnston (Bridger) x
70 Carteret x
71 Tyrrell x
72 Tyrrell x
73 Bertie [15][16] x
74 Martin Hill, Whitmell x
75 Brunswick Smith, Benjamin x
76 Borough of New Bern x
77 Chowan x
78 Bladen x
79 Hertford x
80 Pitt x
81 Currituck x
82 Currituck x
83 Gates x
84 Craven x
85 Halifax Jones, Willie x
86 Anson Spencer, Samuel x
87 Anson x
88 Anson Wade, Thomas x
89 Anson x
90 Beaufort x
91 Brunswick x
92 Brunswick x
93 Bladen x
94 Burke x
95 Burke McDowell, Joseph "Pleasant Gardens" x
96 Burke x
97 Craven Williams, Benjamin x
98 Craven x
99 Cumberland x
100 Cumberland (McCallister) x
101 Caswell x
102 Caswell x
103 Caswell x
104 Chatham Ramsey, Ambrose x
105 Chatham x
106 Chatham x
107 Chatham x
108 Davidson x
109 Davidson x
110 Davidson x
111 Davidson x
112 Davidson (Dobbin) x
113 Edgecombe x
114 Edgecombe x
115 Edgecombe x
116 Edgecombe x
117 Edgecombe x
118 Franklin x
119 Franklin x
120 Franklin x
121 Pitt x
122 Pitt x
123 Pitt x
124 Pitt x
125 Guilford Caldwell, David x
126 Guilford (Gowdy) x
127 Guilford x
128 Guilford x
129 Guilford x
130 Granville Person, Thomas x
131 Granville x
132 Granville x
133 Granville x
134 Granville x
135 Rutherford x
136 Rutherford x
137 Rutherford x
138 Randolph x
139 Randolph x
140 Rockingham x
141 Robeson x
142 Surry x
143 Surry x
144 Surry x
145 Surry (Bostwick) x
146 Sullivan x
147 Sullivan x
148 Sampson x
149 Sampson x
150 Sampson x
151 Sampson x
152 Sampson x
153 Washington (Alison) x
154 Washington (Stewart) x
155 Washington x
156 Warren x
157 Warren x
158 Warren x
159 Wayne x
160 Wayne x
161 Wake (Sanders)[15] x
162 Wilkes Lenoir, William x
163 Wilkes x
164 Wilkes Brown, John x
165 Wilkes x
166 Wilkes x
167 Hertford x
168 Hertford x
169 Hawkins x
170 Jones Bryan, Nathan x
171 Jones x
172 Jones x
173 Lincoln x
174 Lincoln x
175 Moore x
176 Moore x
177 Moore x
178 Moore x
179 Moore x
180 Martin x
181 Mecklenburg Graham, Joseph (John?) x
182 Montgomery x
183 Montgomery x
184 Montgomery x
185 Montgomery x
186 Northampton (Bentford) x
187 Northampton x
188 Northampton x
189 Northampton x
190 Nash x
191 Nash x
192 Nash x
193 Nash x
194 Nash x
195 Onslow x
196 Onslow x
197 Onslow , Jr. x
198 Borough of Hillsboro x
199 Orange Mebane, Alexander x
200 Orange x
201 Orange x
202 Orange x
203 Orange x
204 Warren x
205 Warren x
206 Caswell x
207 Washington x
208 Washington x
209 Rockingham x
210 Rockingham x
211 Rockingham x
212 Rockingham x
213 Caswell x
214 Richmond (McAllastar) x
215 Sullivan x
216 Sullivan x
217 Bladen x
218 New Hanover x
219 New Hanover Williams, John Pugh x
220 Hawkins x
221 Richmond x
222 Duplin Gillespie, James x
223 Duplin x
224 Jones x
225 Jones x
226 Wayne x
227 Brunswick x
228 Brunswick x
229 Rowan x
230 Rutherford x
231 Rutherford x
232 Mecklenburg x
233 Mecklenburg x
234 Mecklenburg x
235 Randolph x
236 Duplin Kenan, James x
237 Halifax x
238 Halifax x
239 Halifax x
240 Halifax x
241 Franklin x
242 Wayne x
243 Johnston x
244 Johnston x
245 Johnston x
246 Richmond x
247 Duplin x
248 Surry x
249 Rowan Rutherford, Griffith x
250 Rowan x
251 New Hanover Bloodworth, Timothy x
252 Johnston x
253 Greene x
254 Greene x
255 Greene x
256 Bladen x
257 Richmond x
258 Burke McDowall, Joseph, Jr. x
259 Franklin x
260 New Hanover x
261 Wake x
262 Wake x
263 New Hanover x
264 Rowan Brandon, James (Brannon) x
265 Duplin (Dicks) x
266 Wayne x
267 Rowan Locke, Matthew (Lock) x
268 Hawkins x
269 Anson [15]
270 Carteret [15]
271 Carteret [15]
272 Borough of Fayetteville [15]
273 Dobbs Caswell, Richard[15]
274 Dobbs Glasgow, James[15]
275 Dobbs [15]
276 Dobbs [15]
277 Dobbs (Lasseter)[15]
278 Montgomery [15]
279 New Hannover [15]
280 Northampton [15]
281 Onslow (Sneed)[15]
282 Onslow [15]
283 Randolph [15]
284 Randolph [15]
285 Sullivan [15]
286 Sumner [15]
287 Sumner [15]
288 Sumner [15]
289 Tennessee [15]
290 Tennessee [15]
291 Tennessee [15]
292 Tennessee [15]
293 Tennessee [15]
294 Tyrrell [15]

See also[]

Scene at the Signing of the Constitution of the United States, signing is Richard Dobbs Spaight, behind him is William Blount and Hugh Williamson

References[]

  1. ^ Cavanagh, John C. (2006). "Convention of 1788". NCpedia. Retrieved December 1, 2015.
  2. ^ "Hillsborough Convention of 1788". NorthCarolinahistory.org An Online Encyclopedia. North Carolina History Project. Retrieved February 20, 2017.
  3. ^ "Church History". Hillsborough Presbyterian Church. Hillsborough, North Carolina. Retrieved December 3, 2015.
  4. ^ "New Plaque Honors NC Leaders Who Did Not Sign Constitution Until Bill Of Rights Added". WUNC91.5. November 17, 2014.
  5. ^ "Marker G-131, Constitutional Convention 1788". NCMarkers.com. Retrieved July 29, 2019.
  6. ^ "July 21, 2013: Hillsborough Convention Fails to Ratify Constitution". This Day in North Carolina History. North Carolina Department of Natural and Cultural Resources. Retrieved December 1, 2015.
  7. ^ Watson, Alan (2011). General Benjamin Smith: A Biography of the North Carolina Governor. McFarland. p. 52. ISBN 978-0786461561.
  8. ^ "Fayette Convention of 1789". NorthCarolinaHistory.org. Retrieved July 22, 2019.
  9. ^ John C. Cavanaugh, Decision at Fayetteville (Raleigh, 1989)
  10. ^ William Price, Jr., "’There Ought to Be a Bill of Rights’: North Carolina Enters a New Nation," in The Bill of Rights and the States, ed. Patrick T. Conley and John Kaminski (Lanham, Maryland, 1992)
  11. ^ Louise Irby Trenholme, The Ratification of the Federal Constitution in North Carolina (Columbia, Missouri, 1932)
  12. ^ "Proceedings and Debates of the Convention of North-Carolina, Convened at Hillsborough, on Monday the 21st Day of July, 1788, for the Purpose of Deliberating and Determining on the Constitution Recommended by the General Convention at Philadelphia, the 17th Day of September, 1787: To Which is Prefixed the Said Constitution:". 1788. Retrieved July 29, 2019.
  13. ^ Counties were not listed for the delegates in the minutes, so the 1904 Manual was used.
  14. ^ Connor, Henry Grove (August 1904). "The Convention of 1788‑'89 and the Federal Constitution — Hillsborough and Fayetteville". Retrieved July 29, 2019.
  15. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z aa ab ac ad Connor, R.D.D. (1913). A Manual of North Carolina (PDF). Raleigh: North Carolina Historical Commission. p. 863-. Retrieved April 27, 2019.
  16. ^ Minutes say Tanner vice Turner as in Manual

Additional sourcing:

  • Gillespie, Michael Allen Gillespie (1989). Liensch, Michael (ed.). North Carolina: Preserving Rights. Ratifying the Constitution.
  • Price, William S. (1991). The Bill of Rights and North Carolina: There Ought to be a Bill of Rights.

External links[]

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