Explore N.C. History Topic Ideas

In 1971, Durham held a ten-day “charrette” called “Save Our Schools (S.O.S.).” Federally-funded, the charrette’s method was a new approach meant to bring Durham residents together to find solutions and address problems integrating Durham’s schools. Its two co-chairs formed an unlikely friendship - one being president of the local KKK chapter and the other being a prominent local civil rights activist.

In 1774, the women in Edenton resolved to stop buying English tea and cloth in protest. Could this action be seen as a new frontier for women's involvement in the shaping of our country?

The Morning Chronicle and London Advertiser published the resolution in their paper which can be viewed by clicking the Primary Source Link button below. Click here to see how to properly cite the newspaper article in a bibliography.

On May 26, 1908, by a referendum vote of 62% to 38%, North Carolina became the first southern state to enact statewide prohibition. Why was North Carolina on the forefront of prohibition?

On May 20, 1861, North Carolina delegates unanimously voted to approve an Ordinance of Secession from the United States. Could leaving the Union and joining the Confederacy be seen as a frontier?

Starting in 1584 the English tried to establish colonies on the coast of current day North Carolina. The "New World" was seen as a frontier to the English, but that was not the case to the many people who already lived here in established communities. Two of these people, Manteo and Wanchese, even traveled to England which would have been a frontier from their perspective. Primary source material on this topic is harder to find and is predominately, if not all, from the English's perspective. However, piecing together this part of our history from Manteo or Wanchese's perspective could be a unique approach, and a chance to present a different side of a very famous story. Click here to see how to properly cite the secondary source article linked below in a bibliography.

Though the 1960 Greensboro sit-in is more famous, a lesser known North Carolina sit-in a few years earlier might be a unique choice. In 1957, an early Civil Rights protest in Durham of The Royal Ice Cream Company led to a court case testing the legality of segregated facilities.

North Carolina had at least two pioneers in X-Ray technology - Henry Louis Smith who did early experiments in North Carolina at Davidson College and Margaret Kennedy Goodwin who did early work in radiology. Either Smith or Goodwin could make an interesting topic for this year's theme.

Ella May Wiggins was a textile worker, who along with other Gaston County workers, began to organize the fight for higher wages and better conditions during the spring of 1929. She used her talents as a balladeer to share their plight through music and gain support. She was killed at age 29 during the Loray Mill Strike in Gastonia, N.C. Could her work be seen as a frontier in protest technique?