Charlotte Mecklenburg Library

You are here

Home

Antebellum Days 1820-1852

1831 - Turner Rebellion

August 21, 1831 - Near North Carolina's border with Virginia, plantation slave Nat Turner leads an armed revolt of his fellow slaves. In this uprising, 50 whites and an untold number of blacks die at each other's hands. Turner and others are captured and put to death. North Carolina will now pass laws to exert more control over slaves. Under the new laws, a slave cannot defend himself, even if his master tries to kill him.

Date of Event:

1850 - Lay of the Land

There are 678 slave-holders in North Carolina, owning 2,713 slaves. Most owners have fewer than five. On the coastal rice and cotton plantations, affluent landowners need many household and farm-hands. But it is different in the hilly piedmont of Mecklenburg County, where most settlers work their own farmland.Tobacco Harvest

Date of Event:

1840 - Bustling Town

Doctors and lawyers, printers and teachers, miners and tradesmen all make their homes in Charlotte. In the surrounding Mecklenburg county, flour and grain are milled and gold is mined. Taverns welcome travelers, and a weekly newspaper keeps citizens informed. There are now more than 11,000 white and 6,800 black residents of the county.

Date of Event:

1830 - Indian Sorrows

Many Indians have perished from diseases they contracted from white settlers. Some tribes have only a few surviving members. Tribal leaders negotiate with the U.S. government, trying to keep from losing their ancestral lands and their native traditions. The Catawba Indians agree to sell some of their land near the North-South Carolina border. Many will move west and settle near their long-time enemies, the Cherokees.

Date of Event:

1825 - A Growing City

Charlotte and the surrounding area continue to grow. William Smith is Charlotte's postmaster and there are 10 other post offices in Mecklenburg County. Serving the city's population of 700 are 14 stores, plus taverns, tailors, weavers and wagon makers.

Date of Event:

1838 - C is for Charlotte

March 27, 1838 - For the first time, coins are manufactured from Mecklenburg gold at the Charlotte Mint. A half-eagle is worth $5.00; a quarter-eagle is worth $2.50. Each gold piece is stamped with a C to show it was minted at Charlotte. In this one year, over $100,000 worth of gold blocks, called bullion, will be received at the Mint on West Trade Street.

Date of Event:

1832 - Defying the Courts

The United States Supreme Court is the country's highest legal authority. It rules that the U.S. Constitution was violated when Georgia took away the rights of the Cherokee Nation four years ago. In spite of the Supreme Court's ruling, President Andrew Jackson will continue to allow Indians to be pushed off their land.

Date of Event:

1827 - Cherokee Nation

As the American colonists had done in 1787, the Cherokee Indians draft a constitution, a document that describes the laws under which they will govern themselves. These Native Americans demand to be recognized as sovereign, or independent, and to be called the Cherokee Nation. But trouble lies ahead. The Cherokees will encounter opposition to their desire for self-rule from the U.S. Government.

Date of Event:

1830 - Freedom Train

People who speak out against slavery are called abolitionists. For 50 years, they have been working to eliminate slavery. They form a secret network of farms and families who hide and help runaways escape from the South to freedom. This is called the Underground Railroad, even though there are no actual trains or tracks. As hundreds of slaves vanish, their owners become outraged. The federal government enacts laws, called compromises that try to find solutions. But only after a bloody war is fought will the issue of slavery be resolved.

Date of Event:

1840 - Deeper and Deeper

Costs to mine gold are increasing. Some of the rock that contains the precious metal, called ore, lies deep below water or other rocks, and it becomes more and more difficult to pump and dig for it. Mine owners bring in immigrants from as far away as Poland, Italy, German and Wales to join their work-force.

Date of Event: