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NORTH
CAROLINA,
though the most industrialized of the
Southern states, remains relatively
rural and poor, with just six million
people spread over an area larger than
England. It suffered heavily during
the Civil War, and
Reconstruction brought mixed
fortunes: although the Democrats
regained control in 1870, they ran a
liberal administration and were
effective in stamping out the Ku Klux
Klan. Since then there have been
parallel traditions of radical black,
and white racist, activity.
Greensboro, for example, where
Jesse Jackson served his political
apprenticeship, was the site of the
1960 lunch-counter sit-in by black
students, and also of the Greensboro
Massacre of 1979, when Klansmen killed
five people at a Communist Workers
Party demonstration.
Geographically, North Carolina breaks
down into three distinct areas –
running from east to west, the coast,
the Piedmont and the mountains – that
help make it one of the more
interesting states to tour around. For
visitors, the coast is the most
promising area, with good beaches,
beautiful landscapes and a fascinating
history. The inner coast consists
largely of the less developed
Albemarle Peninsula, with colonial
Edenton nearby. The central
Piedmont is dominated by
manufacturing cities, and by the
academic institutions of the Research
Triangle: Raleigh, the state
capital, Durham, home of
prestigious Duke University, and
trendy Chapel Hill.
Winston-Salem combines tobacco
culture and Moravian heritage, while
Charlotte bills itself as the
next boom city of the South, though
for the moment it’s distinguished by
little but its downtown skyscrapers.
In the mountains, one of the
most stunning stretches of Appalachia,
the only towns of any size, Boone
and Asheville, are linked by
the spectacular Blue Ridge Parkway,
while Great Smoky Mountains
National Park overlaps the border
with Tennessee.
Click here to go to North
Carolina State web site |
