As governor of North Carolina from 1953 to 1954, William B. Umstead spent much of his administration bed-ridden, yet he continued working to implement his ideas for what he called a “better tomorrow.”
Today, the University of North Carolina System consists of 17 separate campuses located throughout the state. It is governed by a Board of Governors elected by the General Assembly. It even includes two special high schools. But the university began with just one campus, the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
The Confederate Navy conducted numerous joint land and sea raids during the Civil War. One important expedition in North Carolina was against the USS Underwriter in early February 1864. The brainchild of a naval officer, John Taylor Wood, the expedition was part of a larger Confederate offensive against the Union stronghold at New Bern. General Robert E. Lee detailed General Robert F. Hoke’s brigade, under the command of General George Pickett, to attack and attempt to retake the city. The army’s assault is largely forgotten because it failed. The navy’s spectacular attack, however, was more successful and proved that Union control in eastern North Carolina, even relatively late during the war, could still be challenged seriously.
Rabbi Samuel Emmanuel Unger was an enigmatic figure—altruistic but hard-nosed, ecumenical but distinctively Jewish, theologically conservative yet not legalistically Orthodox.
Created from a compromise between Democrats and Whigs in the 1840s, Union County is a southern Piedmont county that borders South Carolina and is home to Wingate University, a Baptist college institution, and the Jesse Helms Center. Some historians argue that Andrew Jackson, the seventh president of the United States, was born in Union.
Started in Philadelphia in 1862, the Union League was organized to publicize Southern outrages and to promote Radical Republican policies. After the Civil War, the League mobilized newly enfranchised African American voters (all men) and used secrecy and promoted gun ownership as means to protect the African American population.
The United States Navy’s activities off the North Carolina coast undoubtedly influenced the outcome of the Civil War. Even though many Tar Heels never saw a Union sailor or ship up close, the US Navy affected daily life in North Carolina because its blockade controlled nearly two-thirds of the coast. The threat of a naval bombardment was ever-present, too. During the latter stages of the war, the US Navy played an important role in the Old North State that hastened the end of war.
Established in the aftermath of World War 2 as a temporary junior college for veterans, the University of North Carolina at Charlotte has become the largest institution of higher education in the Charlotte area and the fourth largest university in the state of North Carolina. As of 2012, UNC Charlotte maintains a total enrollment of 25,063 students and a faculty and staff of 3,000.
Located in the western mountains of Buncombe County, North Carolina, UNC-Asheville remains the only distinctly labeled liberal arts university in the state. Asheville-Buncombe College, the precursor to the modern university, dates back to the late 1920s. After a significant increase in local and state funding during the late 1950s, UNC-Asheville relocated to its present location, and its student population greatly increased. Today, nearly 3,700 students attend the university.
The Croatan Normal School, forerunner of UNC-Pembroke, was formed by the General Assembly on March 7, 1887, after Native Americans petitioned the legislature for a teaching school in Robeson County. Throughout the 1910s and 1930s, the school started to offer degrees other than education and in 1969 the college’s name was changed to Pembroke State University. Today, the University of North Carolina at Pembroke has a study body of over 6,900 students.
Opening its doors to students in 1795, the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill upholds the distinction of being one of the oldest public universities in the country and the first public university to award degrees during the eighteenth century. Currently, UNC is ranked among several national publications that list the university as a preeminent leader in academic quality, affordability, and diversity.
Established in 1961, Uwharrie National Park remains the youngest and one of the smallest national forests in North Carolina. Uwharrie encompasses over 50,000 acres and many North Carolinians visit the park each year to take advantage of its natural wilderness. Morrow Mountain remains the park’s most distinct feature and attraction.