Jessica Lee Thompson was previously an editorial assistant for NorthCarolinahistory.org and for the Nathaniel Macon Papers, a special project of North Carolina History Project. Currently, she is the director of government affairs and general counsel for the John Locke Foundation. Hailing from Stokes County, North Carolina she is an alum of North Carolina School of Science and Math and received her undergraduate and legal degrees from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Jessica received a B.A. in Peace, War, and Defense and a B.A. in History, with an emphasis on North Carolina state history. In law school, she studied North Carolina Constitutional Law under retired N.C. Supreme Court Justice Robert F. Orr and earned the highest grade in the class.
After law school, Jessica went into private practice in Raleigh. Later, she clerked for Chief Justice Martin on the North Carolina Supreme Court. Following her clerkship, Jessica moved to Washington, D.C., where she was a constitutional litigator for six years at the Cause of Action Institute, New Civil Liberties Alliance, and, most recently, the Pacific Legal Foundation. Her litigation practice focused on combatting separation of powers violations at the state and federal levels and defending the constitutional right to earn an honest living.
In North Carolina, for example, she defended a BBQ food truck entrepreneur’s right to the “fruits of their own labor” under the North Carolina Constitution against a small town’s unduly burdensome food truck regulations. Notably, she sued the Governor and State of North Carolina during the COVID-19 pandemic for infringing on a Greenville bar owner’s right to equal protection under the law and separation of powers violations. That litigation led the Governor to change his executive orders treating private bars differently from other establishments that sold alcohol. It helped push amendments to the Emergency Management Act that addressed separation of powers constitutional violations.
Fort Anderson (Confederate)
Built atop the remnants of the colonial town, Brunswick, Fort Anderson protected the Cape Fear River and supply lines to Wilmington. Wilmington was a critical port for supply lines throughout the Confederacy and to General Lee’s Army of Northern Virginia in Petersburg and Richmond. Although originally named Fort St. Phillip after the colonial Anglican Church ruins within the fortress, the fort was renamed in honor of Brigadier General George Burgwyn Anderson who died after complications from injuries suffered at Antietam.
The Great Seal of the State of North Carolina
North Carolina developed four different state seals during the colonial period and there have been six state seals since North Carolina declared its independence. While the Great Seal changed many times throughout North Carolina history, some variations on symbols have remained and appear on the current Great Seal.
Plott Hound: The State Dog
Known for its fearless hunting style and loyalty to owner, the Plott Hound was bred in North Carolina, and is one of four breeds originating in America. In 1989 the North Carolina General Assembly named the Plott Hound the official State Dog.