RALEIGH — The Halifax Resolves, the first known formal call by state representatives for independence from Great Britain, is coming back to North Carolina as part of the America 250 celebrations.
The Resolves, issued April 12, 1776, by the North Carolina Assembly, authorized delegates attending a meeting of the Fourth Provincial Congress to vote for independence. The document put their resolutions to paper in the minutes of that meeting.
For the past 250 years, the Resolves have been a permanent resident of the National Archives because it’s the only copy known to exist, but the document is returning home in commemoration of America’s semiquincentennial anniversary.
The Resolves will be on exhibit at the Halifax State Historic Site’s new visitor center from April 10 through Oct. 6. The initial viewing will coincide with the Halifax Resolves Days from April 10-12.
“North Carolina played a significant role in winning America’s independence,” Gov. Josh Stein said in statement announcing the exhibition. “The creation and adoption of the Halifax Resolves on April 12, 1776, was the first official action by any colony calling for independence from Great Britain, forever cementing North Carolina’s place in history as ‘First in Freedom.’”
North Carolina’s State Archives keeps the journal copy of the Resolves, which will be displayed in Halifax in the fall.
“The opportunity to view this 250-year-old document in the place where it was created is a truly once-in-a-lifetime experience,” said N.C. Department of Natural and Cultural Resources Secretary Pamela B. Cashwell. “The Halifax Resolves is one of the most important pieces of our state’s story — its date is emblazoned on our state flag — and we’re so excited for North Carolinians to see it in person.”
The state will celebrate the 250th anniversary of the Halifax Resolves with “Prelude to Revolution: Halifax Resolves Days,” described as an “immersive three-day event featuring living history vignettes, lectures, live colonial music and Tryon Palace Fife and Drum Corps performances, historic trades and weapons demonstrations, a military parade, tours, and more.”
The Historic Halifax site is administered by the North Carolina Division of State Historic Sites under the state’s Department of Natural and Cultural Resources. The department has a dedicated website for America 250 events, exhibits and resources at America250.nc.gov.
A full schedule of events will be taking place at Historic Halifax at tinyurl.com/NSJ-Halifax. Maps and daily programming can also be picked up at the Halifax Visitor Center at 25 St. David St.
Additional information about North Carolina’s America 250 celebrations and events can be viewed on the General Assembly’s semiquincentennial committee website at tinyurl.com/NSJ-NC250.
