Creation and Governance of the University
A product of the American Revolution, the university had its origins in the North Carolina Constitution of 1776. Article Forty-one of that
document stated that "all useful Learning shall be duely [sic.] encouraged and promoted in one or more Universities." The constitution's
framers, who were heirs of the Enlightenment, believed that the survival of their fledgling democracy depended on the education of future
leaders. However, through the next decade of military and political struggle, the provisions of Article Forty-one were the least of the
state's concerns.
After the Revolutionary War ended and as the newly independent states settled down to govern themselves, some North Carolinians began
advocating for the fulfillment of Article Forty-one. A bill to establish a university failed in 1784, but on December 11, 1789, the state
legislature finally passed an act chartering the University of North Carolina. Several individuals provided support, but William Richardson
Davie of Halifax introduced the bill and took the lead in pushing it through the General Assembly.
The initial struggle to charter the university was followed by an equally difficult period of choosing a location, securing
adequate funding, constructing the buildings, hiring a faculty, developing a curriculum, and attracting students. The General Assembly had
granted the trustees rights to two sources of income: money owed the state for certain arrearages and "all property that has heretofore or
shall hereafter escheat to the state." Turning these into ready cash would be a long and difficult process. Still, the trustees continued
to push forward with plans for building and opening the institution. In 1792 they chose to locate the campus at New Hope Chapel Hill in the
rolling hills of what was then backcountry North Carolina, where several generous settlers had promised donations of land. The site was far
from the power centers of eastern North Carolina, but it was close to the newly chartered capital city, Raleigh. The cornerstone of the
campus's first building was laid less than a year later on October 12, 1793.
A friendly debate rages between the University of Georgia and the University of North Carolina concerning which school can accurately
claim the distinction of first state university. The University of Georgia claims the title based on the fact that it was chartered before
the University of North Carolina (1785 versus 1789). The University of North Carolina bases its claim on the fact that it opened its doors
on January 15, 1795, which made it the only state university to graduate students in the eighteenth century. The University of Georgia did
not open until 1801; by then the University of North Carolina had graduated three classes.
The items in the "Creation and Governance" section document the struggle to establish, enable, open, and operate the
University of North Carolina. Ranging from the North Carolina Constitution of 1776 to the minutes of the trustees to a
1792 campus map, the transcribed and original materials allow readers to follow the birth of the first state university
in the United States.
The items in this section are arranged chronologically.
- North Carolina
The Constitution, or Form of Government, Agreed To and Resolved Upon by the Representatives of the Freemen of the State of North-Carolina, Elected and Chosen for that Particular Purpose, in Congress Assembled, at Halifax, the Eighteenth Day of December in the Year of Our Lord One Thousand Seven Hundred and Seventy-Six
Philadelphia: , 1779. p. 16
- North Carolina. General Assembly
Act Establishing the University of North Carolina, 1789
4 pages, 4 page images
- Davie, William Richardson, 1756-1820
William R. Davie's Bill to Establish the University of North Carolina, [November 12, 1789]
13 pages, 14 page images
- No Author
Halifax, October 30. From The North-Carolina Journal, October 30, 1793
Halifax, NC: , [1792]. p. 1
- Daniel, John
Map of the Site of the University of North Carolina and Chapel Hill, November 7, 1792
2 pages, 2 page images
- University of North Carolina (1793-1962). Board of Trustees
Board of Trustees Minutes, December 3-13, 1792
22 pages, 22 page images
- McCorkle, Samuel Eusebius, 1746-1811
A Charity Sermon. First Delivered in Salisbury, July 28; and Afterwards in Other Places in Rowan, and the Counties Adjoining; Particularly at Sugar's Creek, in Mecklenburg County, at the Opening of the Synod of the Carolinas, October 2: and Last, at the Meeting of the Hon. The General Assembly of North-Carolina in Fayetteville, December, 1793. By the Rev. Samuel E. M'Corkle, D.D. Pastor of the Church at Thyatira and Salisbury in Rowan County, North-Carolina.
Halifax, NC: , 1795. p. [1]-64
- University of North Carolina (1793-1962). Board of Trustees
Daybook of the Accounts of the Board of Trustees, Kept by William Duffy, Agent, January 1795
11 pages, 11 page images
- Daniel, John
Plan of John Daniel's Donation of Land to the University, May 5, 1795
1 page, 1 page image
- University of North Carolina (1793-1962). Board of Trustees
"Laws and Regulations for the University of North Carolina," August 2, 1795
16 pages, 20 page images
- University of North Carolina (1793-1962). Board of Trustees
An Ordinance to Supply the Place of Trustees Who Shall Fail to Discharge the Duties as Such for a Certain Time, December 20, 1799
1 page, 2 page images
- Jones, William Watts
Letter from William Watts Jones to Robert Williams, March 17, 1818
1 page, 2 page images
- University of North Carolina (1793-1962). Board of Trustees
William B. Meares Bond for the Discharge of Duties to the University as Attorney, May 10, 1818
1 page, 1 page image
- Baxter, Thomas
Letter from Thomas Baxter to James Iredell, Jr., December 10, 1818
4 pages, 5 page images
- University of North Carolina (1793-1962). Board of Trustees
Board of Trustees Minutes, January 2, 1835
3 pages, 3 page images
- University of North Carolina (1793-1962)
Acts of the General Assembly and Ordinances of the Trustees, for the Organization and Government of the University of North-Carolina
Raleigh: , 1838. p. 21
- Duyckinck, Evert A. (Evert Augustus), 1816-1878, and Duyckinck, George L. (George Long), 1823-1863
University of North Carolina. From Cyclopædia of American Literature; Embracing Personal and Critical Notices of Authors, and Selections from Their Writings. From the Earliest Period to the Present Day with Portraits, Autographs, and Other Illustrations. By Evert A. Duyckinck and George L. Duyckinck. In Two Volumes. Vol. II
New York: , 1856. p. 2
- University of North Carolina (1793-1962)
Acts of the General Assembly and Ordinances of the Trustees, for the Organization and Government of the University of North Carolina
Chapel Hill, N.C.: , 1859. p. 35
- Smith, Charles Lee, 1865-1951
The History of Education in North Carolina
Washington: , 1888. p. 180
- Robinson, Blackwell P. (Blackwell Pierce)
The History of Escheats
Chapel Hill: , [1955?]. p. 62