Long before government arrived in Carolina, Carolinians governed themselves. In that frontier zone lived a substantial population of Indians, Europeans, and Africans who blended cultures and populations to produce many of the characteristics we now call "southern." Quakers, former indentured, runaway slaves, whole families outlawed in Virginia, and opportunists of all stripes, found a place in Carolina. Tom Magnuson will explore this story with his audiences and will address such questions as: Why was Quaker Meadows Quaker Meadows before the Quakers came to town? Where did the Indians go? Was distilling the most efficient way to market oneÕs corn in a country with no markets? What are the limits of anarchy? What was the cost of order?

Some of the most remarkable social, political, and military events recorded in American history occurred in North Carolina between the beginning of 1761 and the end of 1781. At the outset, Quakers rioted and some even marched off to war. At the end of the span, Carolina militiamen led by a Quaker general, destroyed a British army. Cowan's Ford, Shallow Ford, Lindley's and Weitzels' Mill, and Pyle Massacre are just a few of the events and places that punctuated the epic tale of hard-won victory. Tom Magnuson will guide his audiences through a discussion of events that began to define North Carolinians. Among questions to be discussed are: Were there Tory and Whig zones in Carolina and, if so, what defined them? What relationship does the War of the Regulation bear to the Revolutionary War? Where should the Race for the Dan stand in American strategic history?

Requirements for Program: lectern