NC Declaration of Rights & State Constitution |
| The Revolutionary War in North Carolina brought about considerable confusion regarding the ownership of land. The Granville Tract that comprised nearly half the land in North Carolina and some of that known as the Speculation Lands was particularly confusing. The Earl of Granville as absentee land owner was entitled to all the quit-rents on his property but had no responsibility for governance of the land. The resulting opportunities for dishonest dealings by his agents were great. Following the victory over the British, North Carolina called for a Constitutional Convention to deal with the most pressing problems of the transitional time, including the multitude of land problems related to the Granville Tract. A series of temporary ordinances were drafted including a Declaration of Rights and a state Constitution. Many of the ordinances and laws pertained to land. The following ordinances directly affected land ownership: |
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Oath of Allegiance ordinance: Persons who were deemed to be un-sympathetic to the Colonists were required to sign oaths within ninety days
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'What Shall be Treason in the State' ordinance: required that "every treasonable person shall forfeit his Lands, Tenements, Goods and Chattels to the use of the State." |
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Religion and church titles ordinance: secured the title to the land and church and houses of worship for the proprietors. |
In a Declaration of Rights statement the
Convention declared that "all Political Power is vested in and
derived from the People only." The ratification of this statement
on December 17, 1776, section 25 of the Declaration of Rights became the
central statement regarding land possession in the state of North
Carolina. It stated:
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| Under the State Constitution ratified on December
18, 1776, there were additional land related regulations. For
example, in order to qualify for election as a state senator, the
individual was required to be owner of at least 300 acres of land. To
qualify for election as a representative, the candidate was required to
own at least 100 acres of land. In order to vote for a senator a citizen
would need to hold at least 50 acres of land but any citizen could vote
for a representative without holding land. To qualify for the governor's
office a candidate needed to demonstrate that their property worth was
at least one thousand pound. Land was entitlement to governance. The
"freemen" who were required to own 50 acres of land to vote
for a Senator were not numerous. The census of 1850 showed that over 40%
of the farms in North Carolina were under 50 acres. This voting
restriction was not removed until 1857.
Regarding Indian land the new Constitution initially demonstrated a hands-off policy by stating that
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The opening of the Indian land for purchase and the
closing of the British land offices brought about an urgent need for
procedures regarding the purchase and registration of land exchange. The
following description of the processes regarding the acquisition of land
grants is from the description found in the North Carolina state Laws
of 1777 and described in Kenneth Pomeroy and James Yoho's North
Carolina Lands: Ownership, Use, and Management of Forest and Related
Lands. Washington, DC: The American Forestry Association, 1964. The
instructions proscribed by the Assembly were to be followed by each
Justice of the Peace in each of the North Carolina counties. Each county
was to elect a clerk to record the grants and to employ a surveyor to
authenticate the claims. The instructions follow:
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| According to the direction of the Assembly each county entry taker was to place each application for land into a record book. A waiting period was then in force for three months to determine if there were other claimants and if none were forth-coming then a warrant would be issued to the surveyor. If there were counter-claims, these were to be settled by the County Court through regular proceedings. The Assembly also gave priority to claimants who held lands applied for in the old Public Land Office of the Crown, or from the Earl of Granville but who did not hold patents. Their claims would be considered of urgent need. |
| Pomeroy and Yoho describe the surveyor's role (p.77) |
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| The state Assembly amended the land office act to accommodate individuals who were settled in the so-called Granville District and who had not been issued patents. This amendment was made in 1779. It read: |
Next page: The State Land Office and Land Grants |