Episode 14: The Corruption

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Jim Ambuske: This episode of
Worlds Turned Upside Down is
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made possible with support from
a 2024 grant from the National
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Endowment for the Humanities.
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Judge Richard Henderson was
uneasy as he opened the Superior
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Court in Hillsboro, North
Carolina. It was 11 o'clock in
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the morning on Monday, September
24, 1770. Earlier that day, a
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great number of people calling
themselves regulators, had
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filled Hillsboro, shouting,
hallooing and making a
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considerable tumblt in the
streets. Now, as Henderson
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looked out from his bench and
ahead to the day's docket, he
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could see regulators packing his
courtroom, like many of the
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people in the courtroom that
day, Henderson wasn't a native
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North Carolinian. He had been
born in Hanover County, Virginia
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in the mid 1730s as a child,
Henderson and his family
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migrated south to the north
Carolina Piedmont, joining other
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British Americans from the
middle colonies of Maryland,
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Virginia, Pennsylvania, and New
Jersey, who traveled down the
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Great Wagon Road in search of
new lands, new opportunities,
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and for some God's grace, the
promise of good government and
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an independent living together
with Scots, Scots-Irish, and
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German speakers from abroad, the
largely white colonists who
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settled in the Carolina
backcountry in the mid 18th
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century, farmed and speculated
in land once owned by powerful
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indigenous nations. War,
disease, proclamations, and
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treaties have reduced native
numbers in the region, but not
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evidence of their presence.
Henderson had lived a very
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different life from the people
present in his courtroom on that
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September morning, the people
who now gave him such pause as a
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young man, he had served his
father as deputy county sheriff,
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read law with his mother's
cousin and then married his
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legal mentor's step daughter,
Henderson, had made a fortune as
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a lawyer representing wealthy
clients, Often land speculators
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in debt suits against settlers
who could scarcely afford to pay
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their bills. His wealth and
social status elevated his
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standing in the eyes of the
colony's elite. In 1768 Governor
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William Tryon appointed
Henderson as an associate judge
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on the colony's Superior Court
for the regulators who stared
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back at him on that Monday
morning in 1770. Elite learned
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men like Henderson were an
insidious threat to their
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liberty and independence for
more than a decade backcountry
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settlers, many of them farmers,
many of them evangelical
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Protestants who had experienced
a great awakening in the depths
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of their very souls. Had
complained about corrupt
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officials, unfair land sales, an
unresponsive assembly,
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inexplicable laws and unjust
taxes that enriched the few at
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the expense of the many. They
had no love for the Stamp Act,
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nor the Townsend Duties, of
Parliament's attempt to bind the
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colonies closer to the mother
country in ways that most
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British Americans had once
thought unimaginable, and yet,
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for many backcountry settlers,
the more pressing concern wasn't
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the men who ruled them from
London. But the provincial
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elites who governed them at
home, to the governor and to the
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assembly. The king's loyal
subjects had petitioned for the
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redress of their grievances, but
those prayers had gone
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unanswered. By the late 1760s
their patience had worn thin,
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and time was running out. If the
government would not reform
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itself, then, with God's help,
some North Carolinians would
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regulate it. As Judge Henderson
contemplated the scene unfolding
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before him, the courtroom
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Judge Henderson: “[filled] as
close as one Man could stand by
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another, some with Clubs, others
with Whips and Switches, few or
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none without some Weapon!”
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Jim Ambuske: A farmer named
Jeremiah Fields approached the
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bench and informed Henderson
that he had something to say
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before the court began the day's
work. Regulators like Fields
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believed that Henderson and
other judges were deliberately
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ignoring lawsuits they had filed
against their alleged
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oppressors, using the rule of
law to protect the wealthy, as
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Henderson later wrote to
Governor Tryon, Fields
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Judge Henderson: “proceeded to
let Me know that He spoke for
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the whole Body of the people
called Regulators, That they
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understood I would not try their
Causes, and that their
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Determination was to have them
tryed, for they had come down to
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see Justice done, and Justice
They would have.”
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Jim Ambuske: Fields counseled
the judge that if he tried their
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cases, it might prevent much
mischief. And for the next 30
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minutes, Henderson did his best
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Judge Henderson: “to soften and
turn away the Fury of this mad
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People in the best Manner in my
power as much as could well
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[...] pacifie their Rage and at
the same Time preserve the
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little remaining Dignity of the
Court.”
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Jim Ambuske: Sudden calls rose
up from among the regulators to
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let the court go about its
business. Many who had packed
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the courtroom went back outside,
giving Henderson reason to think
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that all would be well, but
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Judge Henderson: “The little
Hopes of Peace derived from this
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Piece of Behaviour were very
Transient.”
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Jim Ambuske: As deputy attorney
general John Williams made his
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way into the courtroom, the
Regulators grabbed him. Williams
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was both Henderson's legal
partner and his father in law,
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and months earlier, he had
signed an order authorizing the
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arrest of two Regulators. The
regulators battered and beat
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Williams with sticks and clubs
before he managed to flee,
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taking refuge in a nearby store,
rushing back inside the
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courthouse, they found another
lawyer, Edmund Fanning a member
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of the Provincial Assembly, and
a man known for extorting
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Piedmont settlers hiding behind
the bench, they dragged Fanning
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outside, beating and spitting on
him as they went when Fanning
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escaped to hide with Williams in
the store, the regulators turned
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their attention to other local
officials who received a similar
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dose of the farmer's fury back
inside the courtroom, a
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regulator named James Hunter
informed a cowering Henderson
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that he would not be harmed if
he agreed to hold court. The
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judge had little choice but to
comply. That night, after
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Henderson held hearings under
the Regulators' watchful eye,
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they made sure he got home
safely, but not before
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extracting a promise that he
would reopen the court the next
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morning, fanning they allowed
safe passage as well. But as
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dawn broke on Tuesday, September
25 the Regulators awoke to find
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that Henderson had fled without
the judge, the court could not
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reopen and justice could not be
done. Turning their anger on
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Fanning, they ran him out of
town and in a scene as familiar
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in Boston or New York City as it
was in the North Carolina back
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country, the regulators broke
into Fanning's home, ransacked
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his possessions and dismantled
it. They left Hillsboro the next
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day, breaking windows and local
shops as they went. Weeks later,
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they reduced judge Henderson's
home to ashes, if the regulators
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wanted the provincial
government's attention to
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finally make it see the
injustices suffered by the
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king's subjects. The Governor
and the assembly were certainly
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listening, but not in the way
the regulators wanted for
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Governor Tryon and the
provincial elite. The attack on
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the courthouse was a herald of
things to come, but not of a
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reformation, of a revolution.
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I'm Jim Ambuske, and this is
Worlds Turned Upside Down, a
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podcast about the history of the
American Revolution. Episode 14:
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The Corruption. In August 1766,
five months after Parliament
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repealed the hated Stamp Act,
farmers gathered near Sandy
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Creek in Orange County, North
Carolina, to demand answers from
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their local officials, inspired
by the resistance movements in
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Boston, New York, and
Charleston, the assembled
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farmers charged the provincial
elite with subverting their
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rights in abusing their power in
a published advertisement, they
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proclaimed,
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Farmers: “While the sons of
Liberty withstood the Lords in
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Parliament in behalf of true
Liberty let not Officers under
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them carry on unjust Oppression
in our own Province..there is
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many Evils of that nature
complained of in this County of
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Orange in private amongst the
Inhabitants therefore let us
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remove them (or if there is no
cause) let us remove the
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Jealousies out of our minds.”
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Jim Ambuske: Sandy Creek
associates as the mostly Quaker
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farmers came to be known, called
on elite officials like Edmund
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fanning to appear before them to
hear their grievances over land,
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taxes and representation. Such a
meeting, they wrote, would
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examine
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Farmers: “whether the free men
of this Country labor under any
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abuses of power or not”
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Jim Ambuske: And it would
"certainly cause the wicked men
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in power to tremble."
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Marjoleine Kars: When the Sandy
Creek starts in 1766, they have
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seen the Sons of Liberty protest
the Stamp Act. The Sons of
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Liberty draw on a radical
political tradition that argues
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that a government is based on
the consent of the people, and
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that people turn over some of
their liberties and some of
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their powers to a government in
exchange for that government
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acting in the public good and
acting to protect them, and that
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when a government violates that
contract, people not only have a
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right but even a duty to
protest. My name is Marjoleine
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Kars. I am a professor emeritus
at the University of Maryland
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Baltimore County, and I am now a
senior scholar in the history
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department at MIT. These farmers
begin to see themselves as akin
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to the Sons of Liberty, who are
also arguing that Parliament is
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corrupt and that the government
doesn't have their best interest
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at heart. The Sandy Creek
farmers are inspired by that.
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They're like, Oh, if our leaders
on the coast can stand up for
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government, then we should too.
Of course, these leaders don't
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see it that way. They think
there's a huge difference
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between elite men opposing
Britain and ordinary farmers
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opposing local elites.
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Jim Ambuske: Edmund Fanning
refused to meet with the Sandy
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Creek associates in 1766 nor did
he or any other official bother
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to appear when their
constituents asked for another
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meeting a year later, by 1767 it
seemed that peaceful, organized
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resistance to government
corruption in North Carolina had
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come to an end. But in 1768
farmers in the North Carolina,
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Piedmont from Orange, Rowan,
Anson, Mecklenburg, and other
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counties, Quakers as well as
Baptists, Presbyterians as well
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as Protestant evangelicals
awakened under a new movement
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with a new name regulators. So
why did a large protest movement
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erupt in the North Carolina,
back country in the years after
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the Seven Years' War? How did
radical religion inspire
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settlers to combat corruption
wherever they found it, and why
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did the regulators rebellion
come to a swift and bloody end?
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To begin answering these
questions, we'll head first down
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the Great Wagon Road to the
North Carolina Piedmont to
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reconstruct the world the
regulators hope to build. We'll
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then travel deep into the
regulators hearts to explore the
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inner light that fired their
divine sparks before setting out
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on a long march with provincial
forces to confront the
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regulators near Alamance Creek
to witness the beginning and the
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end of a revolution over a
century before the regulator
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uprising, the North Carolina
Piedmont was part of a much
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grander Imperial vision in 1663,
King Charles the second granted
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a charter to eight men for the
province of Carolina. These
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lords, proprietors, as they were
known, had remained loyal to the
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king's family during the English
Civil Wars of the 1640s a
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revolution that led to the
execution of the king's father,
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Charles I and the transformation
of England into a republic. When
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the Commonwealth collapsed and
Parliament restored the monarchy
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in 1660 the return of the king
heralded great rewards to those
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who had bent the knee. Carolina
became the property of the eight
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lords in England. The Lords
proprietors envisioned a colony
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where the few ruled the many
under a Constitution drafted in
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part by the philosopher John
Locke. They imagined a Carolina
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controlled by men with vast
hereditary estates worked by
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tenants and enslaved people to
encourage settlement. The
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fundamental constitutions of
Carolina called for religious
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toleration for heathens, Jews,
and other dissenters, but not
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Catholics. Attracting settlers
to Carolina proved difficult.
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Southern Carolina quickly became
more prosperous than the north,
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while the colony as a whole grew
unruly. In 1712 the proprietors
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divided the colony into two,
hoping separate Carolinas would
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make them more governable. But
by the end of the decade, most
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of them concluded that the
colonies were no longer worth
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the investment. They sold South
Carolina to the crown in 1719
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transforming it into a Royal
Colony. 10 years later, seven of
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the eight proprietors sold their
shares in North Carolina to
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George II, only Lord Granville
retained his share, leaving him
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in control of the northern half
of North Carolina in. Unlike
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Virginia and South Carolina,
North Carolina had no deep
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harbors and comparatively fewer
connections to the Atlantic
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trade, but North Carolina did
have plenty of available land.
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By the 1760s disease, war, and
treaties had diminished the
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00:15:17,070 --> 00:15:20,100
presence and power of native
peoples like the Cherokee and
226
00:15:20,100 --> 00:15:23,160
the Catawba in the Piedmont and
throughout the back country of
227
00:15:23,160 --> 00:15:27,000
both Carolinas and for British
Americans struggling to find
228
00:15:27,000 --> 00:15:29,940
land elsewhere, the North
Carolina Piedmont was a
229
00:15:29,940 --> 00:15:34,050
tremendous opportunity.
Marjoleine Kars explains
230
00:15:34,920 --> 00:15:37,200
Marjoleine Kars: White settlers
had come into the Piedmont
231
00:15:37,200 --> 00:15:42,030
beginning really in the 1740s
and 1750s the great majority of
232
00:15:42,030 --> 00:15:45,120
them came from the middle
colonies, down the Great Wagon
233
00:15:45,150 --> 00:15:49,500
Road from Pennsylvania into
western North Carolina. Some
234
00:15:49,500 --> 00:15:52,590
came from Europe directly, but
the great majority came from the
235
00:15:52,590 --> 00:15:53,550
middle colonies
236
00:15:54,300 --> 00:15:56,520
Cynthia Kierner: Western North
Carolina, or the area called the
237
00:15:56,520 --> 00:16:00,180
back country, was the fastest
growing part of the fastest
238
00:16:00,180 --> 00:16:04,380
growing colony in British North
America. Cynthia Kierner,
239
00:16:04,380 --> 00:16:07,500
Professor of History at George
Mason University. It was
240
00:16:07,500 --> 00:16:11,730
populated mostly by white
farmers who had traveled
241
00:16:11,730 --> 00:16:15,090
southward from places like
Pennsylvania and Maryland and
242
00:16:15,090 --> 00:16:17,820
Virginia to settle in the
Carolina back country, where the
243
00:16:17,820 --> 00:16:18,780
land was cheaper
244
00:16:19,290 --> 00:16:21,720
Marjoleine Kars: and they were
partly pushed out of the middle
245
00:16:21,720 --> 00:16:25,290
colonies because land prices
were really rising there. And so
246
00:16:25,290 --> 00:16:28,620
people hoped to come to North
Carolina to find cheap land in
247
00:16:28,620 --> 00:16:33,420
good sized lots. And they came
to North Carolina looking for
248
00:16:33,480 --> 00:16:37,320
family competency, as they
called it, which meant that you
249
00:16:37,320 --> 00:16:40,590
had enough land to remain
independent and to be able to
250
00:16:40,590 --> 00:16:44,340
settle your sons nearby when it
came time for them to be
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00:16:44,340 --> 00:16:45,180
independent.
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00:16:45,990 --> 00:16:48,810
Cynthia Kierner: We're talking
about a white population that
253
00:16:48,960 --> 00:16:52,530
has tremendous religious and
ethnic diversity. There's
254
00:16:52,530 --> 00:16:55,890
German, there's Scotch-Irish,
there's English, there's a lot
255
00:16:55,890 --> 00:16:59,580
of people from different places
mixing there, and a lot of
256
00:16:59,580 --> 00:17:02,520
religious diversity to go with
those different ethnic groups as
257
00:17:02,520 --> 00:17:05,400
well. There were some wealthy
people in the area, and
258
00:17:05,400 --> 00:17:08,130
therefore also some enslaved
people owned by the wealthy
259
00:17:08,130 --> 00:17:11,910
people, but not very many. There
were relatively few towns, and
260
00:17:11,910 --> 00:17:15,390
the towns that were there were
quite small. So the population
261
00:17:15,390 --> 00:17:19,260
was overwhelmingly white. It was
overwhelmingly rural. People did
262
00:17:19,260 --> 00:17:22,410
kind of like mixed agriculture.
They grew grain, mostly wheat.
263
00:17:22,500 --> 00:17:25,260
They kept livestock. It wasn't
an easy life.
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00:17:27,810 --> 00:17:30,180
Jim Ambuske: Jane and William
Spurgin were among the many
265
00:17:30,180 --> 00:17:33,000
British Americans who traveled
south in search of family
266
00:17:33,000 --> 00:17:38,190
competency. By the late 1760s
they were among the more than
267
00:17:38,220 --> 00:17:41,100
42,000 white settlers in the
Piedmont.
268
00:17:42,120 --> 00:17:44,550
Cynthia Kierner: Both Jane and
William were born in Maryland in
269
00:17:44,550 --> 00:17:50,460
the 1730s they got married in
the 1750s they settled in the
270
00:17:50,460 --> 00:17:54,000
North Carolina back country,
specifically Rowan County, or
271
00:17:54,000 --> 00:17:57,120
the eastern part of Rowan
County, an area called Abbott's
272
00:17:57,120 --> 00:18:02,160
Creek by around 1757. Like a lot
of other people who migrated
273
00:18:02,160 --> 00:18:06,180
into that area, they came with
siblings, they came with their
274
00:18:06,180 --> 00:18:09,090
parents, and they came with
other members of extended
275
00:18:09,090 --> 00:18:12,150
family. And people tended to
migrate in groups, and I think
276
00:18:12,150 --> 00:18:15,390
that that really helped in terms
of setting up new farm skids,
277
00:18:15,390 --> 00:18:18,270
and they kind of worked
communally, at least initially.
278
00:18:18,480 --> 00:18:20,880
Jim Ambuske: The Spurgins
settled in Rowan County in the
279
00:18:20,880 --> 00:18:25,050
late 1750s using money from land
William had sold along the
280
00:18:25,050 --> 00:18:27,810
Potomac to help pay for their
Carolina property.
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00:18:28,320 --> 00:18:30,600
Cynthia Kierner: By the time of
the Imperial crisis, like the
282
00:18:30,600 --> 00:18:35,400
Stamp Act, the spurgeons were
prosperous. They owned about six
283
00:18:35,400 --> 00:18:40,200
or 700 acres of land, and they
may have owned one enslaved man
284
00:18:40,200 --> 00:18:45,180
as well. But most impressive of
all was the fact that in 1764
285
00:18:45,180 --> 00:18:48,480
just one year after the end of
the Seven Years' War and one
286
00:18:48,480 --> 00:18:51,480
year before the Stamp Act
crisis, William gets himself
287
00:18:51,480 --> 00:18:55,050
appointed as a justice of the
peace in Rowan County, which is
288
00:18:55,050 --> 00:18:58,890
a really big deal that makes
him, in effect, a member of the
289
00:18:58,890 --> 00:19:00,600
county's ruling elite.
290
00:19:01,140 --> 00:19:04,380
Jim Ambuske: Despite William's
appointment, most of his Jane's
291
00:19:04,380 --> 00:19:07,440
and their children's time was
spent running the farm.
292
00:19:07,770 --> 00:19:11,400
Cynthia Kierner: Jane would have
surely enjoyed the prosperity
293
00:19:11,400 --> 00:19:15,270
and the elevated status that
came as a result of her and her
294
00:19:15,270 --> 00:19:18,030
husband's success, but she would
have been a hard working
295
00:19:18,030 --> 00:19:21,810
farmer's wife, not least because
she had borne five children by
296
00:19:21,840 --> 00:19:26,700
1754, and less you sigh and
think that's a lot. In fact, she
297
00:19:26,700 --> 00:19:30,690
and William ended up having a
total of 13 children altogether,
298
00:19:30,930 --> 00:19:34,080
Jim Ambuske: William managed the
farm, cleared fields and tended
299
00:19:34,080 --> 00:19:37,950
to the wheat and other crops. He
possibly built a grist mill and
300
00:19:37,950 --> 00:19:40,950
gave orders to an enslaved man
the Sprugins may have owned
301
00:19:41,370 --> 00:19:43,950
Cynthia Kierner: Even before he
became a justice, he probably
302
00:19:43,950 --> 00:19:47,010
would have gone to town for the
court sessions, which were
303
00:19:47,010 --> 00:19:49,740
quarterly, or in other words,
four times a year, because
304
00:19:49,740 --> 00:19:52,860
that's what men did. It was a
way that you kept up on the
305
00:19:52,860 --> 00:19:56,910
news. It was a way that you sort
of made connections and contacts
306
00:19:57,390 --> 00:20:01,140
Jim Ambuske: While very few of
Jane's own words survive, we can
307
00:20:01,140 --> 00:20:04,500
reconstruct our daily life using
other evidence from the 18th
308
00:20:04,500 --> 00:20:05,130
century.
309
00:20:05,460 --> 00:20:09,660
Cynthia Kierner: There's a very
popular housewifery book from
310
00:20:09,660 --> 00:20:13,080
the period that I'm sure Jane
and her neighbors did not own,
311
00:20:13,320 --> 00:20:16,290
but it has this cool little
passage in there where it
312
00:20:16,320 --> 00:20:20,790
basically says that women or
housewives, were responsible for
313
00:20:20,790 --> 00:20:24,210
the physical well being of their
families, which I think is a
314
00:20:24,210 --> 00:20:28,200
really kind of concrete way to
sort of think about it. So what
315
00:20:28,200 --> 00:20:32,040
does that mean? Well, it means
producing and preserving food.
316
00:20:32,220 --> 00:20:35,220
Women were typically in charge
of poultry. They were in charge
317
00:20:35,220 --> 00:20:38,160
of dairying, orchards, vegetable
gardens, and so like not only
318
00:20:38,160 --> 00:20:42,000
producing this stuff, but
preserving it. It also meant
319
00:20:42,030 --> 00:20:46,380
clothing your family making and
maintaining things like clothing
320
00:20:46,410 --> 00:20:51,840
and bed linens, probably the
most sort of demanding task in
321
00:20:51,840 --> 00:20:56,250
terms of clothing a family was
laundry. Both William and Jane
322
00:20:56,250 --> 00:21:00,660
were literate, and since there
were no schools in the area, it
323
00:21:00,660 --> 00:21:04,290
would have been Jane who taught
her children to read and write
324
00:21:04,470 --> 00:21:07,800
and to do the sorts of kind of
simple arithmetic that would be
325
00:21:07,800 --> 00:21:11,550
useful to them in their future
lives. So it was a busy life.
326
00:21:14,130 --> 00:21:16,680
Jim Ambuske: Many of the British
Americans who resettled in the
327
00:21:16,680 --> 00:21:19,980
North Carolina back country
brought with them more than just
328
00:21:19,980 --> 00:21:24,720
a desire for new lands, they
carried a new light within them
329
00:21:24,720 --> 00:21:27,480
as well. Here's Marjoleine Kars
330
00:21:27,930 --> 00:21:30,840
Marjoleine Kars: The settlement
of the Piedmont happens at the
331
00:21:30,840 --> 00:21:34,050
same time that this big
religious movement that
332
00:21:34,050 --> 00:21:36,900
historians call the Great
Awakening happened, which
333
00:21:36,900 --> 00:21:41,040
started in New England in the
1730s and 1740s and then moved
334
00:21:41,040 --> 00:21:41,850
south.
335
00:21:42,570 --> 00:21:45,240
Jim Ambuske: The Great Awakening
swept through British America in
336
00:21:45,240 --> 00:21:49,410
the mid 18th century, led by men
like Anglican preacher George
337
00:21:49,410 --> 00:21:53,760
Whitefield and Congregational
minister Jonathan Edwards, in
338
00:21:53,760 --> 00:21:57,720
their view, all people were
sinners in the hands of an angry
339
00:21:57,720 --> 00:22:01,950
God, a God who alone was
sovereign over salvation, but
340
00:22:01,950 --> 00:22:05,190
also a merciful being to those
willing to open their hearts to
341
00:22:05,190 --> 00:22:09,180
the light in emotive and
emotional styles of preaching,
342
00:22:09,390 --> 00:22:12,330
Protestant divines like
Whitfield sometimes preached
343
00:22:12,330 --> 00:22:16,590
outdoors in fields and parks to
thousands of people at a time,
344
00:22:16,770 --> 00:22:19,740
instantly awakening them to
God's grace.
345
00:22:20,550 --> 00:22:23,610
Marjoleine Kars: These folks who
come down the Great Wagon Road
346
00:22:23,640 --> 00:22:29,670
bring many of these ideas with
them, and these are ideas that
347
00:22:29,820 --> 00:22:35,370
are based on a long radical
Protestant tradition that says
348
00:22:35,520 --> 00:22:41,070
that after a deep conviction of
one's sins, people can be
349
00:22:41,100 --> 00:22:46,980
reborn, and once they are
reborn, they carry within them a
350
00:22:47,010 --> 00:22:52,320
God, like Spark, an inner light,
as they often call it. That
351
00:22:52,350 --> 00:22:55,380
means that they communicate with
God directly.
352
00:22:58,020 --> 00:23:00,510
Jim Ambuske: Herman Husband was
one of the many British
353
00:23:00,510 --> 00:23:03,360
Americans who felt a stirring in
their souls.
354
00:23:03,990 --> 00:23:08,490
Marjoleine Kars: Herman Husband
is born to middling, relatively
355
00:23:08,490 --> 00:23:13,020
well to do farming parents in
Maryland. He grows up in the
356
00:23:13,020 --> 00:23:16,380
Anglican Church. At some point
he experiences one of these
357
00:23:16,380 --> 00:23:20,490
conversion experiences in
response to Whitefield, who
358
00:23:20,490 --> 00:23:24,030
comes from England and makes a
big tour through the colonies,
359
00:23:24,210 --> 00:23:28,350
calling upon people to
experience a rebirth. Herman
360
00:23:28,350 --> 00:23:31,800
Husband is one of those people
who falls under his bell and
361
00:23:31,830 --> 00:23:34,920
experiences a rebirth, and
eventually he finds a home among
362
00:23:34,920 --> 00:23:35,880
the Quakers.
363
00:23:37,290 --> 00:23:40,800
Jim Ambuske: In a 1761 pamphlet
published in Philadelphia,
364
00:23:41,370 --> 00:23:44,520
Husband described the moment of
his awakening,
365
00:23:44,520 --> 00:23:48,060
Herman Husband: “I began to feel
the Wrath of God to kindle in my
366
00:23:48,060 --> 00:23:52,530
Bosom, and I cried ‘O Lord
Jesus! Convince me of a Truth
367
00:23:52,530 --> 00:23:57,480
that it is thee, and I will go
at thy Command!’ and I can in
368
00:23:57,480 --> 00:24:01,620
Truth declare it, in a Moment’s
time he appeared like a Blaze of
369
00:24:01,620 --> 00:24:07,950
Light, enlightening the whole
Room and said, ‘It is, I, be not
370
00:24:07,980 --> 00:24:12,990
afraid.’ I had shut my Eyes from
seeing the Glory of that
371
00:24:13,680 --> 00:24:18,120
Light…and being told to be not
afraid, I opened my Eyes and had
372
00:24:18,120 --> 00:24:22,290
to behold, that Light was wholly
within my Soul.”
373
00:24:24,000 --> 00:24:27,570
Marjoleine Kars: People who
separate themselves from the
374
00:24:27,600 --> 00:24:30,810
Congregational Church in New
England or the Anglican Church
375
00:24:30,840 --> 00:24:34,440
in the south, and they either
join more democratic
376
00:24:34,470 --> 00:24:37,560
congregations, such as the
Baptists or Mennonites or
377
00:24:37,560 --> 00:24:42,870
Dunkers or Quakers, others
become separates, and they
378
00:24:42,900 --> 00:24:46,380
remain independent, and they
just attend services wherever
379
00:24:46,380 --> 00:24:50,760
they can, or they begin their
own meetings where people who
380
00:24:50,760 --> 00:24:56,130
are inspired by God as they see
it, will lead prayers and give
381
00:24:56,130 --> 00:25:00,570
sermons. These people often
begin to feel. Feel that they
382
00:25:00,570 --> 00:25:04,380
don't need a learned minister to
tell them what to believe, that
383
00:25:04,380 --> 00:25:07,830
they can read the Bible for
themselves, that this god like
384
00:25:07,830 --> 00:25:12,870
spark will help them interpret
it, and that in fact, learned
385
00:25:12,870 --> 00:25:18,900
ministers who are not themselves
reborn, who have not experienced
386
00:25:18,960 --> 00:25:22,920
this deep conversion are, in
fact, people who are not to be
387
00:25:22,920 --> 00:25:24,780
trusted and not to be followed
388
00:25:26,430 --> 00:25:29,580
Jim Ambuske: This evangelical
emphasis on personal salvation
389
00:25:29,580 --> 00:25:33,090
and rebirth challenged the power
and authority of the learned men
390
00:25:33,330 --> 00:25:37,770
who led traditional churches in
North Carolina as in other
391
00:25:37,770 --> 00:25:41,280
colonies, the Anglican Church
was The official established
392
00:25:41,280 --> 00:25:44,460
Church, though it was not as
influential in the colony as
393
00:25:44,460 --> 00:25:48,750
some wanted. For Charles
Woodmason, an English born
394
00:25:48,750 --> 00:25:52,020
Anglican minister who settled in
South Carolina in the mid 18th
395
00:25:52,020 --> 00:25:55,740
century, the maddening number of
Protestant sects in the two
396
00:25:55,740 --> 00:25:59,580
Carolinas was both a threat to
the social order and the
397
00:25:59,580 --> 00:26:05,430
people's spiritual well being.
In January 1767, Woodmason was
398
00:26:05,430 --> 00:26:08,370
on a missionary tour of the
Carolina backcountry when he
399
00:26:08,370 --> 00:26:11,880
preached at a settlement near
Lynch's Creek, not far from the
400
00:26:11,880 --> 00:26:16,290
border between the two colonies,
and what he found there troubled
401
00:26:16,290 --> 00:26:16,650
him.
402
00:26:17,070 --> 00:26:20,280
Charles Woodmason: “I returned
and preached the 27th in my Way
403
00:26:20,280 --> 00:26:24,480
back at Lynch’s Creek to a great
Multitude of People assembled
404
00:26:24,480 --> 00:26:27,720
together, being the 1st
Episcopal Minister they had seen
405
00:26:27,720 --> 00:26:31,140
since their being in the
province–They complain’d of
406
00:26:31,140 --> 00:26:35,370
being eaten up by Itinerant
Teachers, Preachers, and
407
00:26:35,370 --> 00:26:39,930
Imposters from New England and
Pensylvania—Baptists, New
408
00:26:39,930 --> 00:26:43,680
Lights, Presbyterians,
Independents, and an hundred
409
00:26:43,710 --> 00:26:47,430
other Sects–So that one day You
might hear this System of
410
00:26:47,460 --> 00:26:51,450
Doctrine–the next day
another–next day another,
411
00:26:51,690 --> 00:26:55,830
retrograde to both–Thus by the
Variety of Taylors who would
412
00:26:55,830 --> 00:26:59,340
pretend to know the best fashion
in which Christs Coat is to be
413
00:26:59,340 --> 00:27:03,930
worn, none will put it on–And
among the Various Plans of
414
00:27:03,930 --> 00:27:08,550
Religion, they are at Loss which
to adapt, and consequently are
415
00:27:08,550 --> 00:27:10,350
without any Religion at all.”
416
00:27:11,580 --> 00:27:14,250
Marjoleine Kars: Charles
Woodmason is absolutely appalled
417
00:27:14,430 --> 00:27:18,420
by these congregations, in part
because the congregations are
418
00:27:18,420 --> 00:27:21,870
rather egalitarian, and the
Anglican Church is rather
419
00:27:21,870 --> 00:27:26,070
hierarchical, partly because
women can breastfeed their
420
00:27:26,070 --> 00:27:29,760
babies in the middle of a
meeting, people come and go as
421
00:27:29,760 --> 00:27:32,610
necessary, people discipline
their children. Children are
422
00:27:32,610 --> 00:27:36,870
talking. It's just chaotic and
disrespectful and not at all
423
00:27:36,870 --> 00:27:39,030
like what a service ought to
look like.
424
00:27:39,330 --> 00:27:42,600
Jim Ambuske: Even worse, in the
eyes of the cantankerous cleric:
425
00:27:43,050 --> 00:27:45,870
Marjoleine Kars: He also feels
that it's preposterous that
426
00:27:45,870 --> 00:27:51,000
these uneducated, formerly
uneducated people, who are self
427
00:27:51,000 --> 00:27:54,780
taught, many of them know the
Bible by heart, but who have not
428
00:27:54,780 --> 00:27:57,690
been to seminary or to
university, would have the
429
00:27:57,690 --> 00:28:01,320
wherewithal to give a sermon,
and they speak really from the
430
00:28:01,320 --> 00:28:06,360
heart, and the point of their
speaking is to elicit an
431
00:28:06,360 --> 00:28:10,410
emotional response in their
listeners, and that to Woodmason
432
00:28:10,440 --> 00:28:14,220
is, of course, also abhorrent.
Church is supposed to be a place
433
00:28:14,220 --> 00:28:18,300
where people sit and in silence
listen to a learned sermon by
434
00:28:18,300 --> 00:28:21,840
their ministers, and they don't
interrupt and they don't shout,
435
00:28:21,870 --> 00:28:25,680
and they don't ride on the
floor, and they don't move. He's
436
00:28:25,680 --> 00:28:28,710
altogether disgusted by them,
and at the same time, he's very
437
00:28:28,710 --> 00:28:32,640
worried, because he realizes
that these folks are making
438
00:28:32,670 --> 00:28:36,690
enormous inroads. The Anglican
Church is not well established
439
00:28:36,690 --> 00:28:40,350
in the Piedmont in North
Carolina, but it really impedes
440
00:28:40,650 --> 00:28:44,220
efforts to establish it more
firmly, because people don't
441
00:28:44,220 --> 00:28:47,640
want to go to those churches.
They want to go to their own
442
00:28:47,640 --> 00:28:48,360
meetings.
443
00:28:48,840 --> 00:28:51,840
Jim Ambuske: But perhaps most
concerning of all for a minister
444
00:28:51,840 --> 00:28:55,830
like Woodmason, the sheep in the
backcountry seem to have no real
445
00:28:55,830 --> 00:29:00,300
need for a shepherd like him,
nor did they readily defer to
446
00:29:00,300 --> 00:29:03,840
their social betters, the elite
men who ruled the counties and
447
00:29:03,840 --> 00:29:07,290
governed the colony and with
growing unrest in the Piedmont
448
00:29:07,320 --> 00:29:11,130
over allegations of corruption
levied by back country settlers
449
00:29:11,130 --> 00:29:14,490
against their provincial
government. Woodmason feared
450
00:29:14,490 --> 00:29:17,310
that they were meddling with
powers they could not possibly
451
00:29:17,310 --> 00:29:18,090
comprehend.
452
00:29:18,600 --> 00:29:21,240
Marjoleine Kars: These folks
believe very deeply that this
453
00:29:21,240 --> 00:29:24,780
spark within them, it's sort of
like your conscience, it becomes
454
00:29:24,780 --> 00:29:29,400
your moral compass, and it
allows ordinary people to
455
00:29:29,400 --> 00:29:36,000
separate good from bad, evil
from godliness. And eventually
456
00:29:36,030 --> 00:29:39,540
it extends to people beginning
to think that even though
457
00:29:39,540 --> 00:29:43,830
prevailing elite notions say
that ordinary people are not
458
00:29:44,070 --> 00:29:49,200
smart enough, educated, enough
with it, enough to dabble in
459
00:29:49,200 --> 00:29:54,330
politics. These people begin to
believe that God, like spark
460
00:29:54,330 --> 00:29:59,970
within them allows them not only
to ferret out sin in each other.
461
00:30:00,300 --> 00:30:05,820
But ferret out sin in the larger
political sphere, and therefore
462
00:30:05,880 --> 00:30:10,680
these people are inspired, in
part, in their activities as
463
00:30:10,680 --> 00:30:15,090
regulators by a religious
climate that empowers ordinary
464
00:30:15,090 --> 00:30:18,360
people to trust their own
conscience and their own moral
465
00:30:18,360 --> 00:30:19,050
compass.
466
00:30:22,410 --> 00:30:26,160
Jim Ambuske: The quest for good
land and a divine moral compass
467
00:30:26,460 --> 00:30:29,670
guided farmers who settled in
the North Carolina, Piedmont in
468
00:30:29,670 --> 00:30:33,990
search of independence, of what
Herman Husband called "a new
469
00:30:33,990 --> 00:30:35,670
government of liberty."
470
00:30:36,480 --> 00:30:39,690
Marjoleine Kars: Independence
looked like, first of all,
471
00:30:39,690 --> 00:30:43,290
having enough land so as not to
have to be a tenant farmer. And
472
00:30:43,290 --> 00:30:46,110
it meant having enough land so
your sons didn't have to be
473
00:30:46,110 --> 00:30:50,160
tenant farmers. You could leave
them all, you know, a 200 acre
474
00:30:50,160 --> 00:30:54,360
or whatever farm. It meant
growing enough produce on your
475
00:30:54,360 --> 00:30:58,380
farm and being able to sell it
so that you could pay your taxes
476
00:30:58,440 --> 00:31:01,140
and you could pay your debts,
and you were beholden to nobody.
477
00:31:01,560 --> 00:31:06,510
So independence meant economic
independence, literally, but it
478
00:31:06,510 --> 00:31:09,870
also meant for many of them,
independence from a state
479
00:31:09,870 --> 00:31:14,670
church, the ability to live
their religious lives as they
480
00:31:14,670 --> 00:31:15,780
wanted to.
481
00:31:16,710 --> 00:31:19,050
Jim Ambuske: But as they began
to build this new government of
482
00:31:19,050 --> 00:31:22,680
liberty, they began to believe
that the old one was plagued by
483
00:31:22,680 --> 00:31:27,570
corruption and rot. The power of
land speculators, the lack of
484
00:31:27,570 --> 00:31:31,230
hard money and the self interest
of local officials helps to
485
00:31:31,230 --> 00:31:36,300
explain why. When colonists like
Herman Husband or Jane and
486
00:31:36,300 --> 00:31:39,630
William Spurgin headed for the
North Carolina backcountry, they
487
00:31:39,630 --> 00:31:42,690
did so with the intention of
owning their own land.
488
00:31:43,440 --> 00:31:46,410
Marjoleine Kars: People come to
the Piedmont expecting that they
489
00:31:46,410 --> 00:31:50,910
can get deeds to land. And that
process turns out to be much
490
00:31:50,910 --> 00:31:55,230
more complicated than many of
them had thought. In part that
491
00:31:55,230 --> 00:31:57,960
is because half of North
Carolina is owned by Lord
492
00:31:57,960 --> 00:32:02,220
Granville, a descendant of one
of the former proprietors who
493
00:32:02,220 --> 00:32:05,430
had been given big pieces of
land in North Carolina in the
494
00:32:05,430 --> 00:32:09,120
17th century. All the other
proprietors have sold out to the
495
00:32:09,120 --> 00:32:14,250
king. Granville refuses. The
other half of the colony is all
496
00:32:14,250 --> 00:32:17,220
in the hands of the king. And
both Granville and the king
497
00:32:17,250 --> 00:32:23,250
employ land agents to sell land
to people. The way it's supposed
498
00:32:23,250 --> 00:32:27,180
to happen is people settle down
on a piece of land, they begin
499
00:32:27,180 --> 00:32:30,360
to improve it, and then when
they have a little bit of money,
500
00:32:30,360 --> 00:32:34,620
they make the long trek to New
Bern to go to the land offices
501
00:32:34,650 --> 00:32:37,920
and have their land surveyed and
register it, and they will get a
502
00:32:37,920 --> 00:32:38,310
deed.
503
00:32:39,270 --> 00:32:42,060
Jim Ambuske: Many prospective
Piedmont settlers, however,
504
00:32:42,090 --> 00:32:44,520
encountered a vastly different
reality.
505
00:32:45,330 --> 00:32:47,940
Marjoleine Kars: A lot of these
land agents, who are not well
506
00:32:47,940 --> 00:32:52,080
regulated or closely overseen,
use this process to enrich
507
00:32:52,080 --> 00:32:55,230
themselves. So they do that by
selling the same piece of land
508
00:32:55,230 --> 00:32:59,550
to three different people, by
charging much bigger fees than
509
00:32:59,550 --> 00:33:04,260
they should for registering a
deed, for saying to somebody,
510
00:33:04,260 --> 00:33:06,840
oh, that's a really nice piece
of land you found there.
511
00:33:06,900 --> 00:33:10,080
Unfortunately, that land has
already been promised to
512
00:33:10,080 --> 00:33:12,750
somebody else, usually one of
their own friends.
513
00:33:13,980 --> 00:33:16,560
Jim Ambuske: Even when settlers
believed they had clear titles
514
00:33:16,560 --> 00:33:20,040
to land, the records in the
colonial capital of New Bern
515
00:33:20,040 --> 00:33:22,110
sometimes told a different
story.
516
00:33:23,040 --> 00:33:26,550
Marjoleine Kars: Herman Husband,
who at some point after he has
517
00:33:26,550 --> 00:33:30,270
moved to the Piedmont in the
early 1750s goes to New Bern,
518
00:33:30,300 --> 00:33:34,770
look at the records there, is
appalled that all these people
519
00:33:34,770 --> 00:33:37,950
from whom he had gotten notices
that their deeds should be
520
00:33:37,950 --> 00:33:41,790
there. Their deeds are not
there. The land office is
521
00:33:41,790 --> 00:33:46,650
chaotic. People feel exploited.
A lot of people can't get clear
522
00:33:46,650 --> 00:33:51,630
title nearly as easily, and the
trek to the coast is really far,
523
00:33:51,630 --> 00:33:53,760
so people cannot do this
repeatedly.
524
00:33:56,940 --> 00:33:59,430
Jim Ambuske: Unscrupulous land
agents weren't the only
525
00:33:59,430 --> 00:34:02,340
obstacles to the settlers
pursuit of good ground.
526
00:34:03,300 --> 00:34:06,150
Marjoleine Kars: Big parts of
the Piedmont are in the hands of
527
00:34:06,150 --> 00:34:10,260
speculators, big time
speculators, some of whom own as
528
00:34:10,260 --> 00:34:14,550
much as 2000 square miles. And
these men are supposed to make
529
00:34:14,550 --> 00:34:19,110
their money by bringing settlers
into the Piedmont in order to
530
00:34:19,230 --> 00:34:23,700
augment a population that will
pay quick rents to the king. But
531
00:34:23,700 --> 00:34:27,090
instead of spending their own
money to bring people from
532
00:34:27,120 --> 00:34:30,480
Europe, they just sit back and
wait till these folks come from
533
00:34:30,480 --> 00:34:34,920
the middle colonies, settle down
on the land, spend a couple of
534
00:34:34,920 --> 00:34:39,180
years of hard work, sweat and
tears, to turn those pieces of
535
00:34:39,180 --> 00:34:43,140
land into nice farms. And then
they go up to them, and they
536
00:34:43,140 --> 00:34:46,830
say, nice farm you have here
that's worth a lot of money.
537
00:34:47,220 --> 00:34:51,720
Unfortunately, you are sitting
on my land, so I'll sell you
538
00:34:51,720 --> 00:34:55,620
your own farm if you want me to.
And then, in other words, they
539
00:34:55,620 --> 00:35:00,630
retail land to farmers who have
already improved it. And thereby
540
00:35:00,660 --> 00:35:04,680
made it valuable. So these
settlers are basically turning
541
00:35:04,680 --> 00:35:08,880
what is a paper fortune into an
actual fortune. For these
542
00:35:08,880 --> 00:35:12,870
speculators and people resent
this greatly. They feel that
543
00:35:12,870 --> 00:35:16,050
frontier land should be
available to the people who do
544
00:35:16,050 --> 00:35:21,780
the work of turning wilderness
and Indian land into European
545
00:35:21,780 --> 00:35:26,640
farms. These speculators feel
very differently. They feel that
546
00:35:26,640 --> 00:35:29,790
they obtained these large pieces
of land, usually through
547
00:35:29,790 --> 00:35:33,000
connections, very cheaply, and
they spent their money by
548
00:35:33,000 --> 00:35:37,260
selling that land as farms to
the very people who created it.
549
00:35:37,830 --> 00:35:40,560
Jim Ambuske: That left settlers
with few good options.
550
00:35:41,400 --> 00:35:44,250
Marjoleine Kars: These farmers
are willing to pay fees for the
551
00:35:44,250 --> 00:35:48,780
land and modest sums of money,
but are not willing to pay these
552
00:35:48,780 --> 00:35:53,340
speculators what the farm is
worth, given that their labor
553
00:35:53,370 --> 00:35:57,360
created that worth in the first
place, but given that money is
554
00:35:57,360 --> 00:36:00,300
scarce in the Piedmont and
people have trouble coming up
555
00:36:00,300 --> 00:36:04,050
with money to pay these
speculators. They're often put
556
00:36:04,050 --> 00:36:07,560
in very awkward positions
because the speculators say, if
557
00:36:07,560 --> 00:36:12,420
you can't pay, or you don't want
to pay, just move. That means
558
00:36:12,420 --> 00:36:16,440
leaving three, four, five years
of work behind. People are often
559
00:36:16,440 --> 00:36:17,370
in a real fix.
560
00:36:17,910 --> 00:36:20,160
Jim Ambuske: The lack of
circulating hard money in North
561
00:36:20,160 --> 00:36:23,910
Carolina only compounded the
settlers' problems, giving land
562
00:36:23,910 --> 00:36:28,620
speculators the advantage. In
1764 Parliament passed the
563
00:36:28,620 --> 00:36:31,560
Currency Act forbidding the
colonies from issuing paper
564
00:36:31,560 --> 00:36:35,250
money as legal tender and
outlawing its use for satisfying
565
00:36:35,250 --> 00:36:38,700
public or private debts. The Act
was designed to prevent
566
00:36:38,700 --> 00:36:41,790
colonists from paying British
merchants with depreciated paper
567
00:36:41,790 --> 00:36:45,450
currency, but it also drained
the colonies of hard money,
568
00:36:45,600 --> 00:36:48,930
making it difficult for settlers
in North Carolina to buy land
569
00:36:49,020 --> 00:36:52,350
pay Imperial stamp duties and
even local taxes.
570
00:36:52,770 --> 00:36:55,980
Marjoleine Kars: They're worried
about these taxes, which they
571
00:36:55,980 --> 00:36:59,730
have trouble paying and which
are highly regressive, because
572
00:36:59,730 --> 00:37:03,810
people pay taxes, not according
to how much land they own, but
573
00:37:03,810 --> 00:37:07,830
they pay what is called a head
tax, meaning that everybody pays
574
00:37:07,830 --> 00:37:12,030
the tax regardless of how much
you own or don't own. So a
575
00:37:12,030 --> 00:37:17,340
speculator with 100,000 acres
pays the same as a man with 200
576
00:37:17,340 --> 00:37:20,070
acres or a man with no acres,
577
00:37:20,640 --> 00:37:23,430
Jim Ambuske: As one farmer in
Mecklenburg County lamented:
578
00:37:23,880 --> 00:37:27,540
Farmer: “A man that is worth
£10,000 pays no more than a poor
579
00:37:27,540 --> 00:37:30,720
back settler that has nothing
but the labour of his hands to
580
00:37:30,720 --> 00:37:32,730
depend upon for his daily
support.”
581
00:37:33,270 --> 00:37:35,880
Jim Ambuske: Religious taxes
added to the Piedmont settlers.
582
00:37:35,880 --> 00:37:39,900
Growing list of complaints,
North Carolina tolerated other
583
00:37:39,900 --> 00:37:43,440
Protestant sects and religious
faiths. But like other colonies,
584
00:37:43,440 --> 00:37:46,800
it did not grant religious
freedom. Quakers, Baptists,
585
00:37:46,800 --> 00:37:50,700
Moravians, and independents were
required to pay a vestry tax to
586
00:37:50,700 --> 00:37:53,940
support the Anglican Church in
their respective counties, and
587
00:37:53,940 --> 00:37:57,210
while the vestry tax funded the
salaries of local Anglican
588
00:37:57,210 --> 00:38:00,390
ministers, supporting the
salaries of local sheriffs,
589
00:38:00,420 --> 00:38:03,780
justices of the peace and other
court officials, was an entirely
590
00:38:03,780 --> 00:38:04,680
different matter.
591
00:38:05,370 --> 00:38:09,780
Abby Chandler: North Carolina
cannot afford to pay salaries
592
00:38:09,840 --> 00:38:16,140
for many of its positions of the
colonial government: the royal
593
00:38:16,140 --> 00:38:19,440
governor gets a salary, the
Chief Justice gets a salary, the
594
00:38:19,440 --> 00:38:23,970
Governor's Council gets a
salary, but the positions at the
595
00:38:23,970 --> 00:38:27,750
county level, county clerks,
county sheriffs, essential for
596
00:38:27,750 --> 00:38:32,460
making a county work, do not get
paid salaries. I am Abby
597
00:38:32,460 --> 00:38:36,630
Chandler. I am Associate
Professor of early American
598
00:38:36,630 --> 00:38:40,740
history at the University of
Massachusetts in Lowell. The
599
00:38:40,740 --> 00:38:45,720
system that the North Carolina
legislature comes up with is the
600
00:38:45,720 --> 00:38:49,590
county sheriff is responsible
for collecting taxes, both
601
00:38:49,590 --> 00:38:55,710
colonial and imperial taxes, and
he can then collect a percentage
602
00:38:56,070 --> 00:38:59,970
on top of that. There are no
rules that say how large that
603
00:38:59,970 --> 00:39:03,570
percentage is. The sheriff could
come out to your farm and say,
604
00:39:03,570 --> 00:39:08,490
I'm here to collect the colonial
taxes, and that'll be 8% on top
605
00:39:08,490 --> 00:39:14,040
of that, and you'll pay him the
taxes, plus the 8%. He goes off.
606
00:39:14,310 --> 00:39:18,930
There's also no system for
documenting the collection. He
607
00:39:18,930 --> 00:39:21,210
can come back two weeks later
and say, hi, I'm here for the
608
00:39:21,210 --> 00:39:24,510
taxes. And you can say, but I
paid them. And you can say, no,
609
00:39:24,510 --> 00:39:28,680
you didn't. This is a problem
that everybody in North Carolina
610
00:39:28,710 --> 00:39:35,520
is aware of. In the 1750s
Governor Dobbs mentions this is
611
00:39:35,520 --> 00:39:40,560
a problem. We need to fix this,
but the colonial legislature has
612
00:39:40,560 --> 00:39:43,890
no interest in fixing the
problem, because the men who are
613
00:39:43,890 --> 00:39:48,480
in the colonial legislature are
from those powerful eastern
614
00:39:48,570 --> 00:39:52,440
North Carolina families, and the
county clerks and sheriffs are
615
00:39:52,440 --> 00:39:57,360
their brothers and their sons
and their nephews, and this
616
00:39:57,360 --> 00:40:01,620
system is financially benefiting
their families. So why fix it?
617
00:40:04,500 --> 00:40:08,430
Jim Ambuske: By 1766 Piedmont
farmers began to believe that it
618
00:40:08,430 --> 00:40:12,210
was up to them to fix what they
saw as a corrupt system and
619
00:40:12,210 --> 00:40:14,370
defend their rights and
liberties as the king's
620
00:40:14,370 --> 00:40:18,480
subjects, Quakers as well as
Protestants, men as well as
621
00:40:18,480 --> 00:40:21,780
women, guided by an inner light,
met at Sandy Creek in Orange
622
00:40:21,780 --> 00:40:26,280
County that August to discuss
their plight. Marjoleine Kars
623
00:40:26,280 --> 00:40:27,270
explains why
624
00:40:27,690 --> 00:40:31,230
Marjoleine Kars: The Sandy Creek
Association is started in 1766
625
00:40:31,260 --> 00:40:35,250
by a number of farmers who are
deeply disappointed by what they
626
00:40:35,250 --> 00:40:39,060
found in the Piedmont, the ways
in which it did not turn out to
627
00:40:39,060 --> 00:40:43,200
be a new government of liberty,
and who decide that together,
628
00:40:43,200 --> 00:40:48,330
they are going to agitate for
greater fairness, for farmers to
629
00:40:48,360 --> 00:40:52,620
root out government fraud,
government officials on the
630
00:40:52,620 --> 00:40:57,210
local courts, who charge people
more fees than they should this
631
00:40:57,210 --> 00:41:01,200
land situation, but also the
fact that people have to use the
632
00:41:01,200 --> 00:41:03,600
courts for pretty much
everything that happens to a
633
00:41:03,600 --> 00:41:05,520
farmer when they interact with
government.
634
00:41:06,240 --> 00:41:09,330
Jim Ambuske: From the farmer's
point of view, local courts and
635
00:41:09,330 --> 00:41:12,990
court officials were at the
heart of an unfair, unjust and
636
00:41:12,990 --> 00:41:16,770
immoral world that sacrificed
virtue, godliness and the
637
00:41:16,770 --> 00:41:21,090
community's well being in favor
of self interest, greed and
638
00:41:21,090 --> 00:41:22,200
naked ambition.
639
00:41:22,650 --> 00:41:24,990
Marjoleine Kars: If you want to
register a deed or you want to
640
00:41:24,990 --> 00:41:28,710
register a contract, or you want
to sue for a debt or you want to
641
00:41:28,710 --> 00:41:32,040
contest the debt, you go
initially to your local court,
642
00:41:32,430 --> 00:41:37,350
and those local courts charge
fees, and those fees add up very
643
00:41:37,350 --> 00:41:41,760
fast, and what court officials
are doing is charge fees that
644
00:41:41,760 --> 00:41:45,000
are way higher than what's
allowed, and they frequently
645
00:41:45,000 --> 00:41:49,170
postpone cases. You pay fees
every time your case comes up
646
00:41:49,170 --> 00:41:53,880
again. Fees go up because court
cases are postponed, and also
647
00:41:53,880 --> 00:41:58,200
people have to travel 1015,
2030, miles to come to court. So
648
00:41:58,200 --> 00:42:01,470
postponements are expensive in a
number of different ways.
649
00:42:04,050 --> 00:42:07,320
Jim Ambuske: And then there were
lawyers like Edmund Fanning, a
650
00:42:07,320 --> 00:42:10,440
native of Long Island New York,
and a favorite of Governor
651
00:42:10,440 --> 00:42:13,770
Tryon, who made a very good
living in Orange County
652
00:42:13,830 --> 00:42:17,130
representing land speculators
and wealthy clients in local
653
00:42:17,130 --> 00:42:23,130
courts around 1765, one
disgruntled back country settler
654
00:42:23,160 --> 00:42:27,750
entertained wedding guests with
a song about a poor man who had
655
00:42:27,750 --> 00:42:29,610
become very rich.
656
00:42:30,420 --> 00:42:34,590
Regulator Song: When Fanning
first to Orange came; He looked
657
00:42:34,590 --> 00:42:40,380
both pale and wan; An old
patched coat upon his back; An
658
00:42:40,380 --> 00:42:45,450
old mare he rode on. Both man
and mare wa'n't worth five
659
00:42:45,450 --> 00:42:52,920
pounds; As I've been often told;
But by his civil robberies; He's
660
00:42:52,920 --> 00:42:55,530
laced his coat with gold.
661
00:42:56,160 --> 00:42:58,980
Marjoleine Kars: So the Sandy
Creek Association starts
662
00:42:59,010 --> 00:43:03,030
initially as a way to figure
out, how can they make
663
00:43:03,030 --> 00:43:07,140
government more responsive and
more fair and less corrupt?
664
00:43:07,620 --> 00:43:10,080
Jim Ambuske: The farmers called
on Edmund Fanning their
665
00:43:10,080 --> 00:43:13,110
representative in the Provincial
Assembly, as well as other
666
00:43:13,110 --> 00:43:17,040
officials, to appear before them
at Sandy Creek in a manifesto
667
00:43:17,040 --> 00:43:20,160
written by Herman Husband, the
farmers demanded that these
668
00:43:20,160 --> 00:43:24,330
officials give an account of
their stewardship, fanning
669
00:43:24,390 --> 00:43:27,870
declined, nor did petitions to
the governor and the Provincial
670
00:43:27,870 --> 00:43:29,700
Assembly have much effect.
671
00:43:30,120 --> 00:43:34,890
Marjoleine Kars: They have very
limited success. And in 1768
672
00:43:34,950 --> 00:43:38,400
they reorganized, and they
renamed themselves "The
673
00:43:39,030 --> 00:43:40,050
Regulators."
674
00:43:44,070 --> 00:43:48,300
Jim Ambuske: When dawn broke in
1768, settlers in the North
675
00:43:48,300 --> 00:43:51,780
Carolina Piedmont ushered in the
new year with a renewed sense of
676
00:43:51,780 --> 00:43:56,970
purpose and determination that
justice would be done. Farmers
677
00:43:56,970 --> 00:44:00,840
in orange, Anson, Mecklenburg,
and Rowan counties resurrected
678
00:44:00,840 --> 00:44:04,740
the spirit of the Sandy Creek
Association, this time calling
679
00:44:04,740 --> 00:44:09,000
themselves regulators. The
choice of that name was no
680
00:44:09,000 --> 00:44:13,020
accident. It revealed the
farmers familiarity with English
681
00:44:13,020 --> 00:44:17,460
history and a common moral sense
informed by their evangelical
682
00:44:17,460 --> 00:44:18,120
beliefs.
683
00:44:19,230 --> 00:44:21,900
Marjoleine Kars: It's a term
that originates in Britain in
684
00:44:21,900 --> 00:44:25,950
about the mid of the 17th
century, where regulators were
685
00:44:25,950 --> 00:44:31,170
actually government officials
who were appointed to travel
686
00:44:31,170 --> 00:44:36,120
around and ferret out government
corruption in towns and cities
687
00:44:36,570 --> 00:44:41,190
by adopting that name, farmers
are trying to give themselves a
688
00:44:41,190 --> 00:44:46,440
certain amount of legitimacy and
say, we too are going to ferret
689
00:44:46,470 --> 00:44:50,220
out government corruption in
order that government work
690
00:44:50,250 --> 00:44:50,790
better
691
00:44:51,390 --> 00:44:53,760
Jim Ambuske: The regulators
agreed among themselves not to
692
00:44:53,760 --> 00:44:57,360
pay taxes nor pay court
officials any fees greater than
693
00:44:57,360 --> 00:45:01,230
those allowed by law, unless
their. Advances were redressed
694
00:45:01,620 --> 00:45:04,530
or they were compelled by force,
we
695
00:45:04,530 --> 00:45:08,070
Farmers: “We will stand true and
faithful to this cause until We
696
00:45:08,070 --> 00:45:10,290
bring them to a true
regulation.”
697
00:45:10,800 --> 00:45:14,400
Jim Ambuske: But who were the
leaders of this cause? Unlike
698
00:45:14,400 --> 00:45:17,820
settlers formal petitions to the
governor or the assembly, the
699
00:45:17,820 --> 00:45:21,750
regulators often didn't sign
their public communications, and
700
00:45:21,750 --> 00:45:22,830
that was intentional.
701
00:45:23,670 --> 00:45:27,750
Marjoleine Kars: They are a very
egalitarian group of people, a
702
00:45:27,750 --> 00:45:30,990
movement that loosely hangs
together by people who share
703
00:45:30,990 --> 00:45:34,890
grievances, who share similar
ideas about how it ought to be
704
00:45:34,980 --> 00:45:39,780
relieved or how things ought to
be made better, and who come and
705
00:45:39,780 --> 00:45:45,600
go as the situation requires it,
they repeatedly refuse to have
706
00:45:45,600 --> 00:45:49,170
leaders. Or when people are
appointed and asked to take
707
00:45:49,170 --> 00:45:52,230
leadership roles, those men say,
No, we're all doing this
708
00:45:52,230 --> 00:45:54,240
together. We shouldn't have
leaders.
709
00:45:54,990 --> 00:45:57,720
Jim Ambuske: Nevertheless, some
settlers exerted a greater
710
00:45:57,720 --> 00:46:01,380
influence than others over the
movement, men like Jeremiah
711
00:46:01,380 --> 00:46:05,370
Fields, James Hunter, and most
especially Herman Husband.
712
00:46:06,270 --> 00:46:09,540
Nathan Schultz: I would describe
Herman Husband as a radical,
713
00:46:09,600 --> 00:46:14,430
theocratic Democrat. He believes
in radical politics. He cares
714
00:46:14,430 --> 00:46:17,550
about the common people. He
really hates these courthouse
715
00:46:17,550 --> 00:46:20,970
rings. He literally calls him
the beast, in a very clear
716
00:46:20,970 --> 00:46:24,270
biblical reference. I'm Nathan
Schultz, the site manager at
717
00:46:24,270 --> 00:46:26,670
Alamance Battleground State
Historic Site as part of the
718
00:46:26,670 --> 00:46:30,840
North Carolina State Historic
Site system. He had religious
719
00:46:30,840 --> 00:46:34,620
visions about his place in the
world and how the world should
720
00:46:34,620 --> 00:46:37,200
be, and he cared deeply about
the regular people.
721
00:46:38,010 --> 00:46:41,370
Jim Ambuske: Husband is a
complicated, confounding figure,
722
00:46:41,880 --> 00:46:45,870
a man who, in this moment and in
the decades to come, seemed to
723
00:46:45,870 --> 00:46:50,340
relish rebellion and revolution
wherever he found it. When he
724
00:46:50,340 --> 00:46:54,330
migrated to the North Carolina
Piedmont in the 1750s he joined
725
00:46:54,330 --> 00:46:57,840
the Quaker community at Cane
Creek in Orange County. But in
726
00:46:57,840 --> 00:47:03,030
1764 the community expelled him
following a years long dispute
727
00:47:03,060 --> 00:47:06,510
over the membership of a woman
named Rachel Wright who had very
728
00:47:06,510 --> 00:47:09,960
publicly supported her young
daughter after her alleged rape
729
00:47:10,050 --> 00:47:15,390
by Jehu Stuart. Husband didn't
abandon his Quaker beliefs after
730
00:47:15,390 --> 00:47:19,830
his expulsion, but he struggled
to reconcile Quaker pacifism in
731
00:47:19,830 --> 00:47:23,820
moderation with evangelical
ferocity and his own sense of
732
00:47:23,820 --> 00:47:27,540
his English rights and
liberties, he was willing to
733
00:47:27,540 --> 00:47:31,740
lift the terrible, swift sword
of God's righteous justice, but
734
00:47:31,740 --> 00:47:33,630
leave it to others to swing it.
735
00:47:34,500 --> 00:47:38,580
Marjoleine Kars: Men like Herman
Husband take that idea of a
736
00:47:38,580 --> 00:47:44,190
compact that people have a duty
to protect. And he melds that
737
00:47:44,220 --> 00:47:48,240
with this radical Protestant
idea about people having a God
738
00:47:48,240 --> 00:47:50,790
like spark within them that
tells them what's right and
739
00:47:50,790 --> 00:47:56,250
wrong. And so Herman Husband
begins to argue that not only do
740
00:47:56,250 --> 00:48:00,300
people have a right and a duty
to protect government, but that
741
00:48:00,300 --> 00:48:05,160
the God, like spark within them,
makes that duty a sacred duty,
742
00:48:05,730 --> 00:48:11,700
so that radical religion not
only makes it okay for ordinary
743
00:48:11,700 --> 00:48:15,840
people to engage in politics,
but it makes it imperative that
744
00:48:15,840 --> 00:48:18,900
men do so. And in fact, God is
on their side.
745
00:48:19,620 --> 00:48:22,650
Jim Ambuske: In Husband's view,
the regulators had a singular
746
00:48:22,650 --> 00:48:23,370
objective.
747
00:48:23,850 --> 00:48:27,840
Herman Husband: “All we want is
to be Governed by Law, and not
748
00:48:27,870 --> 00:48:32,910
by the Will of officers, which
to us is perfectly despotick and
749
00:48:32,970 --> 00:48:33,810
arbitrary.”
750
00:48:39,540 --> 00:48:42,330
Jim Ambuske: But from the
perspective of Governor, Tryon,
751
00:48:42,360 --> 00:48:45,090
the Provincial Assembly and
local officials like Edmund
752
00:48:45,090 --> 00:48:48,810
fanning the regulators and the
back country were on the edge of
753
00:48:48,810 --> 00:48:54,270
lawlessness. Tryon was a soldier
of empire and a man of Imperial
754
00:48:54,270 --> 00:49:00,600
ambition, appointed governor by
the king in 1764 Trion had his
755
00:49:00,600 --> 00:49:04,710
eyes set on an even greater
prize, the governorship of New
756
00:49:04,710 --> 00:49:09,270
York, but first he had to prove
himself in North Carolina.
757
00:49:10,050 --> 00:49:11,190
Here's Nathan Schultz.
758
00:49:12,000 --> 00:49:14,190
Nathan Schultz: He's really this
typical British imperial
759
00:49:14,190 --> 00:49:17,130
official. He had family
connections, both through his
760
00:49:17,130 --> 00:49:20,550
own family and his wife's
family, who were considerably
761
00:49:20,550 --> 00:49:23,520
wealthy and influential. He's
also a career military officer.
762
00:49:24,000 --> 00:49:27,330
He started in the first Foot
Guards, the most prestigious
763
00:49:27,360 --> 00:49:30,390
unit in the British Army, and he
eventually rises all the way to
764
00:49:30,390 --> 00:49:33,300
Lieutenant Colonel at that
regiment, and fights with them
765
00:49:33,330 --> 00:49:38,070
during raids to France during
the Seven Years War, and gains
766
00:49:38,070 --> 00:49:41,070
this royal appointment to become
governor of North Carolina.
767
00:49:41,700 --> 00:49:44,340
Jim Ambuske: In North Carolina,
the governor hoped to improve
768
00:49:44,340 --> 00:49:45,420
the colony's image.
769
00:49:45,990 --> 00:49:49,080
Nathan Schultz: He tries, from
his perspective, he tries to
770
00:49:49,260 --> 00:49:52,830
raise the prestige of North
Carolina. He improved the postal
771
00:49:52,830 --> 00:49:57,780
system. He views that to have a
respectful colony, you need to
772
00:49:57,780 --> 00:50:00,600
have a place, a center, a focal
point. Point of government
773
00:50:00,600 --> 00:50:03,390
power, and that's where he
constructs what becomes Tryon's
774
00:50:03,390 --> 00:50:03,900
Palace
775
00:50:04,560 --> 00:50:07,950
Jim Ambuske: In the spring of
1768, word of a new round of
776
00:50:07,950 --> 00:50:12,300
taxes reached farmers in Orange
County. The new levies would pay
777
00:50:12,300 --> 00:50:14,970
for the construction of an
ostentatious building in the
778
00:50:14,970 --> 00:50:19,500
capital of New Bern three years
earlier, the Stamp Act crisis
779
00:50:19,500 --> 00:50:22,860
had soured relations between
Governor Tryon, who had a duty
780
00:50:22,860 --> 00:50:26,160
to enforce parliaments to test
at law, and the Provincial
781
00:50:26,160 --> 00:50:30,840
Assembly, who resisted it with
the crisis abated, and in an
782
00:50:30,840 --> 00:50:33,720
effort to restore harmony with
the governor, the assembly
783
00:50:33,720 --> 00:50:37,770
appropriated a total of 15,000
pounds to fund the construction
784
00:50:37,770 --> 00:50:41,310
of a new official residence for
the colony's governors that some
785
00:50:41,310 --> 00:50:46,050
would soon call "Tryon Palace."
For Tryon, the erection of the
786
00:50:46,050 --> 00:50:49,410
fine red brick, Georgian style
building was in keeping with his
787
00:50:49,410 --> 00:50:52,290
efforts to elevate North
Carolina from a colonial
788
00:50:52,290 --> 00:50:55,260
backwater into a proper Imperial
province.
789
00:50:55,560 --> 00:50:57,900
Nathan Schultz: He comes with an
architect to build this. The
790
00:50:57,900 --> 00:51:00,810
Assembly originally authorized
only 5,000 pounds to construct.
791
00:51:00,810 --> 00:51:04,050
It eventually cost 15,000
pounds, and so the difference
792
00:51:04,050 --> 00:51:05,700
has to be made up from the
population
793
00:51:06,540 --> 00:51:10,140
Jim Ambuske: To Piedmont farmers
Tryon Palace was a monument to
794
00:51:10,140 --> 00:51:14,100
malfeasance, an edifice that
symbolized the wealth in which
795
00:51:14,100 --> 00:51:18,690
they did not share. They learned
of the palace's greater costs
796
00:51:18,780 --> 00:51:22,200
shortly after the Sheriff of
Orange County announced he would
797
00:51:22,200 --> 00:51:26,370
no longer travel from farm to
farm to collect all due taxes.
798
00:51:27,060 --> 00:51:30,330
Instead, colonists would be
required to pay them at one of
799
00:51:30,330 --> 00:51:32,790
five different collection
points, putting the
800
00:51:32,790 --> 00:51:40,560
responsibility and any expenses
that came with it on them as the
801
00:51:40,560 --> 00:51:43,950
farmers began working their
fields that spring, the back
802
00:51:43,950 --> 00:51:49,350
country reached a breaking point
in March, 1768, regulators in
803
00:51:49,350 --> 00:51:52,950
Orange County protested the new
appropriations for Tryon Palace,
804
00:51:53,100 --> 00:51:56,460
declaring that they would not
pay any tax until Edmund
805
00:51:56,460 --> 00:52:01,140
Fanning, their representative,
could justify it to them. In
806
00:52:01,140 --> 00:52:05,040
April, an armed regulator mob
confronted the county sheriff
807
00:52:05,040 --> 00:52:08,700
near Hillsboro after he had
seized the horse of a Regulator
808
00:52:08,700 --> 00:52:13,200
accused of not paying his taxes,
Fanning informed try on that he
809
00:52:13,200 --> 00:52:16,380
could not rely on the county
militia to help restore order.
810
00:52:16,740 --> 00:52:19,680
Most militia men were
sympathetic to the Regulator's
811
00:52:19,680 --> 00:52:24,360
cause, if not Regulators
themselves. Two weeks later,
812
00:52:24,570 --> 00:52:28,650
some 40 armed Regulators in
nearby Anson county barged into
813
00:52:28,650 --> 00:52:32,550
the local court in Salisbury and
disrupted its proceedings. They
814
00:52:32,550 --> 00:52:36,660
came back days later and in
greater numbers, expelling the
815
00:52:36,660 --> 00:52:40,440
judges, holding their own court
and debating whether to burn the
816
00:52:40,440 --> 00:52:44,160
building, they warned the
sheriff he would do well to make
817
00:52:44,160 --> 00:52:49,410
no attempt to collect taxes. In
the wake of these events, Tryon
818
00:52:49,410 --> 00:52:52,920
believed it had become necessary
to reassert the provincial
819
00:52:52,920 --> 00:52:57,270
government's authority in the
Piedmont. On April 27, the
820
00:52:57,270 --> 00:53:00,240
governor issued a proclamation
ordering the regulators to
821
00:53:00,240 --> 00:53:05,550
disperse, submit to law or face
force, he deputized Edmund
822
00:53:05,550 --> 00:53:08,850
Fanning and a company of men to
arrest the chief agitators,
823
00:53:09,000 --> 00:53:12,330
leading to the arrest of Hermann
Husband and William Butler on
824
00:53:12,330 --> 00:53:16,890
May 1. Men, women, and children
gathered by the hundreds on the
825
00:53:16,890 --> 00:53:20,880
streets of Hillsboro to protest
the arrests, raising fears of a
826
00:53:20,880 --> 00:53:25,860
violent confrontation or
something far worse, as one
827
00:53:25,860 --> 00:53:29,400
regulator wrote, If government
officials could arrest husband
828
00:53:29,400 --> 00:53:35,070
and Butler, then none were now
safe, whether active, passive or
829
00:53:35,070 --> 00:53:39,870
neutral. Fortunately, Tryons'
private secretary managed to
830
00:53:39,870 --> 00:53:44,310
calm the mob, he pledged that if
the crowd dispersed, the
831
00:53:44,310 --> 00:53:48,420
governor would receive their
petitions for the regulators.
832
00:53:48,450 --> 00:53:51,960
This was a victory, a chance to
open the governor eyes to their
833
00:53:51,960 --> 00:53:55,380
plight and the corruption that
threatened the liberties of all
834
00:53:55,380 --> 00:53:59,220
the king's subjects. That
assurance was, for the moment,
835
00:53:59,460 --> 00:54:06,000
good enough. The crowd went home
when the regulators sent their
836
00:54:06,000 --> 00:54:11,010
petition to try on in late May
1768, they apologized for the
837
00:54:11,010 --> 00:54:14,430
recent upheavals, but assured
the governor they were
838
00:54:14,430 --> 00:54:15,240
necessary.
839
00:54:16,590 --> 00:54:19,710
Regulators: “Those Disturbances
had their source in the corrupt
840
00:54:19,710 --> 00:54:24,480
and arbitrary Practices of
nefarious & designing men who
841
00:54:24,480 --> 00:54:28,800
being put into Posts of Profit
and Credit among us, and not
842
00:54:28,800 --> 00:54:32,370
being satisfied with the legal
benefits which arose from the
843
00:54:32,400 --> 00:54:36,630
execution of their Offices have
been using every artiface,
844
00:54:36,660 --> 00:54:40,740
practicing every Fraud…to
squeeze and extort from the
845
00:54:40,740 --> 00:54:41,970
wretched Poor.”
846
00:54:42,570 --> 00:54:45,840
Jim Ambuske: But Tryon was not
as receptive as the regulators
847
00:54:45,840 --> 00:54:50,160
had hoped. Their complaints he
replied, did not justify their
848
00:54:50,160 --> 00:54:54,090
actions, nor did they have any
right to call themselves
849
00:54:54,090 --> 00:54:54,900
Regulators.
850
00:54:55,290 --> 00:54:58,440
Marjoleine Kars: Governor Tryon
is very upset about them using
851
00:54:58,440 --> 00:55:01,920
that term, and he's constantly.
He's saying, quit using that
852
00:55:01,920 --> 00:55:06,750
term regulators. He says it
means that you are assuming a
853
00:55:06,750 --> 00:55:09,870
constitutional authority that
you do not have.
854
00:55:10,350 --> 00:55:14,250
Jim Ambuske: Still Tryon could
not ignore the merits of some of
855
00:55:14,250 --> 00:55:18,240
the regulators grievances. In
July, he issued a proclamation
856
00:55:18,240 --> 00:55:21,510
commanding court officials to
cease charging excessive fees,
857
00:55:22,230 --> 00:55:25,290
yet he could not turn a blind
eye from the perceived weakness
858
00:55:25,290 --> 00:55:28,380
of the government in the back
country. He paid a visit to
859
00:55:28,380 --> 00:55:31,050
Hillsboro that summer to make a
point.
860
00:55:31,530 --> 00:55:35,340
Marjoleine Kars: He really
relishes taking the fields. He,
861
00:55:35,370 --> 00:55:40,290
from the very beginning, refuses
to take farmers grievances
862
00:55:40,290 --> 00:55:44,730
seriously. I argue that he does
much to inflame the situation.
863
00:55:44,910 --> 00:55:48,840
Several times, coming to
Hillsboro, ostensibly to meet
864
00:55:48,840 --> 00:55:52,530
with people, but then, in fact,
bringing soldiers with him,
865
00:55:52,770 --> 00:55:55,650
arguing that these farmers are
disrespectful, that their
866
00:55:55,650 --> 00:55:58,830
grievances are made up, that
they are violating the
867
00:55:58,830 --> 00:56:03,990
Constitution, he ratchets up the
situation. He makes what could
868
00:56:03,990 --> 00:56:07,980
have remained peaceful protests
into something that becomes
869
00:56:07,980 --> 00:56:12,450
increasingly contentious and
tension filled, people
870
00:56:12,450 --> 00:56:16,080
increasingly come to believe
that he wants to militarily
871
00:56:16,110 --> 00:56:20,910
fight against them. They no
longer believe that he is out to
872
00:56:20,910 --> 00:56:21,660
help them.
873
00:56:22,710 --> 00:56:25,590
Jim Ambuske: Tryon returned in
late September, leading a force
874
00:56:25,590 --> 00:56:29,580
of over 1400 men, he marched
them through regulator country
875
00:56:29,580 --> 00:56:34,230
in a show of force, though over
3000 Regulators turned out to
876
00:56:34,230 --> 00:56:36,630
meet the governor and his
soldiers in Hillsboro on
877
00:56:36,630 --> 00:56:40,650
September 19, they had little
wish for an armed confrontation,
878
00:56:41,160 --> 00:56:45,270
nor did they show any enthusiasm
for obeying tryons order to turn
879
00:56:45,270 --> 00:56:49,590
over nine of their men and all
of their weapons. They simply
880
00:56:49,590 --> 00:56:54,300
faded into the night. Tryon and
the militia remained in town as
881
00:56:54,300 --> 00:56:58,680
the trials of William Butler and
Herman Husband got underway in a
882
00:56:58,680 --> 00:57:02,310
token measure, Edmund Fanning
was charged with extortion.
883
00:57:02,850 --> 00:57:06,360
Martin Howard, the colony's new
Chief Justice, presided over the
884
00:57:06,360 --> 00:57:10,470
trials, along with Judge Richard
Henderson. Howard was no
885
00:57:10,470 --> 00:57:14,970
stranger to provincial unrest.
Three years earlier, he had fled
886
00:57:14,970 --> 00:57:18,270
Rhode Island after colonists
confronted him over his support
887
00:57:18,300 --> 00:57:22,770
of the Stamp Act. His court
found husband not guilty. It
888
00:57:22,770 --> 00:57:26,400
convicted Butler of illegally
retaking the horse confiscated
889
00:57:26,400 --> 00:57:30,930
by the Orange County Sheriff. He
was sentenced to prison. Fanning
890
00:57:30,960 --> 00:57:35,250
was found guilty of extortion,
but fined only a single penny.
891
00:57:36,360 --> 00:57:39,300
Anne Hooper, the wife of
prominent attorney William
892
00:57:39,300 --> 00:57:42,900
Hooper, was disappointed that
Tryon, who had been ill on his
893
00:57:42,900 --> 00:57:46,680
march to Hillsboro, had not done
more to end the regulator
894
00:57:46,680 --> 00:57:49,980
uprisings. As she wrote to a
friend, in the wake of the
895
00:57:49,980 --> 00:57:50,640
trials,
896
00:57:51,570 --> 00:57:54,840
Ann Hooper: “[A] number of men
mostly from orange county who
897
00:57:54,840 --> 00:57:58,680
took the title regulators have
given great disturbance to the
898
00:57:58,680 --> 00:58:02,130
County. They demanded that the
Register & Clerk of Orange
899
00:58:02,130 --> 00:58:05,310
should be given to them[,]
refused paying their taxes[,]
900
00:58:05,730 --> 00:58:09,000
desired the assembly might be
Dissolved[,] [and] threatened to
901
00:58:09,000 --> 00:58:11,910
pull the Province House
down…..People imagine they have
902
00:58:11,910 --> 00:58:15,720
been too passive with them[.] if
the Govr had been well he would
903
00:58:15,720 --> 00:58:18,450
have pursued more vigorous
measures & have humbled them
904
00:58:18,480 --> 00:58:18,990
sufficiently.”
905
00:58:23,790 --> 00:58:26,580
Jim Ambuske: If Governor Tryon
believed that his martial tour
906
00:58:26,580 --> 00:58:29,490
of the back country had
sufficiently humbled the people,
907
00:58:29,790 --> 00:58:33,750
he was wrong, and though the
provincial government's flaws
908
00:58:33,750 --> 00:58:38,130
were the regulator's most
immediate concern for Tryon, the
909
00:58:38,130 --> 00:58:42,030
regulators were fast becoming
part of a much larger Imperial
910
00:58:42,030 --> 00:58:48,630
problem. In early 1768 just as
Piedmont farmers began reforming
911
00:58:48,630 --> 00:58:51,930
themselves into regulators, the
Massachusetts House of
912
00:58:51,930 --> 00:58:54,210
Representatives issued a
circular letter to the
913
00:58:54,210 --> 00:58:58,020
assemblies in the other colonies
calling on them to unite in a
914
00:58:58,020 --> 00:59:02,910
coordinated resistance to the
townsenax In response, the Earl
915
00:59:02,910 --> 00:59:06,090
of Hillsboro, the Secretary of
State for the colonies, and the
916
00:59:06,090 --> 00:59:10,170
namesake of the Piedmont town,
ordered governors to suspend or
917
00:59:10,170 --> 00:59:13,650
dissolve their assemblies should
their members open debate on the
918
00:59:13,650 --> 00:59:18,690
Massachusetts missive for months
from the fall of 1768 through
919
00:59:18,690 --> 00:59:23,610
the Fall of 1770 try on, and the
North Carolina assembly danced a
920
00:59:23,610 --> 00:59:27,750
delicate minuet. Tryon needed
the assembly to appropriate
921
00:59:27,750 --> 00:59:30,270
money for the militia, should
they be needed in the back
922
00:59:30,270 --> 00:59:33,900
country, and the assembly wanted
to avoid its suspension or
923
00:59:33,900 --> 00:59:37,650
dissolution so it could consider
measures to counter Parliament's
924
00:59:37,650 --> 00:59:41,370
perceived overreach. Neither the
governor, nor most of the
925
00:59:41,370 --> 00:59:44,760
representatives, however, had
much sympathy for the regulators
926
00:59:44,760 --> 00:59:49,380
grievances. In the fall of 1768,
the assembly finished its
927
00:59:49,380 --> 00:59:52,980
legislative work, including
funding the militia bill, before
928
00:59:52,980 --> 00:59:55,740
it began a debate on the
Massachusetts Circular Letter,
929
00:59:55,980 --> 01:00:01,230
prompting try on to prorogue it.
But by May 1769 when the
930
01:00:01,230 --> 01:00:04,590
assembly began considering a
boycott of British goods until
931
01:00:04,590 --> 01:00:08,310
Parliament repealed the Townsend
Acts, Tryon dissolved it
932
01:00:08,340 --> 01:00:12,540
entirely. He called for new
elections, hoping that by the
933
01:00:12,540 --> 01:00:16,380
time the new assembly sat in
October, cooler heads would have
934
01:00:16,380 --> 01:00:21,000
prevailed. The Regulators saw
the assembly's demise as a major
935
01:00:21,000 --> 01:00:25,230
opportunity. If they wanted to
purge the colony of corruption,
936
01:00:25,590 --> 01:00:29,490
they would have to do it from
within the government itself in
937
01:00:29,520 --> 01:00:33,120
Orange, Anson, Rowan, and
Granville counties, Regulators
938
01:00:33,120 --> 01:00:37,050
ran for the assembly, and much
to the delight of Regulators in
939
01:00:37,080 --> 01:00:41,580
Orange and the dismay of Tryon
and other leading men, Edmund
940
01:00:41,580 --> 01:00:45,630
Fanning was defeated, and Herman
Husband was elected in his
941
01:00:45,630 --> 01:00:46,140
stead.
942
01:00:46,710 --> 01:00:50,550
Marjoleine Kars: They see him as
a threat precisely because he
943
01:00:50,550 --> 01:00:54,000
has so many followers, so many
people who are willing to come
944
01:00:54,000 --> 01:01:00,360
out for him. He's imprisoned in
1768, and hundreds of people
945
01:01:00,360 --> 01:01:04,410
come and confront a governor
demanding his release. They are
946
01:01:04,410 --> 01:01:07,950
afraid of him because he's
articulate, he's tenacious, and
947
01:01:07,950 --> 01:01:12,420
people are willing to put bite
behind his words.
948
01:01:13,080 --> 01:01:16,380
Jim Ambuske: From England, Henry
McCullough, one of the largest
949
01:01:16,380 --> 01:01:19,980
North Carolina land speculators,
believed that the election of
950
01:01:19,980 --> 01:01:23,400
Hermann Husband from Orange and
Regulator Christopher Hation
951
01:01:23,400 --> 01:01:27,600
from Rowan, was a sign of a
dangerous spirit of leveling in
952
01:01:27,600 --> 01:01:28,290
the colony:
953
01:01:29,040 --> 01:01:32,340
Henry McCulloh: “the madness of
the people must be great indeed,
954
01:01:32,880 --> 01:01:37,020
to trust such wretches as Herman
Husbands and Christopher Nation
955
01:01:37,170 --> 01:01:38,820
as their representatives.”
956
01:01:39,630 --> 01:01:42,810
Jim Ambuske: What McCulloh
imagined as madness and a threat
957
01:01:42,810 --> 01:01:45,750
to the social order. The
Regulators and their supporters
958
01:01:45,750 --> 01:01:49,110
saw as a chance, with God's
help, to usher in a new
959
01:01:49,110 --> 01:01:53,010
government of liberty. They
called for secret ballots and an
960
01:01:53,040 --> 01:01:56,370
end to public voice voting in
elections, a practice that
961
01:01:56,370 --> 01:01:59,340
exposed voters to intimidation
and pressure by elite
962
01:01:59,340 --> 01:02:03,210
candidates. They sought the
elimination of aggressive taxes
963
01:02:03,270 --> 01:02:06,480
and the adoption of a more
progressive scheme, and they
964
01:02:06,480 --> 01:02:10,200
suggested that local officials
be given salaries instead of
965
01:02:10,200 --> 01:02:15,150
being paid out of fees to remove
the corrupting allure the
966
01:02:15,150 --> 01:02:18,180
growing conflict over the
Townsend acts dashed the
967
01:02:18,180 --> 01:02:21,390
regulators hopes for any
meaningful government reform.
968
01:02:22,110 --> 01:02:26,610
When the new assembly met in New
Bern in late October 1769, its
969
01:02:26,610 --> 01:02:30,150
members began debating a non
importation agreement, forcing
970
01:02:30,150 --> 01:02:35,490
try on to perrogate once more
with the assembly no longer in
971
01:02:35,490 --> 01:02:38,730
session, regulators in the
Piedmont turned to the local
972
01:02:38,730 --> 01:02:42,930
courts for relief. They sued men
like Edmund Fanning whom they
973
01:02:42,930 --> 01:02:48,690
believed had extorted them. But
over the winter of 1769 and into
974
01:02:48,690 --> 01:02:53,190
the fall of 1770 as judges
delayed cases and ruled against
975
01:02:53,190 --> 01:02:57,480
them, as court clerks pocketed
fees, and as lawyers grew
976
01:02:57,480 --> 01:03:01,680
wealthier at their expense, the
Regulators long simmering
977
01:03:01,680 --> 01:03:10,560
frustration began to boil on the
morning of Monday, September 24
978
01:03:10,590 --> 01:03:15,450
1770 they gathered at the
courthouse in Hillsboro, where
979
01:03:15,450 --> 01:03:17,880
Judge Richard Henderson was
about to begin the day's
980
01:03:17,880 --> 01:03:22,410
proceedings. Nathan Schultz
helps us to understand what
981
01:03:22,410 --> 01:03:23,520
happened next.
982
01:03:24,270 --> 01:03:27,000
Nathan Schultz: They engage in a
very loud conversation with
983
01:03:27,000 --> 01:03:30,090
Henderson to try their cases.
They've been sitting on the
984
01:03:30,090 --> 01:03:33,810
docket for a long time, and they
refuse to do it. And at some
985
01:03:33,810 --> 01:03:36,480
point, somebody says, Let's
retire. Let's go out of the
986
01:03:36,480 --> 01:03:37,710
room. Let's figure this out.
987
01:03:38,370 --> 01:03:40,830
Jim Ambuske: And that's when
Deputy Attorney General John
988
01:03:40,830 --> 01:03:42,600
Williams walked into the room.
989
01:03:43,110 --> 01:03:45,600
Nathan Schultz: Now this is the
guy who had been trying people
990
01:03:45,630 --> 01:03:49,590
had been really ruining a lot of
these people's lives, and they
991
01:03:49,590 --> 01:03:53,040
attack him. We don't know, as
always, these things go we don't
992
01:03:53,040 --> 01:03:55,800
know who threw the first punch.
We know that some of them were
993
01:03:55,800 --> 01:03:59,520
armed with clubs, whips and a
few other things. They attack
994
01:03:59,520 --> 01:04:03,030
him. And this is when a lot of
order begins to break down. They
995
01:04:03,030 --> 01:04:06,300
rush into the courtroom, they
grab Edmund Fanning and a couple
996
01:04:06,300 --> 01:04:09,570
other corrupt officials, and
they drag them out into the
997
01:04:09,570 --> 01:04:12,360
streets and beat them a nearly
inch of their lives.
998
01:04:12,930 --> 01:04:15,150
Jim Ambuske: The Regulators
allowed Williams and Fanning to
999
01:04:15,150 --> 01:04:17,070
take refuge in a nearby store.
1000
01:04:17,070 --> 01:04:20,010
Nathan Schultz: And they then go
back into the courtroom and they
1001
01:04:20,010 --> 01:04:22,920
start, they're like, we're in
control. Now to judge Henderson
1002
01:04:22,920 --> 01:04:26,970
to try cases. Now, Henderson
will write in his own report
1003
01:04:26,970 --> 01:04:28,860
saying that he didn't, he didn't
try any cases. He adjourned the
1004
01:04:28,860 --> 01:04:32,910
court. We know that's not true.
Under duress. He tried cases
1005
01:04:32,910 --> 01:04:36,780
because the actual leisure from
the court in Hillsborough
1006
01:04:36,810 --> 01:04:42,060
survives, and in the leisure
written in a different hand, in
1007
01:04:42,060 --> 01:04:45,510
a different tone, are notes on
cases on the docket.
1008
01:04:46,290 --> 01:04:49,200
Jim Ambuske: At the day's end,
the Regulators allowed Henderson
1009
01:04:49,200 --> 01:04:52,740
to go home after he gave his
word that he would reopen the
1010
01:04:52,740 --> 01:04:55,410
court the next day. But
1011
01:04:55,620 --> 01:04:57,480
Nathan Schultz: The regulators
wake up. They go back to the
1012
01:04:57,480 --> 01:05:00,600
courthouse. They see Judge
Henderson skip town, and that's
1013
01:05:00,600 --> 01:05:04,020
when they decide to sack
revenge. They start rioting
1014
01:05:04,020 --> 01:05:06,810
through the street. They go and
target the officials offending
1015
01:05:06,810 --> 01:05:09,120
them. They go to Edmund
Fanning's nice timber frame
1016
01:05:09,120 --> 01:05:13,680
house, and disassemble it. They
rip off all the siding, stack it
1017
01:05:13,680 --> 01:05:16,170
up next to it. They take his
furniture out of the house and
1018
01:05:16,170 --> 01:05:19,380
destroy it with axes. They grab
piles of his clothing, throw it
1019
01:05:19,380 --> 01:05:22,980
out into the streets. And after
that incident, after all this
1020
01:05:22,980 --> 01:05:27,660
happens, they leave Hillsborough
and go from there. And that
1021
01:05:27,660 --> 01:05:30,510
incident, the Hillsborough
riots, September 1770 is what
1022
01:05:30,510 --> 01:05:31,620
escalates everything.
1023
01:05:32,430 --> 01:05:34,770
Jim Ambuske: For Governor Tryon
and for the bulk of the
1024
01:05:34,770 --> 01:05:38,430
assembly, the regulators, attack
on the courthouse changed the
1025
01:05:38,430 --> 01:05:42,540
calculus of the crisis. This was
no longer a matter of keeping
1026
01:05:42,540 --> 01:05:47,040
the peace in the backcountry, it
was about suppressing a growing
1027
01:05:47,040 --> 01:05:52,200
colonial rebellion. But Tryon
nor the colony had the legal
1028
01:05:52,200 --> 01:05:56,760
powers sufficient to quell the
uprising. The colony's attorney
1029
01:05:56,760 --> 01:05:59,700
general advised the governor
that the regulators could be
1030
01:05:59,700 --> 01:06:03,720
charged only with rioting and
misdemeanors and not with
1031
01:06:03,720 --> 01:06:08,100
rebellion or treason. And under
current law, cases would be
1032
01:06:08,100 --> 01:06:11,640
tried in the local district
courts, which the regulators
1033
01:06:11,640 --> 01:06:16,650
seemed to have under their
control. To counter the emerging
1034
01:06:16,650 --> 01:06:20,010
regulator threat try on,
reconvened the assembly and
1035
01:06:20,010 --> 01:06:24,780
asked it to pass a new powerful
Riot Act. Samuel Johnston
1036
01:06:24,840 --> 01:06:27,750
introduced his eponymous bill on
December 15.
1037
01:06:28,350 --> 01:06:31,260
Nathan Schultz: It's based off
an English law where you read
1038
01:06:31,260 --> 01:06:35,970
the riot act, or you read some
command for a group to disperse
1039
01:06:36,540 --> 01:06:38,190
or forces legalized.
1040
01:06:39,150 --> 01:06:42,150
Marjoleine Kars: The Johnston
Riot Act allows for pretty
1041
01:06:42,150 --> 01:06:46,410
amazingly strong punishments for
these rioters, which allows for
1042
01:06:46,410 --> 01:06:50,790
these people to be tried for
rebellion and to be outlawed if
1043
01:06:50,790 --> 01:06:54,540
they don't turn themselves in.
And it also authorizes the
1044
01:06:54,540 --> 01:06:58,680
governor to raise an army
against regulators to go restore
1045
01:06:58,680 --> 01:07:02,160
order in the Piedmont, and
asserts that the public monies
1046
01:07:02,160 --> 01:07:03,300
will be used to pay for it.
1047
01:07:04,290 --> 01:07:06,900
Jim Ambuske: The Johnston Riot
Act passed in early January
1048
01:07:06,900 --> 01:07:11,730
1771. Besides the legal
penalties, the ex post facto
1049
01:07:11,730 --> 01:07:15,450
provision, and the money for the
militia, the act enabled the
1050
01:07:15,450 --> 01:07:18,990
government to create courts of
oyer and terminer, courts that
1051
01:07:18,990 --> 01:07:22,050
allowed judges to hear and
determine a case without a jury
1052
01:07:22,050 --> 01:07:25,530
at a place of their choosing,
regardless of where the alleged
1053
01:07:25,530 --> 01:07:26,640
crime was committed.
1054
01:07:27,390 --> 01:07:30,840
Nathan Schultz: And it only goes
through that year, and it
1055
01:07:30,840 --> 01:07:34,830
backdated the Hillsborough riots
to being under that law too.
1056
01:07:35,580 --> 01:07:38,280
Jim Ambuske: By then, Herman
Husband had been languishing in
1057
01:07:38,280 --> 01:07:42,240
a New Bern jail for weeks. The
Assembly expelled him on
1058
01:07:42,240 --> 01:07:46,140
December 20th, five days after
the Johnston Riot Act was
1059
01:07:46,140 --> 01:07:49,290
introduced. The assembly accused
him of being one of the
1060
01:07:49,320 --> 01:07:53,130
architects of the Regulator
rebellion. Chief Justice Howard
1061
01:07:53,130 --> 01:07:56,340
promptly issued an arrest
warrant on charges of libel and
1062
01:07:56,340 --> 01:08:01,080
had him confined. Husband’s
arrest enflamed the backcountry.
1063
01:08:01,560 --> 01:08:04,530
Rumors began swirling that
thousands of Regulators were
1064
01:08:04,530 --> 01:08:08,610
prepared to march on New Bern to
rescue him, prompting Tryon to
1065
01:08:08,610 --> 01:08:12,300
keep the militia in the capital
in a state of readiness. When
1066
01:08:12,300 --> 01:08:15,360
Husband was released in
mid-February, hundreds of
1067
01:08:15,360 --> 01:08:18,150
Regulators who had been making
their way to the capital in the
1068
01:08:18,150 --> 01:08:22,890
snow halted their march, and
returned home. But by March
1069
01:08:22,920 --> 01:08:27,720
1771, Tryon had learned the king
had appointed him governor of
1070
01:08:27,720 --> 01:08:31,170
New York. He was due in the
northern province by the summer.
1071
01:08:31,590 --> 01:08:34,830
Not wishing to leave his
successor a southern colony in a
1072
01:08:34,830 --> 01:08:38,370
rebellious state, Tryon
committed himself to bringing
1073
01:08:38,370 --> 01:08:46,050
the Regulator revolution in
North Carolina to an end. The
1074
01:08:46,050 --> 01:08:49,680
governor invoked the Johnston
Riot Act and began assembling a
1075
01:08:49,680 --> 01:08:54,360
provincial army. That task was
not as easy as he might have
1076
01:08:54,360 --> 01:08:54,840
hoped.
1077
01:08:55,590 --> 01:08:57,270
Marjoleine Kars: A number of
historians have sort of
1078
01:08:57,330 --> 01:09:01,170
explained to regulation as a
sectional conflict of back
1079
01:09:01,170 --> 01:09:05,550
country versus the coast. But I
think that's not quite accurate,
1080
01:09:05,550 --> 01:09:11,400
because by 1771 when Tryon is
trying to raise the militia,
1081
01:09:11,640 --> 01:09:16,260
regulators have already sent
sort of advanced troops out
1082
01:09:16,350 --> 01:09:20,460
east, and they are beginning to
organize there, and Tryon, in
1083
01:09:20,460 --> 01:09:23,730
fact, has a really hard time
raising the militia almost
1084
01:09:23,730 --> 01:09:26,850
everywhere. Militia men come out
and say, We don't want to fight
1085
01:09:26,850 --> 01:09:30,150
the regulators. We kind of agree
with them. And so he has to
1086
01:09:30,150 --> 01:09:34,380
resort to intimidation to get
local militia leaders to fulfill
1087
01:09:34,380 --> 01:09:37,950
their quota. He offers big
bounties. And even that doesn't
1088
01:09:37,950 --> 01:09:42,090
do it in some counties, they
have to institute a draft which
1089
01:09:42,090 --> 01:09:46,410
did not exist. And in the end,
instead of the 2200 men he had
1090
01:09:46,410 --> 01:09:51,090
hoped to raise, he only raises
1100 his army is top heavy with
1091
01:09:51,090 --> 01:09:55,680
officers. He has about 300
officers who are quite eager to
1092
01:09:55,680 --> 01:09:59,100
prove their support of the
Governor at this point in
1093
01:09:59,100 --> 01:10:05,310
1771and I think one of the
reasons is this worry that the
1094
01:10:05,310 --> 01:10:09,030
regulation will spread east, and
that they're all potentially
1095
01:10:09,030 --> 01:10:10,470
sitting on a powder keg.
1096
01:10:10,950 --> 01:10:13,410
Jim Ambuske: General Thomas
Gage, the commander in chief of
1097
01:10:13,410 --> 01:10:17,460
British forces in North America,
was equally supportive. At
1098
01:10:17,460 --> 01:10:19,680
Tryon's request Gage shipped
1099
01:10:20,070 --> 01:10:23,250
Nathan Schultz: Two six pound
artillery pieces, some flags,
1100
01:10:23,250 --> 01:10:25,800
some drums and kettles, other
support.
1101
01:10:26,280 --> 01:10:30,330
Jim Ambuske: If Tryon ever asked
for or if Gage ever offered a
1102
01:10:30,330 --> 01:10:35,100
regiment of British regulars, no
record has survived. Neither
1103
01:10:35,130 --> 01:10:39,120
seems likely. In the wake of the
shooting on King Street in
1104
01:10:39,120 --> 01:10:43,110
Boston a year earlier, Gage had
little desire to see another
1105
01:10:43,110 --> 01:10:45,990
confrontation between soldiers
and civilians in the colonies
1106
01:10:45,990 --> 01:10:49,410
become a massacre, and Tryon
considered the matter in the
1107
01:10:49,410 --> 01:10:54,930
Piedmont an affair internal to
North Carolina. Tryon and his
1108
01:10:54,930 --> 01:10:57,960
army began marching toward
Hillsborough in early May.
1109
01:10:58,230 --> 01:11:02,070
Nathan Schultz: Tryon assembles
this army, eight cannons, 1000
1110
01:11:02,070 --> 01:11:06,900
men. He's got cavalry from these
gentlemen volunteers. He's got
1111
01:11:06,930 --> 01:11:10,620
pioneers, he's got Rangers. He
equips them in a military
1112
01:11:10,620 --> 01:11:13,980
capacity with these leggings,
echoing the French and Indian
1113
01:11:13,980 --> 01:11:19,050
War. He gets to Hillsborough in
May of 1771 and is trying to
1114
01:11:19,050 --> 01:11:22,050
decide how exactly he's gonna
disrupt this insurrection.
1115
01:11:22,230 --> 01:11:25,560
Marjoleine Kars: He gets to
Hillsboro, and he hears of a
1116
01:11:25,560 --> 01:11:29,790
situation with a militia
regiment in Rowan County that is
1117
01:11:29,790 --> 01:11:32,970
being obstructed by large
numbers of regulators. And so he
1118
01:11:32,970 --> 01:11:35,370
decides that he should march
West.
1119
01:11:35,550 --> 01:11:38,640
Nathan Schultz: He receives word
from Hugh Wadell, that other
1120
01:11:38,670 --> 01:11:41,250
group that was raised in the
western part, that they had been
1121
01:11:41,250 --> 01:11:45,450
turned back at the Yadkin River,
by a group of regulators who
1122
01:11:45,480 --> 01:11:49,830
blew up their gunpowder and
their clothing, and Tryon is
1123
01:11:49,830 --> 01:11:52,620
worried that he will get stuck
on the other side of a river
1124
01:11:52,620 --> 01:11:54,900
trying to cross it. While the
regulators are there.
1125
01:11:55,320 --> 01:11:58,140
Jim Ambuske: The provincial army
headed for Alamance Creek,
1126
01:11:58,290 --> 01:12:00,270
twenty miles west of
Hillsborough.
1127
01:12:00,810 --> 01:12:03,930
Marjoleine Kars: After a couple
of days, he encamps on Alamance
1128
01:12:03,930 --> 01:12:07,950
Creek, and regulators begin to
amass on the other bank.
1129
01:12:08,550 --> 01:12:12,030
Nathan Schultz: And it's over
2000 people, just regular
1130
01:12:12,030 --> 01:12:15,390
farmers in the middle of
nowhere, just 2000 people show
1131
01:12:15,390 --> 01:12:18,150
up. And often criticism of the
regulation is that they weren't
1132
01:12:18,150 --> 01:12:21,990
organized. They were very
organized to be able to assemble
1133
01:12:21,990 --> 01:12:25,710
2000 people in a not densely
populated area, all in one
1134
01:12:25,710 --> 01:12:30,600
place. And within that are
people who show up armed with
1135
01:12:30,600 --> 01:12:33,060
guns. All these people are in
the militia, so they have
1136
01:12:33,060 --> 01:12:35,700
militia training, and they're
required to own a gun. Lot of
1137
01:12:35,700 --> 01:12:38,790
people don't show up with guns.
Some people show up with clubs.
1138
01:12:38,820 --> 01:12:41,340
Some are Quakers who are
pacifists.
1139
01:12:41,970 --> 01:12:45,240
Jim Ambuske: The board was set.
The pieces were moving.
1140
01:12:45,780 --> 01:12:49,470
Nathan Schultz: May 15, 1771,
into that night, into the 16th,
1141
01:12:49,740 --> 01:12:54,060
riders begin to ride between the
Regulator camp and Tryon’s camp,
1142
01:12:54,330 --> 01:12:58,710
trying to negotiate, trying
their absolute best to solve
1143
01:12:58,710 --> 01:13:01,680
this peacefully. The regulators
even assemble together write one
1144
01:13:01,680 --> 01:13:04,770
last petition to Tryon, saying
how they are loyal subjects of
1145
01:13:04,770 --> 01:13:07,200
the king, but they do say that.
His and His Majesty's subjects
1146
01:13:07,200 --> 01:13:12,000
are not toys to be trifled with,
very clear demand, but still
1147
01:13:12,000 --> 01:13:15,360
trying to maintain peacefulness
again, all they want is peaceful
1148
01:13:15,360 --> 01:13:19,620
reform riders back and forth,
Tryon rejects and ignores every
1149
01:13:19,620 --> 01:13:23,340
overture. Only thing he has to
say to them is, give up your
1150
01:13:23,340 --> 01:13:25,920
arms, give up your leaders and
surrender.
1151
01:13:26,550 --> 01:13:29,370
Marjoleine Kars: Regulators keep
trying to negotiate with the
1152
01:13:29,370 --> 01:13:33,510
governor. At some point, they
sent a Presbyterian minister and
1153
01:13:33,510 --> 01:13:38,880
two of their spokesmen to him to
talk with him. He refuses to
1154
01:13:38,880 --> 01:13:42,000
negotiate. He sends the minister
back, he keeps the two
1155
01:13:42,060 --> 01:13:42,990
spokesmen.
1156
01:13:43,680 --> 01:13:47,340
Jim Ambuske: When dawn broke on
the morning of May 16th, Tryon’s
1157
01:13:47,370 --> 01:13:51,570
patience was wearing thin, and
time was running out.
1158
01:13:52,320 --> 01:13:55,320
Marjoleine Kars: He gives his
soldiers order to execute one of
1159
01:13:55,320 --> 01:13:59,940
these men by firing in such a
way that the regulators amassed
1160
01:13:59,940 --> 01:14:03,210
on the other side, can actually
see this happening.
1161
01:14:03,750 --> 01:14:06,090
Nathan Schultz: He orders the
man shot in the back in front of
1162
01:14:06,120 --> 01:14:08,880
2,000 of his friend, neighbors
and allies. And the regulars are
1163
01:14:08,880 --> 01:14:13,140
pretty incensed by this yelling
and screaming. And at the same
1164
01:14:13,140 --> 01:14:16,350
time, some regulators are
leaving Herman Husband, if he
1165
01:14:16,350 --> 01:14:19,680
was there, left at about this
point, seeing that violence is
1166
01:14:19,680 --> 01:14:21,990
happening. Quakers not
participating violence, he's
1167
01:14:21,990 --> 01:14:22,440
leaving.
1168
01:14:23,160 --> 01:14:25,770
Jim Ambuske: Shortly after
ordering Robert Thompson’s
1169
01:14:25,800 --> 01:14:30,450
execution, Tyron made one last
attempt to disperse the mob
1170
01:14:30,780 --> 01:14:33,930
using the powers granted to him
in the Johnston Riot Act.
1171
01:14:34,470 --> 01:14:36,690
Nathan Schultz: He sends the
Sheriff of Orange County, ahead,
1172
01:14:36,840 --> 01:14:40,740
holding a letter. This letter
effectively says, you are
1173
01:14:40,770 --> 01:14:44,370
rebels. You are against His
Majesty, give up your leaders,
1174
01:14:44,580 --> 01:14:49,560
to prevent a great effusion of
blood. Very clear demands. This
1175
01:14:49,560 --> 01:14:54,300
letter read by the sheriff,
constitutes the riot act. About
1176
01:14:54,330 --> 01:14:59,760
11 o'clock, May 16, this is read
to groups of regulators. He
1177
01:14:59,760 --> 01:15:02,940
probably then walked over to
other groups, and this mob just
1178
01:15:02,940 --> 01:15:07,140
assembled and read to these
other bodies of people. We know
1179
01:15:07,140 --> 01:15:10,290
the regulators yelled back at
him. We're not happy about this
1180
01:15:10,290 --> 01:15:11,070
situation.
1181
01:15:11,400 --> 01:15:14,160
Jim Ambuske: The riot act
required Tryon to give notice
1182
01:15:14,160 --> 01:15:19,140
before taking action. In the
meantime, hef began moving his
1183
01:15:19,140 --> 01:15:21,720
men and his artillery into
position.
1184
01:15:22,740 --> 01:15:26,880
Nathan Schultz: And then they
wait for about 45 minutes, just
1185
01:15:26,880 --> 01:15:31,650
standing there, fully loaded,
and the regulators do exactly
1186
01:15:31,650 --> 01:15:33,480
what you'd expect. They start
screaming and yelling at them,
1187
01:15:33,480 --> 01:15:36,270
insulting them. And a little bit
away the Boston Massacre, they
1188
01:15:36,270 --> 01:15:39,000
say, you know, if it's battle,
let it happen. Now. They start
1189
01:15:39,000 --> 01:15:42,270
yelling, battle, battle. And the
thing is, is some of these
1190
01:15:42,270 --> 01:15:45,570
people knew each other, this is
Orange County. You got the
1191
01:15:45,570 --> 01:15:49,020
Orange County militia under
Edmund Fanning with Tryon, and
1192
01:15:49,020 --> 01:15:52,020
we know there was at least one
group. William Butler and his
1193
01:15:52,050 --> 01:15:55,290
brother were on opposite sides.
So you have literal brothers
1194
01:15:55,290 --> 01:15:57,750
that could see each other,
probably across the field. And
1195
01:15:57,750 --> 01:16:02,040
there's this kind of bizarre
tense thing waiting for 45
1196
01:16:02,040 --> 01:16:02,580
minutes.
1197
01:16:03,150 --> 01:16:04,620
Jim Ambuske: Despite their
taunts:
1198
01:16:05,130 --> 01:16:07,770
Marjoleine Kars: Most of these
men did not really expect there
1199
01:16:07,770 --> 01:16:10,380
to be a battle. They can't
really believe the governor
1200
01:16:10,380 --> 01:16:14,940
would order his army to fire on
his own citizens. So they only
1201
01:16:14,940 --> 01:16:17,790
brought somebody says, enough
bullets as they would have
1202
01:16:17,790 --> 01:16:18,840
brought on a hunt.
1203
01:16:19,560 --> 01:16:22,380
Nathan Schultz: 45 minutes
expires, the sheriff goes over
1204
01:16:22,380 --> 01:16:25,140
again, goes over to these
people, says, What's your
1205
01:16:25,140 --> 01:16:28,590
answer? And we know, from the
accounts they yelled back at
1206
01:16:28,590 --> 01:16:33,930
him, fire and be damned. Goes
back to the safety of the lines,
1207
01:16:34,080 --> 01:16:37,290
Tryon probably doesn't see much
else to do. He turns to the
1208
01:16:37,290 --> 01:16:40,140
commander of the artillery, guy
named Robert Howe. Gives the
1209
01:16:40,140 --> 01:16:43,830
order. He gives the order, and
all eight of the cannons fire on
1210
01:16:43,830 --> 01:16:48,480
the regulators. Some accounts
say from about 50 to 100 yards
1211
01:16:48,480 --> 01:16:53,610
away, very close with grapeshot
sending small iron balls ripping
1212
01:16:53,610 --> 01:16:57,390
through this crowd of people.
Shortly after, the militia, the
1213
01:16:57,390 --> 01:17:00,420
first line, 500 men, open up
with muskets on them.
1214
01:17:00,690 --> 01:17:03,630
Marjoleine Kars: And initially
it looks like the regulators are
1215
01:17:03,750 --> 01:17:07,290
have the upper hand, because the
soldiers have trouble aiming
1216
01:17:07,290 --> 01:17:10,290
their cannon right. And they
they are fighting in in in
1217
01:17:10,290 --> 01:17:13,320
regiments, but the regulators
are fighting what's called
1218
01:17:13,350 --> 01:17:16,920
Indian style. They're hiding
behind trees, sort of like
1219
01:17:16,920 --> 01:17:20,580
guerrilla fighters, but pretty
quickly the regulators begin to
1220
01:17:20,580 --> 01:17:21,960
run out of ammunition.
1221
01:17:22,290 --> 01:17:24,150
Nathan Schultz: Some
archeological evidence and some
1222
01:17:24,150 --> 01:17:27,240
other accounts [say] that during
that cannonade, a group of
1223
01:17:27,240 --> 01:17:30,510
Regulators from the far left
flank of the army try to attack
1224
01:17:30,540 --> 01:17:33,360
a cannon actually tried to run
up on it, and are taken out
1225
01:17:33,360 --> 01:17:36,450
before they get close or even
reached it. But after this half
1226
01:17:36,450 --> 01:17:39,990
hour of bombardment, Tryon
orders his the militia to
1227
01:17:39,990 --> 01:17:44,190
advance onto them, marching
forward and clears them out from
1228
01:17:44,190 --> 01:17:45,660
the woods, capturing as many as
they can, and then pursues the
1229
01:17:45,660 --> 01:17:49,020
remnants of the regulators that
were left into their camp and to
1230
01:17:49,020 --> 01:17:51,840
loot it, by all accounts, for
the next hour and a half.
1231
01:17:52,560 --> 01:17:56,790
Marjoleine Kars: In the end,
some 20 farmers are dead, nine
1232
01:17:56,790 --> 01:18:01,710
militia men and some 150 men on
both sides are wounded.
1233
01:18:09,120 --> 01:18:12,690
Jim Ambuske: After Tryon cleared
the field, he set out to ensure
1234
01:18:12,690 --> 01:18:15,150
that the Regulators never rose
again.
1235
01:18:15,600 --> 01:18:18,660
Marjoleine Kars: He begins to
undertake a victorious march
1236
01:18:18,660 --> 01:18:21,150
through the back country that is
intended to intimidate the
1237
01:18:21,150 --> 01:18:25,050
people. So he destroys the farms
of men who he thinks are
1238
01:18:25,050 --> 01:18:30,000
regulator leaders. He turns his
horses out into people's fields.
1239
01:18:30,270 --> 01:18:35,370
He requisitions food from local
farmers for all his troops. And
1240
01:18:35,370 --> 01:18:39,480
he demands that people come in
and says, If you come in and you
1241
01:18:39,480 --> 01:18:44,280
turn in your gun and you swear
allegiance to the king, which,
1242
01:18:44,280 --> 01:18:47,850
of course, regulators had never
they had never undone their
1243
01:18:47,850 --> 01:18:51,780
allegiance to the king, then I
will pardon you, except a number
1244
01:18:51,780 --> 01:18:57,360
of the leaders. Some 6,400 men
come forward, which is roughly
1245
01:18:57,360 --> 01:19:00,330
three quarters of all the grown
men in the Piedmont.
1246
01:19:01,230 --> 01:19:03,630
Jim Ambuske: Leading Regulators
like Herman Husband and James
1247
01:19:03,630 --> 01:19:09,030
Hunter vanished, escaping
Tryon’s grasp. Others were not
1248
01:19:09,030 --> 01:19:15,030
so lucky. Empowered by the
Johnston Riot Act, the governor
1249
01:19:15,030 --> 01:19:18,300
convened a court of oyer and
terminer in Hillsborough on
1250
01:19:18,300 --> 01:19:24,030
Saturday, June 15, 1771, in the
same courthouse the Regulators
1251
01:19:24,030 --> 01:19:28,740
had laid siege to the previous
September. Twelve men were
1252
01:19:28,740 --> 01:19:32,940
convicted of treason and
sentenced to be executed. Tryon
1253
01:19:32,940 --> 01:19:37,560
commuted the sentences of six.
The remaining six would serve as
1254
01:19:37,560 --> 01:19:39,810
a warning. Tryon:
1255
01:19:39,810 --> 01:19:42,660
Nathan Schultz: He goes to a
hill that's right next to the
1256
01:19:42,660 --> 01:19:46,200
town. He orders his army to
clear the brush around it to
1257
01:19:46,200 --> 01:19:50,820
make it clearly visible. And he
constructs these gallows, and
1258
01:19:50,820 --> 01:19:53,850
then surrounds it with the Army
just to make sure people could
1259
01:19:53,850 --> 01:19:57,600
watch it, and then,
systematically execute six of
1260
01:19:57,600 --> 01:19:58,140
these people.
1261
01:19:59,130 --> 01:20:02,850
Jim Ambuske: James Pugh, Herman
Husband’s former brother-in-law,
1262
01:20:02,880 --> 01:20:06,570
climbed atop a barrel and had
the noose placed around his
1263
01:20:06,570 --> 01:20:11,040
neck. With his final words, he
repeated the Regulators’
1264
01:20:11,070 --> 01:20:15,360
grievances, prayed for an end to
the corruption of this world,
1265
01:20:15,840 --> 01:20:22,320
and prepared to meet God in the
next. As Pugh spoke exacted one
1266
01:20:22,320 --> 01:20:24,240
last measure of revenge.
1267
01:20:24,930 --> 01:20:27,990
Marjoleine Kars: The story is
that Edmund Fanning had the
1268
01:20:27,990 --> 01:20:30,840
barrel upon which he was
standing kicked out from under
1269
01:20:30,840 --> 01:20:32,280
him mid sentence.
1270
01:20:32,820 --> 01:20:38,520
Jim Ambuske: Minutes later, Pugh
was dead. Tryon departed for New
1271
01:20:38,520 --> 01:20:43,170
York soon thereafter. Fanning
went with him as his new private
1272
01:20:43,170 --> 01:20:48,450
secretary. With the Regulators
defeated, the provincial
1273
01:20:48,450 --> 01:20:51,720
assembly and the colonial elite
turned their attention back to
1274
01:20:51,720 --> 01:20:54,930
confronting Parliament, to
quarreling with Tryon’s
1275
01:20:54,930 --> 01:21:00,120
successor, and to resisting the
new imperial order. And as they
1276
01:21:00,120 --> 01:21:03,750
did so, the Regulators
confronted the reality that
1277
01:21:03,750 --> 01:21:10,050
their reformation was a failed
revolution. That memory endured
1278
01:21:10,050 --> 01:21:13,650
for years, even as matters
between the colonies and the
1279
01:21:13,650 --> 01:21:15,810
Mother Country became much
worse.
1280
01:21:16,920 --> 01:21:19,470
Marjoleine Kars: When the
revolution comes, many people in
1281
01:21:19,470 --> 01:21:23,730
the Piedmont are not willing to
support it, in part because the
1282
01:21:23,730 --> 01:21:27,330
leaders of the revolution were
just five short years ago their
1283
01:21:27,330 --> 01:21:30,930
opponents. And partly because
they've already been burned and
1284
01:21:30,930 --> 01:21:34,590
they don't want to be burned
again. Some say, well, we took
1285
01:21:34,590 --> 01:21:38,730
an oath to the king now we can't
fight him, because we would be
1286
01:21:38,730 --> 01:21:42,210
bringing our souls in mortal
danger. But a great number of
1287
01:21:42,210 --> 01:21:45,180
people, I think, are just sort
of disaffected and are like,
1288
01:21:45,180 --> 01:21:48,270
forget it. We're just not doing
this anymore. We don't care who
1289
01:21:48,270 --> 01:21:50,820
wins, let them battle it out.
1290
01:21:59,460 --> 01:22:01,740
Jim Ambuske: More than three
thousand miles away from the
1291
01:22:01,740 --> 01:22:05,250
North Carolina Piedmont, British
men and women began a march of
1292
01:22:05,250 --> 01:22:11,880
their own on London. In May
1771, visitors flocked to the
1293
01:22:11,880 --> 01:22:16,050
Royal Academy of Arts to see the
latest work by Benjamin West, a
1294
01:22:16,050 --> 01:22:18,870
Pennsylvania-born British
American artist with a flair for
1295
01:22:18,870 --> 01:22:25,890
the historical and the dramatic.
In a canvas measuring four feet
1296
01:22:25,890 --> 01:22:30,150
high, and seven feet wide, West
used oil paints to depict a
1297
01:22:30,150 --> 01:22:33,480
tragedy at a moment of triumph
in the recent history of the
1298
01:22:33,480 --> 01:22:37,530
British Empire: The Death of
General James Wolfe on the
1299
01:22:37,530 --> 01:22:43,230
Plains of Abraham at the Battle
of Quebec on September 13, 1759.
1300
01:22:44,490 --> 01:22:48,030
The painting’s unveiling at the
Royal Academy Exhibition nearly
1301
01:22:48,030 --> 01:22:51,720
twelve years after Wolfe’s
demise came at an uncertain
1302
01:22:51,720 --> 01:22:56,160
moment for the empire. New taxes
called into question the
1303
01:22:56,190 --> 01:23:00,180
colonies’ connection with the
Mother Country; restrictions on
1304
01:23:00,180 --> 01:23:03,450
westward expansion denied
settlers access to Indigenous
1305
01:23:03,450 --> 01:23:07,680
lands; the destruction of the
final liberty pole on the
1306
01:23:07,680 --> 01:23:12,210
commons in New York city; the
shooting on King Street in
1307
01:23:12,210 --> 01:23:20,040
Boston; the War of the
Regulation. West depicted Wolfe
1308
01:23:20,040 --> 01:23:23,760
like Christ descending from a
cross made of flags bearing
1309
01:23:23,760 --> 01:23:27,840
British colors. Wolfe looks to
heaven as he bleeds from a
1310
01:23:27,840 --> 01:23:32,010
pierced wound on his side. The
light is fading from his eyes as
1311
01:23:32,010 --> 01:23:35,820
a messenger rushes from just off
view bearing the news that
1312
01:23:35,820 --> 01:23:39,750
Protestant British arms have won
the day, that Catholic France
1313
01:23:39,750 --> 01:23:45,630
has been defeated. As Christ was
surrounded by his disciples in
1314
01:23:45,630 --> 01:23:49,710
Leonardo da Vinci's The Last
Supper, so Wolfe is surrounded
1315
01:23:49,740 --> 01:23:54,750
by the empire: Scottish
Highlanders, English men, Irish
1316
01:23:54,750 --> 01:23:59,610
soldiers, and British Americans.
A tattooed Native warrior rests
1317
01:23:59,610 --> 01:24:03,840
in the foreground, contemplating
the scene before him as Wolfe’s
1318
01:24:03,870 --> 01:24:09,420
men fear for their fallen
general. In a moment of imperial
1319
01:24:09,420 --> 01:24:13,500
crisis, West’s painting reminded
Britons on both sides of the
1320
01:24:13,500 --> 01:24:16,350
Atlantic that an empire of
liberty was not without
1321
01:24:16,350 --> 01:24:22,410
hardship, not without sacrifice.
It is difficult to know whether
1322
01:24:22,410 --> 01:24:26,310
Black Britons or Black British
Americans – free or enslaved –
1323
01:24:26,340 --> 01:24:30,150
gained admittance to see West’s
history, a painting in which
1324
01:24:30,150 --> 01:24:34,920
they could not see themselves.
But not far from where West’s
1325
01:24:34,920 --> 01:24:39,570
painting hung, in the months
after its installation, in a
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01:24:39,570 --> 01:24:43,680
courtroom in London, in a case
that connected West Africa,
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01:24:43,710 --> 01:24:48,030
Virginia, Boston, and England,
enslaved Britons would argue for
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01:24:48,030 --> 01:24:51,540
their place in Britain’s Empire
of liberty.
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01:25:01,650 --> 01:25:05,160
Thanks for listening to Worlds
Turned Upside Down. Worlds is a
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01:25:05,160 --> 01:25:08,880
production of R2 Studios, part
of the Roy Rosenzweig Center for
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01:25:08,880 --> 01:25:13,350
History and New Media at George
Mason University. I’m your host,
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01:25:13,380 --> 01:25:17,610
Dr. Jim Ambuske. This episode of
Worlds Turned Upside Down is
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01:25:17,610 --> 01:25:21,960
made possible with support from
a 2024 grant from the National
1334
01:25:21,960 --> 01:25:25,320
Endowment for the Humanities.
​Learn how you can support the
1335
01:25:25,320 --> 01:25:29,370
series at r2studios.org, where
you’ll also find a complete
1336
01:25:29,370 --> 01:25:32,640
transcript of today’s episode
and suggestions for further
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01:25:32,640 --> 01:25:36,480
reading. ​Worlds is researched
and written by me with
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01:25:36,480 --> 01:25:39,240
additional research, writing,
and script editing by Jeanette
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01:25:39,240 --> 01:25:43,320
Patrick. Jeanette Patrick and I
are the Executive Producers.
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01:25:43,350 --> 01:25:47,460
Grace Mallon is our British
Correspondent. Our lead audio
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01:25:47,460 --> 01:25:50,460
editor for this episode is
Patrick Long of Primary Source
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01:25:50,460 --> 01:25:54,570
Media. Annabelle Spencer and
Amber Pelham are our graduate
1343
01:25:54,570 --> 01:25:58,890
assistants. Our thanks to Abby
Chandler, Marjoleine Kars,
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01:25:58,890 --> 01:26:01,860
Cynthia Kierner, and Nathan
Schultz for sharing their
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01:26:01,860 --> 01:26:05,490
expertise with us in this
episode. Thanks also to our
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01:26:05,490 --> 01:26:09,450
voice actors Sarah Donelson,
Evan McCormick, Norman Rodger,
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01:26:09,480 --> 01:26:13,950
John Terry, and Peter Walker.
Subscribe to Worlds on your
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01:26:13,950 --> 01:26:17,610
favorite podcast app. Thanks,
and we’ll see you next time.