North Carolina has been a leader in the South and the nation since 1775, when it became "First in Freedom" by calling for its independence from British rule. Throughout its history, the state has had a reputation as a progressive force. This book offers both an assessment and an examination of the realities of the state's leadership. Analyzing a wide range of political actors and organizations, which includes the state legislature, the governor and executive branch, the judiciary, political parties, interest groups, and the media, Fleer illuminates North Carolina's rich political history, its evolving constitutional order, and its changing political culture. Although revealing a pattern of elitist paternalism in the state's political history, the book illustrates a parallel pattern of popular participation and control. Major forces of change are increasingly defining the state. These transitional factors include a significant biracial electorate, a stratified society, a diverse electorate, increasingly varied and mobilized political interest groups, a competitive political party system, and a more representative political leadership. New challenges to the state's future development are its aging population, the preparedness of its work force, the globalization of its economy, the protec-tion of its natural resources, and the education of its children for the next century. Each new political debate, policy choice, and election reminds North Carolinians of their fundamental challenge: establishing a government by enlightened and effective popular consent.

Political scientist V. O. Key in 1949 described North Carolina as a "progressive plutocracy." He argued that in the areas of industrial development, public education, and race relations, North Carolina appeared progressive when compared to other southern states. Reconsidering Key's evaluation nearly sixty years later, contributors to this volume find North Carolina losing ground as a progressive leader in the South. The "new politics" of the state involves a combination of new and old: new opportunities and challenges have forced the state to change, but the old culture still remains a powerful force. In the eleven essays collected here, leading scholars of North Carolina politics offer a systematic analysis of North Carolina's politics and policy, placed in the context of its own history as well as the politics and policies of other states. Topics discussed include the evolution of politics and political institutions; the roles of governors, the judicial branch, interest groups, and party systems; and the part played by economic development and environmental policy. Contributors also address how geography affects politics within the state, region, and nation. Designed with students and interested citizens in mind, this collection provides an excellent introduction to contemporary North Carolina politics and government. Contributors: Hunter Bacot, Elon University Christopher A. Cooper, Western Carolina University Thomas F. Eamon, East Carolina University Jack D. Fleer, Wake Forest University Dennis O. Grady, Appalachian State University Ferrel Guillory, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Sean Hildebrand, Western Carolina University Jonathan Kanipe, Town Manager, Catawba, North Carolina H. Gibbs Knotts, Western Carolina University Adam J. Newmark, Appalachian State University Charles Prysby, University of North Carolina at Greensboro Ruth Ann Strickland, Appalachian State University James H. Svara, Arizona State University Timothy Vercellotti, Rutgers University

How can a state be represented by Jesse Helms and John Edwards at the same time? Journalist Rob Christensen answers that question and navigates a century of political history in North Carolina, one of the most vibrant and competitive southern states, where neither conservatives nor liberals, Democrats nor Republicans, have been able to rest easy. It is this climate of competition and challenge, Christensen argues, that enabled North Carolina to rise from poverty in the nineteenth century to become a leader in research, education, and banking in the twentieth. Although party divisions and the issues of race that often distinguish them are deeply rooted, Christensen explains, North Carolina voters remain loyal to candidates who focus on issues such as education and building a business-friendly infrastructure. He takes us to picket lines and debates and through numerous red-baiting and race-baiting political campaigns. Along the way we are introduced to many remarkable characters, including a U.S. senator who was a Nazi sympathizer, a candidate for governor who was a Soviet agent, a senator who helped bring down Joe McCarthy and Richard Nixon, and a TV commentator who helped usher in the Reagan Revolution. Long before the talk of red state-blue state polarization, North Carolina was an intensely divided state politically. With Christensen as a guide, readers may find there is sense after all in the topsy-turvy nature of Tar Heel politics.

Like several other southern states, South Carolina's political tradition has pri-marily been that of its Democratic party: between 1920 and 1950 no Republican candidate for governor, the U.S. Senate, or U.S. House of Representatives received more than 5 percent of the popular vote. In discussing the state's history, Blease Graham Jr. and William V. Moore show how internal politics have traditionally been determined by race, class, and region, with an unusually wide acceptance of aristocratic rule. The uncompromising John C. Calhoun, one of South Carolina's most famous congressmen, warning of the dire consequences of giving way to democracy, led the state as the first to secede from the union in 1860. After the war, with a new constitution, South Carolina's government became more democratic; however, "Pitchfork" Ben Tillman, through his agrarian Reform Party, appealed to white Democrats and small farmers in an effort to eliminate all but whites from the state's politics. The Civil Rights movement, industrial renovation, and shifts in South Carolina’s economy have gradually altered the state's political culture. The racist politics of the post-Civil War era have slowly been chipped away by federal and state initiatives. Long dominated by its legislature (itself often dominated by alumni in Congress), state government has gradually accorded more power to the governor. No less significant, South Carolina has gradually relinquished its antipathy toward the federal government, recognizing the need for cooperation. Despite changes, the direction of state policy continues to be primarily in the hands of the business elite. South Carolina Politics and Government outlines the ways that South Carolinians and their long-standing traditionalistic political culture will continue to be challenged by economic and social changes in the future. Besides providing the historical background of South Carolina's society and government, Graham and Moore review recent elections and party competition; the state's legislative, executive, and judicial branches; and policies in areas relating to local government, education, and public safety.

Edmonds gives a detailed and accurate record of the political careers of prominent North Carolina blacks who held federal, state, county, and municipal offices. This record shows that the ration of Afro-American voters was so low that black domination was neither a reality nor a threat.