Fourth North Carolina Provincial Congress facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Fourth North Carolina Provincial Congress (1776)
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President Samuel Johnston
Overview
Legislative body	North Carolina Provincial Congress
Jurisdiction	North Carolina, United States
Meeting place	Halifax, North Carolina
Term	1776
Members	153 Delegates (35 counties, 8 Districts)
President	Samuel Johnston
Vice-President	Allen Jones
Secretary	James Green Jr.
Assistant Secretary	James Glasgow
Clerk	John Hunt
Sessions
1st April 4, 1776 – May 14, 1776

The Fourth North Carolina Provincial Congress was one of five extra-legal unicameral bodies that met beginning in the summer of 1774 through 1776. They were modeled after the colonial lower house (House of Commons). These congresses created a government structure, issued bills of credit to pay for the movement, organized an army for defense, wrote a constitution and bill of rights that established the state of North Carolina, and elected their first acting governor in the fifth congress that met in 1776. These congresses paved the way for the first meeting of the North Carolina General Assembly on April 7, 1777 in New Bern, North Carolina. The Fourth Congress met in Halifax from April 4 to May 14, 1776. Samuel Johnston served as president, with Allen Jones as vice-president.

Legislation

John Trumbull's painting, Declaration of Independence, depicting the five-man drafting committee of the Declaration of Independence presenting their work to the Congress. Hewes and Penn are depicted in the back row. Hooper missed the initial vote approving it on the Fourth of July, 1776, but was able to sign it on August 2, 1776.

The delegates authorized their representatives to the Second Continental Congress to vote for the Declaration of Independence, including Joseph Hewes, William Hooper, and John Penn. The 83 delegates present on April 12, 1776 adopted the Halifax Resolves. On April 13, 1776, the delegates formed a committee to start working on a North Carolina Constitution, which was ratified in December 1776 by the Fifth North Carolina Provincial Congress. In April, 1776, the congress passed a resolve to move loyalists while allowing them to dispose of their property. Later in May 1776, the congress passed a resolve to confiscate the property of those taking up arms against the United States.

Members

Thomas Amis, Halifax County

John Baptista Ashe, New Hanover County

Thomas Burke, Orange County

Richard Caswell, Dobbs County

Philemon Hawkins, II, Bute County

Joseph Hewes, Edenton

William Hooper, New Hanover County

Samuel Johnston, Chowan County

Allen Jones, Northampton County

Willie Jones, Halifax County

Abner Nash, New Bern

John Penn, Granville County

Nathaniel Rochester, Orange County

Joseph Winston, Surry County

The following list shows the names of the delegates and the counties or districts that they represented:

Notes: