DocsBox Resources
The DocsBox Program
Discover primary sources from the State Archives of North Carolina in your classroom! Each archival topic contains ten or more primary source sets, complete with lesson plans and activities.
Two options are available for middle and high school during the America 250 NC commemoration:
- State Constitution includes the 1776, 1868, and 1971 constitutions and significant amendments.
- Revolutionary NC explores a variety of local stories with national significance. A Revolutionary NC elementary version is also available with materials designed for grades 3-5.
All DocsBoxes include select reproductions of primary sources from the State Archives, aligning with social studies and language arts curriculum standards, as well as some activities related to visual arts standards. This project was possible through funding from the National Historical Publications and Records Commission.
Resources
Access complete lesson plans, activity sheets, exit tickets, and more in the Documents section at the bottom of this page.
State Constitution
All State Constitution lessons come with complete lesson plans, glossaries, and exit tickets.
| Lesson & Primary Sources | Description | Assignments |
|---|---|---|
| Introduction: What Are Archives? | Students will learn about archives, types of records, and procedures used to protect and preserve historic documents. | Background: What Are Archives? Acid testing with 4 paper samples & indicating pens. On USB drive only: Family Recipe, Oral History |
| Cross-Lesson Activities | Activities to use with multiple lessons to develop essential skills by examining the document's source, closely reading for details and gathering evidence. | Document Analysis Constitutional Timeline *Quills & ink On USB drive only: Matching Sets What Are Fair Voting Rights? (ext.) Voting Rights Essay (ext.) |
| John Adams, Thoughts on Government, 1776 | In March 1776, as the Second Continental Congress met in Philadelphia, North Carolina delegate William Hooper sought John Adams’s advice on government. This letter is Adams’s reply to Hooper. The advice was so well received, Adams rewrote several copies of the letter to others and in April 1776 published his advice in a pamphlet. Many of the concepts Adams mentions in this letter became the foundations of American government. | Background: Thoughts on Government Activity: Word Cloud Activity: Broadsides On USB drive only: Selections & Questions: “Thoughts on Government” |
| 1776 Declaration of Rights | The N.C. Fifth Provincial Congress adopted the Declaration of Rights on December 17, 1776, one day prior to the adoption of the new state's constitution. The Declaration of Rights proclaimed separation of powers as well as basic civil rights, such as freedom of religion and guarantees of a fair trial, many of which were later restated in the federal Bill of Rights. | Background: 1776 Declaration of Rights Activity: Comparing Constitutional Rights Documents On USB drive only: Activity: Transcribing Selections, Activity: Rights Symbol |
| 1776 Constitution Supplemental sources: 1834 Plan of the City of Raleigh | On December 18, 1776, N.C.’s Fifth Provincial Congress created a state constitution to establish government necessary for American independence. State leaders looked to Adams’s advice and the newly adopted constitutions of Virginia, Pennsylvania, and New Jersey. The 1776 Constitution affirmed separation of powers and identified the three branches of government: legislative, executive, and judicial. | Background: 1776 North Carolina Constitution Background: State Seal Activity: State Seal Comparison Activity: Create a Wax Seal On USB drive only: Activity: Transcribing Selections Selections & Questions-1776 Constitution Activity: Finding Towns |
| 1835 Constitutional Amendments (relevant pp. 424-431) Supplemental sources: N.C. Map, c. 1831 N.C. Symphony state song recording (scroll down to find audio link) | The constitutional convention of 1835 was convened to modify the 1776 State Constitution. The principal changes of the 1835 convention involved the election process, including voter qualifications. While property requirements for voting and holding office were reduced, free men of color (a category including Blacks and American Indians), who had previously held the vote, were disenfranchised. | Background: Constitutional Amendments of 1835 Activity: 1835 State Song “The Old North State” On USB drive only: Selections & Questions-1835 Constitutional Amendments Activity: County Courthouse |
| State Constitution of 1868 Supplemental sources: N.C. Map, c. 1831 “List of Negroes Who Served…” | The Constitution of 1868 resulted from a federal mandate requiring North Carolina and other former Confederate states to revise laws to conform to U.S. federal law. The 1868 state constitution abolished slavery, provided for universal manhood suffrage, and made significant structural changes to North Carolina's governmental branches. | Background: State Constitution of 1868 Activity: North Carolina’s First Black Delegates On USB drive only: Selections & Questions: Changes in the State Constitution |
| 1901 Amendment of the North Carolina Constitution Regarding Suffrage North Carolina Constitutional Reader, Being a Handbook for Primary Use in One Part Speech of George White | The 1901 Suffrage Amendment was designed to disenfranchise African American men and nullify the 15th Amendment. It added a literacy test and poll tax for voting. The “grandfather clause” within this amendment exempted (White) citizens who were able to vote in 1867 or whose ancestors were able to vote prior to 1867, from these requirements. Black legislators who had been elected in the years since 1868, were effectively no longer electable. G. Ellis Harris, principal of a school in Littleton, N.C., wrote a book to teach African American men to read and understand the state constitution for poll officials. The book is important evidence of the African American response to disenfranchisement. | Background: 1901 Amendment Regarding Suffrage Background: 1901 George H. White’s Address to Congress Selections & Questions: George H. White’s Address to Congress Background: 1903 North Carolina Constitutional Reader Activity: Literacy Tests |
| Pro Women’s Suffrage Ephemera Anti Woman’s Suffrage Ephemera The North Carolina Convention of the National Suffrage Association annual report, 1919 Supplemental sources: Relevant excerpts from Amendments to the Consolidated Statutes, 1920, (pp. 1-20) Anna Alene Clemons correspondence with the National Woman’s Party “Votes for Women” sash | The fight for women’s suffrage was a long struggle involving organizations on both sides of the debate. In North Carolina, women gained the right to vote only after the 36 states ratified the 19th Amendment to the federal constitution on August 18, 1920. The North Carolina General Assembly met in an extra session in August 1920 and officially amended the voter qualifications by simply adding the notation to “Strike out the word ‘male’ in line two” in section 5937 of the Consolidated Statutes. This tiny notation stands in contrast to the monumental change for women’s rights. | Background: Women’s Suffrage, 1920 Activity: Sash & Slogan Activity: Make Your Own Political Cartoon On USB drive only: Activity: The Women’s Suffrage Debate Selections & Questions Activity: Annotation Worksheet Activity: Anna A. Clemons—Southport’s Secret Suffragist |
| Amendment of the North Carolina Constitution Regarding the Equality and Rights of Persons, 1946 Supplemental sources: Military posters, WWI & WWII | The 1946 Amendment changed wording from the State Constitution of 1868 which had incorporated language of the Declaration of Independence. The revision included women more explicitly—"all persons are created equal." | Background: 1946 Amendment On USB drive only: Activity: Women in Wartime |
| 1971 Constitution Supplemental Source: The News and Observer “Special State House Edition,” February 3, 1963 | The North Carolina Constitution of 1971 is today’s state constitution and the result of a push to modernize the 1868 version, clarifying the operations of state government and reflecting the needs of modern society. It also incorporated the recently added 26th Amendment to the federal constitution, defining voters as citizens aged eighteen and older. | Background: North Carolina Constitution of 1971 Activity: 16-Year-Old Voters? Activity: State House Crossword Puzzle On USB drive only: Activity: Voting Rights Struggles Continue |
Revolutionary NC
All Revolutionary War lessons come with complete lesson plans, glossaries, and exit tickets.
| Lesson & Primary Sources | Description | Assignments |
|---|---|---|
| Introduction: What Are Archives | Students will learn about archives, types of records, and procedures used to protect and preserve historic documents | Background: What Are Archives? Acid testing with 4 paper samples & indicating pens On USB drive only Family Recipe Oral History |
| Cross-Lesson Activities “A Compleat Map of North- Carolina from an Actual Survey” (provided as an oversize print) | Activity to use with any primary source to develop essential skills by examining the document’s source, closely reading for details, and Supplies to practice and understand 18th-century writing methods. | Document Analysis *Quills & ink On USB drive only: Hexagonal Thinking |
| First Provincial Congress: Women React Resolves of the First Provincial Congress Edenton Resolves Supplemental Source: Edenton Tea Party, satirical cartoon Surry County Committee of Safety Journal The Papers of James Iredell | Great Britian’s Tea Act of 1773 left the colonists paying a tax that they did not have a chance to vote for or against. Although no one called for independence yet, delegates took steps toward a new government. Committees of Safety formed in counties to establish local government and select representatives to send to the Provincial Congress. The Provincial Congress then elected representatives to attend the first Continental Congress in Philadelphia. In October, 51 Edenton women sent their own resolves in support of the Provincial Congress to the King of England and also published them, with their signatures included, in at least one local newspaper. | Background: First Provincial Congress On USB drive only: Selections & Questions: Resolutions First Provincial Congress Activity: Venn Diagram - Tea Parties Selections & Questions: Iredell Letter Activity: Reactions to the Edenton Resolves Activity: Film Fact or Fiction? |
| Individual Stories Gallery Harlowe Patriots: Revolutionary War account book, Carteret County "A Revolutionary Hero Gone!" Sarah Stewart widow’s pension application David Fanning’s memoir Mary Lewellin Colin Shaw letters, 1777-1778 | Although the Revolutionary War affected everyone in North Carolina, individual experiences varied according to their locations, community affiliations, beliefs, and economic circumstances, among other factors. Explore diverse stories including a prominent Patriot general, a free African American community in Carteret County, a soldier of the Sappony tribe in Person County, and Loyalists including military leader David Fanning, Thomas & Mary Lewellin, and a Highland Scots immigrant. | Activity: Historical Highway Marker On USB drive only: Background: Patriot or Loyalist? |
| 1777 Peace Treaty with the Cherokee Treaty of Long Island on the Holston Supplemental sources: “Map of the Former Territorial Limits of the Cherokee” “Qualla and 3200 Acre Tracts, Cherokee Indian Reservation, North Carolina, 1937” | Having been treated unfairly in earlier treaties, the Cherokee distrusted leaders of the new state. In 1776, young Cherokee warriors waged war on White settlements. State governments of the Carolinas and Virginia then retaliated with force. Wanting peace, the Cherokee leaders ceded land to the states in the Treaty of Long Island on the Holston River. Although the peace the treaty established did not last, it halted British efforts at a large American Indian alliance against the states and established the Cherokees' neutrality in the Revolution. The result was that the states’ military could focus on fighting British forces. | Background: Treaty of Long Island Background: Wampum Beads Activity: Morse Code Beads Activity: Blackout Poetry On USB drive only: Reader’s Theater Script Activity: the 1st Anniversary of the U.S. |
| Religious Dissent Moravian Petition 1778 1779 Petition and Decision Quaker-Mennonite Oath Report of the Committee…related to the Slaves liberated by the Quakers Quaker Petition-1782 | The state provided a special fidelity oath for dissenting groups, such as Moravians and Quakers, but the groups still had objections. The Quakers also began protesting slavery in the 1770s and their actions led to conflicts with neighboring planters and state government. | Background: Religious Dissent Activity: Religious Dissent Mosaic On USB drive only: Activity: Protesting the Oath |
Battles for Freedom: Petitions Concerning Emancipation, General Assembly Session Records | North Carolina laws made it illegal to emancipate enslaved people without special legal provisions. Service in the military was one of several ways that African Americans could gain freedom. The stories of Ned Griffin and John Jasper White show us that the paths to freedom could be full of risk, waiting, and legislative proceedings. | Background: Ned Griffin and John Jasper White On USB drive only: |
| Battle of Guilford Courthouse Military letters on lack of provisions Petition by inhabitants of Guilford County, 1781 Supplemental source: MoH battle flag | Throughout the southern campaign, soldiers as well as citizens of the Carolinas struggled for supplies and survival. General Nathanael Greene drew British General Lord Cornwallis into a chase, known as the Race to the Dan While the Battle of Guilford Courthouse was not the end of the war, it was a major turning point. | Background: the Southern Campaign On USB drive only: |
| First in Freedom? Charlotte Town Resolves, North-Carolina Gazette, May 31, 1775 Mecklenburg “Declaration of Independence,” Raleigh Register, April 30, 1819 “Declaration of Independence by the Citizens of Mecklenburg County on the 20th Day of May, 1775…,” 1831 | The citizens of Mecklenburg were intent on defending their rights from perceived injustices from Parliament. Local militia leaders met in Charlotte and published bold Resolves dated May 31, 1775. But the date of a legendary Mecklenburg Declaration of Independence, May 20, 1775) is on the state flag. Should it remain? | Background: Charlotte Patriots On USB drive only: |
Note on supplies:
We have provided supplies to be used in conjunction with lessons but difficult to find easily and inexpensively, as in dollar stores. *Quills are goose feathers and may be allergenic.
Acknowledgements:
The work of many made this project possible. The Tennessee State Archives inspired the DocsBox idea, and N.C.’s State Archivist at the time, Sarah Koonts, sought special congressionally directed spending through a retiring N.C. legislator. With those funds, we were able to hire two temporary curriculum developers in succession, both with classroom experience. Anna Wilder, a retired high school English Language Arts teacher, initiated development on the State Constitution DocsBox. Amy Bradsher, a former elementary school teacher and curriculum developer, created templates for repeat elements in both DocsBoxes and drafted all lessons for both levels of the Revolutionary NC DocsBox. Sarah West and Chris Deitner, both M.L.S. students with art backgrounds, brought skills in graphic design and formatting to assist with final drafts and DocsBox assembly. Our State Archives Outreach staff identified sources, learned to write lesson plans, and filled many gaps. Along with logistical support from the broader Archives’ staff, they faithfully kept this project moving in time to get to teachers before the 2025-26 school year and the peak of the America 250 commemoration.
We wanted to do our best to package some of the amazing primary sources from the State Archives in a way that would help teachers and engage students. We envisioned being able to print all of the sources we created, but printing costs added unexpected limitations. We hope the compromise we have landed upon with USB drives will make sense to use, while the DocsBox will be visually compelling and inspire student discovery.
Requesting DocsBox files
For access to specific files or the entire collection, all in PDF format, please download the zip file attached to this page or see contact information below.
Interested in more educational content from the Dept. of Natural and Cultural Resources? Visit NC Learn or America 250 DocsBoxes