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.[6] The Fourth Congress met in Halifax from April 4 to May 14, 1776. Samuel Johnston served as president, with Allen Jones as vice-president.[6][7][4][8][1][2]
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.[9][10][11]
Members
Thomas Amis, Halifax CountyJohn Baptista Ashe, New Hanover CountyThomas Burke, Orange CountyRichard Caswell, Dobbs CountyPhilemon Hawkins, II, Bute CountyJoseph Hewes, EdentonWilliam Hooper, New Hanover CountySamuel Johnston, Chowan CountyAllen Jones, Northampton CountyWillie Jones, Halifax CountyAbner Nash, New BernJohn Penn, Granville CountyNathaniel Rochester, Orange CountyJoseph Winston, Surry County
The following list shows the names of the delegates and the counties or districts that they represented:[4][8][12]
^ abWillie Jones had to leave the congress because he was elected by the Continental Congress to serve as the Superintendent of Indian Affairs. John Webb replaced him.
^Powell, William S. (1996). "James White". NCPEDIA. Retrieved November 1, 2019.
^Ingram, Charles M. (1986). "William Dickson". NCPEDIA. Retrieved November 1, 2019.
^Taylor, R. Hargus (1979). "Elisha Battle". NCPEDIA. Retrieved November 1, 2019.
^Watson, Alan D. (1988). "William Haywood". NCPEDIA. Retrieved November 2, 2019.
^O'Donnell, John Burke Jr. (1988). "Henry Irwin". NCPEDIA. Retrieved November 2, 2019.
^Smith, Claiborne T. Jr. (1991). "Duncan Lamon". NCPEDIA. Retrieved November 2, 2019.
^Bell, John L. Jr. (1986). "Ralph Gorrell". NCPEDIA. Retrieved November 2, 2019. His grandfather was Ralph Gorrell, Jr. (1735–1816), … Ralph, Jr., was a member of the Halifax Provincial Congresses of April and December 1776,
^Smith, Claiborne T. Jr. (1979). "Laurence Baker". NCPEDIA. Retrieved November 2, 2019.
^Lewis, J.D. "Needham Bryan". Carolana.com. Retrieved November 3, 2019.
^Lewis, J.D. "Samuel Smith". Carolana.com. Retrieved November 3, 2019.
^Lewis, J.D. "Thomas Wiggins". Carolina.com. Retrieved November 3, 2019.
Notes: Prior to the Constitution of 1868: the lower house of the North Carolina Legislature was known as the House of Commons and the leader of the Senate was called the Speaker of the Senate.
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