11 May 1861: “…treason shall consist only in levying war against this State, or in adhering to its enemies…”

Item description: “An Act To Define and Punish Treason Against the State of North Carolina and Other Offences Against the Sovereignty of the State” Chapter 18.

Item citation: From Public Laws of the State of North Carolina, Passed by the General Assembly, at its First Extra Session of 1861, C345.1 N87 1860-61, from the North Carolina Collection, Wilson Library, UNC Chapel Hill.

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3 Responses to 11 May 1861: “…treason shall consist only in levying war against this State, or in adhering to its enemies…”

  1. Tim says:

    I’m struck by Section 3 of this act, ratified May 11, 1861, which stipulates execution for any free person conspiring with a slave “to rebel or make insurrection.” There must have been a sense that this was a particular danger at the time. I wonder if anyone in N.C. was ever accused of this crime?

  2. Chris Wise says:

    I remain surprised at the depth of preparation for war prior to secession. Someone was carefully crafting legislation well before separation was declared. It also speaks to what must have been a widely held view that being a citizen of a “state” was vastly more important than being a citizen of a “country”. That perhaps shows my ignorance of southern perspectives in the era, but I suspect it also speaks to the very different ways of thinking from colony to colony and state to state.

    • dcbh says:

      I remain surprised by it too, Chris. Also, I’m fascinated by how much perspectives varied from area to area within a state. Take North Carolina for example, where much of the western part of the state remained loyal to the Union. And then there were the border states, like Kentucky, where it was even more sectionalized.