StateMaster - Statistics on North Carolina. facts and figures, stats and information on economy, crime, people, government, health and education. 28 maps and 38 flags

North Carolina is a southern state bordering the Atlantic Ocean. Located in the west of the state are Great Smokey Mountains National Park and the Blue Ridge Range of the Appalachian Mountains. Further East, a vast expanse of rugged and gentle hills called the Piedmont Plateau cover approximately 40 percent of the state. Its coastal plain is flat fertile ground for the state’s agricultural interests and the Outer Banks located there encompass the two largest land-locked sounds in the entire country. Named to honor King Charles IX of France and then kings Charles I and II of England, North Carolina has long played an important role in the history of America. It was the site of the first English settlements in the new world in the late 16th century (both failed). It was also the first of the American Colonies to vote for independence from England. It finally ratified the U.S. Constitution on November 21st, 1789, entering the union as the 12th state. This occurred once its demands for a guarantee concerning the rights and privileges of the new nation’s citizens be included in the document were met. Thus, the Bill of Rights was born. During the U.S. Civil War, this state contributed more soldiers to the South than any other member of the Confederacy and its citizens suffered 25 percent of all casualties in that conflict.

Background:

North Carolina’s economy has long been based on agriculture. Love it or hate it, one of its first products is still vital to the state’s economic backbone: tobacco. More recently the areas of banking, technology and research have been on the rise giving the state new life. Charlotte is the second biggest banking center in the U.S. North Carolina has the highest burglary per capita rate in the U.S. The state is home to the largest military base in North America, Fort Bragg. With the number of Navy and Marine Corps bases here it also has the largest concentration of sailors and Marines in the world. Largely a conservative state, in the 2004 presidential election North Carolina gave its 15 electoral votes to George W. Bush.

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Maps of North Carolina

Moores Creek National Battlefield [North Carolina]	Guilford Courthouse National Military Park [North Carolina]	Asheville, North Carolina 1919	1778-1781 - The Southern Area 1778-1781
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