NORTH CAROLINA , though the most industrialized
of the Southern states, remains relatively rural and poor, with
just six million people spread over an area larger than England. It suffered heavily during the
Civil War , and Reconstruction brought mixed fortunes: although
poverty and hostility were still endemic the Democrats, once
they regained control in 1870, were effective in stamping out
the Ku Klux Klan. Since then there have been parallel traditions
of radical black, and white racist, activity. Greensboro , for example, where Jesse Jackson
served his political apprenticeship, was the site of the 1960
lunch-counter sit-in by black students, and also of the Greensboro
Massacre of 1979, when Klansmen killed five people at a Communist
Workers Party demonstration.
Geographically, North Carolina
breaks down into three distinct areas - running from east to
west, the coast, the Piedmont and the mountains - that help make
it one of the more interesting states to tour around. For visitors,
the coast is the most promising area, with good beaches, beautiful
landscapes and a fascinating history. The inner coast consists
largely of the less developed Albemarle Peninsula , with colonial
Edenton nearby. The central Piedmont is dominated by manufacturing
cities, and by the academic institutions of the prestigious Research
Triangle: Raleigh , the state capital, is home to
North
Carolina State University.
Duke
University is at
Durham , and the University of North Carolina at trendy Chapel
Hill.
Winston-Salem
combines tobacco culture and Moravian heritage, while Charlotte bills itself as the next boom
city of the South, though for the moment it's distinguished by
little but its downtown skyscrapers. In the mountains , one of
the most stunning stretches of Appalachia, the only towns of
any size, Boone and Asheville , are linked by the spectacular
Blue Ridge Parkway , while Great Smoky Mountains National Park
overlaps the border with Tennessee.
THE UNITED STATES OF
AMERICA