North Carolina Twentieth Century Analysis

North Carolina began the twentieth century in similar circumstances to the last century: economically, educationally and socially behind much of the rest of the country. Economically, the old bastions of textiles, light manufacturing and farming were still providing low wages for much of the workforce, precluding the state from making expensive ventures to innovate. Educationally, many children worked, making education difficult particularly in rural areas. Thanks to a heavily partisan political situation, there were a lot of restrictive rules affecting African American people in the early years of the twentieth century. To see how these factors change, a random selection of three decades was chosen. Events in each decade will be evaluated to see their effect on the state economics, education and social understanding. Taken in time order the first decade explored was 1910-1919. According to the census, the total population was 2,206,287: White- 1,500,511; Black- 697,843; Indians- 7,851; Chinese- 80, Japanese- 2. The Governor at the start of the decade was William Walton Kitchin, a Democrat, elected in 1908. His

In 1910 under his watch, the National Religious Training School and Chautauqua (it became North Carolina Central University) opened in Durham. This added to the amenities of “the Black Wall Street” in Durham. During an era of Jim Crow laws in the state, the white people of Durham showed tolerance for the diverse members of their community. Black business owners moved their headquarters to the city. According to LearnNC.org, “National leaders W. E. B. DuBois and Booker T. Washington both visited the city, in 1912 and 1910, respectively, and praised black entrepreneurship and the tolerance of whites. “ By 1915 the city has 110 African American–owned businesses, including the Mechanics and Farmers Bank and the North Carolina Mutual Insurance