North Carolina: Change and Tradition in a Southern State

William Link examines the fascinating history of North Carolina through the lens of strong, yet seemingly contradictory, historical patterns: powerful forces of traditionalism punctuated by hierarchies of class, race relations, and gender that have seemingly clashed, especially during the last century, with potent forces of modernization and a progressive element that welcomed and even embraced change. North Carolina: Change and Tradition in a Southern State answers meaningful questions about the history and future of this rapidly growing state.

This second editionincludes new coverage while retaining the strengths of the first edition, including its accessible and inclusive coverage of North Carolina s regional diversity. Extending the historical narrative into the twenty–first century, each of the six parts of this new edition conclude with set of primary–source documents selected to encourage students to develop a first–person appreciation for accounts of the past. Considering the North Carolina story from first contact all the way to 2015, this book provides a great resource for all college–level instructors and students of North Carolina history.

William A. Link is Richard J. Milbauer Professor of History at the University of Florida. He is the author of seven books on the history of the South, including Roots of Secession: Slavery and Politics in Antebellum Virginia (2003), Righteous Warrior: Jesse Helms and the Rise of Modern Conservatism (2008), North Carolina: Change and Tradition in a Southern State (2009), and Links: My Family in American History (2012). His most recent book is Atlanta, Cradle of the New South: Race and Remembering in the Civil War s Aftermath (2013).