Abstract:
North Carolinians were divided on the issue of succession at the outbreak of war because of the state's growing industrial nature. The Whig Party or \"Unionists\" hesitated to secede without deliberation while the Democrats or \"Secessionists\" believed it was the state's honor and duty to join the Confederacy. Both parties argued their sides in Federal and Confederate Congresses without reaching compromise. The author reviews each side's ideals and attempts to define the objectives of each party which were sometimes blurred.