Constitution of the State of North Carolina and Copy of the Act of the General Assembly Entitled An Act to Amend the Constitution of the State of North Carolina

Excerpt

CONSTITUTION OF THE STATE OF NORTH CAROLINA

PREAMBLE.

Preamble.

We, the people of the State of North Carolina, grateful to Almighty God, the Sovereign Ruler of Nations, for the preservation of the American Union, and the existence of our civil, political and religious liberties, and acknowledging our dependence upon Him for the continuance of those blessings to us and our posterity, do for the more certain security thereof, and for the better government of this State, ordain and establish this Constitution:

DECLARATION OF RIGHTS.

That the great, general and essential principles of liberty and free government may be recognized and established, and that the relations of this State to the Union and Government of the United States, and those of the people of this State to the rest of the American people, may be defined and affirmed, we do declare:

The equality and rights of men.

Section 1. That we hold it to be self-evident that all men are created equal; that they are endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable rights; that among these are life, liberty, the enjoyment of the fruits of their own labor, and the pursuit of happiness.

Political power and government.

Sec. 2. That all political power is vested in, and derived from, the people; all government of right originates from the people, is founded upon their will only, and is instituted solely for the good of the whole.

Internal government of the State.

Sec. 3. That the people of this State have the inherent, sole and exclusive right of regulating the internal government and police thereof, and of altering and abolishing their Constitution and form of government whenever it may be necessary for their safety and happiness; but every such right should be exercised in pursuance of law, and consistently with the Constitution of the United States.

That there is no right to secede.

Sec. 4. That this State shall ever remain a member of the American Union; that the people thereof are a part of the American Nation; that there is no right on the part of the State to secede, and that all attempts, from whatever source or upon whatever pretext, to dissolve said Union, or to sever said Nation, ought to be resisted with the whole power of the State.

Of allegiance to the U. S. government.

Sec. 5. That every citizen of this State owes paramount allegiance to the Constitution and government of the United States, and that no law or ordinance of the State in contravention or subversion thereof can have any binding force.

Public debt.Bonds issued under ordinance of Convention of 1868 and under acts of 1868, 1868-'69, 1869-'70, declared invalid.Exception.

Sec. 6. The State shall never assume or pay, or authorize the collection of any debt or obligation, express or implied, incurred in aid of insurrection or rebellion against the United States, or any claim for the loss or emancipation of any slave; nor shall the General Assembly assume or pay, or authorize the collection of any tax to pay, either directly or indirectly, expressed or implied, any debt or bond incurred, or issued, by authority of the Convention of the year one thousand eight hundred and sixty-eight, nor any debt or bond incurred or issued by the Legislature of the year one thousand eight hundred and sixty-eight, at its special session of the year one thousand eight hundred and sixty-eight, or at its regular sessions of the years one thousand eight hundred and sixty-eight and one thousand eight hundred and sixty-nine and one thousand eight hundred and seventy, except the bonds issued to fund the interest on the old debt of the State, unless the proposing to pay the same shall have first been submitted to the people and by them ratified by the vote of a majority of all the qualified voters of the State, at a regular election held for that purpose....