The Mecklenburg Resolves

The Mecklenburg Resolves were approved on May 31, 1775, in Charlotte, North Carolina. The Mecklenburg Committee of Saftey had begun drafting them on May 20, 1775, in response to the Lexington and Concord conflicts in Massachusetts. They were one of the first such resolves with only the one in Hanna's Town, Pennsylvania, known to be a few days earlier.

The NC flag has date Resolves started at the top

The resolves proclaimed that "...all laws...derived from the Authority of the King or Parliament, are annulled and vacated...." The document declared the Great Continental Congress to have all legislative and executive powers in the colonies. It encouraged all colonies to govern themselves, suspend British military action, and arrest any royal officials who resisted.

The state seal also shows the date

There has been some controversy over the existence of the Mecklenburg Resolves because the document had been lost sometime during the war. However, an early newspaper was found in the archives of The South Carolina Gazette with the complete text of the resolves printed. Students have studied the Mecklenburg Resolves for years as part of North Carolina and American history.

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