Sunaina Danziger -- New Bern, North Carolina

During and in the lead-up to the Revolution, Newbern, North Carolina represented a meeting point between the North and the South. A provincial town with river access to the Atlantic, Newbern was an important trading port in North Carolina, published and circulated the transatlantic North Carolina Gazette, and was particularly well-connected to both Charleston and Philadelphia.

This exhibit first considers Newbern's access-points to London and important city centers in the American colonies, examining a map highlighting the North Carolinian colonial government and topography, and newspaper spreads including both domestic and international content. The second iteration reflects on North Carolina's relationship to slavery, using the Edenton Tea Party to reflect on how wealthy North Carolinians outwardly exuded refinement, but that refinement was qualified and subverted by prevalence of slave advirtisements. A third interation considers John Wright Stanly as reflective of North Carolina's location at the threshold of the North and South, as an important trading figure who also owned and advirtised slaves.