Abstract
The history of North Carolina’s system of organized governing with a governor as the leader of the governance system can be viewed in different phases of history starting from the Virginia Colony, followed by the Southern Plantation. The Southern Plantation is followed by the Lords Proprietors which is followed by the Royal Colony and finally to the modern State of North Carolina. The North Carolina Governor is the highest-ranking government executive in the State. The governor has many powers especially being the highest-ranking government official of the state. One of the powers and responsibilities is the heading of the Council of State.
Until 1996, the governor of the state did not have veto power. The governor also has the power of appointing officials of the executive branch, a number of judges, and the commissions’ board members. However, the Governor of North Carolina has lower powers when compared to other states in the United States of America and this was evidenced by a study that was conducted in the year 2007 (North Carolina History Project, 2009).
Historical Background
The Virginia Colony
During the sixteenth century, European countries initiated the era of exploration and also colonized the New World. Great Britain in her endeavors to acquire new territories which were deemed to be very important for the country to gain resources. Great Britain faced opposition from other European countries and the most formidable was Spain. To this effect, Queen Elizabeth appointed Sir Walter Raleigh to seek a settlement for Britons in the New World and this was deemed to be very effective in ensuring that Great Britain secured the territories. This new colony that was established was called Virginia and it was in honor of the virgin queen, Queen Elizabeth. This territory included the current North Carolina as well as other States around the region (Bovaird, 2003).
The Southern Plantation
The first thriving English settlement can be traced to Jamestown and this was after the disappearance which is seen as mysterious by many historians of the Lost Colony. This settlement did not stop there but instead, it spread to other regions in the south. In the end, a distinction between the two areas, and this was between the Old Virginia and the Chesapeake Bay. This distinction would later spread up to Roanoke Island.
When Roanoke Island became a more established settlement it was named the Southern Plantation. This led to the creation of a Commander of the Southern Plantation and this was created by the then Governor of Virginia. These actions by the governor would outpace his authority when viewed under the statutes of the English Crown and hence the short life of the Southern Plantation and its commander (Bovaird, 2003).
The Lords Proprietors
Queen Elizabeth was succeeded The Stuarts as the monarchs of Britain. In the same respect Charles, I was executed and this led to Oliver Cromwell taking the ruling position from the year 1649 until Charles II returned the former rulers to power and also was involved in rewarding the supporters of The Stuarts. To this effect, the new king rewarded eight supporters the proprietorship of the new colony which was known as Carolina which extended from the Southern parts of Virginia and included the Southern Plantation. This colony extended from the southern parts of Virginia to the border of the colony that was controlled by Spain known as Florida. The South Seas was the boundary on the western part of Carolina (North Carolina History Project, 2009).
The Royal Colony
The people who were rewarded by Charles II to manage the colony were facing immense difficulties. This can be attributed to numerous border disputes with the colony of Virginia, the Tuscarora Indian Wars, and The Blackbeard pirating actions. Apart from that, a part of the colony had also started to have the outlook of independent organization and this was known as the Royal Colony of South Carolina in the year 1719.
The British King was advised by his advisors that the best way to run the Royal Colony was to subject the Royal Colony to direct loyal control. This led to the eight proprietors selling their holdings in the colony to the crown and only one maintained his holdings. This lone proprietor was John Carteret and he retained the Granville Tract which was to be found in North Carolina but was without the governing control and this arrangement was brought to an by the American Revolution (Governor’s Office of North Carolina, 2009).
The State of North Carolina
North Carolina dissent grew and this was under the rule of King Charles II. There were evidenced risings of the regulators on the western parts of the state that were opposed to the colonial government corruption. In an event known today as the Edenton Tea Party, the ladies of Edenton vowed to support the American cause. In 1775 there was the Mecklenburg Declaration of Independence which acted as an indicator of how the Americans felt about the Royal Government’s representation of the people and hence the people were calling for separation from the loyal control. Things would turn grimy on July 1775 when the patriots pursued Josiah Martin who fled from Fort Johnston together with his family and sought the British Warship protection. Josiah Martin was the last Royal Governor of North Carolina (Donald, 2005).
From the year 1776 until 1835 when the constitutional convention was held in the year 1835, the governors of North Carolina were chosen by the General Assembly of the state. However, after 1835 the governors were elected through a popular vote for a two-year term and the governor also had the chance to be elected for two more years in offices. With the readmission of the state to the Union in the year 1868, the new constitution of the state had the statute of the governor being elected for four years single term. This remained like that until the year 1977 when the constitutional amendment of 1971 had the clause the allowed a sitting governor to be vying for re-election into an office for another term (Donald, 2002).
Successes and failures of the North Carolina Governance
The past governments have achieved many successes and on the same note, they have also failed in some instances. There is a need for future governments to look at the successes so that they can uphold the policies that have led to these successes. In the same respect, future governments must ensure that the failures of the past governments do not thrive and this can only be achieved through changing the policies that the past governments have implemented (Donald, 2002).
The governance of North Carolina has had many successes in its history and also has some failures. However, many of the successes can be dated from the period after the American Revolution. It has been a stable state from that time up to now and the various constitutional amendments have only been deemed to be improving the outlook of the state governance. It was also very successful in fighting the colonial masters who were oppressive and very corrupt. During its various phases, the state has been improving its services to the people of North Carolina (Governor’s Office of North Carolina, 2009).
One of the successes can be attributed to the level of education in the state. The governance of the state has embarked on a project of ensuring that almost all of the residents have the basic education and also many of the residents are educated to college level with a significant number of people attaining university education level. This can be attributed to the fact the state has set aside a fund for the education of the residents of North Carolina and this has been very well managed by the government which has created institutions that are given the responsibility of ensuring that these funds are not mismanaged (North Carolina History Project, 2009).
Another success is the provision of some of the most important services chief among them being the health services. The federal government constitutional clause stating that everybody should be offered medical services in case of an emergency whether the individual has health insurance or not has been fully developed in the State of North Carolina. This can be attributed to the fact that the government has ensured that as many residents as possible have medical insurance and this has been helped very much by the fact that the state government has implemented policies that greatly ease the payments of health insurance by the low-income earners.
The hospitals have also implemented policies that ensure that the residents of the state do not have problems accessing the medical services which are deemed to be very important for the people of any given state (North Carolina Governors, 2009).
Another success of the government of North Carolina is its efforts of fighting crime which is very successful considered by many degrees. One of these is the fact that the state has been able to significantly reduce the crime rate of the state and is considered to be one of the safest states of the United States of America. Various crimes in the state have also been reduced and this can be attributed to the fact that the state has enhanced the security of the state through a well-trained law enforcement force. It also plays an important role in ensuring that the federal government law enforcement forces like the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) operate in harmony with the state law enforcement forces. One success is highway security which has been a problem for the state for a number of years (Governor’s Office of North Carolina, 2009).
The State is also experiencing an increased economical activity and this can be attributed to various policies of the government of North Carolina. The economy of the state is stable compared to the other states of the United Kingdom.
Though it cannot be said to be the richest state in the United States, it is a very stable economy by all means and this can be attributed to the various policies that have been implemented by the government of North Carolina and also the performing institutions of the state. The people are also motivated to be involved in an economical activity and this is through various incentives such as the readily available education and also tax incentive to the small businesses (Donald, 2005).
It has also made policies that require the protection of the employees of the companies that are within the state and those that are operating in the state. This can be attributed to the laws that require the companies to offer complete benefits to the employees. This ensures that the citizens are protected against oppression by employers who can be unscrupulous at times. This means that the government of the state is very conscious of the welfare of the citizens.
This is also extended to the fact that the state pays for various services that some people cannot afford to have on their own. This is especially true in such areas as health and education. The state reserves some funds for the welfare of low-income earners and the unemployed (North Carolina History Project, 2009).
However, the governance of the State of North Carolina has failed in some instances. For example, there is not sufficient representation and this means that some of the minorities are not fully represented in the government. This has led to a rising level of inequality which can be attributed to the fact that many resources are only reserved for the majority. This can be said to be a form of discrimination whereby there is the existence of discrimination on various grounds like races, ethnicity, religion, and sex.
Racial profiling is also very evident in the state of North California with the Blacks and Latinos being the major victims of this vice. The past governments have failed to ensure that the aspect of racial profiling is eliminated from the justice system of the state of North Carolina (North Carolina Department of CC & PS, 2009).
Another failure of the past governments of North Carolina is the fact that many people who enjoy the resources are whites while the non-whites do not have sufficient access to the resources and opportunities of the state. It is to this effect that most of the educated people are whites while those who enjoy the opportunities of the state are also the whites. The most affected by this factor are the Native Americans followed by other races (North Carolina Governors, 2009).
My Ideal Governance
When elected to the office of the governor of the state of North Carolina, I would uphold all the policies that have enabled the past governments to achieve the successes that they have achieved. This will be especially true to service delivery and economic growth. However, there is still room for improvement and this can only be achieved through the government ensuring that there is a better representation and those vices as racial profiling, equal distribution of the state’s resources and opportunities. The delivery of the services needs also to be improved and this can only be achieved through the various policies which will ensure that all people have equal access to these services and this will also improve the people’s accessibility to the state’s opportunities (Governor’s Office of North Carolina, 2009).
There have been times in history when the taxpayers of the state of North Carolina had been unstable and this is because of the bad policies the past governments have implemented and this has brought about the need for the future government to ensure that the people are subjected to policies which will work towards the benefits of the people. The creation of jobs is also another important aspect and this can only be done by implementing policies that will ensure that most of the people in the state get employment or create employment opportunities.
This can be achieved by encouraging people to employ more people and also by ensuring that the people who are willing to start projects which will afford employment for various people in the society have the incentives to invest in the country. This is very instrumental for the people of the state to ensure that also the economic growth of the state is increasing albeit the economy being stable (Donald, 2005).
The state will also ensure that the rare cases of crime are done away with completely and this will only be achieved through the state ensuring that the law enforcement forces of the state are fully equipped and adequately trained to handle the crime in the state. It is however important to note that past governments have played a very important role in ensuring that the state’s crime rates are decreasing in significant magnitudes. There is the need for more concerted effort to ensure that crime is at a very low rate and this is by ensuring that security is high at all times (North Carolina Governors, 2009).
All this is only possible if the public administration is very effective and also if the laws in the country are updated to counter the changes that are being witnessed in the entire country and also in the world. The state of North Carolina should incorporate a very effective public administration that is handled by a good network of laws, regulations, and policies (Donald, 2002).
Conclusion
If elected to the Governor’s Office of North Carolina, I will utilize the public management of the state to ensure that the funds are well managed and that the services offered by the government to the residents are well delivered and there is no favoritism or discrimination in ensuring that all the residents get equal opportunities. The public administration will also be very instrumental and I will use the public administration in ensuring that all the services are given to the people in the most efficient way. The public governance will also be improved to ensure accountability and also ensure that the government is involved in various development needs of the state of North Carolina (North Carolina Department of CC & PS, 2009).
This will be very instrumental in ensuring that the state of North Carolina enjoys economical development and growth and also ensure that there are high employment rates in the country. This will also be very instrumental in ensuring that the crime rates have reduced even to better rates. The people’s rights will also be grossly protected by the government through various institutions which will be initiated by my government (North Carolina History Project, 2009).
References
Bovaird, A. G., Tony Bovaird, Elke Löffler Public Management and Governance: Routledge, 2003.
Donald F. Kettle (2005).The global public management revolution. Brookings Institution Press.
Donald F. Kettle. The transformation of governance: public administration for twenty-first century America. JHU Press, 2002.
Governor’s Office of North Carolina. Web.
North Carolina Department of CC & PS. Web.
North Carolina Governors. Web.
North Carolina History Project. Web.