Revolutionary Roads

Episode 10: From Holdout to Union – Hillsborough, Fayetteville, and Ratification

North Carolina wasn’t just late to ratify the Constitution—its opposition practically forced America to add the Bill of Rights. In this episode, host Donald Bryson and Guest Paul Newby, Chief Justice of the North Carolina Supreme Court, discuss the Hillsborough Convention (where anti-federalists refused to ratify the Constitution), the years that the state was in limbo, and the Fayetteville Convention, where North Carolina is the second-to-last state to join the Union.

Episode 9: From Fragile Union to Federal Vision — North Carolina under the Articles of Confederation

What happens when a revolution stops short of real governance? In this episode, Host Donald Bryson and guest Dr. Andrew Taylor, professor of American politics at NC State University, explore how debt pressures, disunity, and weak national institutions shaped North Carolina’s politics—and how those strains paved the way to ratification.

Episode 8: Clash at the Crossroads — The Battle of Guilford Courthouse

Blood-soaked fields near Greensboro. Cornwallis wins the day, but at a devastating cost. Examine the strategic brilliance of Nathanael Greene and the path to Yorktown that followed. In this episode, host Donald Bryson welcomes Thomas Sobol, Supervisory Park Ranger at Guilford Courthouse National Military Battlefield, to explore the pivotal Southern Campaign of the American Revolution and how the Battle of Guilford Courthouse set the stage for ultimate victory at Yorktown.

Episode 7: Divided Allegiances – King’s Mountain, the Backcountry, and the Home Front

As the American Revolutionary War drags on, internal strife intensifies. In this episode, host Donald Bryson and guest John Hood, author of the "Mountain Folk" historical fantasy series and president of the John William Pope Foundation, discuss the Battle of King’s Mountain—a stunning Patriot victory—and the vicious civil war between neighbors in the backcountry.

Episode 6: Founding a State – North Carolina’s First Constitution

Host Donald Bryson and Jeanette Doran, Executive Director of the North Carolina Institute for Constitutional Law, explore how North Carolina created its first Constitution and Declaration of Rights in 1776. They discuss the influence of John Adams, John Locke, and Enlightenment ideas — and how this bold experiment in self-government still shapes the state today.