Rip Van Winkle State

Who was Rip Van Winkle?

• A fictional, hard-working man who showed the benefits of diligence

• A historical, unmotivated man who fell asleep for 20 years

• A fictional, unmotivated man who fell asleep for 20 years

• Some guy

Which of these is not a reason for North Carolina being called the "Rip Van Winkle State"? (THERE ARE TWO; SELECT BOTH)

• The people were all old and sleepy

• The state was underdeveloped compared to the rest of the U.S.

• The state government was active in helping N.C. grow

• The people were falling behind, as if they were stuck in place 20 years

Why did North Carolina's farmers struggle?

• Farming was new to the state, so they needed to figure out what to grow

• The state was taxing them very heavily based on their harvests

• Their soil was depleted and eroded away

• The government was trying to help them too much, and it was getting in the way

North Carolina's farmers didn't preserve their land very well. Why might this have happened?

• Crop rotation was very well understood, but they just didn't feel like it

• The soil was eroded away in heavy rains, which prevented the farmers from taking care of their land

• Crop rotation was not well-known, so they overworked their land

• The government paid them money to ruin their land by not taking care of it

Why did many farmers leave NC?

• Their land was depleted (eroding, infertile) and the government wasn't helping

• The farmland in NC was so healthy that they were literally fighting over the territory

• They wanted to live near the Country Music Hall of Fame in Nashville

Many politicians in North Carolina believed that most problems could be solved __________ government direction.

• thanks to

• without

• only through

• despite

Why could it hurt the state if taxes aren't raised and / or collected?

• The taxes pay the public directly, and they want their money, so they won't be happy if they don't get their taxes

• The public would get mad that they get to keep all of their money, and they could go somewhere else with better taxes

• People who work for the government don't get paid, so the government doesn't oversee / take care of things

• TRICK QUESTION: taxes can only be bad, so it was actually good for the state

Let's say that if N.C. was the "Rip Van Winkle State," its people represented the nagging wife. What might be a good reason for this comparison?

• They were all gone (all of them) when N.C. eventually "woke up"

• "Rip" didn't take care of them, and they were upset about this

• There's no good reason for this comparison

True or False: North Carolinians fled to the State of Franklin in the early 1800s, especially after the War of 1812.

• True; it was closer than Tennessee

• True; since it was founded by North Carolinians, it made sense

• False; the State of Franklin no longer existed after 1789

• False; North Carolinians moved either north or south, but not west

Apathy means ________________.

• (of a government) to not collect taxes

• to care very much about a certain issue or person

• to fall asleep for 20 minutes

• to not care very much about a certain issue or person