Before Liberty Had a Name

In colonial Edenton, 51 women LAUNCHED the first organized act of political resistance in America

Long before the Women’s Suffrage Movement, the National Organization for Women, the Equal Rights Amendment, and Gloria Steinem, there were the Edenton Resolves. During an era when women were expected to keep the house, bear future heirs, be seen and not heard, and stay out of politics, 51 women in Edenton, North Carolina, took a stand to help secure freedom for a fledgling nation. 

The Edenton Resolves declared support for independence from British rule and protested taxation without representation. This took place in 1774, more than two years before the Declaration of Independence was signed on July 4, 1776. These women of eastern North Carolina risked their lives to demonstrate their patriotism.

Situated on the north side of the Albemarle Sound, Edenton was originally named The Towne on Queen Anne's Creek. It carried that name from 1712 until 1722. Edenton also served as North Carolina's first colonial capital, holding that distinction from 1722 through 1743.

In 1714, Charles Eden was appointed the second provisional governor of North Carolina. Eden is best remembered for his alliance with the infamous pirates Edward "Blackbeard" Teach and "The Gentleman Pirate" Stede Bonnet. In 1719, Eden granted both men the King's Pardon after they surrendered to avoid execution for piracy. Historians have long assumed the governor benefited from their stolen spoils. It was not long before Teach and Bonnet returned to piracy.

Eden died of yellow fever in 1722 in neighboring Bertie County. He was buried near present-day Edenhouse Point outside Merry Hill, across the Chowan River from Edenton. Later that year, The Towne on Queen Anne's Creek was renamed Edenton in his honor. In 1889, his remains were reinterred at St. Paul's Episcopal Church in Edenton.

By the late 1700s, Edenton had become a thriving port town known as the Port of the Roanoke. It served as an international shipping center linking North Carolina with Europe and the Caribbean. Ships cleared customs there before transporting tobacco, lumber, turpentine, and salted fish across the Atlantic, while bringing imported goods back to the colonies.

Among those imported luxuries was tea. In Edenton society, tea symbolized refinement and social standing, and the amount served at gatherings reflected a family's status. There was also a practical benefit: boiling tea helped kill bacteria in drinking water.

Colonists were taxed on their homes despite having no representation in Parliament. Then came the Tea Act of 1773, which raised the cost of imported tea while reinforcing the British East India Company's monopoly over the colonial tea trade.

In 1774, the First Continental Congress resolved to boycott British textiles and tea. Although women were expected to remain outside politics, they were expected to manage the household and find alternatives to imported tea, cloth, and other taxed goods. Their cooperation became essential to the growing resistance. As tensions with Britain escalated, the women of Edenton seized the opportunity to participate by boycotting British imports and signing resolutions supporting liberty and opposing taxation without representation.

On October 25, 1774, 51 women led by Penelope Barker gathered at the home of Elizabeth King, a prominent member of Edenton society, to sign what became known as the Edenton Resolves. The resolutions were based on actions taken by the First Provincial Congress of North Carolina protesting the Tea Act. Barker helped rally support for the boycott of heavily taxed British goods. She and the other 50 signers were praised in both local and national newspapers. Unlike the participants in the Boston Tea Party of December 16, 1773, these women did not hide their identities; their names became public.

Their actions inspired women throughout the colonies. Many refused to drink tea, while Southern women began wearing homespun dresses to public gatherings and formal balls. In Charles Town (present-day Charleston, South Carolina), imported tea sat untouched in warehouses for months because colonists refused to purchase it.

Because women's political opinions carried little weight in the 1770s, Britain did not expect such an organized demonstration. The British press mocked the women of Edenton, but the ridicule only strengthened support for the Patriot cause throughout North Carolina and the other colonies. These 51 women came to symbolize courage, standing shoulder to shoulder with the men in resisting King George III.

The Edenton Tea Party is widely recognized as the first documented women's political movement in Colonial America. It marked a pivotal moment in American history, occurring two years before the colonies declared their independence. 

The Revolutionary War lasted from 1775 until 1783, ending with the defeat of British forces. Yet it would take another two centuries before American women gained many of the legal rights and opportunities enjoyed by men. Even today, some argue that equality in pay, promotion, and status remains incomplete. 

Today, the Edenton 51 stand as trailblazers whose quiet act of defiance became part of the foundation of a new nation. Their legacy reminds us that history is often shaped not only by those who lead armies or sign declarations, but also by ordinary citizens willing to stand for extraordinary principles.

Visitors can still see Penelope Barker's home at 505 South Broad Street in Edenton, North Carolina. The historic Penelope Barker House now serves as the town's Welcome Center, preserving the story of the women whose courage helped change the course of American history.

***

About the Author

Cecil Cherry is a native North Carolinian who graduated from East Carolina University and retired as a law enforcement officer from the North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation. He enjoys outdoor pursuits, traveling to North Carolina wineries with his wife Pam, and sharing the bounty of field to plate with friends and family. He is established outdoors and travel writer; his words can be seen in publications ranging from Feathers and Whiskey, Porch and Prairie, and Modern Clubman to The Southern Voice, On the Fly, and Strung.