North Carolina Provincial Congress

The North Carolina Provincial Congress was an extralegal representative assembly patterned after the colonial lower house that existed in North Carolina from 1774 to 1776. It led the transition from British provincial to U.S. state government in North Carolina. It established a revolutionary government, issued bills of credit to finance the provincial government, provided for the common defense, and adopted the state's first constitution.

There were five congresses. They met in the towns of New Bern (first and second), Hillsborough (third), and Halifax (fourth and fifth). The fourth congress approved the Halifax Resolves, the first resolution of one of United Colonies to call for American independence. Five months later it would authorize the state's delegates to the Continental Congress to vote for independence. The fifth congress approved a state constitution and elected Richard Caswell governor. In 1777, the newly established General Assembly convened at New Bern.