 In the spring of 1776, North Carolinians, meeting in the fourth of their Provincial Congresses, drafted the Halifax Resolves, a set of resolutions that empowered the state's delegates to the Second Continental Congress to concur in a declaration of independence from Great Britain.In July 1776, the new state became part of the new nation, the United States of America.In 1775, the Patriots easily expelled the Royal governor and suppressed the Loyalists.