LENOIR, N.C. – “I don’t know what’s next.”

That insight was shared by an organizer of this past Saturday’s “No Kings” protest event in Lenoir. It is certainly a fair assessment, as we are in uncharted waters with Donald Trump.

Or are we?

If past is prologue, then Lenoir will play a key role in our modern anti-king, anti-authoritarian resistance movement as its namesake – General William Lenoir – did in the Revolutionary War. Indeed, at least one of the speakers invoked his name and his heroics at the Battle of Kings Mountain. It was a battle that turned the tide of the war, as many military leaders of the day noted. So, one speaker told the roughly 300 people in attendance that their presence was a continuation of the resistance to a tyrant that can be traced back to William Lenoir and the many men and women from the region who resisted the British fiercely.

The ‘No Kings’ demands are not new

The event opened with the National Anthem and Pledge of Allegiance. Several people spoke expressing their grievances against Donald Trump and his administration, including threats to the poor and public health; the attacks upon art and music, as well as the important roles they play in education; immigration policies; tariffs; gay rights; and the general threat to America’s values and morals. It also included several speakers, one who read a fairy tale; another, a poem.

Near the end, a speaker said an objective of the event was to “Make America Think Again,” which was met with resounding applause and cheers. The crowd also joined together to sing “This Land is My Land” and “This Little Light of Mine.”

Picking up on the sentiment of putting our thinking caps on, it is instructive to consider excerpts from our 249-year-old Declaration of Independence (in its original language) which sound alarmingly familiar today.

In making their case for revolution, the Founders wrote, “The history of the present King of Great Britain is a history of repeated injuries and usurpations, all having in direct object the establishment of an absolute Tyranny over these States. To prove this, let Facts be submitted to a candid world.” Their incomplete list included:

• He has obstructed the Administration of Justice, by refusing his Assent to Laws for establishing Judiciary powers.
• He has kept among us, in times of peace, Standing Armies without the Consent of our legislatures.
• He has affected to render the Military independent of and superior to the Civil power.
• For cutting off our Trade with all parts of the world:
• For imposing Taxes on us without our Consent:
• For depriving us in many cases, of the benefits of Trial by Jury:
• For transporting us beyond Seas to be tried for pretended offences:
• He has excited domestic insurrections amongst us … .”

Trump is doing all these and more. Can it be disputed he has cut off trade with the rest of the world? No! Is he misusing the military? Yes! Has he excited domestic insurrections amongst us? OF COURSE! Remember January 6, 2021 and thousands upon thousands of menacing statements and social media blasts threatening what we are now experiencing?

Our Founders wouldn’t stand for Donald Trump. They would, again, absolve their allegiance to the King as they did in the Declaration of Independence. “We, therefore, the Representatives of the united States of America … do … solemnly publish and declare, That these United Colonies are, and of Right ought to be Free and Independent States; that they are Absolved from all Allegiance to the British Crown, and that all political connection between them and the State of Great Britain, is and ought to be totally dissolved … .”

Today: An Ongoing Peaceful Response Instead of War

How then, shall we respond? Saturday was a great start. Millions of people turned out and protested peacefully. The total number is enough to achieve the intended result. If momentum can be maintained. The “Good Trouble” that is befuddling Donald Trump must intensify and multiply. The peaceful dismemberment of the Trump Administration in next year’s elections by “We the People” is how the nation will successfully navigate our severe divisions and return to making America humane again.

About General William Lenoir

You can read a more complete history of General William Lenoir here. Below is a brief summary of his life as is relates to Lenoir:

The British commander at Kings Mountain, Major Patrick Ferguson, had issued a chilling warning to the militia harassing his forces in Western North Carolina in the late summer of 1780.

Revolutionaries were not intimidated. So, on Oct. 7, 1780, Lenoir – then a captain – found himself as a leader in a 1,800-men force of Colonial militia mountaineers – The Overmountain Men. At Kings Mountain, near the North Carolina-South Carolina line, the Overmountain Men faced a force of about 1,000 Tories. The Tories were thoroughly defeated, with Ferguson and many other men being killed. The rest were captured.

Lenoir narrowly escaped death at Kings Mountain, having been shot in his side and arm, and having another wound on his head were a bullet had passed through his hair. Lenoir was active throughout the war, his courage leading him to receive several promotions.

He settled his family in modern-day Caldwell County ca. 1790, building Fort Defiance in the Yadkin Valley and making it his home. He spent his life in a number of civic roles after the Revolution, serving in both chambers of the legislature, and was a delegate to the convention debating ratification of the U.S. Constitution. He also was a champion of education, serving as a trustee of the University of North Carolina.

Ironically, while Lenoir voted against the Constitution at the ratifying convention because it did not contain a Bill of Rights, it must be noted that Lenoir did participate in a number of military campaigns against Indigenous people and also owned slaves.

In 1841, Caldwell County was established by the state legislature. Ten years later, Lenoir was established, named for General William Lenoir, who had died two years earlier at Fort Defiance, northeast of the town.

© Michael M. Barrick, 2025.