The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to the U.S. state of North Carolina: North Carolina – U.S. state on the Eastern Seaboard, bordering the North Atlantic Ocean in the Southeastern United States. North Carolina was one of the original Thirteen Colonies and signed the United States Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776. North Carolina was the 12th of the original 13 states to approve the Constitution of the United States of America on January 2, 1788. North Carolina joined the Confederate States of America during the American Civil War from 1861 to 1865, but was readmitted to the Union in 1868.