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On December 17, 1903, the [[Wright brothers]] made the first successful airplane flight at Kitty Hawk, North Carolina.
In the early 20th century, North Carolina launched both a major education initiative and a major road-building initiative to enhance the state's economy. The educational initiative was launched by Governor [[Charles Brantley Aycock|Charles Aycock]] in 1901. Supposedly, North Carolina built one school per day while Aycock was in office. In addition, North Carolina was helped by the [[Julius Rosenwald Fund]], which contributed matching funds for the construction of thousands of schools for African Americans in rural areas throughout the South in the 1920s and 1930s.
===World War I===
In 1917-1919 the state's Democrats at a powerful position in Congress, holding two of 23 major committee chairmanships in the Senate and four of 18 in the House, as well as the post of House majority leader. President Woodrow Wilson, a fellow Democrat from the South, remained highly popular during the war and was generally supported by the delegation. During the war, the decrepit ship building industry was suddenly revived with large-scale federal contracts. Nine new shipyards opened to build ships under contracts from the Emergency Fleet Corporation. For steamships were actually made out of concrete, but most were made of wood or steel. Thousands of workers rushed to high-paying jobs, as the managers found a shortage of highly skilled mechanics, as well as a housing shortage. Although unions were weak, labor unrest and managerial inexperience caused the delays. the shipyards closed at the end of the war<ref>William N. Still, Jr., "Shipbuilding and North Carolina: The World War I Experience," ''American Neptune,'' June 1981, Vol. 41#3 pp 188-207 </ref>.
The state's road-building initiative began in the 1920s, after the automobile became a popular mode of transportation. During the early decades of the 20th century, several major U.S. military installations, notably [[Fort Bragg, North Carolina|Fort Bragg]], were located in North Carolina. There were many usable trains in the town.
An important state government agency was the North Carolina Woman's Committee, headed by Laura Holmes Reilly of Charlotte. Motivated by the public service ideals of the [[Progressive Movement]], it registered women for many volunteer services, promoted increased food production and the elimination of wasteful cooking and storage practices, helped maintain social services, worked to bolster moral well-being of white and black soldiers, provided ideas on improvements of public health and public schools, encouraged black participation in its programs, and helped with the terrible Spanish flu epidemic that struck worldwide in late 1918. Of the committee was generally successful in reaching middle-class white and black women, but it was handicapped by condescension by men, limited funding, and tepid responses from women on the farms and working-class districts<ref>William J. Breen, "Seven Women in the War: The North Carolina Woman's Committee, 1917-1919" ''North Carolina Historical Review,'' July 1978, Vol. 55#3 pp 251-283, </ref>.
===Great Depression and World War II===
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