[2] According to Harlow Giles Unger, in 12 years as state superintendent he overcame traditionalistic opposition and set up the modern system of public education in North Carolina.

He founded the state education association; helped set up teacher training institutions; imposed standards and examining boards for teachers; mandated annual teacher certification; coordinated county school units with school superintendents and boards; and advocated for universal education as a vehicle for ensuring the state's economic prosperity.

Wiley wrote two historical romances set in North Carolina during the American revolution, Alamance (1847) and Roanoke (1849).

Roanoke was reissued under a number of titles, including Life in the South (1852), Utopia (1851),[4] and Adventures of Old Dan Tucker (1852).

[5] Under the title, Life at the South, Roanoke was given the subtitle A Companion to Uncle Tom's Cabin, in an effort to capture some of the popularity of Harriet Beecher Stowe's famous text.