Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Email
Answers.com

South Carolina

 
Dictionary: South Car·o·li·na   (kăr'ə-lī'nə) pronunciation
Home > Library > Travel > Dictionary - Places
(Abbr. SC or S.C.)

A state of the southeast United States bordering on the Atlantic Ocean. It was admitted as one of the original Thirteen Colonies in 1788. First visited by Spanish explorers in the early 1500s, the region was granted by Charles II of England to eight of his principal supporters in 1663. The territory was divided into the colonies of North Carolina and South Carolina in 1729. South Carolina was the first state to secede from the Union (1860), thus precipitating the Civil War. Columbia is the capital and the largest city. Population: 4,410,000.

South Carolinian South Car'o·lin'i·an (-lĭn'ē-ən) adj. & n.

 

Search unanswered questions...

Enter a question here...
Search: All sources Community Q&A Reference topics

Britannica Concise Encyclopedia: South Carolina
Top
Home > Library > Miscellaneous > Britannica Concise Encyclopedia

State (pop., 2000: 4,012,012), southeastern U.S. It covers 31,113 sq mi (80,583 sq km) and is an original state of the Union; its capital is Columbia. South Carolina is bounded on the north by North Carolina and on the southwest by Georgia; the Atlantic Ocean is to the southeast. The state comprises a broad coastal plain with a rolling piedmont farther inland. At the time of European contact the area was inhabited by Sioux, Iroquois, and Muskogean Indians. Spanish and French settlements were established and abandoned in the 16th century; the first permanent European settlement was made by the English in 1670 at Charles Town, moved to the present site of Charleston in 1680. Several military campaigns were fought in South Carolina during the American Revolution. In 1788 South Carolina became the eighth state to ratify the U.S. Constitution, and in 1860 it became the first state to secede from the Union. The initial action of the American Civil War occurred there at Fort Sumter. It was readmitted to the Union in 1868. Constitutional revisions in 1895 disenfranchised almost all of the state's blacks, and a rigid policy of racial segregation persisted until the mid-1960s, when the national civil rights movement began to have some effect in ameliorating racist policies. South Carolina is a leader in U.S. textile manufacturing and has a large industrial base. Tourism is its second largest industry. Agriculture also contributes to the economy; major crops include tobacco, soybeans, and cotton.

For more information on South Carolina, visit Britannica.com.

US History Encyclopedia: South Carolina
Top
Home > Library > History, Politics & Society > US History Encyclopedia

The first inhabitants of South Carolina, an area of some 31,000 square miles along the South Atlantic coast, probably arrived in the region around 13,000 B.C. There were dozens of Indian nations in the area just prior to European contact, with a total population numbering between 15,000 and 30,000. However, after European contact, native peoples were devastated by disease, and their populations quickly declined.

European Exploration and Early Settlement

The Spanish were the first Europeans to attempt permanent settlement in South Carolina. In 1526 an expedition led by Lucas Vásquez de Ayllón founded San Miguel de Gualdape on the coast, possibly Winyah Bay, but the settlement was abandoned within a few months. The French were next when Jean Ribaut led an expedition of Huguenots to Parris Island in 1562, where they founded Charlesfort. Their settlement collapsed within a year. The Spanish returned in 1566 under Pedro Menéndez de Avilés, who founded the garrison town of Santa Elena on Parris Island. The Spanish deserted the site in 1587.

The English attempted to settle the region in the years after the restoration of King Charles II, who in 1663 granted eight prominent noblemen (known as the Lords Proprietors) rights to all the land between Virginia and Spanish Florida, a land they called "Carolina" in honor of their king. The Lords Proprietors sponsored a 1670 expedition, of which only the frigate Carolina survived traveling up the Ashley River to Albemarle Point, where settlers established Charles Town. Ten years later, they abandoned Albemarle Point and moved down the river to Oyster Point, near the confluence of the Ashley and Cooper Rivers, where the city that came to be known as Charleston developed. The Lords Proprietors offered generous land grants and religious freedom for settlers, and the colony grew at a healthy pace. By 1700 there were about 4,000 white colonists living in South Carolina, almost all in the coastal plain.

The Peoples of the Colony

A majority of the colony's earliest white settlers were "Barbadians," a term used to describe seasoned settlers from Barbados and other English colonies in the West Indies. The Barbadians were immensely influential, and the acquisitive plantation culture they brought with them set the economic, cultural, and social tone of the colony. After 1700, however, English settlers, whether Barbadians or directly from England, made up less than half of the colony's white population. French, Scottish, Irish, German, Welsh, Jewish, Dutch, and Swiss settlers came to South Carolina in substantial numbers, attracted by incentives such as large land grants and subsidized transportation and provisions. Later, during the 1750s, Scots-Irish settlers from the mid-Atlantic colonies began to enter South Carolina's largely uninhabited backcountry via a road that ran from Pennsylvania into the Piedmont region. These Scots-Irish farmers filled the region above the fall line, and on the eve of the American Revolution South Carolina's white population stood at 80,000, about half of them in the upcountry.

The Barbadian culture and economy that became established in South Carolina in the late seventeenth century was based on plantation agriculture and African slavery, and black slaves arrived in South Carolina along with the colony's other original founders. In the early years of colonization, a majority of slaves came from the West Indies. After 1700 most were brought directly from Africa to Charleston, the port through which passed 40 percent of Africans brought in to North America before 1775. South Carolina planters were closely attuned to ethnic differences among Africans, and certain peoples were preferred for their technical expertise and ability to adapt to life in South Carolina. Among the Africans brought to the colony were those from the Congo-Angola region (who made up a plurality), Senegambians (preferred), and those from the Windward and Gold Coasts. As a result of the heavy demand for African slave labor, after 1708 blacks made up the majority of nonnatives in South Carolina. Between 1720 and the American Revolution, there were about two blacks for every one white in the colony. The existence of a black majority had a number of important effects, including the development of a distinctive creole culture that combined African and European elements.

Economic and Political Life in Colonial South Carolina

The Indian trade for deerskins was the first economic success in South Carolina's earliest decades, and by the early eighteenth century other lucrative exports included naval stores, salted meats, and lumber products. Commercial agriculture developed slowly, but by the 1720s rice became the colony's first great staple crop and created fabulous wealth for a few Carolina families. It was grown on plantations in the marshy swamps north and south of Charleston, and rice planters relied on the expertise and labor of large numbers of slaves from the rice-growing regions of coastal West Africa. The success of rice fueled the rapid expansion of plantation slavery. Indigo, which produced a blue dye prized in England, was first successfully cultivated in the 1740s and soon became another source of wealth for the colony's planters and farmers. On the eve of the American Revolution, South Carolina was by far the most prosperous British colony in North America. Of the ten wealthiest North Americans, nine were South Carolinians (all from the low country), including Peter Manigault, the richest American. In the upcountry above the fall line, hardscrabble subsistence farms cultivated by white settlers were the norm.

The colony's political character, like so much else, was shaped first by the Barbadians. They were a thorn in the side of the Lords Proprietors, and the Barbadian political faction (the "Goose Creek Men") consistently challenged proprietary rule, seeking stronger defense for the colony and the freedom to pursue wealth as they saw fit. Bitter political factionalism characterized early colonial politics and came to a head after a disastrous war with the Yemassee Indians (1715–1716), fought south of Charleston. The savage Yemassee War severely weakened South Carolina and in 1719 the colonists over threw the proprietary regime and declared themselves to be under the immediate authority of the king. As a royal colony, South Carolina prospered. Imperial authorities left the wealthy elite to establish a political system that met its needs. The British colonial system operated to the benefit of that elite, providing a ready market for the colony's rice and subsidies for its indigo. Among the most significant challenges to royal government was the Stono Rebellion of September 1739, the largest slave uprising in the American colonies prior to the American Revolution. Originating at plantations along the Stono River just south of Charleston, the revolt left twenty whites and nearly twice that number of blacks dead.

The American Revolution and Internal Sectional Tensions

Seeking to protect their riches and solidify respect for their position in society, the South Carolina planters and merchants who had so profited from the British colonial system became the leaders of revolutionary activity in South Carolina. Sentiment against imperial authority was aroused by arrogant customs officials, the Stamp Act of 1765, the Townshend Acts of 1767, and British political claims. Wealthy low-country Carolinians such as Christopher Gadsden, Henry Laurens, Thomas Lynch, and Arthur Middleton led the colony's independence movement, and in March 1776, a provincial congress set up an independent government with Charlestonian John Rutledge as chie fexecutive. A British attempt to take Charleston by force failed on 28 June 1776 at the Battle of Sullivan's Island, but in the spring of 1780 a British siege led to the city's surrender. In spite of the loss of the colonial capital, in the decisive campaign of the American Revolution upcountry militias rallied behind the leadership of Francis Marion, Andrew Pickens, and Thomas Sumter in late 1780 and 1781. In a brutal civil war punctuated by notable victories at King's Mountain (7 October 1780) and Cowpens (17 January 1781), they held the British army and their Tory allies at bay. Meanwhile the Continental Army under the leadership of Nathaniel Greene drove the British into an enclave around Charleston, which they evacuated finally in December 1782.

In the wake of the Revolution, South Carolina was in disarray. Old rivalries between upcountry and low-country resurfaced, resulting in a number of govern-mental reforms that included the removal of the state capital to Columbia in 1786 near the geographic center of the state. Pierce Butler, Henry Laurens, Charles Pinckney, Charles Cotesworth Pinckney, and John Rutledge, all members of the lowcountry elite, represented South Carolina at the 1787 Constitutional Convention. They then led the movement to ratify the document in 1788, in spite of significant opposition from the upcountry. A political compromise in 1808 helped to end the state's internal sectional rivalry when it amended the state constitution to provide roughly equal political representation in the General Assembly for upcountry and lowcountry.

The Antebellum Era and Secession, 1808–1860

The Compromise of 1808 was possible because the interests of upcountry and lowcountry were converging. After the invention of the cotton gin in 1793, short-staple cotton cultivation spread rapidly into the upcountry, and slave-based plantation agriculture spread with it. Improved transportation in the form of canals and railroads helped to integrate South Carolina's economy, and the South Carolina College, founded in Columbia in 1801, educated the planter elite from both sections and helped create a unified political culture. However, it was the development of a landed elite in the upcountry whose wealth was based on slave labor that did the most to unite the interests of upcountry and lowcountry. White South Carolinians were united in their support of slavery.

After 1820 it became nearly impossible to free a slave in South Carolina and the state had one of the most stringent slave codes in the country. The threat of slave insurrection, vividly demonstrated by the thwarted rising plotted by Denmark Vesey in Charleston during 1822, put whites on the defensive, as did declining cotton prices, worn-out cotton lands, and rising prices for slaves through much of the antebellum era. Besieged by developments beyond their control, South Carolina politicians first focused on the federal Tariff of 1828, which, they believed, put their slave-based economy at a disadvantage. Opponents of the tariff united behind South Carolinian and Vice President John C. Calhoun, who anonymously authored the South Carolina Exposition and Protest, a pamphlet outlining the doctrine of nullification, which held that a state could nullify any federal law it felt was unconstitutional. Despite bitter disagreement between Unionists and Nullifiers within South Carolina, an 1832 convention declared the Tariff null and void, threatening secession if the federal government tried to enforce the law. After Congress passed a compromise tariff, the convention repealed the Ordinance of Nullification, temporarily quelling disunionist sentiment in South Carolina.

As the question of the expansion of slavery in the territories seized the attention of the nation in the 1840s, secessionists in South Carolina (the so-called fire-eaters) argued that if the new territories became antislavery states, they would join with the North and force an end to slavery in South Carolina. The fire-eaters tried to push the state to secede in 1850. Unsuccessful in that year, the election of the antislavery Republican Abraham Lincoln in 1860 gave the fire-eaters the political momentum they sought, and a special state convention ratified the Ordinance of Secession on 20 December 1860. South Carolina was the first state to secede, setting the stage for the Civil War.

Civil War and Reconstruction, 1861–1877

The war began on 12 April 1861, when Confederate artillery bombarded the federal installation at Fort Sumter in Charleston harbor. The war that followed devastated South Carolina. A federal blockade virtually shut down the port of Charleston, and federal troops under General William T. Sherman brought modern warfare to the state in early 1865, plundering and destroying homes, farms, and railroads in a wide swath in their march from Savannah northward. On 17 February 1865, Sherman entered Columbia, and that night a fire destroyed one-third of the city. Between 31 and 35 percent of South Carolina's young white male population died during the war.

With defeat came emancipation for nearly 60 percent of South Carolinians, and white and black Carolinians were forced to work out a new relationship. In late 1865, white Carolinians took advantage of lenient federal policies to create a new state government filled with former Confederates, who imposed restrictive black codes that circumscribed black civil rights and later rejected the Fourteenth Amendment. In response, Congress ordered military rule and a new state government. In 1868, a constitutional convention that welcomed freedmen created a new government recognizing black voting rights, removing property qualifications for office holding, and creating a free public school system. Until 1876, the Republican Party controlled state government, and African Americans held office at every level but governor, achieving a greater degree of political power in South Carolina than in any other state. But South Carolina's whites reacted violently to this turn of events. A reign of terror by the Ku Klux Klan during 1870 and 1871 resulted in so many lynchings and beatings of Republicans that the writ of habeas corpus was suspended in nine upstate counties. However, in the aftermath the federal government failed to make more than a token show of force and terror organizations continued to function in South Carolina. In the disputed election of 1876, the Red Shirts, a white paramilitary organization, managed to engineer an apparent Democratic victory through violence and fraud. The Compromise of 1877 ended federal support for Republican Party government in South Carolina, and the white minority, represented by the Democratic Party and led by former Confederate General Wade Hampton III, regained control of state government.

The Rise of Jim Crow and the Persistence of Poverty, 1877–1941

As Hampton and the old elite (the so-called "Bourbons") returned to power, they tried to recreate the world of antebellum South Carolina. However, their inattention to the state's agricultural problems and mildly tolerant racial policies soon led to political revolt. Benjamin R. Tillman rode the disaffection of the state's white farmers to the governor's office, where he and his allies attacked the symbols of Bourbon power, if not the substance. Tillman focused his "reform" impulse on removing the state's black majority from public life. His triumph was the state's Constitution of 1895, which disfranchised the black majority and laid the groundwork for white supremacy and one-party Democratic rule in the twentieth century. In the last years of the nineteenth century and early years of the twentieth, South Carolina's white government also enacted a host of laws designed to segregate public life, and black Carolinians became virtually powerless. Relations between the races not governed by law were controlled by rigid customs that ensured blacks inferior status. As a result, black Carolinians left the state in droves, most bound for northern cities. After about 1922, South Carolina no longer had a black majority.

Persistent poverty plagued the state in the decades after the Civil War and was another factor in the out migration. The economy remained overwhelmingly agricultural and the system of sharecropping and farm tenancy led to heavy dependence on cotton, whose prices were in decline because of overproduction. As a result, farmers in the state's northeastern Pee Dee region turned increasingly to tobacco cultivation, which soon witnessed its own cycle of overproduction and declining prices. In the last years of the nineteenth and the early decades of the twentieth century, South Carolinians began to diversify their economy, primarily into extractive industries such as cotton textiles. Textile mills were organized across the Piedmont region, taking advantage of waterpower and a surplus of white labor, but creating new class tensions in the process. These mills were most often built in up-country towns that boomed with the widespread expansion of railroads after the Civil War. Towns such as Spartanburg, Greenville, Anderson, Rock Hill, and Greenwood became important marketing centers and drew economic activity away from Charleston, which entered a period of decline. In spite of the efforts of an indigenous Progressive movement, which sought to alleviate the effects of poverty, the economic stagnation that plagued South Carolina through the first decades of the twentieth century proved nearly impervious to change.

As bad as the years before 1930 had seemed, the Great Depression brought economic life in South Carolina nearly to a standstill. With Carolinians literally starving, both white and black Carolinians overwhelmingly supported Franklin D. Roosevelt's attempts to break the Great Depression, and U.S. Senator James F. Byrnes of South Carolina was a key to the passage of New Deal legislation. But the New Deal did little to change things in the Palmetto State. In spite of federal aid, debt-ridden farmers abandoned the land in large numbers, seeking work in cities. The textile industry was a shambles because of over production, and the General Textile Strike of 1934 left six dead in the Piedmont mill town of Honea Path.

Modern South Carolina from 1941

With the coming of World War II, a revival began in South Carolina. Military installations boosted the economy in communities all over the state, and defense related industries helped spur a wartime boom. After the war, agriculture began a long-term decline and by 1980 the state's traditional dependence on farming had given way to a diverse economy. Mechanization eliminated tens of thousands of farm jobs, while crop diversification reduced the importance of cotton, which was replaced by tobacco and soy beans as the state's leading cash crops. For three decades after the war, textiles remained the state's most important industry, and during the 1950s manufacturing employment exceeded agricultural employment for the first time. State government made concerted efforts to attract northern and foreign-owned industry by promoting special tax incentives, tax-free government bonds, technical education, and a revived Port of Charleston. By the 1990s, firms such as Michelin, DuPont, BASF, Fuji, BMW, and Hoffman-LaRoche were a major presence in South Carolina, primarily in the Piedmont, but few had located their headquarters in the state. By the end of the twentieth century, textile employment had declined in importance and, in the long term, appeared doomed in the region. Tourism capitalized on the state's climate and environment and emerged as the state's most lucrative industry, concentrated at coastal destinations such as Myrtle Beach, Charleston, and Hilton Head Island. While the state's standard of living rose considerably after World War II, at century's end South Carolina's 4,012,012 inhabitants still ranked near the bottom nationally in per capita income.

South Carolina's postwar revival included a revolution in race relations. At the end of World War II, the state was a part of the solid Democratic South, its politics was controlled by a rural elite, and Jim Crow ruled race relations. But after the war, the civil rights movement achieved a victory with the U.S. Supreme Court ruling in Briggs v. Elliott (a case arising in Clarendon County) as part of its 1954 decision in the landmark Brown v. Board of Education case. Though the state's white leaders at first resisted the demands of black Carolinians for civil rights, by the early 1960s they had begun to heed them. A series of strong, moderately progressive governors, including Ernest F. Hollings (1959–1963), Robert E. McNair (1965– 1971), and John C. West (1971–1975), urged white South Carolinians to peacefully accept federal civil rights laws and rulings. With the notable exception of the deaths of three students at Orangeburg's South Carolina State College in 1968, South Carolina avoided the violence and unrest that plagued other Deep South states during the civil rights era. By 1970, black Carolinians had begun to take their rightful place in the state's public life. At century's end, racial issues continued to play a prominent role in politics, as black Carolinians supplied the core of Democratic Party voters, while the Republican Party attracted few blacks. But for the first time in its history, the state had a genuine, competitive two-party system. South Carolina was a far different place than it had been even fifty years before.

Bibliography

Carlton, David L. Mill and Town in South Carolina, 1880–1920. Baton Rouge: Louisiana State University Press, 1982.

Edgar, Walter B. South Carolina: A History. Columbia: University of South Carolina Press, 1998.

Ford, Lacy K. Origins of Southern Radicalism: The South Carolina Upcountry 1800–1860. New York: Oxford University Press, 1988.

Hayes, J. I. South Carolina and the New Deal. Columbia: University of South Carolina Press, 2001.

Jones, Lewis P. South Carolina: A Synoptic History for Laymen. Rev. ed. Lexington, S.C: Sandlapper, 1978.

Joyner, Charles. Down By the Riverside: A South Carolina Slave Community. Urbana: University of Illinois Press, 1984.

Klein, Rachael N. Unification of a Slave State: The Rise of the Planter Class in the South Carolina Backcountry, 1760–1808. Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 1990.

Kovacik, Charles F., and John J. Winberry. South Carolina: A Geography. Boulder, Colo.: Westview Press, 1987. Reprinted as Kovacik, Charles F., and John J. Winberry. South Carolina: The Making of a Landscape. Columbia: University of South Carolina Press, 1989.

Littlefield, Daniel C. Rice and Slaves: Ethnicity and the Slave Trade in Colonial South Carolina. Baton Rouge: Louisiana State University Press, 1981.

Newby, I. A. Black Carolinians: A History of Blacks in South Carolina from 1895 to 1968. Columbia: University of South Carolina Press, 1973.

Simkins, Francis Butler. Pitchfork Ben Tillman, South Carolinian. Baton Rouge: Louisiana State University Press, 1944.

Tindall, George Brown. South Carolina Negroes, 1877–1900. Columbia: University of South Carolina Press, 1952.

Weir, Robert M. Colonial South Carolina: A History. Millwood, N.Y.: KTO Press, 1983.

Williamson, Joel. After Slavery: The Negro in South Carolina during Reconstruction, 1861–1877. Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 1965.

Wood, Peter H. Black Majority: Negroes in Colonial South Carolina from 1670 through the Stono Rebellion. New York: Knopf, 1974.

Zuczek, Richard. State of Rebellion: Reconstruction in South Carolina. Columbia: University of South Carolina Press, 1996.

 
Columbia Encyclopedia: South Carolina
Top
Home > Library > Miscellaneous > Columbia Encyclopedia
South Carolina, state of the SE United States. It is bordered by North Carolina (N), the Atlantic Ocean (SE), and Georgia (SW).

Facts and Figures

Area, 31,055 sq mi (80,432 sq km). Pop. (2000) 4,012,012, a 15.1% increase since the 1990 census. Capital and largest city, Columbia. Statehood, May 23, 1788 (8th of the original 13 states to ratify the Constitution). Highest pt., Sassafras Mt., 3,560 ft (1,086 m); lowest pt., sea level. Nickname, Palmetto State. Mottos, Dum Spiro Spero [While I Breathe, I Hope] and Animis Opibusque Parati [Prepared in Mind and Resources]. State bird, Carolina wren. State flower, Carolina jessamine. State tree, palmetto. Abbr., S.C.; SC

Geography

South Carolina is roughly triangular in shape. The long, even coast lined with beautiful sand beaches on the "Grand Strand" north of Georgetown becomes generally marshy to the south and is sliced by a network of rivers and creeks, creating a maze of inlets and the famous Sea Islands. The coastal climate is humid subtropical, with long, hot summers and short, mild winters. In this area are found cypress swamps, moss-hung oaks, beautiful flowering gardens, antebellum plantations, and the historic seaports of Georgetown, Beaufort, and Charleston, the latter a major tourist attraction and one of the chief ports of entry in the Southeast.

The fall line on the state's Atlantic-bound rivers separates the coastal Low Country from the rolling Piedmont plateau of the Up Country and runs generally parallel to the coast, passing through Columbia. Inland the climate is temperate, becoming progressively cooler as the elevation increases. In the extreme northwest are the Blue Ridge Mts.; they occupy only c.500 sq mi (1,290 sq km) in the state, with Sassafras Mt. (3,560 ft/1,085 m) the highest point.

Rainfall is abundant and well distributed throughout South Carolina. The Pee Dee, Santee, Edisto, and Savannah river systems drain the state, flowing from the highlands to the sea, creating rapids and waterfalls. This abundant source of hydroelectric power is one of South Carolina's most important natural resources. Several nuclear plants operate in the state as well.

Vacationers are attracted to Myrtle Beach and the Grand Strand, to the Sea Island resorts, and to Charleston's stately homes and gardens. The state's historical places of interest include Fort Sumter National Monument, Kings Mountain National Military Park, and Cowpens National Battlefield (see National Parks and Monuments, table). Columbia is the capital and the largest city; Charleston and Greenville are other major cities.

Economy

South Carolina's manufacturing industries have historically depended on the state's agricultural products as well as on water power. For example, the huge textile and clothing industries, centered in the Piedmont, are based on that region's cotton crop; lumbering and related enterprises (such as the manufacture of pulp and paper) rely on the c.12.5 million acres (5 million hectares) of forestland that cover the state-the longleaf and loblolly pine are prevalent. Other leading manufactures are chemicals, machinery, and automobiles. South Carolina's mineral resources have been of minor importance in the state's economy; except for some gold, most are nonmetallic-cement, stone, clays, and sand and gravel.

In agriculture, tobacco and soybeans now rival cotton as South Carolina's chief crops. Broiler chickens and cattle are economically important, and peanuts, pecans, sweet potatoes, and peaches are grown in abundance. Fishing is a major commercial enterprise; the chief catches are blue crabs and shrimp. Military bases and nuclear facilities are important to the economy, and the tourist industry today ranks as the state's chief source of income.

Government, Politics, and Higher Education

South Carolina's legislature has a senate with 46 members and a house of representatives with 124 members. The state sends 2 senators and 6 representatives to the U.S. Congress and has 8 electoral votes. In the early 1970s the state's 1895 constitution was extensively revised. The executive branch is headed by a governor elected for a four-year term. From 1876 to 1975 all the state's governors were Democrats, and South Carolina was part of the "Solid South." More recently Republicans have moved into a position of equal power. David Beasley, a Republican, won the governorship in 1994 but was defeated in 1998 by Jim Hodges, a Democrat. In 2002, Hodges lost his own reelection bid to Republican Mark Sanford; Sanford was reelected in 2006.

Among South Carolina's institutions of higher education are The Citadel-The Military College of South Carolina and the College of Charleston, at Charleston; Clemson Univ., at Clemson; Furman Univ., at Greenville; South Carolina State College, at Orangeburg; and the Univ. of South Carolina, at Columbia.

History

French, Spanish, and English Colonization

At an unknown coastal site in the region that is now the Carolinas, what may have been the first European settlement in North America was founded (1526; not permanent) by an expedition under the Spanish explorer Lucas Vásquez de Ayllón. The Frenchman Jean Ribaut established (1562) a short-lived Huguenot settlement on Parris Island in Port Royal Sound, but French colonizing ambitions were thoroughly thwarted by Pedro Menéndez de Avilés. Spanish missions soon extended N from Florida almost to the site of present-day Charleston, and they remained until the arrival of the English.

Charles I asserted England's claim as early as 1629 by granting the territory from lat. 36°N to lat. 31°N (later named Carolina for Charles I) to Sir Robert Heath, but since no settlements were made Heath's charter was forfeited. In 1663, Charles II awarded the area to eight of his prominent supporters, the most active of whom was Anthony Ashley Cooper (Lord Ashley, later 1st earl of Shaftesbury).

The northern and southern sections of Carolina developed separately. The first permanent colony was established in 1670 at Albemarle Point under William Sayle. To govern it, John Locke and others wrote (at Lord Ashley's behest) the Fundamental Constitutions of Carolina (1669), which granted some popular rights but also retained feudal privileges and limitations. It was never ratified. The actual government consisted of a powerful council, half of which was appointed by the proprietors in England; a governor, also appointed by the proprietors; and a relatively weak assembly, elected by all freemen. In 1680 the colony moved across the river to Oyster Point, which was better suited for defense. There the colonists established their capital, called Charles Town (later Charleston), which was to become the chief center of culture and of wealth in the South.

Life under Proprietary Rule

The 1680s saw the beginnings of prosperity. Wealthy colonists set up plantations worked by indentured servants and African and Native American slaves, while freemen (many of them former indentured servants) cultivated the 50 acres (20 hectares) of land granted them by the proprietors. On plantations and small farms alike, corn, livestock, and some cotton were raised at first, and tobacco was cultivated in plenitude. Rice, introduced c.1680, flourished in the marshy tidewater area and soon became the plantation staple. Forests yielded rich timber and naval stores. The fur trade (especially in deerskins) with the Creek and other tribes prospered. But conflict with the Spanish and French increased, and the encroachment of the two countries dramatized the proprietors' lack of concern and their inability to defend the distant colony. Popular antagonism to proprietary rule was spurred by the parceling of much of the land into a few large grants, by the quitrent system, and most importantly by the issue of religion.

Several religious groups had freely practiced their faith in the colony until the early 18th cent.; these included Anglicans, dissenters from Britain (see nonconformists), and French Huguenots. In 1704 the Anglicans, without opposition from the proprietors, managed to deprive the other groups of their religious liberty, and it was not until the English government took action (1706) that religious toleration was restored.

South Carolina as a Royal Colony

The colony was divided into North and South Carolina in 1712. In 1715-16 the settlers were attacked by the Yamasee, who had become resentful of exploitation by the Carolina traders. The uprising was finally quelled after much loss of life and property. These attacks further revealed the lack of protection afforded by the proprietors, and in 1719 the colonists rebelled and received royal protection. The crown sent Francis Nicholson as provincial royal governor in 1720, and South Carolina formally became a royal colony in 1729, when the proprietors finally accepted terms.

Conditions for the colonists were now in many respects improved. Pirates such as Blackbeard who had infested the coast had been hanged or dispersed. In addition the founding (1733) of Georgia to the south provided a buffer against the Spanish. Loss of territory and some of the colony's fur trade to Georgia was more than compensated for when indigo, supported by British bounty, became (1740s) the colony's second staple. To counterbalance the vast number of African slaves transported to the colony for use as plantation labor, European immigration was encouraged. Germans and Swiss, arriving in the 1730s and 40s, and Scotch-Irish and other migrants from Virginia and Pennsylvania, arriving in the 60s, settled the colony's lower middle country and uplands.

Regional antipathies were generated by economic and social differences; the small, self-sufficient farmer of the up-country, demanding courts, roads, and defense against outlaws and the Cherokee, elicited little sympathy from the powerful plantation lords of lower Carolina. In the late 1760s discontent culminated in the formation of the Regulator movement. Finally the legislature gave in to some up-country demands, including the establishment of courts in the region.

The Coming of Revolution

South Carolina's long friendship with the mother country was reflected in trade benefits the colony realized under the Navigation Acts and in protection provided to it by the strong British navy. However, public sentiment in the colony was transformed by the Stamp Act, the Townshend Acts, and by British political claims. South Carolinians-Christopher Gadsden, Henry Laurens, and Arthur Middleton-were leaders in the movement for independence, and in Mar., 1776, an independent government of South Carolina was set up with John Rutledge as president.

In the American Revolution the British failed to take Charleston in June, 1776 (see Fort Moultrie), but Sir Henry Clinton successfully besieged the town in 1780. In the ensuing Carolina campaign the British were ultimately forced to retreat, although they held Charleston until Dec., 1782. In 1786 the site of Columbia was chosen for the new capital; its central location mollified the up-country population. South Carolina ratified the federal Constitution in May, 1788, and replaced the royal charter with a state charter in 1790. Complete religious liberty was established and primogeniture was abolished, but property qualifications for voting and office holding was retained, ensuring planter control of the legislature.

Pre-Civil War Discontent

The constitutional amendment known as the "compromise of 1808" somewhat alleviated the sectional antagonism by reapportioning representation. By this time, however, Eli Whitney's cotton gin had enabled cotton plantations to spread far into the up-country; thus the planters continued to dominate state policies. In the late 1820s cotton from the fertile western states glutted the market, and prosperity declined in South Carolina.

Discontent was aggravated by national tariff policies that were unfavorable to South Carolina's agrarian economy. In 1832 the state passed its nullification act, declaring the tariff laws null and void and not binding upon South Carolina citizens. President Andrew Jackson acted firmly for the Union in this crisis, and in 1833 South Carolina repealed its act. Tariff reform that same year brought relief, but the possibility of secession had been broached and was subsequently renewed in reaction to abolitionist attacks and further economic grievances. John C. Calhoun became the acknowledged leader of the whole South with his defense of the states' rights doctrine; his political philosophy was later to form the intellectual basis for the Confederacy. Some of the state's apologists for slavery, notably Robert B. Rhett, equaled the most radical abolitionists in their zeal.

Civil War and Reconstruction

After Lincoln's election South Carolina was the first state to secede (Dec. 20, 1860) from the Union. Gov. Francis W. Pickens immediately demanded all federal property within the state, including Fort Sumter, which was held by Union men under Major Robert Anderson. The firing on Sumter by Confederate batteries on Apr. 12, 1861, precipitated the Civil War.

In Nov., 1861, a Union naval force under Samuel F. Du Pont took the forts of Port Royal Sound, but Charleston's forts withstood severe bombardments in 1863, and the state was saved from heavy military action until early in 1865. Then Gen. William T. Sherman, commanding the army that had marched through Georgia, crossed the Savannah River and advanced north through the state. Because South Carolina was viewed as the birthplace of secession, it was difficult to restrain many of the Union soldiers, and the deliberate devastation, culminating in the burning of Columbia, was appalling.

The Reconstruction period that followed the war was no less disastrous. South Carolina was selected for President Andrew Johnson's moderate program, but the program had only a brief trial before the radical Republicans took over. For a decade the state was ruled by carpetbaggers and scalawags, with the support of African-American votes. The constitution of 1868, which established universal male suffrage and ended property qualifications for office holding, gained the state readmittance (June, 1868) to the Union.

During the period from 1868 to 1874 accomplishments such as the building of schools and railroads were offset by waste and corruption in the state government and by high taxation. Many of these abuses were corrected by the honest administration of Gov. Daniel H. Chamberlain (1874-76), the state's last Republican governor until the late 20th cent. The Democratic party regained vitality in the late 1870s and South Carolina's politics were strongly Democratic after this period; not until the late 1960s did Republicans regain strength in both state and national elections.

South Carolina's war hero, Wade Hampton, was selected as the Democratic party's candidate for governor in 1876. The election was marked by irregular practices on both sides, and, although Hampton gained a majority, Chamberlain refused to accept defeat. Thus there existed two state governments until 1877, when President Rutherford B. Hayes removed all federal troops from the South, and Chamberlain, bereft of the support that had made Republican rule possible, withdrew. Hampton attempted moderation on race issues, but, despite his efforts, by 1882 the vast majority of blacks had lost the vote and white political supremacy was assured.

The Decline of Agriculture and the Rise of Jim Crowism

The wartime destruction and the abolition of slavery had nearly ruined the state's basic agricultural economy. Although some vigorous planters and merchants managed to recoup their fortunes, farm tenancy (replacing the old plantation system) held most of the state's farmers in economic bondage. The Panic of 1873 was followed by two decades of agrarian hard times. The rice plantations, which had already begun to decline, were hardest hit.

Popular discontent was not ameliorated until the election (1890) of Benjamin Tillman, leader of the up-country farmers, as governor. Tillmanites wrested control of the Democratic party from the conservative element (the tidewater "Bourbon aristocracy"), reapportioned taxes and representation, expanded public education, and passed rudimentary labor reform laws. Reflecting another aspect of Tillman's policies, the constitution of 1895 initiated "Jim Crow laws" and adopted voting qualifications that excluded virtually all blacks from the crucial Democratic primaries. Renewed agrarian prosperity after 1900 was accompanied by political stagnation that lasted until the governorship (1914-18) of Richard I. Manning; progressive trends already evident in other parts of the country were now belatedly manifested in South Carolina in the passage of education and labor laws.

Agriculture again suffered a setback in the 1920s. Contributing factors were the destruction of the Sea Islands cotton crop by the boll weevil and the erosion of the land as a result of long adherence to the one-crop system. Industry, especially the textile industry (which had been increasing in importance since the Civil War), also suffered in the Great Depression of the 1930s. New Deal legislation and the state road-building program provided South Carolina with some relief. During World War I the position of African Americans had been improved through war work and service in the armed forces; however, in the 1920s the renewed power of the Ku Klux Klan had again brought oppression, and black migration began on a scale sufficient to bring the whites into the majority in the state by 1930.

Voting Rights, Desegregation, and Economic Growth

World War II and the postwar period brought great changes. A state court decision in 1947 opened the Democratic primaries to African-American voters. Under the governorship (1951-55) of the nationally prominent James F. Byrnes, the poll tax was abolished as a voting requirement, steps were taken to curb Ku Klux Klan activities, and the educational system was greatly expanded. Integration of the schools after the 1954 U.S. Supreme Court decision met considerable opposition, but in 1963 South Carolinians accepted token integration of Clemson College without incident, and desegregation began in the Charleston schools. By 1970 all of the state's public school districts were technically in compliance with federal desegregation requirements. That year four African Americans were elected to the previously all-white state legislature.

In the 1970s and 80s, South Carolina experienced economic growth similar to other Sun Belt states. Low tax rates and a large nonunion workforce have attracted many firms from other states as well as foreign countries. In the 1990s job losses from the closing of naval facilities at North Charleston were largely offset by private undertakings, and the Greenville-Spartanburg area in the northwest was rapidly becoming home to new industries.

Bibliography

See J. G. Barrett, Sherman's March through the Carolinas (1956); E. M. Lander, A History of South Carolina, 1865-1960 (2d ed. 1970); D. D. Wallace, South Carolina: A Short History, 1520-1948 (1951, repr. 1984); M. Lane, Architecture of the Old South: South Carolina (1984); C. Kovacik and J. Winberry, South Carolina: A Geography (1986).

Geography: South Carolina
Top
Home > Library > Travel > Geography

State in the southeastern United States, bordered by North Carolina to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the south and east, and Georgia to the south and west. Its capital and largest city is Columbia.


Maps: South Carolina
Top
Home > Library > Travel > Maps

Local Time: South Carolina
Top
Home > Library > Travel > Local Time - States

It is 9:28 PM, December 23, in South Carolina.

Stats: South Carolina
Top
Home > Library > Travel > US State Stats
flag of South Carolina

  • Abbreviation: SC
  • Capital City: Columbia
  • Date of Statehood: May 23, 1788
  • State #: 8
  • Population: 4,012,012
  • Area: 32007 sq.mi. Land 30111 sq. mi. Water 1896 sq.mi.
  • Economy:
    Agriculture: tobacco, poultry, cattle, dairy products, soybeans, hogs;
    Industry: textile goods, chemical products, paper products, machinery, tourism
  • Where the name comes from: Named in honor of England's King Charles I
  • State Bird: Carolina Wren
  • State Flower: Yellow Jessamine
  • About the Flag: Col. William Moultrie, who designed South Carolina's flag in the fall of 1775, chose a blue which matched the color of the uniforms of the SC troops and a crescent imitating the silver emblem worn on the front of their caps. The palmetto tree was added later to represent Moultrie's heroic defense of the palmetto-log fort on Sullivan's Island against the attack of the British fleet on June 28, 1776.
  • State Motto: Animis Opibusque Parati -- Prepared in mind and resources; Dum Spiro Spero -- While I breathe, I hope
  • State Nickname: Palmetto State
  • State Song: Carolina
Wikipedia: South Carolina
Top
Home > Library > Miscellaneous > Wikipedia
This article is about the U.S. State of South Carolina. For other uses, see South Carolina (disambiguation).
State of South Carolina
Flag of South Carolina State seal of South Carolina
Flag Seal
Nickname(s): The Palmetto State
Motto(s): Dum spiro spero* (Latin)
Animis opibusque parati† (Latin)
before statehood, known as
the Province of South Carolina
Map of the United States with South Carolina highlighted
Official language(s) English
Demonym South Carolinian
Capital Columbia
Largest city Columbia
Area  Ranked 40th in the US
 - Total 32,020.1 sq mi
(82,931.8 km2)
 - Width 200 miles (320 km)
 - Length 260 miles (420 km)
 - % water 6
 - Latitude 32° 2′ N to 35° 13′ N
 - Longitude 78° 32′ W to 83° 21′ W
Population  Ranked 24th in the US
 - Total 4,479,800 (2008 est.)[1]
 - Density 143.4/sq mi  (55.37/km2)
Ranked 24 in the US
 - Median income  $39,326 (39th)
Elevation  
 - Highest point Sassafras Mountain[2]
3,560 ft  (1,085 m)
 - Mean 350 ft  (110 m)
 - Lowest point Atlantic Ocean[2]
0 ft  (0 m)
Admission to Union  May 23, 1788 (8th)
Governor Mark Sanford (R)
Lieutenant Governor André Bauer (R)
U.S. Senators Lindsey Graham (R)
Jim DeMint (R)
U.S. House delegation 4 Republicans, 2 Democrats (list)
Time zone Eastern: UTC-5/-4
Abbreviations SC US-SC
Website http://www.sc.gov

South Carolina (en-us-South Carolina.ogg /ˌsaʊθ kærəˈlaɪnə/ (help·info)) is a southern U.S. state that borders Georgia to the south and North Carolina to the north. Originally part of the Province of Carolina, the Province of South Carolina was one of the 13 colonies that declared independence from the British Crown during the American Revolution. The colony was originally named in honor of King Charles I, as Carolus is Latin for Charles. South Carolina was the first state to vote to secede from the Union and was a founding state of the Confederate States of America. According to an estimate by the United States Census Bureau, the state's population in 2008 was 4,479,800 and ranked 24th among the U.S. states. South Carolina contains 46 counties and its capital is Columbia.

Contents

Geography

Map of South Carolina

South Carolina is bordered to the north by North Carolina; to the south and west by Georgia, located across the Savannah River; and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean.

South Carolina is composed of thirty-six geographic areas, whose boundaries roughly parallel the northeast/southwest Atlantic coastline. In the Southeast part of the state is the Coastal Zone, with the lowest elevations, which is divided into three separate areas, the Grand Strand, the Santee River Delta, and the Barrier Islands. To the Northwest (inland) are the Coastal Plains, often divided into the Outer and Inner Coastal Plains, also known as the Lowcountry. Further inland, and higher in elevation are the Sandhills, which used to be South Carolina's fall line. Inland from the Sandhills is the Piedmont, which is hilly, and contains many major cities. The region with the highest elevation, in the Northwest of the state, is the Blue Ridge Region, a mountainous area which is the smallest region.

The state's coastline contains many salt marshes -and- estuaries, as well as natural ports such as Georgetown and Charleston. An unusual feature of the coastal plain is a large number of Carolina bays, the origins of which are uncertain. One prominent theory suggests that they were created by a meteor shower. The bays tend to be oval, lining up in a northwest to southeast orientation.

The Lowcountry is nearly flat and composed entirely of recent sediments such as sand, silt, and clay. Areas with better drainage make excellent farmland, though some land is swampy.

Palmetto State
State Symbols
State Capital: Columbia
State Mottos: Dum spiro spero
(While I breathe, I hope)
and Animis opibusque parati
(Prepared in Mind and Resources)
State Slogan: Smiling Faces Beautiful Places
State Songs: "Carolina" and
"South Carolina On My Mind"
State Tree: Sabal palmetto
State Flower: South Carolina Yellow jessamine
State Bird: Carolina Wren
State Wild Game Bird: Wild Turkey
State Dog: Boykin Spaniel[3]
State Animal: White-tailed deer
State Reptile: Loggerhead Sea Turtle
State Amphibian: Salamander
State Fish: Striped bass
State Insect: Carolina Mantis
State Butterfly: Eastern tiger swallowtail
State Fruit: Peach[4]
State Beverage: Milk[5]
State Hospitality
Beverage:		 Tea[6]
State Gemstone: Amethyst
State Stone: Blue granite
State Popular Music: Beach music
State Dance: Shag
State Snack: Boiled peanuts[7]
State Craft: Sweetgrass Basket weaving
State Quarter South Carolina quarter, reverse side, 2000.jpg

Just west of the coastal plain is the Sandhills region, also known as the Midlands. This region of the state is thought to contain remnants of old coastal dunes from a time when the land was sunken or the oceans were higher.

The Piedmont (Upstate) region contains the roots of an ancient, eroded mountain chain. It is generally hilly, with thin, stony clay soils, and contains few areas suitable for farming. Much of the Piedmont was once farmed, with little success. It is now reforested. At the southeastern edge of the Piedmont is the fall line, where rivers drop to the coastal plain. The fall line was an important early source of water power. Mills built to harness this resource encouraged the growth of several cities, including the capital, Columbia. The larger rivers are navigable up to the fall line, providing a trade route for mill towns.

The northwestern part of the Piedmont is also known as the Foothills. The Cherokee Parkway is a scenic driving route through this area. This is where Table Rock State Park is located.

Highest in elevation is the Blue Ridge Region, containing an escarpment of the Blue Ridge Mountains, which continue into North Carolina and Georgia, as part of the southern Appalachian chain. Sassafras Mountain, South Carolina's highest point at 3,560 feet (1,085 m) is located in this area.[2] Also located in this area is Caesars Head State Park. The Chattooga River, located on the border between South Carolina and Georgia, is a favorite whitewater rafting destination.

Earthquakes do occur in South Carolina. The greatest frequency is along the central coastline of the state, in the Charleston area. South Carolina averages 10–15 earthquakes a year below magnitude 3 (FEMA). The Charleston Earthquake of 1886 was the largest quake to ever hit the Southeastern United States. This 7.2 magnitude earthquake killed 60 people and destroyed much of the city.[8]. Faults in this region are difficult to study at the surface due to thick sedimentation on top of them. Many of the ancient faults are within plates rather than along plate boundaries.

Lakes

Lake Moultrie

South Carolina has several major lakes covering over 683 square miles, or 437,672 acres (1,770 km2). The following are the lakes listed by size.[9]

See also: Category: Rivers of South Carolina

Climate

Main article: Climate of South Carolina

South Carolina has a humid subtropical climate (Köppen climate classification Cfa), although high elevation areas in the "Upstate" or "Upcountry" area have less subtropical characteristics than areas on the Atlantic coastline. In the summer, South Carolina is hot and humid with daytime temperatures averaging between 86–93 °F (30–34 °C) in most of the state and overnight lows averaging 70–74 °F (21–23 °C) on the coast and from 66–73 °F (19–23 °C) inland. Winter temperatures are much less uniform in South Carolina. Coastal areas of the state have very mild winters with high temperatures approaching an average of 60 °F (16 °C) and overnight lows in the 40s°F (5-8 °C). Inland, the average January overnight low is around 35 °F (2 °C) in Columbia and just below freezing in the Upstate. While precipitation is abundant the entire year in almost the entire state, the coast tends to have a slightly wetter summer, while inland March tends to be the wettest month.

Snowfall in South Carolina is not common, with coastal areas receiving less than an inch (2.5 cm) annually on average. It is not uncommon for areas on the coast (especially the southern coast) to receive no recordable snowfall in a given year. The interior receives a little more snow, although nowhere in the state averages more than 6 inches (15.24 cm) of snow annually. The mountains of extreme Northwestern South Carolina tend to have the most substantial snow accummulation. Freezing rain tends to be a more common occurrence than snow in many areas. The many bridges in South Carolina are commonly marked: Bridge freezes over before road does.

The state is occasionally affected by tropical cyclones. This is an annual concern during hurricane season, which lasts from June 1 to November 30. The peak time of vulnerability for the southeast Atlantic coast is from early August to early October, during the Cape Verde hurricane season. Two memorable Category 4 hurricanes to hit South Carolina were Hazel (1954) and Hugo (1989). South Carolina averages around 50 days of thunderstorm activity a year. This is less than some of the states further south, and it is slightly less vulnerable to tornadoes than the states which border on the Gulf of Mexico. Still, some notable tornadoes have struck South Carolina and the state averages around 14 tornadoes annually. Hail is quite common with many of the thunderstorms in the state as there is often a marked contrast in temperature of warmer ground conditions compared to the cold air aloft.[10]

Monthly Normal High and Low Temperatures For Various South Carolina Cities
City Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec
Charleston 59/37 62/39 69/46 76/52 83/61 88/68 91/72 89/72 85/67 77/55 70/46 62/39
Columbia 55/34 60/36 67/44 76/51 83/60 89/68 92/72 90/71 85/65 76/52 67/43 58/36
Greenville 50/31 55/34 63/40 71/47 78/56 85/64 89/69 87/68 81/62 71/50 61/41 53/34
[11]

History

Main article: History of South Carolina

The colony of Carolina was settled by English settlers, mostly from Barbados, sent by the Lords Proprietors in 1670, followed by French Huguenots. The original Carolina proprietors were aware of the threat posed by the French and Spanish presence to the south, whose Roman Catholic monarchies were enemies of England and English values. They needed to act swiftly to attract settlers. Therefore, they were one of the first colonies to grant liberty of religious practice in order to attract settlers who were Baptists, Quakers, Huguenots and Presbyterians. Jewish immigration was specifically encouraged in the Fundamental Constitutions, since Jews were seen as reliable citizens. The Jewish immigrants were fleeing the Spanish Inquisition, which was being perpetrated in the Spanish colonies in the New World.[12] During the colonial period, Africans were the largest group of immigrants, transported as indentured servants and later slaves. They constituted a majority of the colony's population throughout the period. The Carolina upcountry was settled largely by Scots-Irish migrants from Pennsylvania and Virginia, following the Great Wagon Road.

From 1670-1717, English and British traders spurred the economy in South Carolina by conducting a booming trade in Indian slaves. The slave trade affected the entire southeast region. They bought or traded for slaves from American Indian tribes south of the Tennessee and east of the Mississippi rivers. Indians competed for European trade goods, including cloth and guns.[13]

Historian Alan Gallay estimates that Carolinians exported 24,000-51,000 Indian slaves during this period.[13] Oppressed by the slave trade, an alliance among the tribes developed, and they attacked the settlers in the Province of South Carolina in the Yamasee War (1715-1717). Its casualty rate was among the highest of the Indian Wars, and for more than a year, the Indians seriously threatened the continued existence of the colony. Among the settlers, there was dissatisfaction with the Proprietors who governed the colony. As a result, the Carolinas was split, and South Carolina became a royal colony in 1719. The emerging planter class had been using revenues from the sale of Indian slaves to finance the purchase of enslaved Africans; after the Yamasee War, South Carolina colonists turned to using exclusively African slaves for labor for their new commodity crops of rice and indigo crops.[13]

On March 15, 1776, the colony declared its independence from Great Britain and set up its own government, the first colony to do so[citation needed]. To win South Carolina's support for the Declaration of Independence, Thomas Jefferson removed all material from the document that condemned slavery. On February 5, 1778, South Carolina became the first state to ratify the document which created the "United States of America" as an entity — the Articles of Confederation. However, in 1780, South Carolinian loyalists to the British crown helped British troops recapture South Carolina from the previously successful rebels.

The current United States Constitution was proposed for adoption by the States on September 17, 1787, and South Carolina was the 8th state to ratify it, on May 23, 1788.

The American Revolution caused a shock to slavery in the South. Tens of thousands of slaves fought with the British to obtain freedom, and thousands left with them in the last days of the war; others secured their freedom by escaping in the turmoil. Estimates are that 25,000 slaves (30% of those in South Carolina) fled, migrated or died during the disruption of the war.[14]

This historic home is at "The Battery," a neighborhood/park area at the Downtown Historic District of Charleston - a well-known historical city in South Carolina. "The Battery" is also known as White Point Gardens.

South Carolina politics between 1783 and 1795 were marred by rivalry between a Federalist elite's supporting the central government in Philadelphia and a large proportion of common people. The latter were often members of 'Republican Societies', and they supported the Republican-Democrats, headed by Jefferson and Madison. This party wanted more democracy in the US, especially in South Carolina. Most people supported the French Revolution (1789-1795), as the French had been allies and they were proud of their own revolution. Charleston was the most French-influenced city in the USA after New Orleans, which was not yet part of the nation. Leading South Carolina figures, such as Pinckney and Governor Moultrie, backed with money and actions the French plans to further their political, strategic, and commercial goals in North America. This pro-French stance and attitude of South Carolina ended soon due to the XYZ Affair.

Antebellum, South Carolina did more to advance nullification and secession than any other Southern state. In 1832, a South Carolina state convention passed the Ordinance of Nullification, declaring the Federal tariff laws of 1828 and 1832 unconstitutional, null and not to be enforced in the state of South Carolina after February 1, 1833. This led to the Nullification Crisis, in which U. S. President Andrew Jackson received congressional authorization, through the Force Bill, to use whatever military force necessary to enforce Federal law in the state. This was the first U. S. legislation denying individual states the right to secede. As a result of Jackson's threat of force, the South Carolina state convention was re-convened and repealed the Ordinance of Nullification in March.

Anti-abolitionist feelings ran strong in South Carolina. In 1856, South Carolina congressman Preston Brooks entered the United States Senate chamber and, with a metal-tipped cane, beat Massachusetts Senator Charles Sumner. He drew blood and injured Sumner badly enough that the latter was unable to serve for several months. Brooks was retaliating for a speech Sumner had just given in which he attacked slavery and insulted South Carolinians. Brooks resigned his seat but received a hero's welcome on returning home.

On December 20, 1860, when it became clear that Lincoln would be the next president, South Carolina became the first state to declare its secession from the Union. On April 12, 1861, Confederate batteries began shelling Fort Sumter in Charleston Harbor, and the American Civil War began. The Union Navy effectively blockaded Charleston and seized the Sea Islands. Planters had taken their families (and sometimes slaves) to points inland for refuge. The Union Army set up an experiment in freedom for the ex-slaves, in which they started education and farmed land for themselves. South Carolina troops participated in major Confederate campaigns, but no major battles were fought inland. General William Tecumseh Sherman marched through the state in early 1865, destroying numerous plantations, and captured the state capital of Columbia on February 17. Fires began that night and by next morning, most of the central city was destroyed.

Coastal towns and cities often have hurricane-resistant Live oaks overarching the streets in historic neighborhoods, such as these on East Bay Street, Georgetown.

After the war, South Carolina was restored to the United States during Reconstruction. Under presidential Reconstruction (1865-66), freedmen (former slaves) were given limited rights. Under Radical reconstruction (1867-1877), a Republican coalition of freedmen, carpetbaggers and scalawags was in control, supported by Union Army forces. The withdrawal of Union soldiers as part of the Compromise of 1877 ended Reconstruction. White Democrats used paramilitary groups such as the Red Shirts to intimidate and terrorize black voters. They regained political control of the state under conservative white "Redeemers" and pro-business Bourbon Democrats.

The state became a hotbed of racial and economic tensions during the Populist and Agrarian movements of the 1890s. Passage of the new conservative constitution of 1895 meant that almost all blacks and many poor whites were effectively disfranchised by new requirements for poll taxes, residency and literacy tests. By 1896, only 5,500 black voters remained on the registration rolls.[15] The 1900 census demonstrated the extent of disfranchisement: African Americans comprised more than 58% of the state's population, but their total of 782,509 citizens was essentially without any political representation.[16] "Pitchfork Ben Tillman" controlled state politics from the 1890s to 1910 with a base among poor white farmers.

Although the Nineteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution, guaranteeing women the right to vote, was ratified nationally in 1920, South Carolina did not ratify it until July 1, 1969. It did not certify the ratification until August 22, 1973.[17] Georgia, North Carolina, and Louisiana ratified the Amendment in 1970 and 1971; only Mississippi implemented it later than South Carolina, not ratifying the Nineteenth Amendment until 1984.

20th century and beyond

Early in the 20th century, South Carolina developed a thriving textile industry. The state also converted its agricultural base from cotton to more profitable crops, attracted large military bases, and created tourism industries.

Like most states in the South, South Carolina continues to struggle with desegregation. The integration of Clemson University is an example of a state institution's ability to achieve "integration with dignity".[18] Of extended controversy has been the State's display of the Flags of the Confederate States of America. On July 1, 2000, South Carolina became the last state to remove the Confederate Flag from over its statehouse (it had originally been placed there in 1962). The state Senate had approved a bill for its removal on April 12, 2000 by a margin of 36 to 7; the bill had specified that a Confederate flag be flown in front of the Capitol next to a monument's honoring fallen Confederate soldiers. Debate was more heated in the state House of Representatives, which passed the bill on May 18, 2000 by a margin of only 66 to 43, after including a measure's ensuring that the Confederate flag by the monument be 30 feet high.[19] The flag by the monument continues to cause controversy. The NAACP maintains an economic boycott of the state of South Carolina. The NCAA refuses to allow South Carolina to host NCAA athletic events whose locations are determined in advance.[20] On July 6, 2009, the Atlantic Coast Conference announced a decision to move three future baseball tournaments out of South Carolina, citing concerns by the NAACP's over the state's continuing display of the Confederate flag.[21]

Demographics

See also: Demographics of the United States
Historical populations
Census Pop.  %±
1790 249,073
—
1800 345,591 38.8%
1810 415,115 20.1%
1820 502,741 21.1%
1830 581,185 15.6%
1840 594,398 2.3%
1850 668,507 12.5%
1860 703,708 5.3%
1870 705,606 0.3%
1880 995,577 41.1%
1890 1,151,149 15.6%
1900 1,340,316 16.4%
1910 1,515,400 13.1%
1920 1,683,724 11.1%
1930 1,738,765 3.3%
1940 1,899,804 9.3%
1950 2,117,027 11.4%
1960 2,382,594 12.5%
1970 2,590,516 8.7%
1980 3,121,820 20.5%
1990 3,486,703 11.7%
2000 4,012,012 15.1%
Est. 2008[1] 4,479,800 11.7%
See also South Carolina historical demographics
South Carolina population density map.

South Carolina's center of population is 2.4 mi (3.9 km) north of the State House in the city of Columbia.[22]

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, as of 2006, South Carolina had an estimated population of 4,321,249, which is an increase of 74,316, or 1.7%, from the prior year and an increase of 309,237, or 7.7%, since the year 2000. This includes a natural increase since the last census of 97,715 people (that is 295,425 births minus 197,710 deaths) and an increase due to net migration of 151,485 people into the state. Immigration from outside the United States resulted in a net increase of 36,401 people, and migration within the country produced a net increase of 115,084 people. Based on the 2000 Census South Carolina was ranked 21st in population density with just over 133 persons per sq. mi.[23]

According to the University of South Carolina's Arnold School of Public Health, Consortium for Latino Immigration Studies, South Carolina's foreign-born population grew faster than any other state between 2000-2005.[24] The Consortium reports that the number of Hispanics in South Carolina is greatly undercounted by census enumerators and may be more than 400,000.[24][25]


Demographics of South Carolina (csv)
By race White Black AIAN* Asian NHPI*
2000 (total population) 68.88% 30.01% 0.69% 1.13% 0.10%
2000 (Hispanic only) 2.05% 0.26% 0.05% 0.03% 0.02%
2005 (total population) 69.12% 29.68% 0.69% 1.31% 0.10%
2005 (Hispanic only) 2.95% 0.27% 0.06% 0.04% 0.02%
Growth 2000–05 (total population) 6.43% 4.89% 6.09% 23.49% 13.76%
Growth 2000–05 (non-Hispanic only) 5.01% 4.87% 4.61% 23.16% 10.36%
Growth 2000–05 (Hispanic only) 52.78% 7.64% 23.97% 34.25% 26.89%
* AIAN is American Indian or Alaskan Native; NHPI is Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander

The five largest ancestry groups in South Carolina are African American (29.5%), American (13.9%), English (8.4%), German (8.4%) and Irish (7.9%). For most of South Carolina's history, African slaves, and then their descendants, made up a majority of the state's population. Whites became a majority in the early 20th century, when tens of thousands of blacks moved north in the Great Migration. Most of the African-American population lives in the Lowcountry (especially the inland Lowcountry) and the Midlands; areas where cotton, rice, and indigo plantations once dominated the landscape. 6.6% of South Carolina's population were reported as under 5 years old, 25.2% under 18, and 12.1% were 65 or older. Females made up approximately 51.4% of the population in 2000.

Most-populated counties

South Carolina Office of Research & Statistics (Projection) Census Bureau(Estimates)

County Seat 2007 Population 2010 Projection
Greenville Greenville 428,243 431,630
Richland Columbia 357,734 354,380
Charleston Charleston 342,973 339,140
Spartanburg Spartanburg 275,534 300,500
Horry Conway 249,925 251,390
Lexington Lexington 243,270 254,920
York York 208,827 233,568
See also: List of South Carolina counties

Cities and Towns

Main article: List of cities in South Carolina
Main article: List of towns in South Carolina

Charleston

Columbia

Greenville

Largest Cities (estimates)

Largest City Areas

South Carolina's cities are actually much larger than their city population counts suggest. South Carolina law makes it difficult for municipalities to annex unincorporated areas into the city limits, so city proper populations look smaller than the actually size of the area. For example, Spartanburg and Myrtle Beach each have municipal populations less than 50,000 persons, but their metro areas (MSA's) are over 200,000. Anderson's municipal population is smaller than Sumter's, but the Anderson area is actually much larger. The Sumter area population is under 100,000, but Anderson's is over 120,000, while Anderson County's population is nearing 200,000.

Columbia, Charleston, and Greenville all area have urbanized area populations between 350,000-500,000, while their metro area (MSA) populations are all over 600,000. The Greenville-Spartanburg-Anderson consolidated statistical area population consists of approximately 1.2 million people.

Religion

South Carolina, like most other Southern states, has a Protestant Christian majority, and a lower percentage of non-religious people than the national average. The religious affiliations of the people of South Carolina are as follows:

Sephardic Jews have lived in the state for more than 300 years,[26][27][28] especially in and around Charleston.[29] Until about 1830, South Carolina had the largest population of Jews in North America. Many of South Carolina's Jews have assimilated into Christian society, shrinking Judaism down to less than 1% of the total religious makeup. In addition, Roman Catholicism is growing in South Carolina due to immigration from the North.

Economy

According to the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, South Carolina's gross state product in current dollars was $97 billion in 1997, and $153 billion in 2007. Its per-capita real gross domestic product (GDP) in chained 2000 dollars was $26,772 in 1997, and $28,894 in 2007; that represents 85% of the $31,619 per-capita real GDP for the United States overall in 1997, and 76% of the $38,020 for the U.S. in 2007.[30]

Major agricultural outputs of the state are: tobacco, poultry, cattle, dairy products, soybeans, and hogs. Industrial outputs include: textile goods, chemical products, paper products, machinery, automobiles and automotive products and tourism.

The state was especially hard hit by the 2008 economic crisis. Its unemployment rate, at 11.5%, is the fifth highest in the country.[31]

Transportation

Major highways

Main article: List of numbered highways in South Carolina

Major interstate highways passing through the state include: I-20 which runs from Florence in the east through Columbia to the southwestern border near Aiken; I-26 which runs from Charleston in the southeast through Columbia to Spartanburg and the northern border in Spartanburg County; I-77 which runs from York County in the north to Columbia; I-85 which runs from Cherokee County in the north through Spartanburg and Greenville to the southwestern border in Oconee County; I-385 which runs from Greenville and intersects with I-26 near Clinton; and I-95 which runs from the northeastern border in Dillon County to Florence and on to the southern border in Jasper County.

In March 2008, "The American State Litter Scorecard," presented at the American Society for Public Administration conference, rated South Carolina a nationally "Worst" state for removing litter from public properties such as highways. The state has an extremely high fatality rate from litter/debris-related vehicle accidents, according to National Highway Traffic Safety Administration data.[32]

Rail

Passenger

Amtrak operates four passenger routes in South Carolina: the Crescent, the Palmetto, the Silver Meteor, and the Silver Star. The Crescent route serves the Upstate cities, the Silver Star serves the Midlands cities, and the Palmetto and Silver Meteor routes serve the Lowcountry cities.

Station Stops

Station Connections
Camden      Silver Star
Charleston      Palmetto      Silver Meteor
Columbia      Silver Star
Clemson      Crescent
Denmark      Silver Star
Dillon      Palmetto
Florence      Palmetto      Silver Meteor
Greenville      Crescent
Kingstree      Palmetto      Silver Meteor
Spartanburg      Crescent
Yemassee      Palmetto      Silver Meteor

Freight

The state of South Carolina are served by many freight carriers, but the most common carriers are CSX Transportation (CSXT) and The Norfolk Southern Railway (NS).

Major and regional airports

Main article: List of airports in South Carolina

There are seven significant airports in South Carolina, all of which act at regional airport hubs. The busiest by passenger volume is Charleston International Airport.[33] Just across the border in North Carolina is Charlotte/Douglas International Airport, the 30th busiest airport in the world, in terms of passengers.[34]

Government and politics

South Carolina State House

South Carolina's state government consists of the Executive, Legislative, and Judicial branches.

South Carolina has historically had a weak executive branch and a strong legislature. Before 1865, governors in South Carolina were appointed by the General Assembly, and held the title "President of State." The 1865 Constitution changed this process, requiring a popular election. In 1926 the governor's term was changed to four years, and in 1982 governors were allowed to run for a second term. In 1993 a limited cabinet was created, all of which must be popularly elected.

Executive branch

See also: List of Governors of South Carolina
See also: List of Lieutenant Governors of South Carolina

The South Carolina Constitution provides for separate election of nine executive officers, which is very large compared to most states:

The governor of South Carolina is the chief executive of the state. The governor is elected for a four-year term and may serve up to two consecutive terms. The current governor is Republican Mark Sanford. Sanford was elected in 2002 and re-elected in 2006.

Each officer is elected at the same time as the Governor. The separately elected positions allow for the possibility of multiple parties to be represented in the executive branch. The Governor's Cabinet also contains several appointed positions. In most cases, persons who fill cabinet-level positions are recommended by the governor and appointed by the Senate.[35]

Legislative branch

The South Carolina General Assembly is the state legislature. It is bicameral, consisting of a 124-member South Carolina House of Representatives and a 46-member South Carolina Senate. Representatives serve two-year terms and Senators serve four-year terms. The two houses meet in the South Carolina State House.

Judicial branch

The Family Court deals with all matters of domestic and family relationships, as well as generally maintaining exclusive jurisdiction over cases involving minors under the age of seventeen, excepting traffic and game law violations. Some criminal charges may come under Circuit Court jurisdiction.

The South Carolina Circuit Court is the trial court of general jurisdiction court for South Carolina. It consists of a civil division (the Court of Common Pleas) and a criminal division (the Court of General Sessions). It is also a superior court, having limited appellate jurisdiction over appeals from the lower Probate Court, Magistrate's Court, and Municipal Court, and appeals from the Administrative Law Judge Division, which hears matters relating to state administrative and regulatory agencies. South Carolina's 46 counties are divided into 16 judicial circuits, and there are currently 46 judges. Circuit court judges are elected by the General Assembly to staggered six-year terms.

The South Carolina Court of Appeals is the state intermediate appellate court. It hears all Circuit Court and Family Court appeals, excepting appeals that are within the seven classes of exclusive Supreme Court jurisdiction. The Court of Appeals is selected by the General Assembly to staggered six-year terms. The court comprises a chief judge, and eight associate judges, and may hear cases as the whole court, or as three panels with three judges each. The court may preside in any county.

The South Carolina Supreme Court is the state supreme court. The Chief Justice and four Associate Justices are elected to staggered ten-year terms. There are no limits on the number of terms a justice may serve, but there is a mandatory retirement age of 72. The overwhelming majority of vacancies on the Court occur when Justices reach this age, not through the refusal of the General Assembly to elect a sitting Justice to another term.

South Carolina Constitution

Main article: South Carolina Constitution

South Carolina has had seven constitutions:

  • 1776 - SC's first constitution
  • 1778 - Disestablished the Anglican Church, created a popularly elected upper house
  • 1790 - Expanded upcountry representation, further established General Assembly control over all aspects of government
  • 1861 - Confederate constitution
  • 1865 - Required to be readmitted to the Union, abolished property owning qualifications to vote, created popularly elected governor and granted veto power
  • 1868 - Only constitution to be ratified by popular vote, provided for public education, abolished property ownership as a qualification for office holding, created counties, race abolished as limit on male suffrage
  • 1895 - established attempts to disenfranchise black voters such as the option for poll taxes, literacy tests, etc

Since 1895, there have been many calls for a new Constitution, one that is not based on the politics of a post-Civil War population. The most recent call for reformation was by Governor Mark Sanford in his 2008 State of the State speech. Several hundred amendments have been made to the 1895 Constitution (in 1966 there were 330 amendments). Amendments have been created to comply with Federal acts, and for many other issues. The most recent was in 1988. The volume of amendments makes South Carolina's Constitution one of the longest in the nation.[36]

Law enforcement agencies

Federal representation

Like most Southern states, South Carolina consistently voted Democratic in the 19th century and the first half of the 20th century as a part of the Democrats' Solid South. The Republican Party became competitive in the 1960 presidential election when Richard Nixon lost the state to John F. Kennedy by just two percentage points. In 1964, Barry Goldwater became the first Republican to win the state since Reconstruction. Since then, South Carolina has voted for a Republican in every presidential election from 1964 to 2008, with the exception of 1976 when Jimmy Carter, from neighboring Georgia, won the state over Gerald Ford. John McCain won the state in 2008 with 54% of the statewide vote over Barack Obama. Republicans now hold the governor's office and eight of nine statewide offices, control both houses of legislature, and include both U.S. Senators, and four of six members of the U.S. House of Representatives. Every presidential election year, the South Carolina primary is the first such primary in the South and holds importance to both the Republicans and the Democrats. The primary is important to the Republicans because it is a conservative testing ground, and it holds importance to the Democrats because of the large proportion of African-Americans that vote in that primary. From 1980 to 2008 the winner in the Republican primary has gone on to become the party nominee.

US Senate

In the 110th United States Congress, the South Carolina delegation to the U.S. Senate are:

US House of Representatives

South Carolina currently has six representatives in Congress:

A district map is found here.

Further information: Political party strength in South Carolina

Finances

Even though the state does not allow casino gambling, it did allow the operation of video poker machines throughout the state with approximately $2 billion dollars per year deposited into the state's coffers. However, at midnight on July 1, 2000 a law took effect which outlawed the operation, ownership and possession of video poker machines in the state with machines required to be shut off at that time and removed from within the state's borders by July 8 or owners of such machines would face criminal prosecution.[37][38]

Taxes

The state's personal income tax has a maximum marginal tax rate of 7 percent on taxable income of $13,351 and above.[39]

State sales tax revenues are used exclusively for education. There is a general state sales tax rate of 6%, and some items have different rates; e.g., the tax is 3% on unprepared food items and 7% on sleeping accommodation rentals. Individuals 85 or older get a one-percent exclusion from the general sales tax.[40] Counties may impose an additional 1% local option sales tax and other local sales taxes,[41] and local governments may impose a local accommodations tax of up to 3%.[40]

South Carolina imposes a casual excise tax of 5% on the fair market value of all motor vehicles, motorcycles, boats, motors and airplanes transferred between individuals. The maximum casual excise tax is $300.[41]

Property tax is administered and collected by local governments with assistance from the South Carolina Department of Revenue. Both real and personal property are subject to tax. Approximately two-thirds of county-levied property taxes are used for the support of public education. Municipalities levy a tax on property situated within the limits of the municipality for services provided by the municipality. The tax is paid by individuals, corporations and partnerships owning property within the state. Intangible personal property is exempt from taxation. There is no inheritance tax.[42]

Education

South Carolina is one of just three states that have not agreed to using competitive international math and language standards.[43]

Institutions of higher education

(In order of foundation date)

South Carolina hosts a diverse cohort of institutions of higher education, from large state-funded research universities to small colleges that cultivate a liberal arts, religious or military tradition.

Founded in 1770 and chartered in 1785, the College of Charleston is the oldest institution of higher learning in South Carolina, the 13th oldest in the United States, and the first municipal college in the country. The College is in company with the Colonial Colleges as one the original and foundational institutions of higher education in the United States. Its founders include three signers of the United States Declaration of Independence and three signers of the United States Constitution. The College's historic campus, which is listed on the U.S. Department of the Interior's National Register of Historic Places, forms an integral part of Charleston's colonial-era urban center. As one of the leading institutions of higher education in its class in the Southeastern United States,[44] the College of Charleston is celebrated nationally for its focus on undergraduate education with strengths in Marine Biology, Classics, Art History and Historic Preservation. The Graduate School of the College of Charleston, offers a number of degree programs and coordinates support for its nationally recognized faculty research efforts. According to the Princeton Review, C of C is one of the nation's best institutions for undergraduate education and U.S. News and World Report regularly ranks C of C among the best masters level universities in the South. C of C presently enrolls approximately 10,000 undergraduates and 2,000 graduate students.

The University of South Carolina is a public, co-educational, research university located in Columbia. The University's campus covers over 359 acres (1.5 km2) in the urban core less than one city block from the South Carolina State House. The University of South Carolina maintains an enrollment of over 27,000 students on the Columbia campus. The institution was founded in 1801 as South Carolina College in an effort to promote harmony between the Lowcountry and the Upstate. The College became a symbol of the South in the antebellum period as its graduates were on the forefront of secession from the Union. From the Civil War to World War II, the institution lacked a clear direction and was constantly reorganized to meet the needs of the political power in office. In 1957, the University expanded its reach through the University of South Carolina System.

Main article: History of the University of South Carolina

Furman University is a private, coeducational, non-sectarian, liberal arts university in Greenville. Founded in 1826, Furman enrolls approximately 2,600 undergraduate and 500 graduate students. Furman is the largest private institution in South Carolina. The university is primarily focused on undergraduate education (only two departments, education and chemistry, offer graduate degrees).

The Citadel, The Military College of South Carolina, is a state-supported, comprehensive college located in Charleston. Founded in 1842, the college is best known for its undergraduate Corps of Cadets military program for men and women, which combines academics, physical challenges and military discipline. In addition to the cadet program, civilian programs are offered through the Citadel's College of Graduate and Professional Studies with its evening undergraduate and graduate programs. The Citadel enrolls almost 2,000 undergraduate cadets in its residential military program and 1,200 civilian students in the evening programs.

Wofford College is a small liberal arts college located in Spartanburg. Wofford was founded in 1854 with a bequest of $100,000 from the Rev. Benjamin Wofford (1780–1850), a Methodist minister and Spartanburg native who sought to create a college for "literary, classical, and scientific education in my native district of Spartanburg." Wofford is one of the few four-year institutions in the southeastern United States founded before the American Civil War and still operating on its original campus.

Presbyterian College is a private liberal arts college founded in 1880 in Clinton. Presbyterian College, is affiliated with the Presbyterian Church USA, and enrolls around 1300 undergraduate students. In 2007, Washington Monthly ranked PC as the #1 Liberal Arts College in the nation.[45]

Clemson University, founded in 1889 is a public, coeducational, land-grant research university located in Clemson. Clemson The University currently enrolls more than 17,000 students from all 50 states and from more than 70 countries. Clemson is currently in the process of expanding, by adding the CU-ICAR, or the Center for Automotive Research, in partnership with BMW and Michelin. The facility will offer an M.S. and Ph. D in Automotive Engineering. Clemson is also the home to the South Carolina Botanical Garden.

South Carolina State University, founded in 1896, is a historically Black university located in Orangeburg. It is the only state-supported land grant institution in the state of South Carolina. SCSU has a current enrollment of nearly 5,000, and offers undergraduate, graduate and post-graduate degrees. SCSU boasts the only Doctor of Education program in the state.

Anderson University, founded in 1911 is a selective comprehensive university located in Anderson, offering bachelors and masters degrees in approximately 50 areas of study. Anderson University currently enrolls around 1800 undergraduate students.

Bob Jones University, founded in 1927, is a non-denominational University founded on fundamentalist Christian beliefs. Originally based in Florida, after a move to Tennessee, the school finally settled in South Carolina.[46] With 5000 students, the school is larger than Wofford, Furman and Presbyterian College. BJU also offers over 115 undergraduate majors and has over 70 graduate programs.[47]

See also: List of colleges and universities in South Carolina

Health care

For overall health care, South Carolina is ranked 33rd out of the 50 states, according to the Commonwealth Fund, a private health foundation working to improve the health care system.[48] The state’s teen birth rate was 53 births per 1000 teens, compared to the average of 41.9 births for the US, according to the Kaiser Family Foundation.[49] The state’s infant mortality rate was 9.4 deaths per 1000 births compared to the US average of 6.9 deaths.[50] There were 2.6 physicians per 1000 people compared to the US average of 3.2 physicians.[51] There was $5114 spent on health expenses per capita in the state, compared to the US average of $5283.[52] There were 26 percent of children and 13 percent of elderly living in poverty in the state, compared to 23 percent and 13 percent, respectively, doing so in the US.[53] And, 34 percent of children were overweight or obese, compared to the US average of 32 percent.[54]

Sports

A game at Williams-Brice Stadium in Columbia

South Carolina has no major professional franchise of the NFL, NHL, NBA, MLS, or MLB located in the state; however the NFL's Carolina Panthers (based in Charlotte, North Carolina), and the NHL's Carolina Hurricanes (based in Raleigh, North Carolina) represent both North and South Carolina. In addition, the Panthers played their first season in Clemson, and maintain training facilities at Wofford College in Spartanburg.

There are numerous minor league teams that are either based in the state, or play much of their schedule within its borders. The Charlotte Knights, an AAA minor league baseball team, play at a stadium in Fort Mill, South Carolina, just across the border from Charlotte. Another minor league franchise is the USL Division 1 Soccer team, the Charleston Battery. The team plays in the soccer-specific Blackbaud Stadium, located on Daniel Island in Charleston. Currently, only Greenville, Myrtle Beach, and Charleston still boast any other level (in each case single-A) of professional baseball. Curiously enough, for a state where natural ice is a rarity, professional ice hockey has been popular in a number of areas of the state since the 1990s. Though 4 teams competed at one time in South Carolina, the East Coast Hockey League (ECHL) currently oversees operations of only two franchises, one, the Columbia Inferno, the other, the South Carolina Stingrays (who play in Charleston). According to the league, however, Myrtle Beach is slated to receive a franchise when their new arena is completed in 2008/9.

College sports in particular are very big in South Carolina. Clemson University's Tigers and the University of South Carolina's Gamecocks regularly draw more than 80,000 spectators at the schools' home football games. Smaller universities located in South Carolina also have very competitive sports programs, including The Citadel, Coastal Carolina, College of Charleston, Francis Marion, Furman, Anderson University, North Greenville University, Presbyterian College, Lander University, SC State, Southern Wesleyan University, Spartanburg Methodist College, USC Upstate, Winthrop, Wofford.

NASCAR racing was born in the South, and South Carolina has in the past hosted some very important NASCAR races, at the Darlington Raceway. Darlington Raceway still has the one NASCAR race weekend, usually Mother's Day weekend. All four of NASCAR's series come to Darlington including Whelen, Camping World Trucks, Nationwide Cars, and Sprint Cup cars.

South Carolina is a popular golf destination. Myrtle Beach/Grand Strand has more than a hundred golf courses. Myrtle Beach has more public golf courses per capita than any other place in the country.[55] Some have hosted PGA and LGPA events in the past, but most have been designed for the casual golfer. Hilton Head Island & Kiawah Island have several very nice golf courses and host professional events every year. The upstate of South Carolina also has many nice golf courses, most of the nicer courses are private including the Cliff's courses and Cross Creek Plantation (the Cliff's courses host the annual BMW PRO/AM that brings many celebrities and professionals to South Carolina. Cross Creek Plantation located in Seneca, also private hosted a PGA Qualifier in the 90's). Oconee Country Club also in Seneca, is an extremely nice course, very well-kept, and is open to the public. In 2007, "The Ocean Course" On Kiawah Island was ranked #1 in Golf Digest Magazine's "America's 50 Toughest Golf Courses"[56] and #38 on their "America's 100 Greatest Golf Courses".[57]

Watersports are also an extremely popular activity in South Carolina. With a large coast line, South Carolina has many different beach activities such as surfing, boogie boarding, deep sea fishing, and shrimping. The Pee Dee region of the state offers exceptional fishing. Some of the largest catfish ever caught were caught in the Santee Lakes. The Upstate of South Carolina also offers outstanding water activities. The Midlands region also offers water-based recreation revolving around Lakes Marion and Murray and such rivers as the Congaree, Saluda, Broad, and Edisto.

While there are no race tracks with betting in South Carolina there is significant horse training activity, particularly in Aiken and Camden, which hold steeplechase races.

Professional bass fishing tournaments are also found in South Carolina. Lake Hartwell, Lake Wylie, and Lake Murray both host Bassmasters Classic tournaments.

National Park Service areas

Miscellaneous topics

Famous people from South Carolina

Main article: List of people from South Carolina

Some of the most influential individuals in American life from South Carolina include:

Alcohol laws

Question book-new.svg
 This section needs additional citations for verification.
Please help improve this article by adding reliable references. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (March 2009)

Prohibition was a major issue in the state's history. Voters endorsed prohibition in 1892 but instead were given the "Dispensary System" of state-owned liquor stores, They soon became symbols of political corruption controlled by Ben Tillman's machine and were shut down in 1907. Today, the retail sale of liquor statewide is permitted from 9 a.m. until 7 p.m. Monday — Saturday, and Sunday sales are banned by state law. However, counties and/or cities may hold referendums to allow Sunday sales of beer and wine only. Six counties currently allow Sunday beer and wine sales; Richland, Lexington, Georgetown, Charleston, Beaufort and Horry. Cities and towns that have passed laws allowing Sunday beer and wine sales include Columbia, Spartanburg, Greenville, Aiken, Rock Hill, Summerville, Santee, Daniel Island and Tega Cay.

While there are no dry counties in South Carolina, and retail liquor sales are uniform statewide, certain counties may enforce time restrictions for beer and wine sales in stores (e.g., no sales after 2 a.m. in Pickens County) while others do not (in-store beer and wine sales are allowed 24 hours a day, 7 days a week in Charleston). Columbia, the state's capital, largest city, and the home of the University of South Carolina, takes one of the more relaxed stances on alcohol sales in bars compared to other cities in the state. Many bars, especially those catering to younger crowds in the busy Five Points district, serve alcohol until sunrise, and it is not unheard of for bars and clubs to serve alcohol until 7 or 8 a.m., although the legality of this practice is questionable. In Greenville city limits, it is illegal to serve alcohol after 2 a.m. at bars and restaurants unless the establishment continues to serve food. There are a few bars that take advantage of this loophole.

Before 2006, South Carolina was infamous amongst tourists and residents alike for being the last state in the nation to require cocktails and liquor drinks to be mixed using minibottles, like those found on airplanes, instead of from free-pour bottles. The original logic behind this law was twofold: it made alcohol taxation simpler and allowed bar patrons to receive a standardized amount of alcohol in each drink. However, minibottles contain 1.75 oz (52 ml) of alcohol, approximately 30% more than the typical 1.2 oz (35 ml) found in free-pour drinks, with the obvious result of overly strong cocktails and inebriated bar customers. The law was changed in 2006 to allow both free-pour and minibottles in bars, and the vast majority of bars quickly eschewed minibottles in favor of free-pour.[58]

Indoor Smoking Laws

  • No statewide smoking ban. On March 31, 2008, the South Carolina Supreme Court ruled that cities, counties, and towns may enact smoking bans which are more stringent than state law.[59]

As of May 2009, there are four South Carolina counties and 22 cities and towns with smoke-free laws:

  • Aiken County, South Carolina, smoke-free law for all workplaces including restaurants and bars within unincorporated areas of Aiken County. June 2007. http://www.sctobacco.org/UserFiles/File/Smoke%20Free/Aiken%20ordinance%20-%20final.pdf
  • Aiken, South Carolina, smoke-free law for all workplaces including restaurants and bars in city. July 2008[60]
  • Beaufort County, banned in all workplaces, including restaurants and bars, within unincorporated areas of Beaufort County. January 10, 2007.[61]
  • Beaufort, South Carolina, smoke-free law for all workplaces including restaurants and bars. May 2008.[62]
  • Bluffton, banned in all workplaces including restaurants and bars. January 10, 2007.[63]
  • Camden, South Carolina, smoke-free law for all workplaces including restaurants and bars. 2008.[64]
  • Clemson, July 1, 2008, banned in all enclosed workplaces, including bars and restaurants[65]
  • Columbia, October 1, 2008, smoke-free in all workplaces, including restaurants and bars.[66]
  • Easley, South Carolina, smoke-free law for all workplaces including restaurants and bars, January 2009[67]
  • Edisto Beach, smoke-free law for all workplaces including restaurants and bars, March 2009[68]
  • Greenville, January 1, 2007, banned in all workplaces, restaurants, and bars.
  • Hilton Head Island, Indoor smoking ban in restaurants, bars, and public places will take effect May 1, 2007.[69]
  • Isle of Palms, South Carolina, smoke-free law for all workplaces including restaurants and bars, January 2009[70]
  • Lexington, South Carolina, smoke-free workplace law for all workplaces including restaurants and bars in town of Lexington, October 2008.[71]
  • Liberty, South Carolina, smoke-free law with exemption for bars, October 2006[72]
  • Mount Pleasant, September 1, 2007, banned in all restaurants, bars, workplaces, and private clubs.
  • North Augusta, South Carolina, smoke-free law for all workplaces including restaurants and bars, 2008.[73]
  • Pickens, smoke-free workplace law including restaurants and bars, May 2009.
  • Richland County, smoke free workplace law including restaurants and bars, October 2008.
  • Rock Hill, smoke-free workplace law including restaurants and bars, May 2009.
  • Sullivan's Island, effective July 20, 2006, a ban on smoking in workplaces, including restaurants and bars. Upheld by the Charleston County Court of Common Pleas on December 20, 2006.[74]
  • Sumter, effective mid-April, 2009, a ban on smoking in workplaces, including restaurants and bars.[75]
  • Surfside Beach, smoke-free workplace law including restaurants and bars. Ordinance also covers beach and walk-ups to beach. November 2008[76]
  • Walterboro, smoke-free workplace law including restaurants and bars, May 2008.
  • York County, smoke-free workplace law including restaurants and bars, May 2009.

South Carolina singularities

  • Adjutant general: The head of the state's national guard, the adjutant general, is a statewide elected official.[77]
  • Driving Under the Influence: South Carolina is the only state in the nation with mandatory videotaping by the arresting officer of the DUI arrest and breath test.[78]
  • Fire Safety Regulations: South Carolina is the only state that allows fire officials to sidestep a federal regulation requiring that for every employee doing hazardous work inside a building, one must be outside.[79]
  • School Buses: South Carolina is the only state in the nation that owns and operates its own school bus fleet.[80][81]
  • Strokes: South Carolina has the highest rate of stroke deaths in the nation.[82]
  • Black Water River: With the Edisto River, South Carolina has the longest completely undammed / unleveed blackwater river in North America.[83]
  • Outdoor Sculpture: South Carolina is home to the world's largest collection of outdoor sculpture located at Brookgreen Gardens.[84]
  • Landscaped Gardens: South Carolina is home to the oldest landscaped gardens in the United States, at Middleton Place near Charleston.[85]

South Carolina firsts

  • First town to use electricity; - Anderson, The Electric City
  • First European settlement in South Carolina in 1526 near Georgetown settled by Spanish explorer Lucas Vasquez de Ayllon named San Miguel de Gualdape
  • First permanent English settlement in South Carolina established at Albemarle Point in Charleston in 1670
  • First indigo planted, 1671 by Moses Lindo, a Portugese Jew fleeing the Inquisition
  • First free library established — Charleston, 1698
  • First mutual fire insurance company — Friendly Society for the Mutual Insurance of Houses against Fire, 1735
  • First opera performed in America — Charleston, February 18, 1735
  • First building to be used solely as a theatre — Dock Street Theatre in Charleston, constructed in 1736
  • First slave insurrection — Stono area near Charleston, 1739
  • First Jewish synagogue in South Carolina (Kahal Kadosh Beth Elohim) - Charleston, 1750
  • First cotton exported to England, 1764
  • First Black Baptist Church established, Silver Bluff, 1773
  • The Charleston Chamber of Commerce was the first city Chamber of Commerce in this country - 1773
  • First public museum — Charleston Museum, organized January 12, 1773
  • First business publication — South Carolina Price Current in Charleston, 1774
  • First time a Jew was elected to public office in America, 1774. Francis Salvador was elected to the General Assembly
  • The first time a British flag was taken down and replaced by an American flag was in Charleston in 1775
  • First independent government formed among American colonies, March 1776
  • Golf was first played in the city limits of Charleston. The South Carolina Golf Club was formed in 1786 - this was the first golf club.
  • First Roman Catholic Church - St. Mary's August 24, 1789, Charleston
  • First cotton mill built — James Island, 1789
  • First tea planted — Middleton Barony, 1802
  • First Roman Catholic Bishop of Charleston, Most Rev. John England - 1820, Charleston
  • First fireproof building built — Charleston, 1822
  • First steam locomotive built in the United States to be used for regular railroad service - "Best Friend of Charleston," 1830.
  • First municipal college — College of Charleston, opened April 1, 1838
  • First Roman Catholic cathedral in South Carolina Cathedral of Saint John and Saint Finbar - Charleston, April 1845
  • First state to secede from the Union, December 20, 1860.
  • First shot fired in Civil War on Fort Sumter in Charleston Harbor, April 12, 1861.
  • First Medal of Honor awarded to a Black recipient — W. H. Carney (Army), July 18, 1863.
  • The first submarine ever to sink an enemy ship was the H.L. Hunley used by the Confederates on February 17, 1864 in Charleston Harbor against the U.S.S. Housatonic.
  • First Black Associate Justice of a state supreme court — J. J. Wright, February 2, 1870
  • The first state intercollegiate football game took place on December 14, 1889 with Wofford defeating Furman
  • First commercial tea farm — Summerville, 1890
  • First black woman to practice medicine in the state was Dr. Matilda Arabelle Evans in 1897
  • First textile school established in a college — Clemson, 1899
  • The first car was manufactured in Rock Hill by John Gary Anderson in January 1916
  • First woman lawyer in South Carolina — Miss James M. Perry of Greenville was admitted to practice on May 4, 1918
  • First national historic preservation ordinance passed by Charleston city council on October 13, 1931
  • First television station WCSC broadcast from Charleston June 13, 1953
  • First U.S. Senator elected by a write-in vote — Strom Thurmond, November 2, 1954
  • First nuclear power plant dedicated at Parr Shoals on October 24, 1963
  • First Spoleto Festival held in Charleston May 1977
  • First black federal judge in South Carolina's history — Matthew J. Perry — appointed September 22, 1979
  • First governor Richard Riley elected November 6, 1984 to serve two consecutive four-year terms
  • Jean Toal — the first woman elected to state supreme court in 1988 and later elected chief justice in 2000
  • First State to have a Nuclear Bomb dropped By the US Air Force — Due East of Florence — Nuclear part was unarmed 1950's or 1960's

Sister States

See also

The Flag of the State of South Carolina South Carolina portal
Main articles: Outline of South Carolina and Index of South Carolina-related articles

References

  1. ^ a b "Annual Estimates of the Resident Population for the United States, Regions, States, and Puerto Rico: April 1, 2000 to July 1, 2008". United States Census Bureau. http://www.census.gov/popest/states/tables/NST-EST2008-01.csv. Retrieved 2009-02-01. 
  2. ^ a b c "Elevations and Distances in the United States". U.S Geological Survey. April 29, 2005. http://erg.usgs.gov/isb/pubs/booklets/elvadist/elvadist.html#Highest. Retrieved 2006-11-07. 
  3. ^ "S.C. Code of Laws Title 1 Chapter 1 General Provisions". http://www.scstatehouse.gov/CODE/t01c001.htm#1-1-655. Retrieved 2009-11-15. 
  4. ^ South Carolina, State of (1984), S.C. Code of Laws, SECTION 1-1-680. Official State fruit., http://www.scstatehouse.net/code/t01c001.htm, retrieved 2007-07-15 
  5. ^ South Carolina, State of (1984), S.C. Code of Laws, SECTION 1-1-690. Official State beverage., http://www.scstatehouse.net/code/t01c001.htm, retrieved 2007-07-15 
  6. ^ South Carolina, State of (1995), S.C. Code of Laws, SECTION 1-1-692. Official State hospitality beverage., http://www.scstatehouse.net/code/t01c001.htm, retrieved 2007-07-15 
  7. ^ South Carolina, State of (2006), S.C. Code of Laws, SECTION 1-1-682. Official state snack food., http://www.scstatehouse.net/code/t01c001.htm, retrieved 2007-07-15 
  8. ^ (Abridged from Seismicity of the United States, 1568-1989 (Revised), by Carl W. Stover and Jerry L. Coffman, U.S. Geological Survey Professional Paper 1527, United States Government Printing Office, Washington: 1993.)
  9. ^ "South Carolina SC - Lakes". http://www.sciway.net/tourism/lakes.html. 
  10. ^ NOAA National Climatic Data Center. Retrieved on October 24, 2006.
  11. ^ http://www.ustravelweather.com/weather-south-carolina/
  12. ^ Patricia U. Bonomi, “Under the Cope of Heaven. Religion, Society and Politics in Colonial America”, Oxford University Press, 1986, p. 32
  13. ^ a b c Joseph Hall, "The Great Indian Slave Caper", review of Alan Gallay, The Indian Slave Trade: The Rise of the English Empire in the American South, 1670-1717, New Haven: Yale University Press, 2002, Common-place.org, vol. 3, no. 1, October 2002, accessed 4 Nov 2009
  14. ^ Peter Kolchin, American Slavery: 1619-1877, New York: Hill and Wang, 1994, p.73
  15. ^ Richard H. Pildes, "Democracy, Anti-Democracy, and the Canon", Constitutional Commentary, Vol.17, 2000, p.12, accessed March 10, 2008
  16. ^ Historical Census Browser, 1900 US Census, University of Virginia, accessed March 15, 2008
  17. ^ Nineteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution
  18. ^ "Integration with Dignity" (PDF). http://www.clemson.edu/caah/cedp/gantt/pdfs/004.pdf. 
  19. ^ Brunner, Borgna (2000-06-30). "South Carolina's Confederate Flag Comes Down". http://www.infoplease.com/spot/confederate4.html. Retrieved 2007-04-19. 
  20. ^ "NCAA EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE APPROVES RESOLUTION REGARDING SOUTH CAROLINA'S CONFEDERATE FLAG ISSUE". 2000-04-28. http://www.ncaa.org/releases/divi/2000042801d1.htm. Retrieved 2007-05-05. 
  21. ^ Associated Press (2009-07-06). "ACC moves 3 future baseball tourneys". http://sports.espn.go.com/ncaa/news/story?id=4309688. Retrieved 2009-07-06. 
  22. ^ "Population and Population Centers by State: 2000". United States Census Bureau. http://www.census.gov/geo/www/cenpop/statecenters.txt. Retrieved 2008-12-06. 
  23. ^ List of U.S. states by population density
  24. ^ a b "The Economic and Social Implications of the Growing Latino Population in South Carolina," A Study for the South Carolina Commission for Minority Affairs prepared by The Consortium for Latino Immigration Studies, University of South Carolina, August 2007. Retrieved June 4, 2008.
  25. ^ ""Mexican Immigrants: The New Face of the South Carolina Labor Force," Moore School of Business, Division of Research, IMBA Globilization Project, University of South Carolina, March 2006.
  26. ^ http://www.harvardmagazine.com/on-line/0103137.html
  27. ^ http://www.npr.org/programs/morning/features/2002/mar/southernjews/index.html
  28. ^ http://www.lib.unc.edu/apop/
  29. ^ http://www.sc.edu/uscpress/2002/3445.html
  30. ^ Gross Domestic Product by State, June 5, 2008. Retrieved March 15, 2009.
  31. ^ http://www.bls.gov/web/laumstrk.htm
  32. ^ S. Spacek, The American State Litter Scorecard, 2008
  33. ^ "www.aci-na.aero/static/entransit/2007_PRELIMl_passenger_ranking.xls". http://www.aci-na.aero/static/entransit/2007_PRELIMl_passenger_ranking.xls. 
  34. ^ "www.aci.aero/cda/aci/display/main/aci_content.jsp?zn=aci&cp=1-5-54-57_9_2__". http://www.aci.aero/cda/aci/display/main/aci_content.jsp?zn=aci&cp=1-5-54-57_9_2__. 
  35. ^ http://www.sciway.net/gov/state_off.html
  36. ^ The South Carolina Encyclopedia, Walter Edgar, University of South Carolina Press
  37. ^ "Video Poker Outlawed In South Carolina". http://casinogambling.about.com/library/weekly/aa101899.htm. 
  38. ^ Statement by the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division regarding the change of Video Poker Machine Laws (In PDF Format)
  39. ^ South Carolina Personal income tax, Bankrate.com, February 4, 2009. Retrieved March 15, 2009.
  40. ^ a b Sales and Use Tax Seminar Manual 2007, South Carolina Department of Revenue, January 2007. Retrieved March 15, 2009.
  41. ^ a b A General Guide To South Carolina Sales and Use Tax, South Carolina Department of Revenue, October 12, 2007. Retrieved March 15, 2009.
  42. ^ South Carolina Inheritance and estate taxes, Bankrate.com, February 4, 2009. Retrieved March 15, 2009.
  43. ^ "A $5 billion bet on better education". New York Times. 23 August 2009. http://www.nytimes.com/2009/08/24/us/24iht-letter.html. 
  44. ^ http://colleges.usnews.rankingsandreviews.com/usnews/edu/college/rankings/brief/univmas_s_pub_brief.php
  45. ^ http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/features/2007/0709.rankings.html
  46. ^ [1]
  47. ^ [2]
  48. ^ http://www.commonwealthfund.org/Content/State-Scorecards/South-Carolina.aspx Commonwealth Fund, State Scorecard
  49. ^ http://www.statehealthfacts.org/profileind.jsp?ind=37&cat=2&rgn=42 Kaiser State Health Facts, 2006
  50. ^ http://www.census.gov/compendia/statab/ranks/rank17.html US Census, US National Center for Health Statistics, 2005
  51. ^ http://statehealthfactsonline.org/profileind.jsp?ind=689&cat=8&rgn=42 Kaiser State Health Facts, based on Amer. Medical Association data, 2008
  52. ^ http://statehealthfactsonline.org/profileind.jsp?ind=596&cat=5&rgn=42 Kaiser State Health Facts, based on Center for Medicare and Medicaid Statistics, 2007
  53. ^ http://statehealthfactsonline.org/comparebar.jsp?ind=10&cat=1&st=3&cha=25 Kaiser State Health Facts, 2008-2008
  54. ^ http://statehealthfactsonline.org/profileind.jsp?ind=51&cat=2&rgn=42 Kaiser State Health Facts, based on Nat Survey of Children’s Health, 2009
  55. ^ "Myrtle Beach Golf". http://www.igovacation.com/search_rentals/stateinfo.asp?State=sc. 
  56. ^ "GolfDigest.com - America's 50 Toughest Golf Courses". http://www.golfdigest.com/courses/index.ssf?/courses/gd200703toughestcourses.html. 
  57. ^ "GolfDigest.com - America's 100 Greatest Golf Courses". http://www.golfdigest.com/courses/americasgreatest/. 
  58. ^ "S.C. operators stand ready to toast new free-pour law",
  59. ^ Foothills Brewing Concern, Inc. v. City of Greenville, Case No. 26467 (S.C. slip op. filed March 31, 2008)
  60. ^ http://www.sctobacco.org/UserFiles/File/Smoke%20Free/CityAikenOrd.pdf
  61. ^ http://www.beaufortgazette.com/local_news/story/6278039p-5477050c.html
  62. ^ [3]
  63. ^ http://www.wtoc.com/Global/story.asp?S=5927688
  64. ^ http://www.sctobacco.org/UserFiles/File/Smoke%20Free/CamdenOrd.pdf
  65. ^ "Clemson smoking ban becomes law: Local News: Anderson Independent-Mail". http://www.independentmail.com/news/2008/jan/14/clemson-smoking-ban-becomes-law. 
  66. ^ http://www.columbiasc.net/downloads/No%20Smoking%20-%20initial-ban-penalties%2010208.pdf
  67. ^ http://cityofeasley.net/Smoking_Ban_FAQ.htm
  68. ^ http://www.sctobacco.org/smokefree/smokefreecountiescitiestowns.aspx
  69. ^ http://www.islandpacket.com/news/local/story/6378297p-5689297c.html
  70. ^ http://archive.constantcontact.com/fs001/1101800213434/archive/1102252707542.html
  71. ^ http://www.lexsc.com/highlights1.htm
  72. ^ http://www.sctobacco.org/UserFiles/File/Smoke%20Free/Liberty06-09-01.pdf
  73. ^ http://www.sctobacco.org/UserFiles/File/Smoke%20Free/NAugusta_F.pdf
  74. ^ http://www.masc.sc/Resources/Sullivan%27s%20Island%20Summary%20Judgment.pdf
  75. ^ http://www.wistv.com/global/story.asp?s=9862305
  76. ^ http://www.sctobacco.org/UserFiles/File/Smoke%20Free/SurfsideSmokingOrd12-08.pdf
  77. ^ "Restructuring proposal threatens checks and balances". http://statehousereport.com/columns/2003/03.0420.structure.htm. 
  78. ^ "South Carolina DUI LAW". http://www.1800duilaws.com/states/sc.asp. 
  79. ^ "Officials Investigate South Carolina Fire Tragedy. AP". http://www.wral.com/news/national_world/national/story/1518087/. 
  80. ^ Parents Pummeled by South Carolina Legislators. School Reform News. The Heartland Institute.
  81. ^ A review of SC School Bus Operations. South Carolina Legislative Audit Council. October 2001.
  82. ^ "SC Department of Health and Environmental Control". http://www.scdhec.net/health/minority/cardiovascular.htm. 
  83. ^ Edisto River
  84. ^ "Brookgreen Gardens". http://www.brookgreen.org/. 
  85. ^ "Middleton Place". http://www.middletonplace.org/. 

Further reading

Textbooks and surveys

  • Bass, Jack. Porgy Comes Home: South Carolina After 300 Years,. Sandlapper, 1970. OCLC 724061ISBN 9999555071
  • Coker, P. C., III. Charleston's Maritime Heritage, 1670-1865: An Illustrated History. Charleston, S.C.: Coker-Craft, 1987. 314 pp.
  • Edgar, Walter. South Carolina: A History, University of South Carolina Press, 1998. ISBN 1-57003-255-6
  • Edgar, Walter, ed. The South Carolina Encyclopedia, University of South Carolina Press, 2006. ISBN 1-57003-598-2
  • George C. Rogers Jr. and C. James Taylor. A South Carolina Chronology, 1497-1992, 2nd Ed.,. University of South Carolina Press, Columbia, SC, 1994. ISBN 0-87249-971-5
  • Wallace, David Duncan. South Carolina: A Short History, 1520-1948 (1951) ISBN 0-87249-079-3
  • WPA. South Carolina: A Guide to the Palmetto State (1941) ASIN B000HM05WE
  • Wright, Louis B. South Carolina: A Bicentennial History' (1977) ISBN 0-393-05560-4

Scholarly secondary studies

  • Bass, Jack and Marilyn W. Thompson. Ol' Strom: An Unauthorized Biography of Strom Thurmond,. Longstreet Press, 1998.
  • Busick, Sean R. A Sober Desire for History: William Gilmore Simms as Historian., 2005. ISBN 1-57003-565-2.
  • Clarke, Erskine. Our Southern Zion: A History of Calvinism in the South Carolina Low Country, 1690-1990 (1996)
  • Channing, Steven. Crisis of Fear: Secession in South Carolina (1970)
  • Cohodas, Nadine. Strom Thurmond and the Politics of Southern Change,. Simon & Schuster, 1993.
  • Coit, Margaret L. John C. Calhoun: American Portrait (1950)
  • Crane, Verner W. The Southern Frontier, 1670-1732 (1956)
  • Ford Jr., Lacy K. Origins of Southern Radicalism: The South Carolina Upcountry, 1800-1860 (1991)
  • Hindus, Michael S. Prison and Plantation: Crime, Justice, and Authority in Massachusetts and South Carolina, 1767-1878 (1980)
  • Johnson Jr., George Lloyd. The Frontier in the Colonial South: South Carolina Backcountry, 1736-1800 (1997)
  • Jordan, Jr., Frank E. The Primary State - A History of the Democratic Party in South Carolina, 1876-1962, Columbia, SC, 1967
  • Keyserling, Harriet. Against the Tide: One Woman's Political Struggle. University of South Carolina Press, 1998.
  • Kantrowitz, Stephen. Ben Tillman & the Reconstruction of White Supremacy (2002)
  • Lau, Peter F. Democracy Rising: South Carolina And the Fight for Black Equality Since 1865 (2006)
  • Peirce, Neal R. The Deep South States of America: People, Politics, and Power in the Seven Deep South States; (1974)
  • Rogers, George C. Evolution of a Federalist: William Loughton Smith of Charleston (1758-1812) (1962)
  • Schultz Harold S. Nationalism and Sectionalism in South Carolina, 1852-1860 (1950)
  • Simon, Bryant. A Fabric of Defeat: The Politics of South Carolina Millhands, 1910-1948 (1998)
  • Simkins, Francis Butler. The Tillman Movement in South Carolina (1926)
  • Simkins, Francis Butler. Pitchfork Ben Tillman: South Carolinian (1944)
  • Simkins, Francis Butler, and Robert Hilliard Woody. South Carolina during Reconstruction (1932).
  • Sinha, Manisha. The Counterrevolution of Slavery: Politics and Ideology in Antebellum South Carolina (2000)
  • Smith, Warren B. White Servitude in Colonial South Carolina (1961)
  • Tullos, Allen Habits of Industry: White Culture and the Transformation of the Carolina Piedmont (1989)
  • Williamson Joel R. After Slavery: The Negro in South Carolina during Reconstruction, 1861-1877 (1965)
  • Wood, Peter H. Black Majority: Negroes in Colonial South Carolina from 1670 Through the Stono Rebellion (1996)

Local studies

  • Bass, Jack and Jack Nelson.The Orangeburg Massacre,. Mercer University Press, 1992.
  • Burton, Orville Vernon. In My Father's House Are Many Mansions: Family and Community in Edgefield, South Carolina (1985), social history
  • Carlton, David L. Mill and Town in South Carolina, 1880-1920 (1982)
  • Clarke, Erskine. Dwelling Place: A Plantation Epic (2005)
  • Danielson, Michael N. Profits and Politics in Paradise: The Development of Hilton Head Island,. University of South Carolina Press, 1995.
  • Doyle, Don H. New Men, New Cities, New South: Atlanta, Nashville, Charleston, Mobile, 1860-1910 (1990)
  • Huff, Jr., Archie Vernon. Greenville: The History of the City and County in the South Carolina Piedmont, University of South Carolina Press, 1995.
  • Moore, John Hammond. Columbia and Richland County: A South Carolina Community, 1740-1990, University of South Carolina Press, 1993.
  • Moredock, Will. Banana Republic: A Year in the Heart of Myrtle Beach,. Frontline Press, 2003.
  • Pease, William H. and Jane H. Pease. The Web of Progress: Private Values and Public Styles in Boston and Charleston, 1828-1843 (1985),
  • Robertson, Ben. Red Hills and Cotton,. USC Press (reprint), 1991.
  • Rose, Willie Lee. Rehearsal for Reconstruction: The Port Royal Experiment (1964)

Political science

  • Carter, Luther F. and David Mann, eds. Government in the Palmetto State: Toward the 21st century,. University of South Carolina, 1993.ISBN 0-917069-01-3
  • Graham, Cole Blease and William V. Moore. South Carolina Politics and Government. Univ. of Nebraska Press, 1994. ISBN 0-8032-7043-7
  • Tyer, Charlie. ed. South Carolina Government: An Introduction,. USC Institute for Public Affairs, 2002. ISBN 0-917069-12-9

Primary documents

  • Salley, Alexander S. ed. Narratives of Early Carolina, 1650-1708 (1911) ISBN 0-7812-6298-4
  • Woodmason Charles. The Carolina Backcountry on the Eve of the Revolution Edited by Richard J. Hooker. (1953), a missionary reports ISBN 0-8078-4035-1

External links

Find more about South Carolina on Wikipedia's sister projects:

Search Wiktionary Definitions from Wiktionary
Search Wikibooks Textbooks from Wikibooks
Search Wikiquote Quotations from Wikiquote
Search Wikisource Source texts from Wikisource
Search Commons Images and media from Commons
Search Wikinews News stories from Wikinews
Search Wikiversity Learning resources from Wikiversity
North Carolina
North Atlantic Ocean
West   South Carolina    East
South
Georgia
Preceded by
Maryland		 List of U.S. states by date of statehood
Ratified Constitution on May 23, 1788 (8th)		 Succeeded by
New Hampshire

This entry is from Wikipedia, the leading user-contributed encyclopedia. It may not have been reviewed by professional editors (see full disclaimer)

Translations: South Carolina
Top
Home > Library > Literature & Language > Translations

Dansk (Danish)
n. - South Carolina

Français (French)
n. - Caroline du Sud

Deutsch (German)
n. - South Carolina

Português (Portuguese)
n. - Carolina do Sul

Español (Spanish)
n. - Carolina del Sur

中文（简体）(Chinese (Simplified))
南卡罗来纳州

中文（繁體）(Chinese (Traditional))
n. - 南卡羅來納州

עברית (Hebrew)
n. - ‮קרוליינה הדרומית‬

If you are unable to view some languages clearly, click here.

To select your translation preferences click here.


 
 

 

Copyrights:

Dictionary. The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition Copyright © 2007, 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Updated in 2007. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.  Read more
Britannica Concise Encyclopedia. Britannica Concise Encyclopedia. © 2006 Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc. All rights reserved.  Read more
US History Encyclopedia. © 2006 through a partnership of Answers Corporation. All rights reserved.  Read more
Columbia Encyclopedia. The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition Copyright © 2003, Columbia University Press. Licensed from Columbia University Press. All rights reserved. www.cc.columbia.edu/cu/cup/.  Read more
Geography. The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition Edited by E.D. Hirsch, Jr., Joseph F. Kett, and James Trefil. Copyright © 2002 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin. All rights reserved.  Read more
 Maps. ©2008 Google. All rights reserved.  Read more
Local Time. Copyright © 2009 - Chaos Software. All rights reserved.  Read more
Answers Corporation Stats. © 1999-2009 by Answers Corporation. All rights reserved.  Read more
Answers Corporation Parks. © 1999-2009 by Answers Corporation. All rights reserved.  Read more
Wikipedia. This article is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "South Carolina".  Read more
Translations. Copyright © 2007, WizCom Technologies Ltd. All rights reserved.  Read more