South Carolina ( ) 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
.
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.
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. 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.
Lakes
South Carolina has several major
lakes covering
over 683 square miles, or . The following are the lakes listed by
size.
Climate
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 in most of the state and overnight lows averaging
on the coast and from 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 and
overnight lows in the 40s°F (5-8 °C). Inland, the average
January overnight low is around 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 of snow annually.
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, which 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.
| 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 |
|
History
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. 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.
Historian
Alan Gallay estimates that
Carolinians exported 24,000-51,000 Indian slaves during this
period. 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.
On March 15, 1776, the colony declared its independence from Great
Britain and set up its own government, the first colony to do so .
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.

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.
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. 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.
"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.
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". 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.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.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.
Demographics

South Carolina population density
map.
South
Carolina's center of population
is north of the State House in the city of Columbia
.
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.
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.
"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. The Consortium reports that
the number of Hispanics in South Carolina is greatly undercounted
by census enumerators and may be more than 400,000.
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 |
Cities and Towns
Image:Charlestonhome.jpg|Charleston
Image:FinlayPark_skyline.jpg|Columbia
Image:Greenvillenightskyline.jpg|Greenville
Largest Cities (estimates)
- Columbia
- 127,000
- Charleston
- 126,000
- North Charleston
- 95,000
- Rock Hill
- 67,000
- Mount Pleasant
- 67,000
- Greenville
- 59,000
- Summerville
- 50,000
- Sumter
- 39,000
- Goose Creek
- 37,000
- Spartanburg
- 37,000
- Hilton Head
Island
- 33,000
- Myrtle Beach
-33,000
- Florence
- 31,000
- Aiken
- 29,000
- Anderson
- 26,000
- James Island
- 29,000
- Greer
- 23,000
- Greenwood
- 22,000
- Easley
- 18,000
- North Augusta
- 17,000
- Hanahan
- 15,500
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:
- Christian: 92%
- Other Religions: 1%
- Non-Religious: 7%
Sephardic Jews have lived in the
state for more than 300 years, especially in and around Charleston.
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.
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.
Transportation
Major highways
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.
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
Freight
The state of South Carolina are served by many freight carriers,
but the most common carriers are
CSX
Transportation and The
Norfolk
Southern Railway .
Major and regional airports
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.
Just across the
border in North Carolina is Charlotte/Douglas International
Airport
, the 30th busiest airport in the world, in terms of
passengers.
Government and politics
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
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.
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
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.
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.
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.
Taxes
The state's personal income tax has a maximum marginal tax rate of
7 percent on taxable income of $13,351 and above.
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. Counties may impose an additional 1% local
option sales tax and other local sales taxes, and local governments
may impose a local accommodations tax of up to 3%.
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.
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.
Education
South Carolina is one of just three states that have not agreed to
using competitive international
math and
language standards.
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, 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 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.
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.
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. 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.
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. 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. The
state’s
infant mortality rate
was 9.4 deaths per 1000 births compared to the US average of 6.9
deaths. There were 2.6
physicians per
1000 people compared to the US average of 3.2 physicians. There was
$5114 spent on health expenses per capita in the state, compared to
the US average of $5283. 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. And, 34 percent of children were
overweight or
obese,
compared to the US average of 32 percent.
Sports

A game at Williams-Brice
Stadium in Columbia
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.
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" and #38 on their "America's
100 Greatest Golf Courses".
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
Some of the most influential individuals in American life from
South Carolina include:
- Rudolf
Anderson, Jr. (1927-1962), born in Greenville
, U.S. Air Force major and U-2 pilot shot down during the Cuban Missile Crisis, was awarded the
first Air Force
Cross, posthumously.
- Andie
MacDowell (born April 21, 1958) is an American model and
actress, from Gaffney
, winner of two Golden Globe Awards.
- Mary McLeod Bethune (born
July 10, 1875 in Maysville,
South Carolina, died May 18, 1955), African American educator
and civil rights leader.
- James Butler
Bonham (born February 20, 1807 in Saluda,
South Carolina
, died March 6, 1836), 19th century American
lawyer and soldier,
defender at the Alamo
.
- James Brown
(born May 4, 1933 in Barnwell
, died December 25, 2006), "Godfather of Soul",
legendary singer and member of the Rock
& Roll Hall of Fame
.
- John C. Calhoun (1782-1850), born near Abbeville
, statesman and political philosopher, who from
1811 until his death served in the federal
government successively as congressman, secretary of war, vice
president, senator, secretary of state and again as
senator.
- Chubby Checker, singer, born
Ernest Evans in Spring Gulley, on October 3,
1941.
- Stephen Colbert, host of
The Colbert Report on
Comedy Central since 2005; previously correspondent for Comedy
Central's The Daily Show. A
native of Charleston, he attended Porter Gaud School. Colbert also
ran as a favorite son candidate for the
2008 presidential election in his native South Carolina.
- Danny!, recording artist for Definitive Jux Records, grew up in Columbia
and graduated Richland
Northeast High School in 2001.
- John Edwards, former N.C.
Senator
& 2004 Democratic Vice Presidential candidate, born in Seneca
in 1953.
- Joe Frazier, 1964 Olympic
heavyweight champion and the world heavyweight champ 1970-73;
fought Muhammad Ali for the heavyweight
title three times. He is most remembered for the fight at
Madison
Square Garden
in March 1971, where he defeated Ali to become the
undisputed heavyweight champ. Frazier was born in
Beaufort
on January 12, 1944.
- David du Bose Gaillard,
(1859-1913) U.S. Army engineer instrumental in the
construction of the Panama Canal
, born in Manning
.
- Althea Gibson
(1927-2003), first black female player to win the Wimbledon
singles tennis title, born in
Silver.
- Dizzy
Gillespie (1917-1993), John Birks 'Dizzy' Gillespie, considered
by some to be the greatest jazz trumpeter of all time, was born in Cheraw
.
- Thomas Heyward, Jr.
(1746-1809) Signer of the Declaration of Independence, born In St.
Luke's Parish.
- Andrew
Jackson (1767-1845), President of the United States, born near
Lancaster
but emigrated to Tennessee
as an adult. He was the hero of the Battle
of New Orleans
and 7th President, from 1829 to
1837.
- Jesse Jackson,
famous political and social figure, originally from Greenville, South Carolina
, born on October 8, 1941.
- 'Shoeless' Joe Jackson (1887–1951),
considered one of the most outstanding hitters in the history of
baseball, his career .356 batting average is the third highest in
history, after Ty Cobb and Rogers Hornsby; born in Brandon
Mills
.
- Jasper Johns,
considered one of the greatest post-World
War II American artists, was raised in Allendale
and attended the University
of South Carolina
before moving to New York City.
- Eartha Kitt
(1927–2008), from North, South Carolina
, American actress, singer, and
cabaret star. She was perhaps best
known for her role as Catwoman in the 1960s
TV series Batman.
- Thomas Lynch, Jr. (born August
4, 1749 in South Carolina, died 1779) Signer of the Declaration of
Independence.
- Barton MacLane (1902-1969) born
in Columbia, SC. Actor in The Maltese Falcon and
The Treasure of the
Sierra Madre.
- Arthur Middleton (1742-1787)
born in Charleston, signer of the Declaration of Independence,
later Governor (1810-1812), Representative (1815-1819) and Minister
to Russia (1820-1830).
- Kary Mullis
(1944-), 1993 Nobel laureate in Chemistry, grew up Columbia
and graduated from high school there.
- Bill Pinkney
(1925-2007) born in Dalzell
, was a pitcher in the Negro League, served in World
War II, but remembered most for singing role in The Drifters, influencing many artists in
blues and soul music.
- William C. Westmoreland, (March 26, 1914 –
July 18, 2005) born in Spartanburg
County, commanded American military operations in the Vietnam
War at its peak from 1964 to 1968 and served as U.S. Army Chief of
Staff from 1968 to 1972.
- Melvin Purvis
(1903-1960), born in Timmonsville
, FBI agent responsible for ending the criminal
careers of Baby Face Nelson,
Pretty Boy Floyd, and John Dillinger; died in Florence,
South Carolina
.
- Edward Rutledge (1749-1800),
youngest signer of the Declaration of Independence, later governor
of South Carolina.
- William
Barret Travis (1809-1836), born in Saluda
County
, lawyer and soldier, at 26 Lieutenant Colonel in the Texian Army, defender at the Alamo.
- Aziz Ansari (born February 23, 1983)
is an American actor and comedian. He is best known as one of the
stars of the critically acclaimed sketch comedy series Human Giant
on MTV, for which he is also a writer and executive producer.
Ansari now appears in a new NBC series, Parks and Recreation, from
producers of The Office. Ansari was born in Columbia, South
Carolina, to Indian
Tamil
parents.
- Robert Remus (born August 27, 1948)
pro wrestler aka Sgt.Slauter
- Darius Rucker, born in Charleston, SC, frontman for popular
rock band Hootie and the Blowfish. He is now a country music act
with several No. 1 singles.
- Jim Rice, baseball Hall of Famer, hails
from Anderson.
Chad Wolf, lead singer and songwriter of popular American-Swedish
band
Carolina Liar
Alcohol laws
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.
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.
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
- Beaufort County
, banned in all workplaces, including
restaurants and bars, within unincorporated areas of Beaufort
County. January 10, 2007.
- Beaufort, South Carolina, smoke-free
law for all workplaces including restaurants and bars. May
2008.
- Bluffton
, banned in all workplaces including restaurants
and bars. January 10, 2007.
- Camden, South Carolina
, smoke-free law for all workplaces including
restaurants and bars. 2008.
- Clemson
, July 1, 2008, banned in all enclosed
workplaces, including bars and restaurants
- Columbia
, October 1, 2008, smoke-free in all workplaces,
including restaurants and bars.
- Easley
, South Carolina, smoke-free law for all
workplaces including restaurants and bars, January 2009
- Edisto Beach, smoke-free law for all workplaces including
restaurants and bars, March 2009
- 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.
- Isle of Palms
, South Carolina, smoke-free law for all
workplaces including restaurants and bars, January 2009
- Lexington, South Carolina, smoke-free
workplace law for all workplaces including restaurants and bars in
town of Lexington, October 2008.
- Liberty, South Carolina, smoke-free law
with exemption for bars, October 2006
- 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.
- 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.
- Sumter
, effective mid-April, 2009, a ban on smoking in
workplaces, including restaurants and bars.
- Surfside Beach, smoke-free workplace law including restaurants
and bars. Ordinance also covers beach and walk-ups to beach.
November 2008
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- School Buses: South Carolina is the only state
in the nation that owns and operates its own school bus fleet.
- Strokes: South Carolina has the highest rate
of stroke deaths in the nation.
- Black Water River: With the Edisto River,
South Carolina has the longest completely undammed / unleveed
blackwater river in North
America.
- Outdoor Sculpture: South Carolina is home to
the world's largest collection of outdoor sculpture located at
Brookgreen Gardens.
- Landscaped Gardens: South Carolina is home to
the oldest landscaped gardens in the United States, at Middleton
Place near Charleston.
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
References
- (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.)
- NOAA National Climatic Data Center. Retrieved
on October 24, 2006.
- http://www.ustravelweather.com/weather-south-carolina/
- Patricia U. Bonomi, “Under the Cope of Heaven. Religion,
Society and Politics in Colonial America”, Oxford University Press,
1986, p. 32
- [http://www.common-place.org/vol-03/no-01/reviews/hall.shtml
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
- [http://www.common-place.org/vol-03/no-01/reviews/hall.shtml
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
- [http://www.common-place.org/vol-03/no-01/reviews/hall.shtml
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
- Peter Kolchin, American Slavery: 1619-1877, New York:
Hill and Wang, 1994, p.73
- Richard H. Pildes, "Democracy, Anti-Democracy, and the
Canon", Constitutional Commentary, Vol.17, 2000, p.12,
accessed March 10, 2008
- Historical Census Browser, 1900 US Census,
University of Virginia, accessed March 15, 2008
- Nineteenth
Amendment to the United States Constitution
- List of U.S. states by
population density
- ""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.
- http://www.harvardmagazine.com/on-line/0103137.html
-
http://www.npr.org/programs/morning/features/2002/mar/southernjews/index.html
- http://www.lib.unc.edu/apop/
- http://www.sc.edu/uscpress/2002/3445.html
- Gross Domestic Product by State, June 5, 2008.
Retrieved March 15, 2009.
- http://www.bls.gov/web/laumstrk.htm
- S. Spacek, The American State Litter Scorecard, 2008
- http://www.sciway.net/gov/state_off.html
- The South Carolina Encyclopedia, Walter Edgar,
University of South Carolina Press
- Statement by the South Carolina Law Enforcement
Division regarding the change of Video Poker Machine Laws (In
PDF Format)
- South Carolina Personal income tax,
Bankrate.com, February 4, 2009. Retrieved March 15, 2009.
- Sales and Use Tax Seminar Manual 2007, South
Carolina Department of Revenue, January 2007. Retrieved March 15,
2009.
- A General Guide To South Carolina Sales and Use
Tax, South Carolina Department of Revenue, October 12, 2007.
Retrieved March 15, 2009.
- South Carolina Inheritance and estate taxes,
Bankrate.com, February 4, 2009. Retrieved March 15, 2009.
-
http://colleges.usnews.rankingsandreviews.com/usnews/edu/college/rankings/brief/univmas_s_pub_brief.php
-
http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/features/2007/0709.rankings.html
- [1]
- [2]
-
http://www.commonwealthfund.org/Content/State-Scorecards/South-Carolina.aspx
Commonwealth Fund, State Scorecard
-
http://www.statehealthfacts.org/profileind.jsp?ind=37&cat=2&rgn=42
Kaiser State Health Facts, 2006
- http://www.census.gov/compendia/statab/ranks/rank17.html US
Census, US National Center for Health Statistics, 2005
-
http://statehealthfactsonline.org/profileind.jsp?ind=689&cat=8&rgn=42
Kaiser State Health Facts, based on Amer. Medical Association data,
2008
-
http://statehealthfactsonline.org/profileind.jsp?ind=596&cat=5&rgn=42
Kaiser State Health Facts, based on Center for Medicare and
Medicaid Statistics, 2007
-
http://statehealthfactsonline.org/comparebar.jsp?ind=10&cat=1&st=3&cha=25
Kaiser State Health Facts, 2008-2008
-
http://statehealthfactsonline.org/profileind.jsp?ind=51&cat=2&rgn=42
Kaiser State Health Facts, based on Nat Survey of Children’s
Health, 2009
- "S.C. operators stand ready to toast new free-pour
law",
- Foothills Brewing Concern, Inc. v. City of Greenville,
Case No. 26467 (S.C. slip op. filed March 31, 2008)
-
http://www.sctobacco.org/UserFiles/File/Smoke%20Free/CityAikenOrd.pdf
-
http://www.beaufortgazette.com/local_news/story/6278039p-5477050c.html
- [3]
- http://www.wtoc.com/Global/story.asp?S=5927688
-
http://www.sctobacco.org/UserFiles/File/Smoke%20Free/CamdenOrd.pdf
-
http://www.columbiasc.net/downloads/No%20Smoking%20-%20initial-ban-penalties%2010208.pdf
- http://cityofeasley.net/Smoking_Ban_FAQ.htm
-
http://www.sctobacco.org/smokefree/smokefreecountiescitiestowns.aspx
-
http://www.islandpacket.com/news/local/story/6378297p-5689297c.html
-
http://archive.constantcontact.com/fs001/1101800213434/archive/1102252707542.html
- http://www.lexsc.com/highlights1.htm
-
http://www.sctobacco.org/UserFiles/File/Smoke%20Free/Liberty06-09-01.pdf
-
http://www.sctobacco.org/UserFiles/File/Smoke%20Free/NAugusta_F.pdf
-
http://www.masc.sc/Resources/Sullivan%27s%20Island%20Summary%20Judgment.pdf
- http://www.wistv.com/global/story.asp?s=9862305
-
http://www.sctobacco.org/UserFiles/File/Smoke%20Free/SurfsideSmokingOrd12-08.pdf
- Parents Pummeled by South Carolina
Legislators. School Reform News. The Heartland
Institute.
- A review of SC School Bus Operations. South
Carolina Legislative Audit Council. October 2001.
- Edisto
River
Further reading
Textbooks and surveys
- Bass, Jack. Porgy Comes Home: South Carolina After 300
Years,. Sandlapper, 1970.
- 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