South Carolina is a
U.S. stateA U.S. state is any one of 50 federated states of the United States of America that share sovereignty with the federal government . Because of this shared sovereignty, an American is a citizen both of the federal entity and of his or her state of domicile...
that borders
GeorgiaGeorgia is a state in the United States. One of the original Thirteen Colonies that revolted against British rule in the American Revolution, it had been the last of the Thirteen Colonies to be established, in 1733. Georgia was the fourth state to ratify the United States Constitution, on January...
to the south and
North CarolinaNorth Carolina is a state located on the Atlantic Seaboard in the southeastern United States. The state borders South Carolina and Georgia to the south, Tennessee to the west and Virginia to the north. North Carolina contains 100 counties...
to the north. Originally part of the
Province of CarolinaThe Province of Carolina from 1663 to 1712, was a colony of British America, controlled by the Lords Proprietary, a group of eight English noblemen led informally by member Anthony Ashley-Cooper, 1st Earl of Shaftesbury...
, the
Province of South CarolinaThe South Carolina Colony was originally part of the Province of Carolina, which was chartered in 1663. The colony later became the U.S. state of South Carolina....
was one of the 13 colonies that declared independence from the British Crown during the
American RevolutionThe American Revolution is the political upheaval during the last half of the 18th century in which thirteen of Britain's colonies in North America at first rejected the governance of the Parliament of Great Britain, and later the British monarchy itself, to become the sovereign United States of...
. The colony was originally named in honor of
King Charles ICharles I, , the second son of James VI of Scotland and I of England, was King of England, Scotland and Ireland from 27 March 1625 until his execution. Charles famously engaged in a struggle for power with the Parliament of England...
, as
Carolus is Latin for
CharlesCharles is a given name for males, and has its origins in the Common Germanic term Churl, where it originally was used to indicate a free man, but not one belonging to the nobility...
. South Carolina was the first state to vote to secede from the
UnionThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
and was a founding state of the
Confederate States of AmericaThe Confederate States of America was a separatist political entity existing between 1861 to 1865, established by eleven southern slave states of the United States of America, each of which had previously declared their secession from the United States...
. According to an estimate by the
United States Census BureauThe United States Census Bureau is the government agency that is responsible for the United States Census. It also gathers other national demographic and economic data. As part of the United States Department of Commerce, the Census Bureau serves as the leading source of quality data about...
, 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
ColumbiaColumbia is the state capital and largest city in the U.S. state of South Carolina. The population was 116,278 according to the 2000 census . Columbia is the county seat of Richland County, but a portion of the city extends into Lexington County. The city is the center of a metro area of 728,063...
.
Geography
South Carolina is bordered to the north by
North CarolinaNorth Carolina is a state located on the Atlantic Seaboard in the southeastern United States. The state borders South Carolina and Georgia to the south, Tennessee to the west and Virginia to the north. North Carolina contains 100 counties...
; to the south and west by Georgia, located across the
Savannah RiverThe Savannah River is a major river in the southeastern United States, forming most of the border between the states of South Carolina and Georgia. Two tributaries of the Savannah, the Tugaloo River and the Chattooga River, form the northernmost part of the border...
; and to the east by the
Atlantic OceanThe Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's oceanic divisions. With a total area of about 106.4 million square kilometres , it covers approximately one-fifth of the Earth's surface and about one-quarter of its water surface area. The first part of its name refers to the Atlas of Greek...
.
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
SandhillsThe Sandhills is a region in the interior of the U.S. states of North Carolina and South Carolina. It is a strip of ancient beach dunes which generally divides the Piedmont from the coastal plain, and is the evidence of a former coastline when the ocean level was higher, or the land lower...
, which used to be South Carolina's fall line. Inland from the Sandhills is the
PiedmontPiedmont is a plateau region located in the eastern United States between the Atlantic Coastal Plain and the main Appalachian Mountains, stretching from New Jersey in the north to central Alabama in the south. The Piedmont province is a physiographic province of the larger Appalachian division. The...
, 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
GeorgetownGeorgetown is the third oldest city in the U.S. state of South Carolina and the county seat of Georgetown County. Located on Winyah Bay at the confluence of the Great Pee Dee River, Waccamaw River, and Sampit River, Georgetown is the second largest seaport in South Carolina, handling over 960,000...
and
CharlestonCharleston is a city in Charleston County, South Carolina in the U.S. state of South Carolina. It is the largest city and county seat of Charleston County. The city was founded as Charlestown or Charles Towne, Carolina in 1670, and moved to its present location from a location on the west bank of...
. 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: |
ColumbiaColumbia is the state capital and largest city in the U.S. state of South Carolina. The population was 116,278 according to the 2000 census . Columbia is the county seat of Richland County, but a portion of the city extends into Lexington County. The city is the center of a metro area of 728,063...
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| State Mottos: |
Dum spiro speroDum spiro spero means "While I breathe, I hope" in Latin and is generally attributed to Cicero.It is a motto of various places and families.- States and Towns :The notable origin of the motto is St Andrews, Fife, Scotland...
(While I breathe, I hope)
and Animis opibusque parati
(Prepared in Mind and Resources) |
| State Slogan: |
Smiling Faces Beautiful Places |
| State Songs: |
"Carolina "Carolina" is the official state song of South Carolina since 1911. In 1984, it was joined by "South Carolina On My Mind".- History :The lyrics of the song are based on a poem by Henry Timrod. This poem was edited by G.R. Goodwin and was set to music by Anne Curtis Burgess...
" and
"South Carolina On My MindSouth Carolina On My Mind is a song written and recorded by native South Carolinians Hank Martin and Buzz Arledge. It was adopted by South Carolina as a second state song1 on March 8, 1984.2 It joins "Carolina," which has been a state song since 1911.- Resolution Adopting the...
" |
| State Tree: |
Sabal palmettoSabal palmetto, also known as Cabbage Palm, Palmetto, Cabbage Palmetto,Palmetto Palm, and Sabal Palm, is one of 15 species of palmetto palm . It is native to the southeastern United States, Cuba, and the Bahamas...
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| State Flower: |
South Carolina Yellow jessamine |
| State Bird: |
Carolina WrenThe Carolina Wren is a common species of wren, resident in the eastern half of the USA, the extreme south of Ontario, Canada, and the extreme northeast of Mexico...
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| State Wild Game Bird: |
Wild TurkeyThe Wild Turkey is native to North America and is the heaviest member of the Galliformes. It is one of two species of turkey, the other being the Ocellated Turkey, found in Central America....
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| State Dog: |
Boykin SpanielThe Boykin Spaniel is a medium-sized breed of dog, a Spaniel bred for hunting wild turkeys in the Wateree River Swamp of South Carolina, in the United States...
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State AnimalA number of national and sub-national entities have adopted a state animal to represent the wildlife of that area.-Japan:-Pakistan:-United States:Many US states designate a state animal, or a number of animals. See:...
: |
White-tailed deerThe white-tailed deer , also known as the Virginia deer, or simply as the whitetail, is a medium-sized deer native to the United States , Canada, Mexico, Central America, and in South America as far south as Peru...
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| State Reptile: |
Loggerhead Sea TurtleThe Loggerhead Sea Turtle is a sea turtle and the only member of the genus Caretta. The genus name "Caretta" is a latinization of the French "caret", meaning turtle, tortoise, or sea turtle. A loggerhead sea turtle reportedly grows up to and long. Their shell color is a reddish brown color, and...
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| State Amphibian: |
SalamanderSalamander is a common name of approximately 500 species of amphibians. They are typically characterized by their slender bodies, short noses, and long tails. All known fossils and extinct species fall under the order Caudata, while sometimes the extant species are grouped together as the Urodela...
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| State Fish: |
Striped bassThe striped bass is the state fish of Maryland, Rhode Island, South Carolina, and the state saltwater fish of New York...
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| State Insect: |
Carolina MantisThe Carolina mantis is a praying mantis native to the Southern United States and one of six species found in North America. It grows to approximately in length....
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| State Butterfly: |
Eastern tiger swallowtailThe Eastern Tiger Swallowtail is a large swallowtail butterfly. It is found in the Eastern United States, as far north as southern Vermont, and as far West as extreme Eastern Colorado. It flies from spring through fall, and most of the year in the southern portions of its range, where it may...
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| State Fruit: |
PeachThe peach is known as a species of Prunus native to China that bears an edible juicy fruit also called a peach. It is a deciduous tree growing to 4–10 m tall, belonging to the subfamily Prunoideae of the family Rosaceae...
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| State Beverage: |
MilkMilk is an opaque white liquid produced by the mammary glands of mammals. It provides the primary source of nutrition for young mammals before they are able to digest other types of food. The early lactation milk is known as colostrum, and carries the mother's antibodies to the baby. It can reduce...
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State Hospitality
Beverage: |
Tea Tea is the agricultural product of the leaves, leaf buds, and internodes of the Camellia sinensis plant, prepared and cured by various methods...
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| State Gemstone: |
AmethystAmethyst is a violet variety of quartz often used in jewelry. The name comes from the Ancient Greek a- and methustos , a reference to the belief that the stone protected its owner from drunkenness; the ancient Greeks and Romans wore amethyst and made drinking vessels of it in the belief that it...
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| State Stone: |
Blue Blue is a colour, the perception of which is evoked by light having a spectrum dominated by energy with a wavelength of roughly 440–490 nm. It is considered one of the additive primary colours. On the HSV Colour Wheel, the complement of blue is yellow; that is, a colour corresponding to an equal...
graniteGranite is a common and widely occurring type of intrusive, felsic, igneous rock. Granite has a medium to coarse texture, occasionally with some individual crystals larger than the groundmass forming a rock known as porphyry. Granites can be pink to dark gray or even black, depending on their...
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| State Popular Music: |
Beach music Beach music, also known as Carolina beach music, is a regional genre which developed from various musical styles of the forties, fifties and sixties. These styles ranged from big band swing instrumentals to the more raucous sounds of blues/jump blues, jazz, doo-wop, boogie, rhythm and blues,...
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| State Dance: |
Shag Carolina Shag is a six count partner dance done mostly to moderate tempo music . During the dance the upper body and hips hardly move as the legs do convoluted kicks and fancy footwork. The lead is the center of attention, and the follow's steps either mirror the lead's or mark time while the lead...
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| State Snack: |
Boiled peanutsBoiled peanuts are popular in some places where peanuts are common. Fully mature peanuts do not make good quality boiled peanuts; rather raw or "green" ones are used. "Raw" denotes peanuts in a semi-mature state, having achieved full size, but not being fully dried, as would be needed for roasting...
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| State Craft: |
Sweetgrass Basket weaving Basket weaving is the process of weaving unspun vegetable fibers into a basket or other similar form....
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| State Mace |
South Carolina State Mace |
| State Sword |
South Carolina State Sword |
| State Quarter The 50 State Quarters program is the release of a series of commemorative coins by the United States Mint. Between 1999 and 2008, it featured each of the 50 individual U.S. states on unique designs for the reverse of the quarter....
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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 lineIn geomorphology, a fall line marks the area where an upland region and a coastal plain meet. Technically, a fall line is an unconformity. A fall line is typically prominent when crossed by a river, for there will often be rapids or waterfalls...
, 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,
ColumbiaColumbia is the state capital and largest city in the U.S. state of South Carolina. The population was 116,278 according to the 2000 census . Columbia is the county seat of Richland County, but a portion of the city extends into Lexington County. The city is the center of a metro area of 728,063...
. 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 ParkwayThe Cherokee Foothills National Scenic Highway winds its way through the northwest corner of South Carolina. Following the southernmost peaks of the Blue Ridge Mountains, the route is surrounded with peach orchards, quaint villages, and parks...
is a scenic driving route through this area. This is where
Table Rock State ParkTable Rock State Park is a park at the edge of the Blue Ridge Mountains in northern Pickens County, South Carolina. The park includes Pinnacle Mountain, the tallest mountain totally within the state.
-History:...
is located.
Highest in elevation is the Blue Ridge Region, containing an escarpment of the
Blue Ridge MountainsThe Blue Ridge, or Blue Ridge Mountains, is a physiographic province of the larger Appalachian Mountains range. This province consists of northern and southern physiographic regions, which divide near the Roanoke River gap. The mountain range is located in the eastern United States, starting at...
, which continue into North Carolina and Georgia, as part of the southern
AppalachianThe Appalachian Mountains , often called the Appalachians, are a vast system of mountains in eastern North America. Definitions vary on the precise boundaries of the Appalachians...
chain.
Sassafras MountainSassafras Mountain is the highest point in the state of South Carolina, USA.-Location:It is located along the South Carolina-North Carolina border in northern Pickens County, South Carolina nearest to the town of Rosman, North Carolina....
, South Carolina's highest point at 3,560 feet (1,085
mThe metre or meter is the basic unit of length in the International System of Units . Historically, the metre was defined by the French Academy of Sciences as the length between two marks on a platinum-iridium bar, which was designed to represent one ten-millionth of the distance from the Equator...
) is located in this area. Also located in this area is
Caesars Head State ParkCaesars Head State Park is located in northern Greenville County, SC, only three miles from the North Carolina border. Along with Jones Gap State Park, the park forms the Mountain Bridge Wilderness Area....
. The
Chattooga RiverThe Chattooga River is the main tributary of the Tugaloo River. Its headwaters are located southwest of Cashiers, North Carolina, and it stretches or 92 km to where it has its confluence with the Tallulah River within Lake Tugalo, held back by the Tugalo Dam...
, 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
lakeA lake is a terrain feature , a body of liquid on the surface of a world that is localized to the bottom of basin and moves slowly if it moves at all. Another definition is, a body of fresh or salt water of considerable size that is surrounded by land...
s covering over 683 square miles, or . The following are the lakes listed by size.
- Lake Marion
Man-made in the 1930s electrification efforts of the New Deal, rurally located Lake Marion is the largest lake in South Carolina, and is centrally located within the state with a shoreline and covering nearly 110,000 acres
[Conversions: Acres to km2, 450 km2 to Square miles ] of rolling...
- Lake Strom Thurmond
Lake Strom Thurmond, known in Georgia as Clarks Hill Lake, is a reservoir at the border between Georgia and South Carolina in the Savannah River Basin. It was built between 1946 and 1954 by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers near the confluence of the "Little River" and the Savannah River...
- Lake Moultrie
Lake Moultrie is the third largest lake in South Carolina covering over .-Location:Lake Moultrie is located in Berkeley County, South Carolina, is fed by Lake Marion through a diversion canal. Nearby towns include Moncks Corner, Bonneau and St. Stephen....
- Lake Hartwell
Lake Hartwell is a reservoir bordering Georgia and South Carolina on the Savannah, Tugaloo, and Seneca Rivers. The lake is created by Hartwell Dam located on the Savannah River seven miles below the point at which the Tugaloo and Seneca Rivers join to form the Savannah...
- Lake Murray
Lake Murray is a reservoir in the U.S. state of South Carolina. It is approximately 50,000 acres in size, and has roughly 500 miles of shoreline. It was impounded in the late 1920s to provide hydroelectric power to the state of South Carolina. Lake Murray is fed by the Saluda River, which flows...
- Russell Lake
Richard B. Russell Lake is a reservoir created by the construction of Richard B. Russell Dam on the Savannah River bordering Elbert County, Georgia and Abbeville County, South Carolina. Filling of the lake began in October 1983, and was completed in December 1984 for a full pool elevation of 475...
- Lake Keowee
Lake Keowee is a reservoir created by Keowee Dam and Little River Dam. It impounds the Keowee River and the Little River, each of which exits through its respective dam. The two rivers join just below the dams and their confluence forms the Seneca River, a tributary of the Savannah River...
- Lake Wylie
Lake Wylie is a reservoir located in South Carolina and North Carolina. The lake has a surface area of and features of shore line.-History:...
- Lake Wateree
Lake Wateree is a reservoir in Kershaw County, South Carolina in the United States. It is one of South Carolina's oldest man-made lakes. It has of shoreline and includes Lake Wateree State Recreation Area, a bird refuge, and Shaw Air Force Base Recreation center...
- Lake Greenwood
Lake Greenwood is formed by a hydroelectric dam across the Saluda River. The lake has 212 miles of shoreline and 11,400 acres. The Reedy River joins the Saluda at Lake Greenwood. Lake Greenwood is used for recreational boating and fishing....
- Lake Jocassee
Lake Jocassee is a , deep reservoir located in northwest South Carolina created by the state in partnership with Duke Power in 1973. The clean and cold Appalachian mountain rivers that feed the lake keep its waters cool year-round. The hydroelectric dam that formed the lake is high and long...
Climate
South Carolina has a
humid subtropical climateHumid subtropical climate is a climate zone characterized by hot, humid summers and cool winters. This climate type covers a broad category of climates, and the term "subtropical" may be a misnomer for the winter climate....
(
Köppen climate classificationThe Köppen climate classification is one of the most widely used climate classification systems. It was first published by the Russian climatologist Wladimir Köppen in 1884, with several later modifications by Köppen himself notably in 1918 and 1936...
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 (19-22 °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 cm) 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 VerdeThe Republic of Cape Verde is an island country, spanning an archipelago located in the Macaronesia ecoregion of the North Atlantic Ocean, off the western coast of Africa, opposite Mauritania and Senegal....
hurricane season. Two memorable Category 4 hurricanes to hit South Carolina were
HazelHurricane Hazel was the deadliest and most costly hurricane of the 1954 Atlantic hurricane season and one of the deadliest and costliest storms of the 20th century. The hurricane killed as many as 1,000 people in Haiti before striking the United States, where it killed 95 people, near the...
(1954) and
HugoHurricane Hugo was a destructive Category 5 hurricane that struck Guadeloupe, Montserrat, St. Croix, Puerto Rico, South Carolina, and North Carolina in September of the 1989 Atlantic hurricane season, killing 109 people and leaving nearly 100,000 homeless....
(1989). South Carolina averages around 50 days of
thunderstormA thunderstorm, also known as an electrical storm, a lightning storm, a hailstorm, or simply a storm is a form of weather characterized by the presence of lightning and its acoustic effect on the Earth's atmosphere known as thunder. The meteorologically-assigned cloud type associated with the...
activity a year, which is less than some of the states further south, and it is slightly less vulnerable to
tornadoA tornado is a violent, dangerous, rotating column of air which is in contact with both the surface of the earth and a cumulonimbus cloud or, in rare cases, the base of a cumulus cloud...
es 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 |
| http://www.ustravelweather.com/weather-south-carolina/ |
History
The colony of Carolina was settled by
EnglishThe English are a nation and ethnic group native to England, who speak English. The English identity as a people is of early medieval origin, when they were known in Old English as the Anglecynn....
settlers, mostly from
BarbadosBarbados , situated just east of the Caribbean Sea, is an independent West Indian Continental Island-nation in the western Atlantic Ocean. For over three centuries Barbados was a colony and protectorate of the United Kingdom; and still currently maintains Queen Elizabeth II as head of state...
, 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 InquisitionThe Spanish Inquisition was an ecclesiastical tribunal started in 1478 by Catholic Monarchs Ferdinand II of Aragon and Isabella I of Castile. It was intended to maintain Catholic orthodoxy in their kingdoms, and to replace the medieval inquisition which was under papal control...
, which was being perpetrated in the Spanish colonies in the New World. Most immigrants in the colonial period were African slaves, who constituted a majority of the colony's population throughout the period. The Carolina upcountry was settled largely by Scots-Irish migrants from
PennsylvaniaThe Commonwealth of Pennsylvania , often colloquially referred to as PA by natives and Northeasterners, is a state located in the Northeastern and Middle Atlantic regions of the United States...
and
VirginiaThe Commonwealth of Virginia is a U.S. state on the Atlantic Coast of the Southern United States. Virginia is nicknamed the "Old Dominion" and sometimes the "Mother of Presidents" because it is the birthplace of eight U.S. presidents. The geography and climate of the state are shaped by the Blue...
, following the
Great Wagon RoadThe Great Wagon Road was a colonial American thoroughfare from Pennsylvania to North Carolina and from there to Georgia. It was the heavily traveled main route for settlement of the Southern United States, particularly the 'back country'. This was the area that received many German and Scots-Irish...
.
Between 1715–1717 the
Yamasee WarThe Yamasee War was a conflict between settlers of colonial South Carolina and various Native American Indian tribes, including the Yamasee, Creek, Cherokee, Chickasaw, Catawba, Apalachee, Apalachicola, Yuchi, Savannah River Shawnee, Congaree, Waxhaws, Pee Dee, Cape Fear, Cheraw, and others...
, between
colonial South CarolinaThe Province of Carolina from 1663 to 1712, was a colony of British America, controlled by the Lords Proprietary, a group of eight English noblemen led informally by member Anthony Ashley-Cooper, 1st Earl of Shaftesbury...
and several Indian tribes, was one of America’s bloodiest
Indian WarsIndian Wars is the name used in the United States to describe a series of conflicts between the colonial or federal government and the native people of North America....
, which for over a year seriously threatened the continued existence of South Carolina. The impact of the wars included dissatisfaction with the Proprietors who had the right to govern the colony. As a result, The Carolinas was split, and South Carolina became a royal colony in 1719.
The colony declared its independence from Great Britain and set up its own government on March 15, 1776, becoming the first colony to do so . To win South Carolina's support for the
Declaration of IndependenceA declaration of independence is an assertion of the independence of an aspiring state or states. Such places are usually declared from part or all of the territory of another nation or failed nation, or are breakaway territories from within the larger state...
,
Thomas JeffersonThomas Jefferson was the third President of the United States , the principal author of the Declaration of Independence , and one of the most influential Founding Fathers for his promotion of the ideals of republicanism in the United States...
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 ConfederationThe Articles of Confederation and Perpetual Union, commonly referred to as the Articles of Confederation, was the first constitution of the United States of America and legally established the union of the states. The Second Continental Congress appointed a committee to draft the Articles in June...
. 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 ConstitutionThe Constitution of the United States of America is the supreme law of the United States. It is the foundation and source of the legal authority underlying the existence of the United States of America and the federal government of the United States...
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 and thousands left with them; others secured their freedom by escaping. 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 supporting the central government in Philadelphia and a large proportion of common people, often members of 'Republican Societies', supporting the Republican-Democrats headed by Jefferson and Madison who wanted more democracy in the US especially in South Carolina. Most people also supported the onset of the French Revolution (1789-1795) as anti-British feelings were still running high after the devastation of the war during the American Revolution and Charleston was the most French-influenced city in the USA after New Orleans. Leading South Carolina figures such as Pinckney and Governor Moultrie backed with money and actions the plans of the French 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 AffairThe XYZ Affair is a diplomatic scandal that lasted from March of 1797 to 1800. Three French agents, originally only publicly referred to as X, Y, and Z, but later revealed as Jean Conrad Hottinguer, Pierre Bellamy and Lucien Hauteval, demanded enormous concessions from the United States as a...
.
Antebellum, South Carolina did more to advance
nullificationThe Nullification Crisis was a sectional crisis during the presidency of Andrew Jackson created by South Carolina's 1832 Ordinance of Nullification. This ordinance declared, by the power of the State itself, that the federal Tariff of 1828 and the federal Tariff of 1832 were unconstitutional and...
and
secessionAttempts or aspirations of secession from the United States have been a feature of the politics of the country since its birth. The line between actions based on an alleged constitutional right of secession as opposed to actions justified by the extraconstitutional natural right of revolution has...
than any other Southern state. In 1832, a South Carolina state convention passed the
Ordinance of NullificationThe Ordinance of Nullification declared the tariff of 1828 and 1832 null and void within the state borders of South Carolina. It began the Nullification Crisis...
, 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 CrisisThe Nullification Crisis was a sectional crisis during the presidency of Andrew Jackson created by South Carolina's 1832 Ordinance of Nullification. This ordinance declared, by the power of the State itself, that the federal Tariff of 1828 and the federal Tariff of 1832 were unconstitutional and...
, in which U. S. President
Andrew JacksonAndrew Jackson was the seventh President of the United States . He was military governor of Florida , commander of the American forces at the Battle of New Orleans , and eponym of the era of Jacksonian democracy...
received congressional authorization, through the
Force BillThe United States Force Bill authorized U.S. President Andrew Jackson's use of whatever force necessary to enforce tariffs. It was intended to suppress South Carolina's nullification of tariffs. Opponents of the bill referred to it as Jackson's Bloody Bill or War 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 BrooksPreston Smith Brooks was a Democratic Congressman from South Carolina, known for physically beating Senator Charles Sumner on the floor of the United States Senate...
entered the United States Senate chamber and, with a metal-tipped cane, beat Massachusetts Senator
Charles SumnerCharles Sumner was an American politician and statesman from Massachusetts. An academic lawyer and a powerful orator, Sumner was the leader of the antislavery forces in Massachusetts and a leader of the Radical Republicans in the United States Senate during the American Civil War and...
, drawing blood and causing enough injury to render Sumner unable to serve for several months. Brooks was retaliating for a speech Sumner had just given attacking the institution of slavery and insulting South Carolinians directly. Brooks resigned his seat but received a hero's welcome on returning home.
On December 20, 1860, after it was clear Lincoln would be the next president, South Carolina became the first state to declare its secession from the
UnionDuring the American Civil War, the Union was a name used to refer to the federal government of the United States, which was supported by the twenty-three states which were not part of the secession attempt by the 11 states that tried to form the Confederacy...
. On April 12, 1861, Confederate batteries began shelling Fort Sumter in Charleston Harbor, and the
American Civil WarThe American Civil War , also known as the War Between the States and several other names, was a civil war in the United States of America. Eleven Southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America...
began. Charleston was effectively blockaded and the Union Navy seized the
Sea IslandsThe Sea Islands are a chain of tidal and barrier islands on the Atlantic Ocean coast of the United States. They number over 100, and are located between the mouths of the Santee and St. Johns Rivers along the coast of the U.S. states of South Carolina, Georgia and Florida...
, driving off the plantation owners and setting up an experiment in freedom for the ex-slaves. South Carolina troops participated in major Confederate campaigns, but no major battles were fought inland. General
William Tecumseh ShermanWilliam Tecumseh Sherman was an American soldier, businessman, educator and author. He served as a General in the Union Army during the American Civil War , for which he received recognition for his outstanding command of military strategy as well as criticism for the harshness of the "scorched...
marched through the state in early 1865, destroying numerous plantations, and captured the state capital of
ColumbiaColumbia is the state capital and largest city in the U.S. state of South Carolina. The population was 116,278 according to the 2000 census . Columbia is the county seat of Richland County, but a portion of the city extends into Lexington County. The city is the center of a metro area of 728,063...
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 1877The Compromise of 1877 was an informal, unwritten deal that settled the disputed 1876 U.S. Presidential election. Through it, Republican Rutherford B. Hayes was awarded the White House over Democrat Samuel J. Tilden on the understanding that Hayes would remove the federal troops that were propping...
ended Reconstruction. Whites used paramilitary groups such as the Red Shirts to intimidate and terrorize black voters, and regained political control under conservative white "
RedeemersThe "Redeemers" were a political coalition in the Southern United States during the Reconstruction era, who sought to oust the Republican coalition of freedmen, carpetbaggers and scalawags...
" and pro-business Bourbon Democrats.
The state became a hotbed of racial and economic tensions during the Populist and Agrarian movements of the 1890s. With the new conservative constitution of 1895, almost all blacks and many poor whites were effectively disfranchised by new requirements for poll taxes 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, with a total of 782,509 citizens 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, and 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, created tourism industries.
Like most states in the southern United States, South Carolina continues to struggle with
desegregationDesegregation is the process of ending racial segregation, most commonly used in reference to the United States. Desegregation was long a focus of the American Civil Rights Movement, both before and after the United States Supreme Court's decision in Brown v...
. The integration of Clemson University is an example of where an institution in South Carolina was able to achieve "integration with dignity". A more difficult example has been the controversy over the State's display of the
Flags of the Confederate States of AmericaThere were several flags of the Confederate States of America used during its existence from 1861 to 1865. Since the end of the American Civil War, personal and official use of Confederate flags, and of flags derived from these, has continued under some controversy.The state flags of Mississippi,...
. 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 instead that a Confederate flag be flown in front of the Capitol next to a monument 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 ensuring that the Confederate flag by the momument 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
, and on July 6, 2009, the
Atlantic Coast ConferenceThe Atlantic Coast Conference is a collegiate athletic league in the United States. Founded in 1953, the ACC's twelve member universities compete in twenty sports in the Division I of the National Collegiate Athletic Association...
announced a decision to move three future baseball tournaments out of South Carolina, citing miscommunications with the NAACP concerning the display of the Confederate flag in the state.
Demographics
South Carolina's
center of populationIn demographics, the center of population of a region is the geographical point nearest to all the inhabitants of that region, on average. Mathematically, it corresponds to the geometric median of the inhabitants.- Determination :...
is north of the State House in the city of
ColumbiaColumbia is the state capital and largest city in the U.S. state of South Carolina. The population was 116,278 according to the 2000 census . Columbia is the county seat of Richland County, but a portion of the city extends into Lexington County. The city is the center of a metro area of 728,063...
.
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.
ImmigrationAmerican immigration refers to the movement of non-residents to the United States...
from outside the United States resulted in a net increase of 36,401 people, and
migrationHuman migration is movement by humans from one district to another, sometimes over long distances or in large groups....
within the country produced a net increase of 115,084 people. Based on the
2000 CensusThe Twenty-Second United States Census, known as Census 2000 and conducted by the Census Bureau, determined the resident population of the United States on April 1, 2000, to be 281,421,906, an increase of 13.2% over the 248,709,873 persons enumerated during the 1990 Census...
South Carolina was ranked 21st in
population densityPopulation density is a measurement of population per unit area or unit volume. It is frequently applied to living organisms, and particularly to humans. It is a key term used in geography....
with just over 133 persons per
sq. miThe square mile is an imperial and US unit of measure for an area equal to the area of a square of one statute mile.
.
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 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 AmericanAfrican Americans are citizens or residents of the United States who have origins in any of the black populations of Africa. In the United States, the terms are generally used for Americans with at least partial Sub-Saharan African ancestry...
(29.5%), American (13.9%),
EnglishEnglish Americans are citizens of the United States whose ancestry originates wholly or partly in England. According to 2000 U.S census data, Americans reporting English ancestry made up an estimated 9.4% of the total U.S...
(8.4%), German (8.4%) and
IrishIrish Americans are citizens of the United States who trace their ancestry to Ireland. A total of 36,495,800 Americans reported Irish ancestry in the 2006 American Community Survey. The only self-reported ancestral group larger than Irish Americans are German Americans...
(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 MigrationThe Great Migration was the movement of 1.3 million African-Americans out of the Southern United States to the North, Midwest and West from 1910 to 1930. Precise estimates of the number of migrants depend on the time frame. African Americans migrated to escape racism and seek employment...
. Most of the African-American population lives in the Lowcountry (especially the inland Lowcountry) and the Midlands; areas where
cottonCotton is a soft, staple fiber that grows in a form known as a boll around the seeds of the cotton plant, a shrub native to tropical and subtropical regions around the world, including the Americas, India and Africa. The fiber most often is spun into yarn or thread and used to make a soft,...
,
riceRice is the seed of a monocot plant Oryza sativa, of the grass family . As a cereal grain, it is the most important staple food for a large part of the world's human population, especially in East, South, Southeast Asia, the Middle East, Latin America, and the West Indies...
, and
indigoIndigo is the color on the electromagnetic spectrum between about 420 and 450 nm in wavelength, placing it between blue and violet. Although traditionally considered one of seven divisions of the optical spectrum, modern color scientists do not usually recognize indigo as a separate division and...
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 County is a county located in the state of South Carolina, United States. The population was 395,357 at the 2000 census, making it the most populous county in the state. It is included in the Greenville–Mauldin–Easley Metropolitan Statistical Area. Its county seat is the city...
|
GreenvilleGreenville is a city in and the county seat of Greenville County, South Carolina, United States, in the state's upstate region. One of the principal cities of the Greenville-Mauldin-Easley Metropolitan Statistical Area , it had a population of 56,006 at the 2000 census, and the metropolitan area...
|
428,243 |
431,630 |
| Richland Richland County is a county located in the U.S. state of South Carolina. The 2000 U.S. census recorded its population to be 320,677. In 2007, the U.S. Census Bureau estimated that its population had reached 364,001. It is the second most populous county in South Carolina, behind only Greenville...
|
ColumbiaColumbia is the state capital and largest city in the U.S. state of South Carolina. The population was 116,278 according to the 2000 census . Columbia is the county seat of Richland County, but a portion of the city extends into Lexington County. The city is the center of a metro area of 728,063...
|
357,734 |
354,380 |
| Charleston Charleston County is a county located in the U.S. state of South Carolina. According to a 2005 U.S. Census Bureau estimate, its population was 330,368. Its county seat is Charleston...
|
CharlestonCharleston is a city in Charleston County, South Carolina in the U.S. state of South Carolina. It is the largest city and county seat of Charleston County. The city was founded as Charlestown or Charles Towne, Carolina in 1670, and moved to its present location from a location on the west bank of...
|
342,973 |
339,140 |
| Spartanburg Spartanburg County is a county located in the U.S. state of South Carolina. The 2000 census recorded its population to be 253,791; in 2007, the U.S. Census Bureau estimated that its population had reached 275,534. Its county seat is Spartanburg. It is included in the Spartanburg, South Carolina,...
|
Spartanburg Spartanburg is the largest city in and the county seat of Spartanburg County, South Carolina, United States. It is the second-largest city of the three primary cities in the Upstate region of South Carolina....
|
275,534 |
300,500 |
| Horry Horry County is a county located in the U.S. state of South Carolina. This name honored Revolutionary War Hero, Peter Horry. Brigadier General Horry was born in South Carolina sometime around 1743 and started his distinguished military career in 1775 as one of 20 captains the Provincial Congress...
|
Conway Conway is a city in Horry County, South Carolina, United States. The population was 11,788 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Horry County. It is the home of Coastal Carolina University. Numerous buildings and structures are on the National Register of Historic Place. Among these is the...
|
249,925 |
251,390 |
| Lexington Lexington County is a county located in the U.S. state of South Carolina. In 2000, its population was 216,014. The 2008 Census estimate placed the population at 248,518. Its county seat is Lexington....
|
Lexington Lexington is a town in and the county seat of Lexington County, South Carolina, United States. The population was 9,793 at the 2000 census. A special 2005 census showed that the town had a population of 14,329, an increase of 46% since the 2000 census, making it the second-largest municipality in...
|
243,270 |
254,920 |
| York York County is a county located in the U.S. state of South Carolina. According to the 2008 estimate of the U.S. Census Bureau, the county's population was 217,448. It is the second largest county in the Charlotte metropolitan area. Its county seat is York....
|
YorkYork is a city in York County, South Carolina, United States. The population was 6,985 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of York County..and as of 2009 the population estimate for York is 6,995 persons.-Geography:...
|
208,827 |
233,568 |
Cities and Towns
Largest Cities (estimates)
- Columbia
Columbia is the state capital and largest city in the U.S. state of South Carolina. The population was 116,278 according to the 2000 census . Columbia is the county seat of Richland County, but a portion of the city extends into Lexington County. The city is the center of a metro area of 728,063...
- 125,000
- Charleston
Charleston is a city in Charleston County, South Carolina in the U.S. state of South Carolina. It is the largest city and county seat of Charleston County. The city was founded as Charlestown or Charles Towne, Carolina in 1670, and moved to its present location from a location on the west bank of...
- 110,000
- North Charleston - 91,000
- Rock Hill
Rock Hill is the largest city in York County of South Carolina, and the fourth largest city in the state. The 2008 population estimate was 67,339 residents. Rock Hill is located at , approximately 25 miles south of Charlotte, North Carolina and approximately 50 miles north of Columbia, South...
- 65,000
- Mount Pleasant
Mount Pleasant is a suburban town in Charleston County, South Carolina, United States, within the Charleston–North Charleston–Summerville Metropolitan Statistical Area. It is the fifth largest municipality in South Carolina, and for several years it was one of the state's fastest...
- 64,000
- Greenville
Greenville is a city in and the county seat of Greenville County, South Carolina, United States, in the state's upstate region. One of the principal cities of the Greenville-Mauldin-Easley Metropolitan Statistical Area , it had a population of 56,006 at the 2000 census, and the metropolitan area...
- 58,000
- Summerville
Summerville is a town in Berkeley, Charleston, and Dorchester counties in the U.S. state of South Carolina. The population was 48,091 as of August 2008. The city is a distant suburb of Charleston; and has thus experienced rapid population growth...
- 49,000
- Myrtle Beach
Myrtle Beach is a coastal resort city in Horry County, South Carolina, United States. It is the de facto hub of both the Myrtle Beach metropolitan area and the Grand Strand, a complex of beach towns and barrier islands stretching from Little River to Georgetown, South Carolina.Arising from a...
- 48,000
- Sumter
Sumter is a city in and the county seat of Sumter County, South Carolina, United States. Its population was 39,159 at the 2000 census. It is the principal city of the Sumter, South Carolina Metropolitan Statistical Area....
- 39,000
- Goose Creek
Goose Creek is a city in Berkeley and Charleston counties in the U.S. state of South Carolina. The population was 29,208 at the 2000 census. It has a ZIP code of 29445. As defined by the U.S...
- 38,000
- Spartanburg
Spartanburg is the largest city in and the county seat of Spartanburg County, South Carolina, United States. It is the second-largest city of the three primary cities in the Upstate region of South Carolina....
- 37,000
- Hilton Head Island
Hilton Head Island or Hilton Head is a town in Beaufort County, South Carolina, United States. It is 20 miles north of Savannah, Georgia, and 95 miles south of Charleston. The island features 12 miles of beachfront on the Atlantic Ocean and is a popular vacation destination...
- 33,000
- Florence
Florence is the largest city in and the county seat of Florence County, South Carolina, United States. This 1997 All-America City finalist, with its historic homes and medical center towers, came together to form a cultural center for the northeastern portion of South Carolina. The city population...
- 31,000
- Aiken
Aiken, South Carolina is a city in the United States state of South Carolina.It is the county seat of Aiken County, and with Augusta, Georgia is one of the two largest cities of the Central Savannah River Area. It is also part of the Augusta-Richmond County Metropolitan Statistical Area. Aiken is...
- 29,000
- Anderson
Anderson is a city in and the county seat of Anderson County, South Carolina, United States. The population was 25,514 at the 2000 census, and the city was the center of an urbanized area of 70,530...
- 26,000
- James Island
James Island is a town in Charleston County, South Carolina, United States. It is located in the central and southern parts of James Island. As defined by the U.S...
- 26,000
- Greer
Greer is a city in both Greenville and Spartanburg counties in the U.S. state of South Carolina, between the cities of Greenville and Spartanburg. The population was 16,843 at the 2000 census. As of 2008, 26,040 people live in the city and is projected to hit 30,000 within 4 years...
- 23,000
- Greenwood
Greenwood is a city in and the county seat of Greenwood County, South Carolina, United States. The population was 22,071 at the 2000 census.-Geography:Greenwood is located at ....
- 22,000
- Easley
Easley is a city in Pickens county in the U.S. state of South Carolina. It is a principal city of the Greenville–Mauldin–Easley Metropolitan Statistical Area. Most of the city lies in Pickens County, with only a very small portion of the city in Anderson County...
- 20,000
- North Augusta
North Augusta is a city in Aiken County, South Carolina, United States, on the north bank of the Savannah River. The population was 17,574 at the 2000 census. The city is included in the Central Savannah River Area and is also part of the Augusta, Georgia metropolitan area.- History :North...
- 17,000
- Hanahan
Hanahan is a city in Berkeley County, South Carolina, United States. The population was 13,818 at the 2005 census estimate. As defined by the U.S...
- 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
Christianity is a monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth as presented by the revelations in the New Testament....
: 92%
- Protestant
Protestantism is a branch within Christianity, containing many denominations with some differing practices and doctrines, that principally originated in the sixteenth-century Protestant Reformation. It is considered to be one of the major divisions within Christianity, together with the Roman...
: 84%
- Southern Baptist: 45%
- Methodist
Methodism is a movement of Protestant Christianity represented by a number of organizations, claiming a total of approximately seventy million adherents worldwide. The movement traces its roots to Reverend John Wesley's evangelistic revival movement in the Anglican Church. His younger brother...
: 15%
- Presbyterian
Presbyterianism is the religion of a number of different Christian churches adhering to the Calvinist theological tradition within Protestantism, and organized according to a characteristic Presbyterian polity...
: 5%
- Other Protestant: 19%
- Roman Catholic
Roman and Eastern Catholicism in the United States is part of the worldwide Catholic Church, the Christian Church in full communion with the Pope, currently Benedict XVI. Catholicism arrived in what is now Continental United States during the earliest days of the European colonization of the Americas...
: 7%
- Other Christian: 1%
- Other Religions: 1%
- Non-Religious: 7%
Sephardic Jews have lived in the state for more than 300 years,
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/ especially in and around Charleston
http://www.sc.edu/uscpress/2002/3445.html. 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 AnalysisThe Bureau of Economic Analysis is an agency in the United States Department of Commerce that provides important economic statistics including the gross domestic product of the United States. Its stated mission is to "promote a better understanding of the U.S...
, South Carolina's
gross state productGross state product is a measurement of the economic output of a state or province. It is the sum of all value added by industries within the state and serves as a counterpart to the gross domestic product or GDP....
in current dollars was $97 billion in 1997, and $153 billion in 2007. Its per-capita real
gross domestic productThe gross domestic product or gross domestic income is a basic measure of a country's economic performance and is the market value of all final goods and services made within the borders of a country in a year...
(GDP) in
chained 2000 dollarsChained dollars is a method of adjusting real dollar amounts for inflation over time, so as to allow comparison of figures from different years. The U.S. Department of Commerce introduced the chained-dollar measure in 1996...
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.
Major highways
Major interstate highways passing through the state include:
I-20Interstate 20 is a major thoroughfare cutting across the state of South Carolina, linking the state with important transportation and business hubs to the north, west and south, including Atlanta, Georgia, Charlotte, North Carolina , Savannah, Georgia and Washington, D.C...
which runs from Florence in the east through Columbia to the southwestern border near Aiken;
I-26I-26 may refer to:*Interstate 26*Japanese submarine I-26...
which runs from Charleston in the southeast through Columbia to Spartanburg and the northern border in Spartanburg County;
I-77Interstate 77 through South Carolina begins its journey in Cayce - south-southwest of Columbia - at an expansive interchange with Interstate 26. Part of the Columbia Beltway, the highway actually travels eastward from I-26 before turning more to the north in Columbia southwest of Fort Jackson.From...
which runs from York County in the north to Columbia;
I-85In the U.S. state of South Carolina, Interstate 85 runs northeast-southwest through Greenville and Spartanburg. It follows the general corridor of U.S. Route 29...
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-26I-26 may refer to:*Interstate 26*Japanese submarine I-26...
near Clinton; and
I-95|thumb|right|280px|The overall Interstate 95 Highway system, spanning and connecting all the formal [[Atlantic Seaboard]] states.Interstate 95 is a major Interstate Highway, running along the East Coast of the United States from Florida to Maine...
which runs from the northeastern border in Dillon County to Florence and on to the southern border in Jasper County.
-
.svg.png) Interstate 20Interstate 20 is a major thoroughfare cutting across the state of South Carolina, linking the state with important transportation and business hubs to the north, west and south, including Atlanta, Georgia, Charlotte, North Carolina , Savannah, Georgia and Washington, D.C...
-
.svg.png) Interstate 26
-
 Interstate 73Interstate 73 is a main route of the Interstate Highway System, currently located entirely within the U.S. state of North Carolina. It is part of a longer planned corridor, defined by various Federal laws to run from Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, to Grayling, Michigan, but only the part south of...
(proposed)
-
 Interstate 74Interstate 74 is an Interstate Highway in the Midwestern and Southeastern United States. Its western end is at an intersection with Interstate 80 in Davenport, Iowa; the eastern end of its Midwest segment is at an intersection with Interstate 75 in Cincinnati, Ohio...
(proposed)
-
.svg.png) Interstate 77Interstate 77 through South Carolina begins its journey in Cayce - south-southwest of Columbia - at an expansive interchange with Interstate 26. Part of the Columbia Beltway, the highway actually travels eastward from I-26 before turning more to the north in Columbia southwest of Fort Jackson.From...
-
.svg.png) Interstate 85In the U.S. state of South Carolina, Interstate 85 runs northeast-southwest through Greenville and Spartanburg. It follows the general corridor of U.S. Route 29...
-
.svg.png) Interstate 95|thumb|right|280px|The overall Interstate 95 Highway system, spanning and connecting all the formal [[Atlantic Seaboard]] states.Interstate 95 is a major Interstate Highway, running along the East Coast of the United States from Florida to Maine...
-
.svg.png) Interstate 526 |
 U.S. Route 1U.S. Route 1 traverses the state of South Carolina completely from southwest to north, passing through such cities as Columbia and Aiken. For much of its length through Richland County, US 1 is called Two Notch Road...
 U.S. Route 17In the U.S. state of South Carolina, U.S. Route 17 is a north-south highway located near the Atlantic Ocean. The route enters the state from Georgia at the Savannah River and serves Charleston and Myrtle Beach before entering North Carolina near Calabash.-Route description:US 17 enters into South...
 U.S. Route 25
 U.S. Route 29
 U.S. Route 52
 U.S. Route 178
 U.S. Route 221
 U.S. Route 278
 U.S. Route 321
 U.S. Route 378 |
In March 2008, "The American State Litter Scorecard," presented at the
American Society for Public AdministrationThe American Society for Public Administration is a membership association in the United States sponsoring conferences and providing professional services primarily to those who study the implementation of government policy, public administration, and, to a lesser degree, programs of civil society...
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 AdministrationThe National Highway Traffic Safety Administration is an agency of the Executive Branch of the U.S. Government, part of the Department of Transportation...
data.
Passenger
AmtrakThe National Railroad Passenger Corporation, doing business as Amtrak , is a government-owned corporation that was organized on May 1, 1971 to provide intercity passenger train service in the United States. "Amtrak" is a blend of the words "America" and "track". It is headquartered at Union Station...
operates four passenger routes in South Carolina: the
CrescentThe Crescent is a passenger train operated by Amtrak in the eastern part of the United States. It runs daily from Pennsylvania Station in New York City to New Orleans Union Passenger Terminal in New Orleans, Louisiana as train 19 and returns on the same route as train 20. Most of the route of the...
, the
Palmetto| The Palmetto is an 829-mile passenger train service operated by Amtrak from New York City south to Savannah, Georgia via the Northeast Corridor to Washington, DC, then via Richmond, Virginia, Fayetteville, North Carolina and Charleston, South Carolina...
, the
Silver Meteor| The Silver Meteor is a 1389-mile passenger train route operated by Amtrak in the Silver Service brand, running from New York City south to Miami, Florida via the Northeast Corridor to Washington, D.C., thence via Richmond, Virginia, Fayetteville, North Carolina, Charleston, South Carolina,...
, 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 The Seaboard Air Line Railroad Depot is an Amtrak train station in Camden, South Carolina. It is located on 1100 West DeKalb Street , although some give the address as being at 1060 West DeKalb Street. Either way, it was named to the National Register of Historic Places in 2000...
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| Charleston The Charleston Amtrak station is a train station actually located in North Charleston, South Carolina, United States served by Amtrak, the national railroad passenger system. Charleston station was originally built by the Atlantic Coast Line Railroad in 1956....
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| Columbia The Columbia Amtrak Station, located in Columbia, South Carolina, is served by the Amtrak passenger train The Silver Star. The street address is 850 Pulaski Street, about three miles southeast of the downtown area.- External links :*...
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| Clemson The Clemson Amtrak Station, located in Clemson, South Carolina, is served by the Crescent passenger train. The street address is Calhoun Memorial Highway and College Avenue, in the heart of downtown Clemson...
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| Denmark The Denmark Amtrak station is a train station in Denmark, South Carolina, United States served by Amtrak, the national railroad passenger system. It was originally used by the Seaboard Air Line and the Southern Railway.-External links:*...
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DillonThe Dillon Amtrak station is a train station in Dillon, South Carolina, United States served by Amtrak, the national railroad passenger system. It was originally built by the Atlantic Coast Line Railroad in 1893, but only as a freight station. The passenger station was opened in 1904...
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| Florence The Florence Amtrak station is a train station in Florence, South Carolina, United States served by Amtrak, the national railroad passenger system. Florence is served by Amtrak's Palmetto and Silver Meteor routes and is a service stop for the Auto Train....
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GreenvilleThe Greenville Amtrak Station, located in Greenville, South Carolina, is served by the passenger train. The street address is 69 Thornbridge Drive, just outside downtown Birley School. It is also located next to a Norfolk Southern Freight Depot...
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| Kingstree The Kingstree Amtrak station is a train station in Kingstree, South Carolina, United States served by Amtrak, the national railroad passenger system. It was originally built by the Atlantic Coast Line Railroad.-External links:*...
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| Spartanburg The Spartanburg Amtrak Station, located in Spartanburg, South Carolina, is served by the Crescent passenger train. The street address is 290 Magnolia Street. The station is within walking distance of Wofford College, the Spartanburg County government administration building, and the Donald S....
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| Yemassee The Yemassee Amtrak station is an Amtrak station in Yemassee, South Carolina. Located at 15 Wall Street , the station consists of a covered platform on the northwest side of the northeast-southwest tracks, a small parking lot, and a building...
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Freight
The state of South Carolina are served by many freight carriers, but the most common carriers are
CSX Transportation (CSXT)CSX Transportation is a Class I railroad in the United States, owned by the CSX Corporation and headquartered in Jacksonville, Florida. It is one of the three Class I railroads serving most of the East Coast, the other two being the Norfolk Southern Railway and Canadian Pacific Railway...
and The Norfolk Southern Railway (NS).
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 AirportCharlotte Douglas International Airport is a joint civil-military public international airport located in Charlotte, North Carolina. Established in 1935 as Charlotte Municipal Airport, in 1954 the airport was renamed Douglas Municipal Airport after former Charlotte mayor Ben Elbert Douglas, Sr...
, the 30th busiest airport in the world, in terms of passengers.
- Columbia Metropolitan Airport
Columbia Metropolitan Airport is the main airport for Columbia, South Carolina, located in the suburb of West Columbia. The airport lies five miles southwest of Columbia's central business district, in Lexington County.- Airlines and destinations :...
- Columbia
- Charleston International Airport
Charleston International Airport is a joint civil-military airport located in Charleston County, South Carolina, USA. The airport has two runways and is operated under a joint-use agreement with Charleston Air Force Base. It is South Carolina's busiest airport with 106 flights or more daily...
- Charleston
- Greenville-Spartanburg International Airport
Greenville-Spartanburg International Airport , also known as GSP International Airport or Roger Milliken Field, is a public airport located in unincorporated Greenville and Spartanburg counties in South Carolina, United States, 3 miles south of central Greer; the airport serves Greenville and...
- Greenville/Spartanburg
- Florence Regional Airport
Florence Regional Airport is a public airport located three miles east of the central business district of Florence, a city in Florence County, South Carolina, United States....
- Florence
- Myrtle Beach International Airport
Myrtle Beach International Airport is a county-owned, public-use airport located three miles southwest of the central business district of Myrtle Beach, a city in Horry County, South Carolina, United States....
- Myrtle Beach
- Hilton Head Airport
Hilton Head Airport , also known as Hilton Head Island Airport, is a county-owned, public-use airport located in northeastern Hilton Head Island in Beaufort County, South Carolina, United States. It is mostly used for general aviation but is also served by two commercial airlines and one public...
- Hilton Head Island/Beaufort
- Rock Hill/York County Airport
Rock Hill/York County Airport , also known as Bryant Field, is a public airport located four miles northwest of the central business district of Rock Hill, in York County, South Carolina, United States....
- Rock Hill
Government and politics
South Carolina's
state governmentState governments in the United States are those governments formed in each U.S. state.Structured in accordance with state law , most state governments are modeled on the federal system, with three branches of government—executive, legislative, and judicial.Under the Tenth Amendment to the...
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:
- Governor of South Carolina
The Governor of the State of South Carolina is the head of state for the State of South Carolina. Under the South Carolina Constitution, the Governor is also the head of government, serving as the chief executive of the South Carolina executive branch. The Governor is the ex officio...
- Lieutenant Governor of South Carolina
- South Carolina Attorney General
- South Carolina Adjutant General
The Adjutant General of South Carolina is head of the Military Department for that state, overseeing the South Carolina Army National Guard, the South Carolina Air National Guard, and the South Carolina State Guard. The office is the only adjutant general in the nation that is an elected position...
- South Carolina Commissioner of Agriculture
- South Carolina Comptroller General
- Secretary of State of South Carolina
The Secretary of State of South Carolina is an elected position in the U.S. state of South Carolina.-Organization:The Secretary of State's office has four internal divisions:...
- South Carolina State Treasurer
- South Carolina Superintendent of Education
The
governor of South CarolinaThe Governor of the State of South Carolina is the head of state for the State of South Carolina. Under the South Carolina Constitution, the Governor is also the head of government, serving as the chief executive of the South Carolina executive branch. The Governor is the ex officio...
is the
chief executiveIn the United States, the title governor refers to the chief executive of each state or insular territory, not directly subordinate to the federal authorities, but the political and ceremonial head of the state.-Role and powers:...
of the state. The governor is elected for a four-year term and may serve
up to twoA term limit is a legal restriction that limits the number of terms a person may serve in a particular elected office. Term limits are found usually in presidential and semi-presidential systems as a method to curb the potential for dictatorships, where a leader effectively becomes "president for...
consecutive terms. The current governor is
RepublicanThe Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the Grand Old Party or the GOP, despite being the younger of the two major parties. In the U.S...
Mark SanfordMarshall Clement Sanford Jr., known as Mark Sanford is a United States politician from South Carolina, currently serving as the Governor of South Carolina....
. 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.
http://www.sciway.net/gov/state_off.html
Legislative branch
The
South Carolina General AssemblyThe South Carolina General Assembly, also called the South Carolina Legislature, is the state legislature of the U.S. state of South Carolina. The legislature consists of the lower South Carolina House of Representatives and the upper South Carolina Senate. Altogether, the General Assembly consists...
is the state legislature. It is
bicameralIn government, bicameralism is the practice of having two legislative or parliamentary chambers. Thus, a bicameral parliament or bicameral legislature is a legislature which consists of two chambers or houses. Bicameralism is an essential and defining feature of the classical notion of mixed...
, consisting of a 124-member
South Carolina House of RepresentativesThe South Carolina House of Representatives is the lower house of the South Carolina General Assembly, the upper house being the South Carolina Senate. It consists of 124 Representatives elected to two year terms at the same time US Congressional elections...
and a 46-member
South Carolina SenateThe South Carolina Senate is the upper house of the South Carolina General Assembly, the lower house being the South Carolina House of Representatives...
. Representatives serve two-year terms and Senators serve four-year terms. The two
housesMany parliaments or other legislatures consist of two chambers : an elected lower house, and an upper house or Senate which may be appointed or elected by a different mechanism from the lower house. This style of two houses is called bicameral...
meet in the
South Carolina State HouseThe South Carolina State House is the state capitol building of the U.S. state of South Carolina. The building houses the South Carolina General Assembly and the offices of the Governor and Lieutenant Governor of South Carolina...
.
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 CourtThe South Carolina Circuit Court is the state court of general jurisdiction of the U.S. state of South Carolina. It consists of a civil division and a criminal division ....
is the
trial courtA trial court or court of first instance is a court in which trials take place. Such courts are said to have original jurisdiction.A trial court of general jurisdiction is authorized to hear any type of civil or criminal case that is not committed exclusively to another court...
of
general jurisdictionA court of general jurisdiction is one that has the authority to hear cases of all kinds - criminal, civil, family, probate, and so forth.-Courts of general jurisdiction in the United States:All federal courts are courts of limited jurisdiction. Many U.S...
court for South Carolina. It consists of a
civilCivil law, as opposed to criminal law, is the branch of law dealing with disputes between individuals and/or organizations, in which compensation may be awarded to the victim...
division (the Court of Common Pleas) and a
criminalThe term criminal law, sometimes called penal law, refers to any of various bodies of rules in different jurisdictions whose common characteristic is the potential for unique and often severe impositions as punishment for failure to comply...
division (the Court of General Sessions). It is also a
superior courtIn common law systems, a superior court is a court of general competence which typically has unlimited jurisdiction with regard to civil and criminal legal cases...
, having limited
appellate jurisdictionAppellate jurisdiction is the power of a court to review decisions and change outcomes of decisions of lower courts. Most appellate jurisdiction is legislatively created, and may consist of appeals by leave of the appellate court or by right...
over appeals from the
lowerA lower court is a court from which an appeal may be taken. In relation to an appeal from one court to another, the lower court is the court whose decision is being reviewed, which may be the original trial court or an appellate court lower in rank than the superior court which is hearing the...
Probate Court, Magistrate's Court, and Municipal Court, and appeals from the
Administrative Law JudgeAn administrative law judge in the United States is an official who presides at an administrative trial-type hearing to resolve a dispute between a government agency and someone affected by a decision of that agency. The ALJ is the initial trier of fact and decision maker...
Division, which hears matters relating to state
administrative and regulatory agenciesAdministrative law is the body of law that governs the activities of administrative agencies of government. Government agency action can include rulemaking, adjudication, or the enforcement of a specific regulatory agenda. Administrative law is considered a branch of public law...
.
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 AppealsThe South Carolina Court of Appeals is the intermediate-level appellate court for the state of South Carolina.-Jurisdiction:The Court of Appeals hears most appeals from the Circuit Courts and Family Courts of South Carolina that do not fall within the seven classes of cases over which the South...
is the state intermediate
appellate courtAn appellate court is any court of law that is empowered to hear an appeal of a trial court or other lower tribunal. In most jurisdictions, the court system is divided into at least three levels: the trial court, which initially hears cases and reviews evidence and testimony to determine the facts...
. 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 CourtThe South Carolina Supreme Court is the highest court in the U.S. state of South Carolina. The court is composed of a Chief Justice and four Associate Justices.-Selection of Justices:...
is the
state supreme courtIn the United States, the state supreme court is the highest state court in the state court system.Generally, the state supreme court is exclusively for hearing appeals of legal issues. It does not make any finding of facts, and thus holds no trials...
. 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
- South Carolina Department of Public Safety
The South Carolina Department of Public Safety exists to ensure the safety of South Carolina's citizens and visitors. The employees of the Department of Public Safety fulfill this mission by:...
- South Carolina Highway Patrol Division
The South Carolina Highway Patrol is a division of the South Carolina Department of Public Safety responsible for enforcing the traffic laws of the state of South Carolina. Since the Patrols formation in 1930, the South Carolina Highway Patrol has enforcing the rules and regulations in order to...
- South Carolina State Transport Police Division
The South Carolina State Transport Police Division of the South Carolina Department of Public Safety is primarily responsible for enforcing state and federal laws governing commercial motor vehicles...
- South Carolina Bureau of Protective Services
- South Carolina Criminal Justice Academy
- South Carolina Department of Corrections
The South Carolina Department of Corrections is the agency responsible for corrections in the U.S. state of South Carolina. It currently has about 6,000 employees and 23,000 inmates, in 28 institutions.-History:...
- SC Department of Corrections Training Academy
- SC Department of Corrections Tactical Teams (Rapid Response Team-S.O.R.T.-Sitcon)
- SC department of Juvenile Justice
- South Carolina Department of Probation, Parole and Pardon Services
- South Carolina State Law Enforcement Division (SLED)
- Homeland Security
Homeland security is an umbrella term for security efforts to protect the United States against perceived internal and external threats. The term arose following a reorganization of many U.S. government agencies in 2003 to form the United States Department of Homeland Security after the September...
- South Carolina Department of Natural Resources
The South Carolina Department of Natural Resources is a South Carolina state agency charged with regulating hunting, fishing, boating, duck stamp orders, state parks, and the conservation efforts of the South Carolina state government....
- South Carolina Swamp Hunters Team (Alligators,Snakes)
Federal representation
Like most Southern states, South Carolina consistently voted
DemocraticThe Democratic Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. It is the oldest political party in continuous operation in the United States and it is one of the oldest parties in the world. In the U.S...
in the 19th century and the first half of the 20th century as a part of the Democrats'
Solid SouthSolid South refers to the electoral support of the Southern United States for the Democratic Party candidates for nearly a century from 1877, the end of the Reconstruction, to 1964, during the middle of the Civil Rights era....
. The
Republican PartyThe Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the Grand Old Party or the GOP, despite being the younger of the two major parties. In the U.S...
became competitive in the 1960 presidential election when
Richard NixonRichard Milhous Nixon was the 37th President of the United States and is the only president to resign the office. He was also the 36th Vice President of the United States ....
lost the state to
John F. KennedyJohn Fitzgerald "Jack" Kennedy , often referred to by his initials JFK, was the 35th President of the United States, serving from 1961 until his assassination in 1963....
by just two percentage points. In 1964,
Barry GoldwaterBarry Morris Goldwater was a five-term United States Senator from Arizona and the Republican Party's nominee for President in the 1964 election. He was also a Major General in the U.S. Air Force Reserve. He was known as "Mr...
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 CarterJames Earl "Jimmy" Carter, Jr. served as the 39th President of the United States from 1977 to 1981 and was the recipient of the 2002 Nobel Peace Prize, the only U.S. President to have received the Prize after leaving office...
, from neighboring Georgia, won the state over
Gerald FordGerald Rudolph Ford, Jr. was the 38th President of the United States, serving from 1974 to 1977, and the 40th Vice President of the United States serving from 1973 to 1974...
.
John McCainJohn Sidney McCain III is the senior United States Senator from Arizona. He was the Republican nominee for president in the 2008 United States election....
won the state in 2008 with 54% of the statewide vote over
Barack ObamaBarack Hussein Obama II is the 44th and current President of the United States. He is the first African American to hold the office, as well as the first president born in Hawaii...
. 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
SouthSouth is one of the cardinal directions and is opposite to the north.By Western convention, the bottom side of a map is south; the southern direction has azimuth or bearing of 180°....
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 CongressThe One Hundred Tenth United States Congress was the meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, between January 3, 2007, and January 3, 2009, during the last two years of the second term of President George W. Bush. It was composed of the Senate and the House of...
, the South Carolina delegation to the U.S. Senate are:
- Lindsey Graham
Lindsey Olin Graham is an American politician from South Carolina. A member of the Republican Party, he is currently the senior United States Senator from that state. He serves on the Armed Services and Judiciary Committees....
(R)
- Jim DeMint
James Warren "Jim" DeMint has been a U.S. Senator from South Carolina since 2005. He had previously represented South Carolina's 4th congressional district from 1999 to 2005. He is a member of the Republican Party....
(R)
US House of Representatives
South Carolina currently has six representatives in Congress:
- District 1 - Henry E. Brown, Jr.
Henry Edward Brown, Jr. is a politician and from the U.S. state of South Carolina, currently representing the state's 1st congressional district in the United States House of Representatives...
(R)
- District 2 - Joe Wilson
Addison Graves Wilson, Sr., most commonly known as Joe Wilson , is a Republican politician from the U.S. state of South Carolina. He was a former U.S. Army lawyer, South Carolina State Senator , and since 2001 has represented the state's 2nd congressional district in the U.S. House of Representatives...
(R)
- District 3 - J. Gresham Barrett
James Gresham Barrett is an American politician from South Carolina. Since 2003, Barrett has served as a Republican U.S. Representative, representing , which runs along the Savannah River in the northwestern part of the state....
(R)
- District 4 - Bob Inglis
Robert Durden "Bob" Inglis, Sr. is a United States congressman from the Republican Party. He has represented South Carolina's 4th congressional district in the United States House of Representatives since 2005. The district includes much of the Upstate region, including Greenville and Spartanburg...
(R)
- District 5 - John M. Spratt, Jr.
John McKee Spratt, Jr. is a Democratic member of the United States House of Representatives, representing the 5th District of South Carolina since 1983 . The dean of the South Carolina congressional delegation, Spratt is chairman of the U.S. House Committee on the Budget, and the second ranking...
(D)
- District 6 - James Clyburn (D)
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 taxA sales tax is a consumption tax charged at the point of purchase for certain goods and services. The tax is usually set as a percentage by the government charging the tax. There is usually a list of exemptions...
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 taxProperty tax, or millage tax, is an ad valorem tax that an owner is required to pay on the value of the property being taxed. Property tax can be defined as "generally, tax imposed by municipalities upon owners of property within their jurisdiction based on the value of such property."There are...
is administered and collected by local governments with assistance from the
South Carolina Department of RevenueThe Department of Revenue is a department of the South Carolina state government responsible for the administration of 32 taxes. The Department is responsible for licensing and taxing all manufacturers, wholesalers and retailers of alcoholic liquors...
. Both
realIn the common law, real property refers to one of the two main classes of property, the other being personal property. Real property generally encompasses land, land improvements resulting from human effort including buildings and machinery sited on land, and various property rights over the...
and
personal propertyPersonal property, roughly speaking, is private property that is moveable, as opposed to real property or real estate. In the common law systems personal property may also be called chattels or personalty. In the civil law systems personal property is often called movable property or movables - any...
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 taxInheritance tax, estate tax and death duty are the names given to various taxes which arise on the death of an individual. It is a tax on the estate, or total value of the money and property, of a person who has died...
.
Education
South Carolina is one of just three states that have not agreed to using competitive international math and
languageA language is a system for encoding and decoding information. In its most common use, the term refers to so-called "natural languages" — the forms of communication considered peculiar to humankind. In linguistics the term is extended to refer to the human cognitive facility of creating and using...
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 CharlestonThe College of Charleston is a public, sea-grant, and space-grant university located in historic downtown Charleston, South Carolina. The College was founded in 1770 and chartered in 1785, making it the oldest college or university in South Carolina, the 13th oldest institution of higher learning ...
is the oldest institution of higher learning in South Carolina, the 13th oldest in the United States, and the first
municipal collegeA municipal college is a city-supported institution of higher learning.The oldest municipal college in the United States is the College of Charleston located in historic Charleston, South Carolina. The College of Charleston is also the thirteenth oldest institution of higher education in the country...
in the country. The College is in company with the
Colonial CollegesThe Colonial Colleges are nine institutions of higher education chartered in the American Colonies before the American Revolution . These nine have long been considered together, notably in the survey of their origins in the 1907 The Cambridge History of English and American Literature...
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 IndependenceThe United States Declaration of Independence is a statement adopted by the Continental Congress on July 4, 1776, which announced that the thirteen American colonies then at war with Great Britain were now independent states, and thus no longer a part of the British Empire...
and three signers of the
United States ConstitutionThe Constitution of the United States of America is the supreme law of the United States. It is the foundation and source of the legal authority underlying the existence of the United States of America and the federal government of the United States...
. The College's historic campus, which is listed on the U.S. Department of the Interior's
National Register of Historic PlacesThe National Register of Historic Places is the United States government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects deemed worthy of preservation...
, 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 StatesThe US Southeast is the eastern portion of the Southern United States, but the Census Bureau does not provide a standard definition of a "Southeast" region of the United States, and organizations that need to subdivide the US are free to define a "Southeast" region to fit their needs...
,
http://colleges.usnews.rankingsandreviews.com/usnews/edu/college/rankings/brief/univmas_s_pub_brief.php 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 CarolinaThe University of South Carolina is a public, co-educational, research university located in Columbia, South Carolina, United States...
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 HouseThe South Carolina State House is the state capitol building of the U.S. state of South Carolina. The building houses the South Carolina General Assembly and the offices of the Governor and Lieutenant Governor of South Carolina...
. 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
LowcountryThe South Carolina Lowcountry is a term used to describe South Carolina's coastal counties, generally south of and including, Charleston. The region includes the South Carolina Sea Islands...
and the
UpstateThe Upstate is the region in northwestern South Carolina, United States, also known as The Upcountry, which is the historical term. Although loosely defined among locals, the general definition includes the 10 counties of the commerce-rich I-85 corridor in the northwest corner of South Carolina. ...
. 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 WarThe American Civil War , also known as the War Between the States and several other names, was a civil war in the United States of America. Eleven Southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America...
to
World War IIWorld War II, or the Second World War , was a global military conflict which involved a majority of the world's nations, including all great powers, organized into two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, 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 SystemThe University of South Carolina System, also referred to as the Carolina System, is a state university system of eight campuses set up in 1957 to expand the educational opportunities of the citizens of South Carolina as well as extend the reach of the University of South Carolina throughout the...
.
Furman UniversityFurman University is a private, coeducational, non-sectarian university in Greenville, South Carolina, United States. Furman is the oldest, largest and most selective private institution in South Carolina and is one of the top liberal arts colleges in the United States...
is a private, coeducational, non-sectarian, liberal arts university in
GreenvilleGreenville is a city in and the county seat of Greenville County, South Carolina, United States, in the state's upstate region. One of the principal cities of the Greenville-Mauldin-Easley Metropolitan Statistical Area , it had a population of 56,006 at the 2000 census, and the metropolitan area...
. 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 CitadelThe Citadel, The Military College of South Carolina, also known simply as The Citadel, is a state-supported, comprehensive college located in Charleston, South Carolina, USA...
, 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 CollegeWofford College is a liberal arts college of about 1,500 students located in Spartanburg, South Carolina. Wofford was founded in 1854 with a bequest of $100,000 from the Rev...
is a small liberal arts college located in
SpartanburgSpartanburg is the largest city in and the county seat of Spartanburg County, South Carolina, United States. It is the second-largest city of the three primary cities in the Upstate region of South Carolina....
. 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 WarThe American Civil War , also known as the War Between the States and several other names, was a civil war in the United States of America. Eleven Southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America...
and still operating on its original campus.
Presbyterian CollegePresbyterian College is a private liberal arts college in Clinton, South Carolina, USA. Presbyterian College, or PC, is affiliated with the Presbyterian Church USA. PC was founded in 1880 by William Plumer Jacobs, a prominent Presbyterian minister who also founded the nearby Thornwell Home and...
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.
http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/features/2007/0709.rankings.html
Clemson UniversityClemson University is a public, coeducational, land-grant, research university located in Clemson, South Carolina, United States.Founded in 1889, the University is academically divided into five colleges: Agriculture, Forestry and Life Sciences; Architecture, Arts and Humanities; Business and...
, founded in 1889 is a public, coeducational,
land-grantLand-grant universities are institutions of higher education in the United States designated by each state to receive the benefits of the Morrill Acts of 1862 and 1890....
research university located in
ClemsonClemson is a city in Anderson and Pickens counties in the U.S. state of South Carolina. The population was 11,939 at the 2000 census and center of an urban cluster with a total population of 42,199. It is best known as the home of Clemson University...
. 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, is a German automobile, motorcycle and engine manufacturing company. Founded in 1916, it is known for its performance and luxury vehicles. It owns and produces the MINI brand, and is the parent company of Rolls-Royce Motor Cars.-Company history:...
and
MichelinMichelin based in Clermont-Ferrand in the Auvergne région of France, is primarily a tyre manufacturer, currently either the world's second-largest or the largest...
. The facility will offer an M.S. and Ph.D in Automotive Engineering. Clemson is also the home to the
South Carolina Botanical GardenThe South Carolina Botanical Garden is located in Clemson, South Carolina on the campus of Clemson University. This garden has nature trails, pathways, ponds, streams, woodlands, trial gardens, the Bob Campbell Geology Museum, and the Fran Hanson Discovery Center, which has exhibits by local...
.
South Carolina State UniversitySouth Carolina State University is a historically black university located in Orangeburg, South Carolina. It is the only state funded, historically black land-grant institution in South Carolina and is a member school of the Thurgood Marshall Scholarship Fund....
, 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 UniversityAnderson University is a private comprehensive university located in Anderson, South Carolina, offering bachelors and masters degrees in approximately 50 areas of study. Anderson is affiliated with the South Carolina Baptist Convention and is accredited by the Commission on Colleges of the...
, founded in 1911 is a selective comprehensive university located in
AndersonAnderson is a city in and the county seat of Anderson County, South Carolina, United States. The population was 25,514 at the 2000 census, and the city was the center of an urbanized area of 70,530...
, offering bachelors and masters degrees in approximately 50 areas of study. Anderson University currently enrolls around 1800 undergraduate students.
Bob Jones UniversityBob Jones University is a private, non-denominational Protestant fundamentalist university in Greenville, South Carolina. It is the largest private liberal arts university in South Carolina and has a reputation for being one of the most conservative of religious schools in the United States.The...
, 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 FundThe Commonwealth Fund is a private foundation whose stated purpose is to promote a high performing health care system that achieves better access, improved quality, and greater efficiency.-History:...
, 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 FoundationThe Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation , or just Kaiser Family Foundation, is a U.S.-based non-profit, private operating foundation headquartered in Menlo Park, California. It focuses on the major health care issues facing the nation, with a growing role in global health...
. 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
povertyPoverty is the condition of lacking basic human needs such as nutrition, clean water, health care, clothing, and shelter because of the inability to afford them. This is also referred to as absolute poverty or destitution...
in the state, compared to 23 percent and 13 percent, respectively, doing so in the US. And, 34 percent of children were
overweightOverweight is often used interchangeably with pre-obese and is generally defined as having more body fat than is optimally healthy. Being overweight is a common condition, especially where food supplies are plentiful and lifestyles are sedentary...
or obese, compared to the US average of 32 percent.
Sports
South Carolina has no major professional franchise of the
NFLThe National Football League is the largest professional American football league in the world. It was formed by eleven teams in 1920 as the American Professional Football Association, with the league changing its name to the National Football League in 1922. The league currently consists of...
,
NHLThe National Hockey League is an unincorporated not-for-profit association which operates a major professional ice hockey league as a joint venture for its self perpetuating membership of 30 franchised member clubs located in the United States and Canada...
,
NBAThe National Basketball Association is a professional basketball league, composed of thirty teams in North America . It is an active member of USA Basketball , which is recognized by the International Basketball Federation as the National Governing Body for basketball in the United States...
,
MLSMajor League Soccer is a professional soccer league based in the United States and sanctioned by United States Soccer Federation . The league comprises 15 teams, 14 in the U.S. and one in Canada...
, or MLB located in the state; however the NFL's
Carolina PanthersThe Carolina Panthers are a professional American football team based in Charlotte, North Carolina, representing North Carolina and South Carolina in the National Football League. They are currently members of the South Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League...
(based in
Charlotte, North CarolinaCharlotte is the largest city in the state of North Carolina and the seat of Mecklenburg County. Charlotte's population was estimated to be 687,456 in 2008, making it the 18th largest city in the United States. Residents of Charlotte are referred to as "Charlotteans"...
), and the NHL's
Carolina HurricanesThe Carolina Hurricanes are a professional ice hockey team based in Raleigh, North Carolina, USA. They are members of the Southeast Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League , and play their home games at the 18,680-seat RBC Center...
(based in
Raleigh, North CarolinaRaleigh is the capital city of the state of North Carolina, the seat of Wake County and the second largest city in North Carolina. Raleigh is known as the "City of Oaks" for its many oak trees. According to the U.S...
) represent both North and South Carolina. In addition, the Panthers played their first season in
ClemsonClemson is a city in Anderson and Pickens counties in the U.S. state of South Carolina. The population was 11,939 at the 2000 census and center of an urban cluster with a total population of 42,199. It is best known as the home of Clemson University...
, and maintain training facilities at
Wofford CollegeWofford College is a liberal arts college of about 1,500 students located in Spartanburg, South Carolina. Wofford was founded in 1854 with a bequest of $100,000 from the Rev...
in
SpartanburgSpartanburg is the largest city in and the county seat of Spartanburg County, South Carolina, United States. It is the second-largest city of the three primary cities in the Upstate region of South Carolina....
.
There are numerous
minor leagueMinor leagues are professional sports leagues which are not regarded as the premier leagues in those sports. Minor league teams tend to play in smaller, less elaborate venues, often competing in smaller cities. This term is used in North America with regard to several organizations competing in...
teams that are either based in the state, or play much of their schedule within its borders. The
Charlotte KnightsThe Charlotte Knights are a minor league baseball team representing Charlotte, North Carolina. The team, which plays in the International League, is the Triple-A affiliate of the Chicago White Sox of the American League. The Knights currently play in Knights Stadium, located in Fort Mill, South...
, 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 BatteryCharleston Battery is an American professional soccer team based in Charleston, South Carolina, United States. Founded in 1993, the team plays in the USL First Division , the second tier of the American Soccer Pyramid....
. The team plays in the soccer-specific Blackbaud Stadium, located on Daniel Island in Charleston. Currently, only
GreenvilleGreenville is a city in and the county seat of Greenville County, South Carolina, United States, in the state's upstate region. One of the principal cities of the Greenville-Mauldin-Easley Metropolitan Statistical Area , it had a population of 56,006 at the 2000 census, and the metropolitan area...
,
Myrtle BeachMyrtle Beach is a coastal resort city in Horry County, South Carolina, United States. It is the de facto hub of both the Myrtle Beach metropolitan area and the Grand Strand, a complex of beach towns and barrier islands stretching from Little River to Georgetown, South Carolina.Arising from a...
, and
CharlestonCharleston is a city in Charleston County, South Carolina in the U.S. state of South Carolina. It is the largest city and county seat of Charleston County. The city was founded as Charlestown or Charles Towne, Carolina in 1670, and moved to its present location from a location on the west bank of...
still boast any other level (in each case single-A) of professional
baseballBaseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each. The goal is to score runs by hitting a thrown ball with a bat and touching a series of four bases arranged at the corners of a ninety-foot square, or diamond...
. Curiously enough, for a state where natural ice is a rarity, professional
ice hockeyIce Hockey is a team sport played on ice, in which skaters use sticks to direct a puck into the opposing team's goal. It is a fast-paced and physical sport...
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 (
ECHLThe ECHL is a mid-level professional ice hockey league based in Princeton, New Jersey, with teams scattered across the United States and Canada, generally regarded as a tier below the American Hockey League...
) currently oversees operations of only two franchises, one, the
Columbia InfernoThe Columbia Inferno are an ECHL team based in Columbia, South Carolina. They play their home games at the Carolina Coliseum. The Inferno first took the ice in 2001 as an expansion team after a group of physicians dubbed the "Hockey Docs" sought to purchase a team...
, the other, the
South Carolina StingraysThe South Carolina Stingrays are an ECHL team based in the city of North Charleston, South Carolina, a suburb of Charleston. Since 2004, the team has been affiliated with the Washington Capitals of the National Hockey League. The Stingrays found success early with an average attendance of over...
(who play in
CharlestonCharleston is a city in Charleston County, South Carolina in the U.S. state of South Carolina. It is the largest city and county seat of Charleston County. The city was founded as Charlestown or Charles Towne, Carolina in 1670, and moved to its present location from a location on the west bank of...
). 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 UniversityClemson University is a public, coeducational, land-grant, research university located in Clemson, South Carolina, United States.Founded in 1889, the University is academically divided into five colleges: Agriculture, Forestry and Life Sciences; Architecture, Arts and Humanities; Business and...
's Tigers and the
University of South CarolinaThe University of South Carolina is a public, co-educational, research university located in Columbia, South Carolina, United States...
'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 CitadelThe Citadel, The Military College of South Carolina, also known simply as The Citadel, is a state-supported, comprehensive college located in Charleston, South Carolina, USA...
,
Coastal CarolinaCoastal Carolina University ' is an independent, state-supported university in Conway, South Carolina, located eight miles west of Myrtle Beach, South Carolina....
,
College of CharlestonThe College of Charleston is a public, sea-grant, and space-grant university located in historic downtown Charleston, South Carolina. The College was founded in 1770 and chartered in 1785, making it the oldest college or university in South Carolina, the 13th oldest institution of higher learning ...
,
Francis MarionFrancis Marion University is a state-supported liberal arts university located seven miles east of Florence, South Carolina, USA...
,
FurmanFurman University is a private, coeducational, non-sectarian university in Greenville, South Carolina, United States. Furman is the oldest, largest and most selective private institution in South Carolina and is one of the top liberal arts colleges in the United States...
, Anderson University,
North Greenville UniversityNorth Greenville University is a university affiliated with South Carolina Baptist Convention and accredited by the Commission on Colleges of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools. The institution awards Associate, Bachelor, and Master degrees...
,
Presbyterian CollegePresbyterian College is a private liberal arts college in Clinton, South Carolina, USA. Presbyterian College, or PC, is affiliated with the Presbyterian Church USA. PC was founded in 1880 by William Plumer Jacobs, a prominent Presbyterian minister who also founded the nearby Thornwell Home and...
,
Lander UniversityLander University is a public university located in Greenwood, South Carolina. It is the state's smallest publicly-funded baccalaureate institution.-History:...
,
SC StateSouth Carolina State University is a historically black university located in Orangeburg, South Carolina. It is the only state funded, historically black land-grant institution in South Carolina and is a member school of the Thurgood Marshall Scholarship Fund....
,
Southern Wesleyan UniversitySouthern Wesleyan University is a four-year and graduate Christian college, with its main campus in the town of Central, South Carolina. The university was founded in 1906 by what is now The Wesleyan Church....
,
Spartanburg Methodist CollegeSpartanburg Methodist College is a private, two-year institution of higher learning, or junior college, located in Spartanburg, South Carolina...
,
USC UpstateThe University of South Carolina Upstate is a public university located in Spartanburg, South Carolina. Formerly known as the University of South Carolina Spartanburg, the school changed its name in the summer of 2004...
,
WinthropWinthrop University is an American public, four-year liberal arts college in Rock Hill, South Carolina, United States. In 2006-07, Winthrop University had an enrollment of 6,292 students. The University is South Carolina's top-rated university according to evaluations conducted by the South...
,
WoffordWofford College is a liberal arts college of about 1,500 students located in Spartanburg, South Carolina. Wofford was founded in 1854 with a bequest of $100,000 from the Rev...
.
NASCARThe National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing is a family-owned and operated business venture that sanctions and governs multiple auto racing sports events. It was founded by Bill France Sr. in 1947-48. As of 2009, the CEO for the company is Brian France, grandson of the late Bill France Sr...
racing was born in
the SouthThe South may refer to:Titled expressive works:*The South or El Sur, a 1983 drama film by Victor Erice*The South , a 1990 novel by Colm Tóibín*"The South" , a 1953 short story by Jorge Luis Borges...
, and South Carolina has in the past hosted some very important NASCAR races, mainly at the
Darlington RacewayDarlington Raceway is a race track built for NASCAR racing located near Darlington, South Carolina. It is nicknamed the "Lady in Black" and "The Track Too Tough to Tame" by many NASCAR fans and drivers and advertised as "A NASCAR Tradition"...
. Darlington Raceway still has the one NASCAR race weekend, usually
Mother's DayThe modern Mother's Day holiday was created by Anna Jarvis in Grafton, West Virginia, as a day to honor mothers and motherhood; especially within the context of families, and family relationships. It is now celebrated on various days in many parts of the world, some of which have a much older...
weekend. All four of NASCAR's series come to Darlington including Feather light, Craftsman Trucks, Busch Cars, and
NEXTEL CupThe Sprint Cup Series is the top racing series of the National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing . It was formerly known as the Strictly Stock Series and Grand National Series . While leasing its naming rights to R. J...
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
MarionMan-made in the 1930s electrification efforts of the New Deal, rurally located Lake Marion is the largest lake in South Carolina, and is centrally located within the state with a shoreline and covering nearly 110,000 acres
[Conversions: Acres to km2, 450 km2 to Square miles ] of rolling...
and
MurrayLake Murray is a reservoir in the U.S. state of South Carolina. It is approximately 50,000 acres in size, and has roughly 500 miles of shoreline. It was impounded in the late 1920s to provide hydroelectric power to the state of South Carolina. Lake Murray is fed by the Saluda River, which flows...
and such rivers as the
CongareeThe Congaree River is a short but wide river in South Carolina in the United States; It flows for only 47 miles . The river serves an important role as the final outlet channel for the entire Lower Saluda and Lower Broad watersheds, before merging with the Wateree River just north of Lake Marion to...
,
SaludaThe Saluda River is a principal tributary of the Congaree River, about 200 mi long, in northern and western South Carolina in the United States...
,
BroadThe Broad River is a tidal channel, in Beaufort and Jasper County, South Carolina. The channel flows between mainland on the west and Port Royal and Parris Islands on the east. The Coosawhatchie River flows into the Broad River at the head. It joins Coosaw River channel Northeast and continues...
, and
EdistoThe Edisto River is the longest completely undammed / unleveed blackwater river in North America, flowing 206 meandering miles from its sources in Saluda and Edgefield counties, to its Atlantic Ocean mouth at Edisto Beach, SC...
.
While there are no race tracks with betting in South Carolina there is significant horse training activity, particularly in
AikenAiken can refer to:*Aiken, Illinois*Aiken County, South Carolina*Aiken, South Carolina, Aiken County's county seat*The University of South Carolina Aiken*Aiken, Texas**Aiken, Bell County, Texas**Aiken, Floyd County, Texas**Aiken, Shelby County, Texas...
and
CamdenCamden is a city in and the county seat of Kershaw County, South Carolina, United States. The population was 6,682 at the 2000 census. It is part of the Columbia, South Carolina, Metropolitan Statistical Area.-Geography:...
, which hold steeplechase races.
Professional bass fishing tournaments are also found in South Carolina. Lake Hartwell,
Lake WylieLake Wylie is a reservoir located in South Carolina and North Carolina. The lake has a surface area of and features of shore line.-History:...
, and Lake Murray both host
Bassmasters ClassicThe Bassmaster Classic is a competition in professional bass fishing. It was first held in 1971 in Lake Mead, Nevada. After years of being held in July, the Bassmasters Classic was moved to February in 2006....
tournaments.
National Park Service areas
- Charles Pinckney National Historic Site
Charles Pinckney National Historic Site preserves a portion of Charles Pinckney's Snee Farm. The site is located at 1254 Long Point Road, Mount Pleasant, South Carolina....
at Mt. Pleasant
- Congaree National Park
Congaree National Park preserves the largest tract of old growth bottomland hardwood forest left in the United States. Located in South Carolina, the park is 22,000 acre . The lush trees growing in this floodplain forest are some of the tallest in the Eastern U.S., forming one of the highest...
in HopkinsHopkins is an unincorporated community in Richland County, South Carolina, United States. It is located eleven miles from downtown Columbia and is part of the Columbia Metropolitan Statistical Area.-Attractions:...
- Cowpens National Battlefield
Cowpens National Battlefield is a unit of the National Park Service just east of Chesnee, South Carolina, not far from the North Carolina state line....
near ChesneeChesnee is a city in Cherokee and Spartanburg counties in the U.S. state of South Carolina. Population was 1,003 at the 2000 census.-Geography:Chesnee is located at ....
,
- Fort Moultrie National Monument
Fort Moultrie is the name of a series of forts on Sullivan's Island, South Carolina, built to protect the city of Charleston, South Carolina...
at Sullivan's IslandSullivan's Island is a town in Charleston County, South Carolina, United States, on a similarly-named island at the entrance to Charleston Harbor. The population was 1,911 at the 2000 census. It is also the site of a major battle of the American Revolution at Fort Sullivan on June 28, 1776. As...
- Fort Sumter National Monument in Charleston Harbor
Charleston is a city in Charleston County, South Carolina in the U.S. state of South Carolina. It is the largest city and county seat of Charleston County. The city was founded as Charlestown or Charles Towne, Carolina in 1670, and moved to its present location from a location on the west bank of...
- Kings Mountain National Military Park
Kings Mountain National Military Park is a National Military Park near Blacksburg, South Carolina, close to the North Carolina border. The park commemorates the Battle of Kings Mountain, a pivotal and significant victory by American Patriots over American Loyalists during the Southern Campaign of...
at BlacksburgBlacksburg is a town in Cherokee County, South Carolina, United States. The population was 1,880 at the 2000 census. The communities of Cherokee Falls, Kings Creek, Cashion Crossroads, Buffalo, and Mt...
- Ninety Six National Historic Site
Ninety Six National Historic Site, also known as Old Ninety Six and Star Fort, is a United States National Historic Site located about 60 miles south of Greenville, South Carolina...
in Ninety SixNinety Six is a town in Greenwood County, South Carolina, United States. The population was 1,936 at the 2000 census.-Geography:Ninety Six is located at ....
- Overmountain Victory National Historic Trail
The Overmountain Victory National Historic Trail is part of the U.S. National Trails System. It recognizes the Revolutionary War Overmountain Men, Patriots from what is now East Tennesseee who crossed the Great Smoky Mountains and then fought in the Battle of Kings Mountain in South Carolina.The...
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
Greenville is a city in and the county seat of Greenville County, South Carolina, United States, in the state's upstate region. One of the principal cities of the Greenville-Mauldin-Easley Metropolitan Statistical Area , it had a population of 56,006 at the 2000 census, and the metropolitan area...
, U.S. Air Force major and U-2The Lockheed U-2, nicknamed "Dragon Lady", is a single-engine, very high-altitude reconnaissance aircraft operated by the United States Air Force and previously flown by the Central Intelligence Agency. It provides day and night, very high-altitude , all-weather surveillance...
pilot shot down during the Cuban Missile CrisisThe Cuban Missile Crisis was a confrontation between the United States, the Soviet Union, and Cuba in October 1962, during the Cold War. In Russia, former Eastern Bloc, and communist countries , it is termed the "Caribbean Crisis" , while in Cuba it is called the "October Crisis"...
, was awarded the first Air Force CrossThe Air Force Cross is the second highest military decoration that can be awarded to a member of the United States Air Force. The Air Force Cross is the Air Force decoration equivalent to the Distinguished Service Cross and the Navy Cross .The Air Force Cross is awarded for extraordinary heroism...
, posthumously.
- Andie MacDowell
Rosalie Anderson "Andie" MacDowell is an American model and actress. She has received three Golden Globe Awards nominations. She has received the Golden Camera and an Honorary César.-Early life:...
(born April 21, 1958) is an American model and actress, from GaffneyGaffney is a city located in the Upstate of South Carolina. It is the county seat of Cherokee County. The population was 12,968 at the 2000 census. It is the principal city of the Gaffney, South Carolina, Micropolitan Statistical Area Gaffney is a city located in the Upstate of South Carolina. ...
, winner of two Golden Globe Awards.
- Mary McLeod Bethune
Mary Jane McLeod Bethune was an American educator and civil rights leader best known for starting a school for black students in Daytona Beach, Florida that eventually became Bethune-Cookman University and for being an advisor to President Franklin D...
(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
Saluda is a town in Saluda County, South Carolina, along the Little Saluda River. The population was 3,066 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Saluda County.Saluda is part of the Columbia, South Carolina Metropolitan Statistical Area.-Geography:...
, died March 6, 1836), 19th century American lawyerA lawyer, according to Black's Law Dictionary, is "a person learned in the law; as an attorney, counsel or solicitor; a person licensed to practice law." Law is the system of rules of conduct established by the sovereign government of a society to correct wrongs, maintain stability, and deliver...
and soldierA soldier is a member of the land component of national armed forces; whereas a soldier hired for service in a foreign army would be termed a mercenary...
, defender at the AlamoThe word Alamo, from the Spanish word for the cottonwood tree, may refer to:*The Battle of the Alamo, a battle fought during the Texas Revolution*The Alamo Mission in San Antonio, a building in Texas which was the focus of that battle-United States:...
.
- James Brown
James Joseph Brown , originally James Joseph Brown, Jr., also known as "The Godfather of Soul", was an American entertainer. He is recognized as one of the most influential figures in 20th century popular music and was renowned for his vocals and feverish dancing...
(born May 4, 1933 in BarnwellBarnwell is a city in Barnwell County, South Carolina, United States. The population was 5,035 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Barnwell County.-Geography:Barnwell is located at ....
, died December 25, 2006), "Godfather of Soul", legendary singer and member of the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame.
- John C. Calhoun
John Caldwell Calhoun was the 7th Vice President of the United States and a leading Southern politician from South Carolina during the first half of the 19th century. Calhoun was an advocate of slavery, states' rights, limited government, and nullification...
(1782-1850), born near AbbevilleFor other communities of the same name, see Abbeville .Abbeville is a city in Abbeville County, South Carolina, United States, 86 miles west of Columbia. Its population was 5,840 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Abbeville County...
, 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
Chubby Checker is an American singer-songwriter best known for popularizing the The Twist with his 1960 hit cover of Hank Ballard's R&B hit "The Twist"...
, singer, born Ernest Evans in Spring Gulley, on October 3, 1941.
- Stephen Colbert
Stephen Tyrone Colbert is an American political satirist, writer, comedian and television host. He is the host of Comedy Central's The Colbert Report, a satirical news show in which Colbert portrays a caricatured version of conservative political pundits.Colbert originally studied to be an actor,...
, host of The Colbert ReportThe Colbert Report is an American satirical late night television program that airs Monday through Thursday on Comedy Central in the United States and on both The Comedy Network and CTV in Canada...
on Comedy Central since 2005; previously correspondent for Comedy Central's The Daily ShowThe Daily Show, known in its current incarnation as The Daily Show with Jon Stewart, is an American late night satirical television program airing each Monday through Thursday on Comedy Central in the United States. The half-hour long show premiered on July 21, 1996, and was hosted by Craig Kilborn...
. A native of Charleston, he attended Porter Gaud School. Colbert also ran as a favorite sonA favorite son is a political term that can refer to two different types of politicians:*A politician whose electoral appeal derives from his or her regional appeal, rather than his or her political views...
candidate for the 2008 presidential election in his native South Carolina.
- Danny!
Danny!, also known as D. Swain , is an American rap performer and record producer from Columbia, South Carolina, a former student of the Savannah College of Art & Design and, most recently, a recording artist for Definitive Jux Records...
, recording artist for Definitive JuxDefinitive Jux is an independent record label based in New York City, United States. It was co-founded in 1999 by Jaime Meline and Amaechi Uzoigwe. The label was initially known simply as Def Jux, but in 2001, however, popular hip hop label Def Jam Recordings sued Def Jux over the name similarity...
Records, grew up in Columbia and graduated Richland Northeast High SchoolRichland Northeast High School is a public high school in Columbia, South Carolina. Richland Northeast, often abbreviated as RNE, RNH, or RNHS, was founded in 1978 to handle the excessive population of students at Spring Valley High School. Spring Valley is now Richland Northeast's largest rival...
in 2001.
- John Edwards
Johnny Reid "John" Edwards is an American politician who served one term as U.S. Senator from North Carolina. He was the Democratic nominee for Vice President in 2004, and was a candidate for the Democratic presidential nomination in 2004 and 2008.He defeated incumbent Republican Lauch Faircloth...
, former N.C. Senator & 2004 Democratic Vice Presidential candidate, born in SenecaSeneca is a city in Oconee County, South Carolina, United States. The population was 7,652 at the 2000 census. It is the principal city of the Seneca Micropolitan Statistical Area Seneca is a city in Oconee County, South Carolina, United States. The population was 7,652 at the 2000 census. It is...
in 1953.
- Joe Frazier
Joseph "Billy" Frazier, known as Smokin' Joe , is an Olympic and World Heavyweight Boxing Champion, active mostly from the later 1960s to the mid 1970s....
, 1964 Olympic heavyweight champion and the world heavyweight champ 1970-73; fought Muhammad AliMuhammad Ali is a retired American boxer and three-time World Heavyweight Champion, who is widely considered one of the greatest heavyweight champions. As an amateur, he won a gold medal in the light heavyweight division at the 1960 Summer Olympics in Rome...
for the heavyweight title three times. He is most remembered for the fight at Madison Square GardenMadison Square Garden, often abbreviated as MSG and known colloquially as The Garden, has been the name of four arenas in New York City. It is also the name of the entity which owns the arena and several of the professional sports franchises which play there. There have been four incarnations of...
in March 1971, where he defeated Ali to become the undisputed heavyweight champ. Frazier was born in BeaufortBeaufort is a city and county seat in Beaufort County, South Carolina, United States. Chartered in 1711, it is the second-oldest city in South Carolina, behind Charleston. The city's population was 12,950 in the 2000 census...
on January 12, 1944.
- David du Bose Gaillard
David du Bose Gaillard was a U.S. Army engineer instrumental in the construction of the Panama Canal.-Biography:He was born in Manning, South Carolina. Gaillard graduated from the United States Military Academy at West Point in 1884. In 1907 he was placed in charge of construction of the central...
, (1859-1913) U.S. Army engineer instrumental in the construction of the Panama CanalThe Panama Canal is a ship canal which joins the Caribbean Sea to the Pacific ocean. One of the largest and most difficult engineering projects ever undertaken, it had an enormous impact on shipping between the two oceans, replacing the long and treacherous route via the Drake Passage and Cape Horn...
, born in ManningManning is a city in Clarendon County, South Carolina, United States. The population was 4,025 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Clarendon County...
.
- Althea Gibson
Althea Gibson was a former World No. 1 American sportswoman who became the first African-American woman to be a competitor on the world tennis tour and the first to win a Grand Slam title in 1956...
(1927-2003), first black female player to win the WimbledonThe Championships, Wimbledon, or simply Wimbledon, is the oldest tennis tournament in the world and is generally considered the most prestigious. It has been held at the All England Club in the London suburb of Wimbledon since 1877...
singles tennisTennis is a sport played between two players or between two teams of two players each . Each player uses a strung racquet to strike a hollow rubber ball covered with felt over a net into the opponent's court....
title, born in Silver.
- Dizzy Gillespie
John Birks "Dizzy" Gillespie was an American jazz trumpeter, bandleader, singer, and composer.Together with Charlie Parker, he was a major figure in the development of bebop and modern jazz...
(1917-1993), John Birks 'Dizzy' Gillespie, considered by some to be the greatest jazzJazz is a musical art form which originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States from a confluence of African and European music traditions....
trumpetThe trumpet is a musical instrument with the highest register in the brass family. Trumpets are among the oldest musical instruments, dating back to at least 1500 BC...
er of all time, was born in CherawCheraw is a town in Chesterfield County, South Carolina, United States. The population was 5,524 at the 2000 census and center of an urban cluster with a total population of 9,069...
.
- Thomas Heyward, Jr.
Thomas Heyward, Jr. , was a signer of the United States Declaration of Independence and of the Articles of Confederation as a representative of South Carolina....
(1746-1809) Signer of the Declaration of Independence, born In St. Luke's Parish.
- Andrew Jackson
Andrew Jackson was the seventh President of the United States . He was military governor of Florida , commander of the American forces at the Battle of New Orleans , and eponym of the era of Jacksonian democracy...
(1767-1845), President of the United States, born near LancasterLancaster is a city in Lancaster County, South Carolina which is in the United States and is located 32 miles south of Charlotte North Carolina . As of the United States Census, 2007 census, the city population was 9,715. It is the county seat of Lancaster County. The city was named after the...
but emigrated to TennesseeTennessee is a state located in the Southeastern United States. According to the 2008 census, it has a population of 6,214,888, an increase of nearly 9.5% since 2000. Tennessee is the 14th fastest growing state in the US and is ranked 17th by population. It is ranked 36th by total land area. In...
as an adult. He was the hero of the Battle of New OrleansThe Battle of New Orleans took place on January 8, 1815, and was the final major battle of the War of 1812. American forces, commanded by General Andrew Jackson, defeated an invading British Army intent on seizing New Orleans and the vast territory America had acquired with the Louisiana Purchase...
and 7th President, from 1829 to 1837.
- Jesse Jackson
Jesse Louis Jackson, Sr. is an American civil rights activist and Baptist minister. He was a candidate for the Democratic presidential nomination in 1984 and 1988 and served as shadow senator for the District of Columbia from 1991 to 1997. He was the founder of both entities that merged to form...
, famous political and social figure, originally from Greenville, South CarolinaGreenville is a city in and the county seat of Greenville County, South Carolina, United States, in the state's upstate region. One of the principal cities of the Greenville-Mauldin-Easley Metropolitan Statistical Area , it had a population of 56,006 at the 2000 census, and the metropolitan area...
, born on October 8, 1941.
- 'Shoeless' Joe Jackson (1887–1951), considered one of the most outstanding hitters in the history of baseball
Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each. The goal is to score runs by hitting a thrown ball with a bat and touching a series of four bases arranged at the corners of a ninety-foot square, or diamond...
, his career .356 batting averageBatting average is a statistic in both cricket and baseball measuring the performance of cricket batsmen and baseball hitters, respectively. The two statistics are related, in that baseball averages are directly descended from the concept of cricket averages....
is the third highest in history, after Ty CobbTyrus Raymond "Ty" Cobb , nicknamed "The Georgia Peach," was a baseball player and is regarded by some historians and journalists as the best player of the dead-ball era, and is generally seen as one of the greatest players of all time.In 1936, Cobb received the most votes of any player on the...
and Rogers HornsbyRogers Hornsby , nicknamed "The Rajah", was a Major League Baseball second baseman and manager. Hornsby's first name, Rogers, was his mother's maiden name. He spent the majority of his playing career with the St...
; born in Brandon MillsGreenville is a city in and the county seat of Greenville County, South Carolina, United States, in the state's upstate region. One of the principal cities of the Greenville-Mauldin-Easley Metropolitan Statistical Area , it had a population of 56,006 at the 2000 census, and the metropolitan area...
.
- Jasper Johns
Jasper Johns, Jr. is an American contemporary artist who works primarily in painting and printmaking. He is represented by the Matthew Marks Gallery.-Life:...
, considered one of the greatest post-World War IIWorld War II, or the Second World War , was a global military conflict which involved a majority of the world's nations, including all great powers, organized into two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
American artists, was raised in AllendaleAllendale is a town in Allendale County, South Carolina, United States. The population was 4,052 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Allendale County.-Geography:Allendale is located at ....
and attended the University of South CarolinaThe University of South Carolina is a public, co-educational, research university located in Columbia, South Carolina, United States...
before moving to New York City.
- Eartha Kitt
Eartha Mae Kitt was an American actress, singer, and cabaret star. She was perhaps best known for her highly distinctive singing style and her 1953 hit Christmas song "Santa Baby"...
(1927–2008), from North, South CarolinaNorth is a town in Orangeburg County, South Carolina, United States. The population was 813 at the 2000 census.-Geography:North is located at ....
, American actressAn actor or actress is a person who acts in a dramatic production and who works in film, television, theatre, or radio in that capacity...
, singer, and cabaretCabaret is a form of entertainment featuring comedy, song, dance, and theatre, distinguished mainly by the performance venue—a restaurant or nightclub with a stage for performances and the audience sitting at tables watching the performance being introduced by a master of ceremonies, or MC.Cabaret...
star. She was perhaps best known for her role as CatwomanCatwoman is a fictional character associated with DC Comics' Batman franchise. The supervillainess was created by Bill Finger and Bob Kane, partially inspired by Kane's second cousin by marriage, Ruth Steel ....
in the 1960s TV series BatmanBatman is a 1960s American television series, based on the DC comic book character of the same name, which starred Adam West and Burt Ward as Batman and Robin, two crime-fighting heroes who defended "Gotham City". It aired on the American Broadcasting Company network for two and a half seasons...
.
- Thomas Lynch, Jr.
Thomas Lynch, Jr. , was a signer of the United States Declaration of Independence as a representative of South Carolina ....
(born August 4, 1749 in South Carolina, died 1779) Signer of the Declaration of Independence.
- Barton MacLane
Barton MacLane was an American actor, playwright, and screenwriter. Although he has appeared in many classic films from the 1930s through the 1960s, he was known for his recurring role as General Martin Peterson on the 1960s television comedy series I Dream of Jeannie.-Career:MacLane was born in...
(1902-1969) born in Columbia, SC. Actor in The Maltese FalconThe Maltese Falcon is a 1941 American Warner Bros. film based on novel of the same name by Dashiell Hammett. Written and directed by John Huston, the movie stars Humphrey Bogart as private investigator Sam Spade, Mary Astor as his femme fatale client, Sydney Greenstreet in his film debut, and Peter...
and The Treasure of the Sierra MadreThe Treasure of the Sierra Madre is a 1927 novel by the mysterious German-English bilingual author B. Traven, in which two penurious Americans of the 1920s join with an old-timer, in Mexico, to prospect for gold...
.
- Arthur Middleton
Arthur Middleton , of Charleston, South Carolina, was a signer of the United States Declaration of Independence....
(1742-1787) born in Charleston, signer of the Declaration of IndependenceA declaration of independence is an assertion of the independence of an aspiring state or states. Such places are usually declared from part or all of the territory of another nation or failed nation, or are breakaway territories from within the larger state...
, later Governor (1810-1812), Representative (1815-1819) and Minister to Russia (1820-1830).
- Kary Mullis
Kary Banks Mullis is an American biochemist and Nobel laureate.Mullis shared the 1993 Nobel Prize in Chemistry with Michael Smith. Mullis received the prize for his development of the Polymerase Chain Reaction , a process first described by Kjell Kleppe and 1968 Nobel laureate H. Gobind Khorana...
(1944-), 1993 Nobel laureate in Chemistry, grew up ColumbiaColumbia is the state capital and largest city in the U.S. state of South Carolina. The population was 116,278 according to the 2000 census . Columbia is the county seat of Richland County, but a portion of the city extends into Lexington County. The city is the center of a metro area of 728,063...
and graduated from high school there.
- Bill Pinkney
Bill Pinkney was an American performer and singer. Pinkney is often incorrectly said to be the last surviving original member of The Drifters, who achieved international fame with numerous hit records. This is technically untrue, as he was not a member of the original lineup of the group...
(1925-2007) born in DalzellDalzell is a census-designated place in Sumter County, South Carolina, United States. The population was 2,260 at the 2000 census. It is included in the Sumter, South Carolina Metropolitan Statistical Area.-Geography:...
, was a pitcher in the Negro League, served in World War II, but remembered most for singing role in The DriftersThe Drifters are a long-lived African-American doo wop/R&B vocal group with a peak in popularity from 1953 to 1962, though several splinter Drifters continue to perform today. They were originally formed by Clyde McPhatter in 1953...
, 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
Melvin Horace Purvis, Jr. was an American lawman and Federal Bureau of Investigation agent. He had the nickname "Little Mel" because of his short stature.-Birth:...
(1903-1960), born in TimmonsvilleTimmonsville is a town in Florence County, South Carolina, United States. The population was 2,315 at the 2000 census. It is part of the Florence Metropolitan Statistical Area.-Geography:Timmonsville is located at ....
, FBI agent responsible for ending the criminal careers of Baby Face NelsonLester Joseph Gillis , known under the pseudonym George Nelson, was a bank robber and murderer in the 1930s better known as Baby Face Nelson due to his youthful appearance and small stature.-Early years:...
, Pretty Boy FloydCharles Arthur "Pretty Boy" Floyd was an American bank robber and alleged killer, romanticized by the press and by folk singer Woody Guthrie in his song "Pretty Boy Floyd".-Life of crime:...
, and John DillingerJohn Herbert Dillinger was an American bank robber in the Midwest during the early 1930s. He was considered to be a dangerous criminal who was involved in the deaths of several police officers, robbed at least two dozen banks and four police stations, escaped from jail twice and was idolized by...
; died in Florence, South CarolinaFlorence is the largest city in and the county seat of Florence County, South Carolina, United States. This 1997 All-America City finalist, with its historic homes and medical center towers, came together to form a cultural center for the northeastern portion of South Carolina. The city population...
.
- Edward Rutledge
Edward Rutledge , was an American politician and youngest signer of the United States Declaration of Independence. He later served as governor of South Carolina.-Early years and career:...
(1749-1800), youngest signer of the Declaration of Independence, later governor of South Carolina.
- William Barret Travis (1809-1836), born in Saluda County
Saluda County is a county located in the U.S. state of South Carolina. The 2000 census recorded its population to be 19,181, while the 2005 census estimate placed the population at 18,895. Its county seat is Saluda....
, lawyer and soldier, at 26 Lieutenant ColonelLieutenant colonel is a rank of commissioned officer in the armies and most marine forces and air forces of the world, typically ranking above a major and below a colonel. The rank of lieutenant colonel is often shortened to simply "colonel" in conversation and in unofficial correspondence...
in the Texian ArmyThe Texian Army was a military organization consisting of volunteer and regular soldiers who fought against the Mexican army during the Texas Revolution.-Structure:...
, defender at the Alamo.
- Aziz Ansari
Aziz Ansari 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...
(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 IndiaIndia, officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the south, the Arabian Sea on the west, and the Bay of Bengal...
n TamilTamil people , are an ethnic group native to Tamil Nadu, a state in India, and the north-eastern region of Sri Lanka. They speak Tamil , with a recorded history going back two millennia. Emigrant communities are found across the world...
parents.
- Robert Remus (born August 27,1948) pro wrestler aka Sgt.Slauter
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
The South Carolina Supreme Court is the highest court in the U.S. state of South Carolina. The court is composed of a Chief Justice and four Associate Justices.-Selection of Justices:...
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
Aiken County is a county located in the U.S. state of South Carolina. In 2000, its population was 142,552; in 2005, the U.S. Census Bureau estimated that its population had reached 150,181...
, 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
Aiken can refer to:*Aiken, Illinois*Aiken County, South Carolina*Aiken, South Carolina, Aiken County's county seat*The University of South Carolina Aiken*Aiken, Texas**Aiken, Bell County, Texas**Aiken, Floyd County, Texas**Aiken, Shelby County, Texas...
, South Carolina, smoke-free law for all workplaces including restaurants and bars in city. July 2008
- Beaufort County
Beaufort County is a county located in the U.S. state of South Carolina. In 2000, its population was 120,937; in 2005 the population was estimated to have reached 137,849. Its county seat is Beaufort....
, banned in all workplaces, including restaurants and bars, within unincorporated areas of Beaufort County. January 10, 2007.
- Beaufort
Beaufort may refer to:* Beaufort , the surname of many people** Francis Beaufort, hydrographer and creator of the Beaufort scale** Duke of Beaufort , a title in the peerage of England...
, South Carolina, smoke-free law for all workplaces including restaurants and bars. May 2008.
- Bluffton
Bluffton is a town in Beaufort County, South Carolina, United States. The population was 1,275 at the 2000 census and center of the Bluffton Urban Cluster with a total population of 5,848. However, this separated urban area currently defined as Bluffton is quickly becoming contiguous to that of...
, banned in all workplaces including restaurants and bars. January 10, 2007.
- Camden, South Carolina
Camden is a city in and the county seat of Kershaw County, South Carolina, United States. The population was 6,682 at the 2000 census. It is part of the Columbia, South Carolina, Metropolitan Statistical Area.-Geography:...
, smoke-free law for all workplaces including restaurants and bars. 2008. http://www.sctobacco.org/UserFiles/File/Smoke%20Free/CamdenOrd.pdf
- Clemson
Clemson is a city in Anderson and Pickens counties in the U.S. state of South Carolina. The population was 11,939 at the 2000 census and center of an urban cluster with a total population of 42,199. It is best known as the home of Clemson University...
, July 1, 2008, banned in all enclosed workplaces, including bars and restaurants
- Columbia
Columbia is the state capital and largest city in the U.S. state of South Carolina. The population was 116,278 according to the 2000 census . Columbia is the county seat of Richland County, but a portion of the city extends into Lexington County. The city is the center of a metro area of 728,063...
, Oct. 1 2008, smoke-free in all workplaces, including restaurants and bars.
- Easley
-People:* Charles Easley, Justice, Mississippi Supreme Court* Damion Easley , baseball player* Jeff Easley , graphic artist, works in Dungeons and Dragons books* Mike Easley , politician...
, South Carolina, smoke-free law for all workplaces including restaurants and bars, Jan. 2009
- Edisto Beach, smoke-free law for all workplaces including restaurants and bars, March 2009
- Greenville
Greenville is a city in and the county seat of Greenville County, South Carolina, United States, in the state's upstate region. One of the principal cities of the Greenville-Mauldin-Easley Metropolitan Statistical Area , it had a population of 56,006 at the 2000 census, and the metropolitan area...
, January 1, 2007, banned in all workplaces, restaurants, and bars.
- Hilton Head Island
Hilton Head Island or Hilton Head is a town in Beaufort County, South Carolina, United States. It is 20 miles north of Savannah, Georgia, and 95 miles south of Charleston. The island features 12 miles of beachfront on the Atlantic Ocean and is a popular vacation destination...
, 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, Jan. 2009
- Lexington
-Places:In the United States:*Lexington, Kentucky, the largest 'Lexington'*Lexington, Massachusetts, the oldest 'Lexington'** Battles of Lexington and Concord, the first battles of the American Revolutionary War*Lexington, Alabama*Lexington, Georgia...
, South Carolina, smoke-free workplace law for all workplaces including restaurants and bars in town of Lexington, Oct. 2008.
- Liberty
Liberty is a concept of political philosophy and identifies the condition in which an individual has the right to act according to his or her own will....
, South Carolina, smoke-free law with exemption for bars, Oct. 2006
- Mount Pleasant
Mount Pleasant is a suburban town in Charleston County, South Carolina, United States, within the Charleston–North Charleston–Summerville Metropolitan Statistical Area. It is the fifth largest municipality in South Carolina, and for several years it was one of the state's fastest...
, 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, Oct. 2008.
- Rock Hill, smoke-free workplace law including restaurants and bars, May 2009.
- Sullivan's Island
Sullivan's Island is a town in Charleston County, South Carolina, United States, on a similarly-named island at the entrance to Charleston Harbor. The population was 1,911 at the 2000 census. It is also the site of a major battle of the American Revolution at Fort Sullivan on June 28, 1776. As...
, 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
Sumter is a city in and the county seat of Sumter County, South Carolina, United States. Its population was 39,159 at the 2000 census. It is the principal city of the Sumter, South Carolina Metropolitan Statistical Area....
, 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. Nov. 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
A blackwater river is a river with a deep, slow-moving channel that flows through forested swamps and wetlands. As vegetation decays in the water, tannins are leached out, resulting in transparent, acidic water that is darkly stained, resembling tea or coffee...
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 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
Francis Salvador , was the first American Jew to be killed in the American Revolution, fighting on the South Carolina frontier...
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
St. Mary's Roman Catholic Church, which is formally called St. Mary of Annunciation Roman Catholic Church, is the first Roman Catholic church in the Carolinas and Georgia. The current building at 93 Hasell St. in Charleston, South Carolina, is the third structure to house the congregation on this...
August 24, 1789, Charleston
- First cotton mill built — James Island, 1789
- First tea planted — Middleton Barony, 1802
- First Roman Catholic Bishop of Charleston
The Roman Catholic Diocese of Charleston is an ecclesiastical territory or diocese of the Roman Catholic Church in the southern United States and comprises the entire state of South Carolina, with Charleston as its see city. Currently, the diocese consists of 92 parishes and 24 missions...
, 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
The Cathedral of St. John and St. Finbar was the first Roman Catholic cathedral in Charleston, South Carolina. Begun in 1850 and consecrated on April 6, 1854, it was destroyed on December 11, 1861, in a fire that ravaged much of Charleston. A new cathedral—the Cathedral of Saint John the Baptist,...
- 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
See also
- Index of South Carolina-related articles
- South Carolina Department of Transportation
The South Carolina Department of Transportation is a government agency in the U.S. State of South Carolina. Its mission is to build and maintain roads and bridges and administer mass transit services....
Textbooks and surveys
- Bass, Jack. Porgy Comes Home: South Carolina After 300 Years,. Sandlapper, 1970.
- Edgar, Walter. South Carolina: A History, University of South Carolina Press
The University of South Carolina Press , founded in 1944, is a university press that is part of the University of South Carolina.-External links:*...
, 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