South Carolina

See also: National Parks and Monuments (table)National Parks and Monuments

National Parks
Name Type¹ Location Year authorized Size
acres (hectares)
Description
Acadia NP SE Maine 1919 48,419 (19,603) Mountain and coast scenery.
..... Click the link for more information.

South Carolina,

state of the SE United States. It is bordered by North Carolina (N), the Atlantic Ocean (SE), and, across the Savannah River, Georgia (SW).

Facts and Figures

Area, 31,055 sq mi (80,432 sq km). Pop. (2010) 4,625,364, a 15.3% increase since the 2000 census. Capital and largest city, Columbia. Statehood, May 23, 1788 (8th of the original 13 states to ratify the Constitution). Highest pt., Sassafras Mt., 3,560 ft (1,086 m); lowest pt., sea level. Nickname, Palmetto State. Mottos, Dum Spiro Spero [While I Breathe, I Hope] and Animis Opibusque Parati [Prepared in Mind and Resources]. State bird, Carolina wren. State flower, Carolina jessamine. State tree, palmetto. Abbr., S.C.; SC

Geography

South Carolina is roughly triangular in shape. The long, even coast lined with beautiful sand beaches on the "Grand Strand" north of Georgetown becomes generally marshy to the south and is sliced by a network of rivers and creeks, creating a maze of inlets and the famous Sea IslandsSea Islands,
chain of more than 100 low islands off the Atlantic coast of S.C., Ga., and N Fla., extending from the Santee River to the St. Johns River. The ocean side of the islands is generally sandy; the side facing the mainland is marshy.
..... Click the link for more information. . The coastal climate is humid subtropical, with long, hot summers and short, mild winters. In this area are found cypress swamps, moss-hung oaks, beautiful flowering gardens, antebellum plantations, and the historic seaports of Georgetown, Beaufort, and Charleston, the latter a major tourist attraction and one of the chief ports of entry in the Southeast.

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

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

Vacationers are attracted to Myrtle Beach and the Grand Strand, to the Sea Island resorts, and to Charleston's stately homes and gardens. The state's historical places of interest include Fort Sumter and Fort Moultrie National Historical Park, Kings Mountain National Military Park, and Cowpens National Battlefield (see National Parks and MonumentsNational Parks and Monuments

National Parks
Name Type¹ Location Year authorized Size
acres (hectares)
Description
Acadia NP SE Maine 1919 48,419 (19,603) Mountain and coast scenery.
..... Click the link for more information. , table). ColumbiaColumbia
. 1 City (1990 pop. 75,883), Howard co., central Md., between Washington, D.C., and Baltimore. Founded in 1967 and developed by James Rouse, it is one of the largest and most successful American planned cities.
..... Click the link for more information. is the capital and the largest city; CharlestonCharleston.
1 City (1990 pop. 20,398), seat of Coles co., E Ill.; inc. 1835. Charleston is an industrial, rail, and trade center located in an agricultural area; shoes are also made. Eastern Illinois Univ. is there. A Lincoln-Douglas debate was held in Charleston on Sept.
..... Click the link for more information. and GreenvilleGreenville.
1 City (1990 pop. 45,226), seat of Washington co., W Miss., on Lake Ferguson, a deepwater harbor adjoining the Mississippi River; inc. 1886. It is the trade, processing, and shipping center of the Mississippi-Yazoo delta, a fertile region producing soybeans,
..... Click the link for more information. are other major cities.

Economy

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

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

Government, Politics, and Higher Education

South Carolina's legislature has a senate with 46 members and a house of representatives with 124 members. The state sends two senators and seven representatives to the U.S. Congress and has nine electoral votes. In the early 1970s the state's 1895 constitution was extensively revised. The executive branch is headed by a governor elected for a four-year term. From 1876 to 1975 all the state's governors were Democrats, and South Carolina was part of the "Solid South." Since then Republicans have come to dominate statewide politics. David Beasley, a Republican, won the governorship in 1994 but was defeated in 1998 by Jim Hodges, a Democrat. In 2002, Hodges lost his own reelection bid to Republican Mark Sanford; Sanford was reelected in 2006. Republican Nikki Haley was elected governor in 2010 and 2014; she was the first woman to hold the office. She resigned in 2017 to become UN ambassador; she was succeeded by Lt. Gov. Henry McMaster, who was elected governor in 2018.

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

History

French, Spanish, and English Colonization

At an unknown coastal site in the region that is now the Carolinas, what may have been the first European settlement in North America was founded (1526; not permanent) by an expedition under the Spanish explorer Lucas Vásquez de AyllónAyllón, Lucas Vásquez de
, c.1475–1526, Spanish explorer. He emigrated in 1502 to Santo Domingo, where he became a public official. In 1521, Francisco Gordillo, sent by Ayllón to explore northward, seems to have landed in either Florida or South
..... Click the link for more information. . The Frenchman Jean RibautRibaut or Ribault, Jean
, c.1520–65, French mariner and colonizer in Florida, b. Dieppe. When Gaspard de Coligny decided to plant a French colony as an asylum for Huguenots in the New World, he appointed Ribaut to
..... Click the link for more information. established (1562) a Huguenot settlement on Parris Island in Port Royal Sound, but French colonizing ambitions were thoroughly thwarted by Pedro Menéndez de AvilésMenéndez de Avilés, Pedro
, 1519–74, Spanish naval officer and colonizer, founder of Saint Augustine, Fla. He went to sea as a youth and so distinguished himself that by the time he was 35 he held the captain generalcy of the Indies fleet, which convoyed
..... Click the link for more information. . Spanish missions soon extended N from Florida almost to the site of present-day Charleston, and they remained until the arrival of the English. Under Juan PardoPardo, Juan,
fl. 1560s, Spanish officier and explorer. On the orders of Menéndez de Avilés, Pardo led two expeditions (1566–67, 1567–68) from the Spanish settlement of Santa Elena on Parris Island, S.C.
..... Click the link for more information. , the Spanish explored (1566–68) the interior of the Carolinas and E Tennessee, establishing several short-lived forts.

Charles I asserted England's claim as early as 1629 by granting the territory from lat. 36°N to lat. 31°N (later named Carolina for Charles I) to Sir Robert Heath, but since no settlements were made Heath's charter was forfeited. In 1663, Charles II awarded the area to eight of his prominent supporters, the most active of whom was Anthony Ashley Cooper (Lord Ashley, later 1st earl of ShaftesburyShaftesbury, Anthony Ashley Cooper, 1st earl of,
1621–83, English statesman. In the English civil war he supported the crown until 1644 but then joined the parliamentarians.
..... Click the link for more information. ).

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

Life under Proprietary Rule

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

Several religious groups had freely practiced their faith in the colony until the early 18th cent.; these included Anglicans, dissenters from Britain (see nonconformistsnonconformists,
in religion, those who refuse to conform to the requirements (in doctrine or discipline) of an established church. The term is applied especially to Protestant dissenters from the Church of England.
..... Click the link for more information. ), and French Huguenots. In 1704 the Anglicans, without opposition from the proprietors, managed to deprive the other groups of their religious liberty, and it was not until the English government took action (1706) that religious toleration was restored.

South Carolina as a Royal Colony

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

Conditions for the colonists were now in many respects improved. Pirates such as BlackbeardBlackbeard,
d. 1718, English pirate. His name was probably Edward Teach, Thatch, or Thach. He probably began as a privateer in the War of the Spanish Succession (1701–14), then turned pirate.
..... Click the link for more information. who had infested the coast had been hanged or dispersed. In addition the founding (1733) of Georgia to the south provided a buffer against the Spanish. Loss of territory and some of the colony's fur trade to Georgia was more than compensated for when indigo, supported by British bounty, became (1740s) the colony's second staple. To counterbalance the vast number of African slaves transported to the colony for use as plantation labor, European immigration was encouraged. Germans and Swiss, arriving in the 1730s and 40s, and Scotch-Irish and other migrants from Virginia and Pennsylvania, arriving in the 60s, settled the colony's lower middle country and uplands.

Regional antipathies were generated by economic and social differences; the small, self-sufficient farmer of the up-country, demanding courts, roads, and defense against outlaws and the CherokeeCherokee
, largest Native American group in the United States. Formerly the largest and most important tribe in the Southeast, they occupied mountain areas of North and South Carolina, Georgia, Alabama, and Tennessee.
..... Click the link for more information. , elicited little sympathy from the powerful plantation lords of lower Carolina. In the late 1760s discontent culminated in the formation of the Regulator movementRegulator movement,
designation for two groups, one in South Carolina, the other in North Carolina, that tried to effect governmental changes in the 1760s. In South Carolina, the Regulator movement was an organized effort by backcountry settlers to restore law and order and
..... Click the link for more information. . Finally the legislature gave in to some up-country demands, including the establishment of courts in the region.

The Coming of Revolution

South Carolina's long friendship with the mother country was reflected in trade benefits the colony realized under the Navigation ActsNavigation Acts,
in English history, name given to certain parliamentary legislation, more properly called the British Acts of Trade. The acts were an outgrowth of mercantilism, and followed principles laid down by Tudor and early Stuart trade regulations.
..... Click the link for more information. and in protection provided to it by the strong British navy. However, public sentiment in the colony was transformed by the Stamp ActStamp Act,
1765, revenue law passed by the British Parliament during the ministry of George Grenville. The first direct tax to be levied on the American colonies, it required that all newspapers, pamphlets, legal documents, commercial bills, advertisements, and other papers
..... Click the link for more information. , the Townshend ActsTownshend Acts,
1767, originated by Charles Townshend and passed by the English Parliament shortly after the repeal of the Stamp Act. They were designed to collect revenue from the colonists in America by putting customs duties on imports of glass, lead, paints, paper, and tea.
..... Click the link for more information. , and by British political claims. South Carolinians—Christopher Gadsden, Henry Laurens, and Arthur Middleton—were leaders in the movement for independence, and in Mar., 1776, an independent government of South Carolina was set up with John Rutledge as president.

In the American Revolution the British failed to take Charleston in June, 1776 (see Fort MoultrieFort Moultrie
, on Sullivans Island at the entrance to the harbor of Charleston, S.C.; originally called Fort Sullivan. Constructed by Col. William Moultrie, the fort was renamed for him after he repulsed a British naval attack in June, 1776, in one of the most decisive battles
..... Click the link for more information. ), but Sir Henry Clinton successfully besieged the town in 1780. In the ensuing Carolina campaignCarolina campaign,
1780–81, of the American Revolution. After Sir Henry Clinton had captured Charleston, he returned to New York, leaving a British force under Cornwallis to subordinate the Carolinas to British control.
..... Click the link for more information. the British were ultimately forced to retreat, although they held Charleston until Dec., 1782. In 1786 the site of Columbia was chosen for the new capital; its central location mollified the up-country population. South Carolina ratified the federal Constitution in May, 1788, and replaced the royal charter with a state charter in 1790. Complete religious liberty was established and primogeniture was abolished, but property qualifications for voting and office holding was retained, ensuring planter control of the legislature.

Pre–Civil War Discontent

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

Discontent was aggravated by national tariff policies that were unfavorable to South Carolina's agrarian economy. In 1832 the state passed its nullificationnullification,
in U.S. history, a doctrine expounded by the advocates of extreme states' rights. It held that states have the right to declare null and void any federal law that they deem unconstitutional.
..... Click the link for more information. act, declaring the tariff laws null and void and not binding upon South Carolina citizens. President Andrew Jackson acted firmly for the Union in this crisis, and in 1833 South Carolina repealed its act. Tariff reform that same year brought relief, but the possibility of secession had been broached and was subsequently renewed in reaction to abolitionist attacks and further economic grievances. John C. Calhoun became the acknowledged leader of the whole South with his defense of the states' rightsstates' rights,
in U.S. history, doctrine based on the Tenth Amendment to the Constitution, which states, "The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people.
..... Click the link for more information. doctrine; his political philosophy was later to form the intellectual basis for the ConfederacyConfederacy,
name commonly given to the Confederate States of America
(1861–65), the government established by the Southern states of the United States after their secession from the Union.
..... Click the link for more information. . Some of the state's apologists for slavery, notably Robert B. Rhett, equaled the most radical abolitionists in their zeal.

Civil War and Reconstruction

After Lincoln's election South Carolina was the first state to secede (Dec. 20, 1860) from the Union. Gov. Francis W. Pickens immediately demanded all federal property within the state, including Fort SumterFort Sumter,
fortification, built 1829–60, on a shoal at the entrance to the harbor of Charleston, S.C., and named for Gen. Thomas Sumter; scene of the opening engagement of the Civil War. Upon passing the Ordinance of Secession (Dec.
..... Click the link for more information. , which was held by Union men under Major Robert Anderson. The firing on Sumter by Confederate batteries on Apr. 12, 1861, precipitated the Civil War.

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

The ReconstructionReconstruction,
1865–77, in U.S. history, the period of readjustment following the Civil War. At the end of the Civil War, the defeated South was a ruined land. The physical destruction wrought by the invading Union forces was enormous, and the old social and economic
..... Click the link for more information. period that followed the war was no less disastrous. South Carolina was selected for President Andrew Johnson's moderate program, but the program had only a brief trial before the radical Republicans took over. For a decade the state was ruled by carpetbaggerscarpetbaggers,
epithet used in the South after the Civil War to describe Northerners who went to the South during Reconstruction. Although regarded as transients because of the carpetbags in which they carried their possessions (hence the name carpetbaggers
..... Click the link for more information. and scalawagsscalawags
, derogatory term used in the South after the Civil War to describe native white Southerners who joined the Republican party and aided in carrying out the congressional Reconstruction program. A Republican who came from the north was called a carpetbagger.
..... Click the link for more information. , with the support of African-American votes. The constitution of 1868, which established universal male suffrage and ended property qualifications for office holding, gained the state readmittance (June, 1868) to the Union.

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

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

The Decline of Agriculture and the Rise of Jim Crowism

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

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

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

Voting Rights, Desegregation, and Economic Growth

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

In the 1970s and 80s, South Carolina experienced economic growth similar to other Sun BeltSun Belt
or Sunbelt,
southern tier of the United States, focused on Florida, Texas, Arizona, and California, and extending as far north as Virginia. The term gained wide use in the 1970s, when the economic and political impact of the nation's overall shift in
..... Click the link for more information. states. Low tax rates and a large nonunion workforce have attracted many firms from other states as well as foreign countries. In the 1990s job losses from the closing of naval facilities at North Charleston were largely offset by private undertakings, and the Greenville-Spartanburg area in the northwest was rapidly becoming home to new industries.

Bibliography

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

South Carolina State Information

Phone: (803) 896-0000
www.sc.gov

Area (sq mi):: 32020.20 (land 30109.47; water 1910.73) Population per square mile: 141.30
Population 2005: 4,255,083 State rank: 0 Population change: 2000-20005 6.10%; 1990-2000 15.10% Population 2000: 4,012,012 (White 66.10%; Black or African American 29.50%; Hispanic or Latino 2.40%; Asian 0.90%; Other 2.30%). Foreign born: 2.90%. Median age: 35.40
Income 2000: per capita $18,795; median household $37,082; Population below poverty level: 14.10% Personal per capita income (2000-2003): $24,424-$26,144
Unemployment (2004): 6.80% Unemployment change (from 2000): 3.20% Median travel time to work: 24.30 minutes Working outside county of residence: 27.60%

List of South Carolina counties:

Abbeville County

Aiken County

Allendale County

Anderson County

Bamberg County

Barnwell County

Beaufort County

Berkeley County

Calhoun County

Charleston County

Cherokee County

Chester County

Chesterfield County

Clarendon County

Colleton County

Darlington County

Dillon County

Dorchester County

Edgefield County

Fairfield County

Florence County

Georgetown County

Greenville County

Greenwood County

Hampton County

Horry County

Jasper County

Kershaw County

Lancaster County

Laurens County

Lee County

Lexington County

Marion County

Marlboro County

McCormick County

Newberry County

Oconee County

Orangeburg County

Pickens County

Richland County

Saluda County

Spartanburg County

Sumter County

Union County

Williamsburg County

York County

South Carolina Parks

US National Parks

Charles Pinckney National Historic Site
Congaree National Park
Cowpens National Battlefield

Fort Moultrie National Monument
Fort Sumter National Monument
Historic Camden Revolutionary War Site

Kings Mountain National Military Park
Ninety Six National Historic Site

Urban Parks
James Island County Park
North Charleston Wannamaker County Park

State Parks

Aiken State Natural Area
Andrew Jackson State Park
Baker Creek State Park
Barnwell State Park
Caesars Head State Park
Calhoun Falls State Recreation Area
Charles Towne Landing State Historic Site
Cheraw State Park
Chester State Park
Colleton State Park
Colonial Dorchester State Historic Site
Croft State Natural Area
Devils Fork State Park
Dreher Island State Recreation Area
Edisto Beach State Park
Givhans Ferry State Park

Goodale State Park
Hamilton Branch State Recreation Area
Hampton Plantation State Historic Site
Hickory Knob State Resort Park
Hunting Island State Park
Huntington Beach State Park
Jones Gap State Park
Keowee-Toxaway State Natural Area
Kings Mountain State Park
Lake Greenwood State Recreation Area
Lake Hartwell State Recreation Area
Lake Warren State Park
Lake Wateree State Recreation Area
Landsford Canal State Park
Lee State Natural Area
Little Pee Dee State Park

Musgrove Mill State Historic Site
Myrtle Beach State Park
Oconee State Park
Oconee Station State Historic Site
Paris Mountain State Park
Poinsett State Park
Redcliffe Plantation State Historic Site
Rivers Bridge State Historic Site
Rose Hill Plantation State Historic Site
Sadlers Creek State Recreation Area
Santee State Park
Sesquicentennial State Park
Table Rock State Park
Woods Bay State Natural Area

National Wildlife Refuges
ACE Basin National Wildlife Refuge
Cape Romain National Wildlife Refuge
Carolina Sandhills National Wildlife Refuge
Santee National Wildlife Refuge
Waccamaw National Wildlife Refuge
National Trails
Overmountain Victory National Historic Trail
National Scenic Byways
Ashley River Road
Cherokee Foothills Scenic Byway
Savannah River Scenic Byway
National Heritage Areas
South Carolina National Heritage Corridor
National Forests
Francis Marion & Sumter National Forests

South Carolina

a state on the southern Atlantic coast of the USA. Area, 80,400 sq km. Population, 2.8 million (1976), of which 48 percent is urban. The capital is Columbia.

The southeastern part of South Carolina lies on the Atlantic Coastal Plain. The Piedmont Plateau and spurs of the Appalachian Mountains, with elevations to 1,083 m, are in the northwest. The climate is humid and subtropical. The average January temperature is 5°–10°C, and the average July temperature is about 25°C. Annual precipitation is 1,000–1,200 mm. The state has a dense network of rivers, on some of which are reservoirs and hydroelectric power plants. The chief rivers, the Savannah and the Santee, are navigable to the Fall Line. Coniferous forests are found in the west.

An industrial and agricultural state, South Carolina had an economically active population of 1.05 million in 1975, with 40,000 persons employed in agriculture and 375,000 in manufacturing. The leading branch of industry is the manufacture of textiles, particularly cotton fabric, of which South Carolina is the leading producer in the USA, and synthetics; knit goods and other garments are also produced. Other industries include food processing, metalworking, and the manufacture of chemical fertilizers and wood products. The state also has a pulp and paper industry, a shipbuilding industry, which is centered in Charleston, and an atomic industry, which is represented by the Savannah River Atomic Energy Plant. In 1974, South Carolina’s electric power plants had a total capacity of 8.5 gigawatts, including 1.5 gigawatts from hydroelectric power plants.

Land cultivation accounts for more than 60 percent of agricultural commodity production. The chief crops are cotton, particularly sea island cotton, tobacco, rice, vegetables, and corn. In 1976 there were 700,000 head of cattle and 600,000 swine.

The chief port of South Carolina is Charleston.

South Carolina

Eighth state; adopted the U.S. Constitution on May 23, 1788 (seceded from the Union in December 1860, and was readmitted on June 25, 1868)

State capital: Columbia Nicknames: The Palmetto State; The Rice State; The Swamp State; The Iodine State

State mottoes: Animis opibusque parati (Latin “Ready in soul and resource”); Dum spiro spero (Latin “While I breathe, I hope”)

State American folk dance: Square dance State amphibian: Spotted salamander (Ambystoma macu

latum) State animal: White-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) State beverage: Milk State bird: Carolina wren (Thryothorus ludovicianus) State botanical garden: Botanical Garden at Clemson Uni

versity State butterfly: Eastern tiger swallowtail (Pterourus glaucus) State dance: The shag State dog: Boykin spaniel State fish: Striped bass (Morone saxatilis) State flower: Carolina (yellow) jessamine (Gelsemium sem

pervirens) State fruit: Peach State gem: Amethyst State grass: Indian grass (Sorghastrum nutans) State hospitality beverage: South Carolina-grown tea State insect: Carolina mantid, or praying mantis (Mantis

religiosa) State music: The spiritual; popular music: Beach music State opera: Porgy and Bess State railroad museum: South Carolina Railroad Museum

in Fairfield County State reptile: Loggerhead turtle (Caretta caretta) State shell: Lettered olive (Oliva sayana) State songs: “Carolina”; “South Carolina on My Mind” State spider: Carolina wolf spider (Hogna carolinensis) State stone: Blue granite State tree: Palmetto State waltz: Richardson Waltz State wild game bird: Wild turkey (Meleagris gallopavo)

More about state symbols at:

www.scstatehouse.net/studentpage/

More about the state at:

sc.gov/Portal/Category/factsandhistory

SOURCES:

AmerBkDays-2000, p. 383 AnnivHol-2000, p. 86

STATE OFFICES:

State web site: www.sc.gov

Office of the Governor PO Box 12267 Columbia, SC 29211 803-734-2100 fax: 803-734-5167 www.scgovernor.com

Secretary of State PO Box 11350 Columbia, SC 29211 803-734-2170 fax: 803-734-1661 www.scsos.com

South Carolina State Library PO Box 11469 Columbia, SC 29211 803-734-8666 fax: 803-734-8676 www.state.sc.us/scsl

Legal Holidays:

Confederate Memorial Day	May 10
Day after Christmas	Dec 26
Day after Thanksgiving	Nov 25, 2011; Nov 23, 2012; Nov 29, 2013; Nov 28, 2014; Nov 27, 2015; Nov 25, 2016; Nov 24, 2017; Nov 23, 2018; Nov 29, 2019; Nov 27, 2020; Nov 26, 2021; Nov 25, 2022; Nov 24, 2023

South Carolina

a state of the southeastern US, on the Atlantic: the first state to secede from the Union in 1860; consists largely of low-lying coastal plains, rising in the northwest to the Blue Ridge Mountains; the largest US textile producer. Capital: Columbia. Pop.: 4 147 152 (2003 est.). Area: 78 282 sq. km (30 225 sq. miles)

South Carolina

South Car·o·li·na

South Carolina

South′ Caroli′na

South Carolina

South Carolina,

Facts and Figures

Geography

Economy

Government, Politics, and Higher Education

History

French, Spanish, and English Colonization

Life under Proprietary Rule

South Carolina as a Royal Colony

The Coming of Revolution

Pre–Civil War Discontent

Civil War and Reconstruction

The Decline of Agriculture and the Rise of Jim Crowism

Voting Rights, Desegregation, and Economic Growth

Bibliography

South Carolina State Information

List of South Carolina counties:

South Carolina Parks

South Carolina

South Carolina

Legal Holidays:

South Carolina

South carolina

South Carolina

Synonyms for South Carolina

noun a state in the Deep South

Synonyms

Related Words