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Bible Encyclopedias
South Carolina
1911 Encyclopedia Britannica
or A South Atlantic state of the United States of America, and one of the original thirteen, lying between latitudes 32° 2' and 35° 17' N. and between longitudes 78° 30' and 83° 20' W. It is bounded N. by North Carolina, E. by North Carolina and the Atlantic Ocean, S.E. by the Atlantic Ocean, S.W. and W. by the Savannah, Tugaloo and Chattooga rivers, which separate it from Georgia. Its total area is 30,989 sq. m., and of this 494 sq. m. are water surface.
Surface Features
South Carolina is mainly in the Coastal Plain, and Piedmont Plateau regions, but in the north-west it extends slightly into the Appalachian Mountain region. Locally the Coastal Plain region is known as the low country, and the Piedmont Plateau and Appalachian Mountain regions are known as the up-country. The coast, about 200 m. in length, is generally low. For 60 m. south-west of the North Carolina border it is unbroken and lined with a smooth, hard beach of light-coloured sand, but below this it becomes increasingly broken by estuaries and is lined with flat and low sea-islands that increase in size and number toward the Georgia border. For about so m. back from the coast the Coastal Plain region is occupied very largely by salt marshes. Then, although still continuing flat, the surface rises at the rate of about 22 ft. per mile for 40 m. or more; beyond this it rises more rapidly, reaches a maximum elevation in Lexington (disambiguation)|Lexington county of about 700 ft. above the sea, and becomes increasingly broken into rolling plateaus and deep valleys to the Fall Line, which marks the boundary between the Coastal Plain and the Piedmont Plateau. This line, at which the south-east flowing rivers fall from higher levels in the crystalline rocks of the Piedmont Plateau down to somewhat lower levels in the softer rocks of the Coastal Plain, passes in a general south-west direction from the North Carolina border north-east of Cheraw through Camden and Columbia to the Savannah river opposite Augusta, Georgia. The Piedmont Plateau region, rising gradually from an elevation of about 500 ft. along the Fall Line to moo ft. or more in the north-west, is a plateau broken into undulating ridges and deeply cut valleys. In the small section of South Carolina which is traversed by the Appalachian Mountain region a few mountains of the Blue Ridge rise abruptly from the foot-hills to 3413 ft. in Mt Pinnacle, 3218 ft. in Caesars Head, and 3157 ft. in Table Rock. The highest point in the state is Sassafras Mountain (3548 ft.) in the Blue Ridge and on the North Carolina state line. The mean elevation of the entire state is about 350 ft. The principal rivers rise in the Appalachian Mountains and flow south-east into the Atlantic Ocean. In the middle section the Santee river is formed by the confluence of the Wateree, which is known in North Carolina as the Catawba, and the Congaree, which is in turn formed by the Broad and the Saluda, and the basin of this system embraces about one-half the area of the state. In the north-east the Great Pedee and its tributaries - the Little Pedee, Waccamaw and Lynches - are wholly within the Coastal Plain, but the main stream is a continuation below the Fall Line of the Yadkin river, which rises in the mountains of North Carolina. On the Georgia border the Chattooga river, rising in the Blue Ridge, becomes tributary to the Tugaloo, which in turn becomes tributary to the Savannah. The Combahee and the Edisto, in the southeast, and the Black, north of the Santee, are the principal rivers that rise within the Coastal Plain and flow direct to the ocean. In the Piedmont Plateau region the current of the rivers is usually swift, and not infrequently there are falls or rapids; but in the Coastal Plain region the current becomes sluggish, and in times of high water the rivers spread over wide areas.
Fauna
The principal animals and birds in South Carolina are deer, rabbits, squirrels, opossums, musk-rats, raccoons, minks, geese, ducks, wild turkeys, " partridge " (quail or bobwhite), woodcock and snipe. Foxes, bears, wolves, lynx (wild cats) and otters are very rare, and pumas (panthers) and beavers long ago disappeared. Common among birds of prey are owls, hawks and kites, and there are many turkey buzzards. Song birds are numerous and of many varieties; among them are thrushes, mocking birds, blue birds, robins, wrens, chickadees, warblers, vireos, sparrows, bobolinks (reed birds or rice birds), meadow larks and orioles. In the bays and lower courses of the rivers are porpoises, whiting, sea bass, channel bass, shad, sturgeon, mullet, drum, bluefish, snappers, sheepshead, weakfish or squeteague, groupers, and several other kinds of fish. Oysters, crabs, shrimp and terrapins are also abundant here, and in the inland streams are some pike, perch, trout and catfish.
Flora
From the number of palmettoes along the coast South Carolina has become popularly known as the Palmetto state. Scarcely less conspicuous for some distance from the ocean are the magnolias, the live oaks draped with long gray moss, and the reedcovered marshes. In the swamps there are cypresses and some gum and bay trees. In most of the uplands of the Coastal Plain region the long-leaf pine is predominant, but large water-oaks and undergrowths of several other oaks and of hickories are not uncommon. On the Piedmont Plateau and in some of the more hilly and heavy-soil sections below the Fall Line there is some short-leaf pine, but most of the trees in these sections are of the hardwood varieties: deciduous oaks are most common, but beech, birch, ash, maple, black walnut, chestnut, sycamore and tulip trees also abound. On the mountains are the cucumber tree, laurel, white pine and hemlock. Among indigenous trees, shrubs and vines that bear edible fruits or nuts the state has the blackberry, grape, pawpaw, persimmon, plum, crabapple, hickory, chestnut and hazel nut. The English walnut, pecan, apple, apricot, pear and cherry are also cultivated. Both medicinal and flowering plants are exceptionally abundant; a few of the former are ginseng, snakeroot, bloodroot, hore-hound, thoroughwort, redroot (Ceanothus Americanus ), horse mint and wild flax, and prominent among the latter are jessamines, azaleas, lilies, roses, violets, honey-suckle and golden-rod. Venus's flytrap is found along the coast.
Climate
Along the coast the climate is comparatively mild and equable. At Charleston, for example, the mean winter temperature is 51° F., the mean summer temperature 81° F., the mean annual temperature 66° F., and the range of extremes from 104° F. to 7° F. or 97° F. Toward the north-west the mean winter temperature decreases to 47° F. at Columbia and to 40° F. at Greenville; the mean summer temperature decreases only to 80° F. as far as Columbia, but from there to Greenville decreases to 75° F.; and the mean annual temperature decreases to 62° F., at Columbia and to 58° F. at Greenville. The range of extremes increases to 108° F. (106° to -2°) at Columbia, and then decreases to 102°F. (97° to - 5°) at Greenville. The greatest range of extremes in the state is from I° F. at Santuck, Union county, in February 1899, to 106° F. at Columbia in August 1900. For the whole state the mean annual temperature is about 63° F., the mean summer temperature 79° F., and the mean winter temperature 44° F. In nearly all sections January is the coldest month and July the warmest. The mean annual rainfall for the state is about 49 in., and its distribution is excellent. Extremes for the various sections range only from 53.4 in. at Charleston to 44.4 in. at Stateburg, in Sumter county. Seventeen inches, or more than one-third, falls during the summer, and for the other seasons the range is only from 10.1 in. for autumn to II. 6 in. for winter. Snow is uncommon in the south-east of the state, and whenever there is a snow-storm the snow usually melts as it falls; but in the centre and north-west occasionally covers the ground to a depth of several inches. The prevailing winds are from the south-west along the coast, from the north-east in the north-central section, and from the west in the west section. Tornado winds sometimes occur in the west section, and the east section occasionally suffers from West Indian hurricanes.
Soils
In general the soils of the Piedmont Plateau region are such as have been formed by the disintegration of the underlying rocks. These consist mostly of granite and gneiss, but in the north-central section there is trap-rock, and in the south-east section some slate. On the more level areas of the Piedmont Plateau the granitic soil is a grey mixture of sand and clay, but on the hillsides of the river basins it is a heavy clay of reddish colour, the sand having been washed down to form the soils of the Coastal Plain. In all sections of the Piedmont Plateau the subsoil is a reddish or yellowish clay. In the upper section of the Coastal Plain region the soil is for the most part a loose sand, but lower down it becomes finer, more tenacious, and consequently more fertile.
Agriculture
The number of farms in South Carolina was 93,864 in 1880, 115,008 in 1890 and 154,166 in 1900 - the number for the two last named years not including farms of less than 3 acres and of relatively small productivity. The total acreage in farms in 1880 was 13,457,613 acres, of which 4132 acres were improved; in 1890, 13,184,652 acres, of which 5,255,237 acres were improved; and in 1900, 13,985,014 acres, of which 5,755,741 acres were improved. The total value of farm property, with improvements, machinery and livestock, was $84,079,702 in 1880; $119,849,272 (average value per farm, $1042) in 1890; and $153,591,159 (average value, $989) in 1900; while the average value per acre of farm-land increased from $9.09 in 1890, to $10.98 in 1900. Of farms of woo acres and more there were 1635 in 1880 and 1010 in 1900; of between 500 acres and woo acres there were 3693 in 1880 and 2314 in 1900; of 50 acres and less than loo acres there were 13,612 in 1880 and 29,944 in 1900; of 20 acres and less than 50 acres there were 3688 in 1880 and 5261 in 1900. Farms worked by owners numbered 46,645 in 1880 and 60,471 in 1900; by cash tenants, 21,974 in 1880 and 57,046 in 1900; by share tenants, 25,245 in 1880 and 37,838 in 1900. Of the 155,355 farms in the state in 1900, 85,381 were worked by negroes of whom 22.2% were owners of their farms, 49.7% cash tenants and 27.9% share tenants.
The state long out-ranked all other states in the growing of rice, but this industry has declined, and South Carolina is now surpassed by both Louisiana and Texas. Cotton is the state's most valuable crop. The cotton product of the state in 1889 was 747, 1 9 0 bales, in 1899 it was 881,422 bales, and in 1909, 1,095,000 bales. The principal cereals, with the amounts and values of the crops in 1899 and 1909 are: Indian corn, 17,429,610 bush. ($9,149,808) in 1899 and 37,041,000 bush. ($33,337,000) in 1909; wheat, 1,017,319 bush. ($958,158) in 1899 and 3,810,000 bush. ($5,563, 000) in 1909. Oats, 2,661,670 bush. ($1,226,575) in 1899 and 4,431,000 bush. ($3,190,000) in 1909. Rice, 47,360,128 lb ($1,366,528) in 1899, on 23,726 farms, nearly half of the total number (48,155) of rice farms in the United States, which, however, decreased to 476,000 bush. ($433,000) in 1909. The rye crop was 1 9,37 2 bush. ($18,405) in 1899, and 39,000 bush. ($55,000) in 5909. Other important crops are: tobacco 19,895,970 Ib ($1,297,293) in 1899, and 32,000,000 Ib ($2,336,000) in 1909; hay and forage, 213,249 tons ($2,304,734) in 1899, and of hay alone 81,000 tons (1,256,000) in 1909; potatoes, 3,369,957 bush. ($1,538,205) in 1899 and 765,000 bush. ($880,000) in 1909.
Mining
The value of the mineral product of the state was $ 1, 8 34, 1 34 in 1902, $2,305,203 in 1907 and $2,081,001 in 1908. The total value of the products of manufacturing industries based on mining was $18,565,682 in 1900, or 17.2% of the total value of the product of all manufacturing industries. The most valuable single mineral is phosphate rock, which is found in a belt 70 m. long by 30 m. wide, extending from the mouth of the Broad river near Port Royal in the south-east to the headwaters of the Wando river in the north-east. The chief deposits are found in Berkeley, Dorchester, Charleston, Colleton and Beaufort counties, at the bottom of rivers, 20 to 30 ft. in depth, and on land at an elevation but little above mean tide. Its commercial value for the manufacture of fertilizer was established in 1867, and the mining of it began soon afterwards in the Ashley River region. The amount mined in 1868 was 12,262 long tons; in 1902, 313,365 long tons; and in 1908, 225,495 long tons, valued at 989,881. The value of other minerals produced in 1908 was as follows: Granite, $297,874; clay, $110,636; and monazite, $ 1 3,4 4. The product and value of mineral waters was 786,754 gals. ($195,182) in 1907 and 271,572 gals. ($ 70,937) in 1908. Minerals which were not mined commercially in 1902 include asbestos, which occurs in Spartanburg and Pickens counties; fullers'-earth; graphite in Spartanburg and Greenville counties; iron ores in the north and north-west portions of the state; iron pyrites in Spartanburg and York counties; talc, bismuth, ochre, pyrites, ' galena, brown coal, malachite, phosphate of lead and barytes.
Manufactures
The number of factories in South Carolina in 1900 was 1369, in 1905, 1399 1; the amount of capital invested in such establishments was $62,750,027 in 1900, and in 1905 $113,422,224; the value of products in 1900 was $53,335,811; in 1905, $79,376,262; and the average number of wage earners in 1 The special census of 1905 was confined to manufactures under the factory system, and the statistics above for 1900 have been reduced to the same standard to make them comparable with the statistics for 1905.
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?? n d _ Q {l' Same Scale Fa r Sylvania G°ethe s 0 i 9 Daniels `T le A 8g 82 1900, 47,025, and in 1905, 59,44 1. Except in number, the rural establishments showed greater increases than the urban.' The number of rural establishments in 1900 was 1174; in 1905, 1179; and the number of urban establishments in 1900, 195; in 1905, 220; but the capitalization of the rural establishments increased from $50,057,922 in 1900 to $97,942,185 in 1905; while that of the urban increased from $12,692,105 to $15,480,039; the value of the products of the rural establishments increased from $41,930,816 to $ 6 4, 88 7,74 8; while that of the urban establishments increased from $11,404,995 to $14,488,514; and the number of employes in rural establishments increased from 36,616 to 50,744, while those in urban establishments increased from 7409 to 8697. More than half of the manufacturing establishments were engaged in the manufacture of cotton goods, of lumber and timber, of fertilizers, of cotton-seed oil and cake, of lumber and planing-mill products, of cars and general shop construction, and of hosiery and knit goods.
The manufacture of cotton goods was much the most important industry in 1900 and 1905, and showed a remarkable growth. The capital invested in this industry was $39,258,946 in 1900 and $ 82 ,337,4 2 9 in 1905; the value of the products was $29,723,919 in 1900 and $49,437,644 in 1905; the average number of wageearners was 30,201 in 1900 and 37,271 in 1905; and the amount of wages, $5,066,840 in 1900 and $7,701,689 in 1905. The number of establishments in 1900 was 80, and in 1905, 127; the number of producing spindles in 1900 was 1,431,349, and in 1905, 2,864,092; and the number of looms in 1900, 42,663, and in 1905, 72,702. The use of domestic cotton increased from 485,024 bales in 1900 to 555,467 bales in 1905, and the amount paid for this cotton increased from $14,909,520 to $30,451,159. In the same period the amount of foreign cotton used increased from 210 bales in 1900 to 2633 bales in 1905, and the amount paid for it from $20,026 in 1900 to $318,020 in 1905. The principal product of the mills was plain cloths for printing or converting, of a quality finer than No. 28 warp, of which there were produced 322,850,981 sq. yds., valued at $14,007,496 in 1905, as compared with 97,343,526 sq. yds., valued at $3,171,198 in 1900. Other products and their values in 1900 and 1905 were as follows: brown or bleached sheetings and shirtings, 283,105,383 sq. yds. ($11,553073) in 1900 and 248,777,474 sq. yds. ($12,035,854) in 1905; yarns for sale, 24,859,616 lb ($3,461,090) in 1900 and 31,645,397 lb ($6,217,795) in 1905; drills, 116,467,224 sq. yds. ($5,375,017) in 1900 and 88,551,799 sq. yds. ($5,344,146) in 1905; twills and sateens, 11,379 712 sq. yds. ($4 8 5,4 8 4) in 1900 and 45,220,488 sq. yds. ($2,175,651) in 1905.
The value of the products of other industries in 1900 and 1905 were as follows: Lumber and timber, $4,942,362 in 1900 and $6,791,451 in 1905; cotton-seed oil and cake, $3,103425 in 1900 and $5,462,818 in 1905; fertilizers, $4,882,506 in 1900 and $3,637,576 in 1905; lumber and planing-mill products, including sash, doors and blinds, $1,016,328 in 1900 and $1,478,581 in 1905; hosiery and knit goods, $392,237 in 1900 and $1,078,682 in 1905; cars and general shop construction and repairs by steam railway companies, $691,361 in 1900 and $1,080,990 in 1905.
Forests.-The principal lumber resource of South Carolina is yellow (or " southern ") pine, and there is also a small quantity of cypress. The stand of yellow pine in the state in 1880 was estimated at 5316 million ft.; and in 1905 it was estimated at 3363 million ft. The value of the lumber product increased from $1,108,880 in 1850 to $5,207,184 in 1900. Some use is also made of the
forest resources of the state in the manufacture of veneer, paper pulp, turpentine and other chemicals.
Fisheries.-The total yield of the state's fisheries in 1902 was 8, 1 74,4 6 3 lb, valued to the fishermen at $263,023, which is an increase over that of 1897 of 2,894,017 lb and of $52,567 in value. The number of persons employed in 1902 was 3713, an increase over 1897 of 1574; the amount of capital invested in 1902 was $320,723, an increase over 1897 of $146,369. The oyster fishery represented in 1902 about 45% of the entire value of the state's fisheries, the catch in that year being 689,700 bush., valued at $118,460, an increase over 1897 of 474,800 bush. and $73,100. The amount and value of other catches in 1902 were as follows: whiting, 606,300 lb ($30,118); sea bass, 7 0 9,5 5 lb ($27,364); shad, 434,133 lb ($20,782); clam, 28,133 bush. ($12,940); shrimp, 306,500 lb ($ 12,452); terrapin, 27,521 lb ($5,580); mullet, 138,000 lb ($3782); jewfish, 79,500 lb ($373 8); channel bass, 102,000 lb ($355 0); squeteague, 85,700 lb ($3 0 59); shark, 90,000 lb ($1800). Other fish taken include the sheepshead, drum, grouper, striped bass and croaker.
Transportation.-The chief railway systems of South Carolina are the Southern, the Seaboard Air line and the Atlantic Coast line. The railway mileage of the state was 3335.48 m. on the 1st of January 1909. Inland water communication is furnished by several navigable rivers. Between 1816 and 1826 the state expended upon internal improvements $1,712,626, a large part of which was appropriated for building canals round the rapids of five rivers; 1 In this class are included the manufactures of only four cities, Charleston, Columbia, Greenville and Spartanburg, which in 1900 had populations of 8000 or more.
between 1878 and 1900 the United States government expended $6,063,692 upon seven rivers and three harbours. The Savannah River is navigable from Savannah to Augusta, Georgia (202 m.), where its mean low water depth is 3 ft., and from Augusta to Petersburg, Georgia, for flatboats. Other navigable streams are the Waccamaw, to Bucksville (50 m.); the Great Pedee to Smith's Mills (52 m.); the Cooper, to Strawberry Ferry (30 m.); the Ashley, to Lambs (13 m.); the Edisto, to Guignard Landing (260 m.); the South Edisto, to the North Edisto (11 m.); the Beaufort, to the Coosaw River (11 m.); and the Santee, to the confluence of the Congaree and Wateree rivers, which are navigable for flatboats. The ports of entry are Charleston, Beaufort and Georgetown.
Population.-The population in 1880 was 995,577; in 1890, 1,151,149; in 1900, 1,340,316; and in 1910, 1,515,400.2 In only one other state, Mississippi, in 1900 the negroes exceeded the whites; in South Carolina 58.4% of the total, or 782,321, were negroes or of negro descent, and 41-6% were whites; but there was a slight falling-off in the percentage of negroes, this having been 59-9% in 1890. Of the total population, 99-6% were native-born. There were, in 1900, 552,436 native whites; 5,5 28 persons of foreign birth, 121 Indians and 67 Chinese. Of the inhabitants born in the United States, 29,521 were natives of North Carolina, and 13,544 were natives of Georgia, and of the foreign-born 2075 were Germans, and 1131 were natives of Ireland. Of the total population, 17,628 were of foreign parentage-i.e. either one or both parents were foreignborn-and 2503 were of German and 1607 of Irish parentage on both the father's and the mother's side. In 1906 there were in the state 655,933 members of different religious denominations, of whom the Baptist bodies were the strongest with 341,456 communicants; the Methodist bodies had 249,169 members; 35,533 were Presbyterians; 12,652 were Lutherans; 10,317 were Roman Catholics; and 8557 were Protestant Episcopalians. From 1890 to 1900 the urban population (i.e. in places with 4000 inhabitants) increased from 84,459 to 157,111; the semi-urban population (i.e. population of incorporated places), or the approximate equivalent, having less than 4000 inhabitants) increased from 93,551 to 104,352; while the rural population (i.e. population outside of incorporated places) increased from 973,139 to 1,078,853. The' principal cities are Charleston, Columbia (the capital), Spartanburg, Greenville, Sumter, Anderson and Rock Hill.
Administration.-South Carolina was governed from 1670 to 1719 under the Carolina provincial charter of 1665, from 1719 to 1776 under commissions and instructions from the Crown, and after 1776 under the constitutions of 1 77 6, 1 77 8, 1790, 1865, 1868 and 1895. An amendment to the constitution may be proposed by either house of the legislature; if it is approved by two-thirds of the members elected to each it must then be submitted to the people to be voted on at the next general election for members of the state house of representa-. tives, and if it receives a favourable vote of a majority and subsequently a majority vote in each house of the next general assembly it becomes part of the constitution. A constitutional convention to revise the constitution may be called by a twothirds vote in each house, subsequently ratified by a majority vote of the electors of the state.
| 1 79 0, 2 49, 0 73; | 1800, 345,59 1; 1810, 415,115; | 1820, | 502,741; | 1830, | 581,185; 18 4 0 , 705,606. | 594,398; 1850, 668,507; | 1860, | 703,708; | 1870, Effective protection against a possible restoration of negro rule seems to have been aimed at in the suffrage provisions of the new constitution. Two plans of registration were provided, one temporary, the other permanent. Up to the 1st of January 1898 all persons otherwise qualified could register, provided they could read any section of the constitution or understand and explain it when read to them by the registration officer, and all persons so registered were qualified voters for life. The obvious intention was to disfranchise illiterate negroes, but not illiterate whites. Under the permanent plan, however, this distinction will gradually disappear. Those who should apply for registration after the 1st of January 1898 must be able to read and write any section of the constitution submitted to them by the registration officer, or must show that they have paid all taxes for the previous year on property worth $300 or more. Other requirements for voters 2 According to previous censuses the population was as follows: are: residence in the state for two years (except that ministers in charge of organized churches and teachers of public schools need have a residence in the state of six months only), in the county for one year, and in the polling precinct for four months, and the payment six months before election-time of a poll-tax. Idiots, insane persons, paupers, convicts and persons convicted of certain crimes (enumerated in the constitution) and not pardoned by the governor are disqualified from registering or voting. Under the constitution of 1895 the governor holds office for two years and is eligible for re-election. The governor and the lieutenant-governor must be thirty years old and must have been citizens of the United States and citizens and residents of the state for five years. The governor has a veto power, extending to the separate items in appropriation bills, which may be overcome by a two-thirds majority in each house of the General Assembly; three days (excluding Sunday) are allowed to the governor for vetoing bills or joint resolutions passed by the General Assembly, or only two days if the General Assembly adjourn before three days have elapsed. The lieutenant-governor is the presiding officer of the senate, and succeeds the governor if the governor is removed from office by impeachment, death, resignation or otherwise. Other administrative officers of the state, each elected for two years, are a secretary of state, a comptroller-general, an attorneygeneral, a treasurer, an adjutant and inspector-general, and a superintendent of education. The state 'legislature is officially styled the General Assembly, and is composed of a Senate and a House of Representatives. The House of Representatives is composed of 124 members elected every two years and apportioned among the counties according to population; the Senate of one member from each county, elected for a term of four years, the term of one-half of the senators ending every two years. Annual sessions of the General Assembly are held, beginning on the second Tuesday in January. In 1904 the legislature submitted an amendment providing for biennial sessions and it was ratified by a popular vote, but inasmuch as the constitution requires a subsequent ratification by the legislature, the question came up again in the session of 1905. Attention was then called to the fact that the new amendment would make other changes in the constitu tion necessary, and the matter was referred to a legal commission. The judicial power is vested in a Supreme Court and two circuit courts, a court of common pleas having civil jurisdiction, and a court of general sessions having criminal jurisdiction. The supreme court consists of a chief justice and three associates, elected by a joint viva voce vote of the General Assembly for a term of eight years. In each of the eight circuits is a circuit judge elected in a similar manner for four years. The magistrates or justices of the peace are appointed by the governor - d wise provision, because under the constitution of 1868 negroes were frequently elected who could neither read nor write. Local GovernmentThe unit of local government in South Carolina is the county, which, the state constitution provides, " shall be a body politic and corporate." The constitution also provides for the establishment of a new county, " whenever one-third of the qualified electors within the area of each section of an old county proposed to be cut off to form a new county shall petition the governor .for the creation of a new county," whereupon the governor " shall order an election within a reasonable time thereafter," and if two-thirds of the voters vote " yes," the General Assembly at the next session shall establish the new county, provided that no section of a county shall be cut off without the consent of two-thirds of those voting in such section; that no new county " shall contain less than one one hundred and twenty-fourth part of the whole number of inhabitants of the state, nor shall it have less assessed taxable property than one and one-half millions of dollars, nor shall it contain an area of less than four hundred square miles "; and that " no old county shall be reduced to less area than five hundred square miles, to less assessed taxable property than two million dollars, nor to a smaller population than fifteen thousand inhabitants." The General Assembly may alter county lines at any time, provided the proposed change is sanctioned by two-thirds of the voters in the section proposed to be cut off. The General Assembly may also provide for the consolidation of two or more counties if a majority of the voters concerned approve, " but such election shall not be held oftener than once in four years in the same counties." Counties are divided into townships and under the constitution each " shall constitute a body politic and corporate," but in 1910 there were no separate township govern-' ments, the existing division of counties into townships being for the purpose of convenience in adjusting taxes. Municipal government machinery is prescribed by a general state law which provides for the acquirement by municipalities of waterworks and lightingplants, the levying and collection of taxes and? the issuing of licences, and regulates bonded debts. Cities and towns are permitted to exempt, by ordinance, certain classes of manufactories from all taxes except for school purposes, provided such ordinances are ratified by a majority of the electors. Miscellaneous Laws. - The elaborate precautions taken to prevent lynching are a peculiarity of the constitution of 1895. Any officer - state, county or municipal - who, through negligence or connivance, permits a prisoner to be seized and lynched, forfeits his office and becomes ineligible to hold any office of trust or profit in the state unless pardoned by the governor. The county in which the crime occurs is, without regard to the conduct of the officers, liable in damages of not less than $2000 to the legal representative of the person lynched; the county is authorized, however, to recover this amount from the persons engaged in the lynching. A fourth unusual feature is that South Carolina has applied the principle of direct primary nominations to all elective officials from governor down. United States senators are in practice elected by the people, for the legislature merely registers the result of the primary. Since an absolute majority of the votes cast is required, it is often necessary to hold a second primary in which only the two leading candidates are considered (see act of the 22nd of December 1888, and ex parte Sanders, 53 S.C. 478). South Carolina is the only state in which divorce is not allowed in any circumstances; this is a constitutional provision. Divorces were not permitted before 1868 and the provisions of the constitution of that year and of an act of 1872, permitting divorce (for adultery or for wilful desertions for two years) were repealed in 1878. A married woman may hold, acquire and dispose of property as if she were single, and the descent of the estate of a husband dying intestate is the same as that of a wife dying intestate, the survivor being entitled to onethird of the estate if there are one or more children, and to one-half of the estate if there are no children or other lineal descendants. Tenancy by courtesy was abolished in 1883, but the right of dower still obtains; the widow's acceptance of a distributive share in her husband's estate, however, bars her dower. A homestead in lands to the value of $t000, the products of the same, and personal property to the value of $500 which belong to the head of a family or to the husband and wife jointly are exempt from attachment, levy or sale except for taxes, purchase money or debts contracted in making improvements or repairs. The exemption of the homestead continues for the benefit of the widow or for the children alone, whether minors or not, provided it is occupied by some of them, and it may be partitioned among the children regardless of debts. The number of hours' labour for operatives and employes in cotton and woollen mills is limited to sixty a week and must not exceed eleven in any one day, except for making up lost time to the extent of sixty hours in any one year. A prohibition bill introduced in the legislature of 1892 was, through the influence of the Tillman Reform faction, replaced by a substitute measure, which established a dispensary system, based upon the Gothenburg plan. This system went into effect in July 1893 and was in force for thirteen years. Under it the state bought liquors, graded them in accordance with a chemical analysis, and sold them to consumers in packages of not less than one half-pint; the dispensaries were open from sunrise to sunset, no sales were made to minors or drunkards, and no liquor was drunk on the premises; there was a state dispensary commissioner and a state board of control; and the profits were divided between the state, the counties and the municipalities, the share of the state being devoted to educational purposes. The state dispensary was opposed by the old conservative faction, by the saloon keepers, and by the radical prohibitionists. The Supreme Court of the state by a vote of two to one decided in April 1894 that the law was unconstitutional, but in October a change in the personnel of the court brought about a reversal. The Supreme Court of the United States held on the 18th of January 1897 that the provisions of the statute forbidding the importation of liquor by anyone except certain state officials were in violation of the interstate commerce clause of the constitution ( Scott v. Donald, 165 U.S. 58). Under the Brice bill, passed in 1904 and amended in 1905, which gave the people of each county the choice between dispensary and prohibition, with the proviso that if they adopt the latter they must pay the extra taxes necessary to enforce it, several counties adopted prohibition; and in 1907 the state dispensary system was abolished, all impure liquors were declared contraband, each county was required to vote to prohibit the sale of liquors or to establish a dispensary, the sale of intoxicating liquors was forbidden outside of cities and towns, and sales may be made only through county dispensaries, which may not sell at night or on Sunday, or to inebriates or minors. The constitution of 1895 forbade a restoration of the saloon system in its original form. An act of 1909 made it a misdemeanour to solicit orders for liquor in the state. EducationAs. early as 1710 public school education was provided for indigent children. The present free-school system was established in 1868. The educational system is under the supervision of the state superintendent of education, with the assistance of a board composed of the governor and not exceeding seven other persons appointed by the governor. The constitution of 1895 ordered a three-mills levy. The present high-school system dates from an act of 1907; and in1909-1910there were 131 high schools, six of which required a full four-years' course. The per capita expenditure according to enrolment was $4.98 for each white pupil and $1.42 for each negro pupil in 1899; in 1909 it was $10.34 for each white pupil and $1.70 for each negro. The schools are supported by taxation; they formerly received the profits from the dispensary. The maximum local tax levy is eight-mills for elementary schools and two-mills for high schools. In1908-1909the total expenditures for 5066 public schools (2712 for whites, 2354 for negroes) in the state was $1,898,886, of which $1,590,733 was for whites. The average yearly salary in1908-1909in white schools was $479.79 for men and $249.13 for women teachers; in negro schools the corresponding salaries were $118.17 and $91.45. The state supports wholly or in part, the university of South Carolina (before 1906 South Carolina College), established at Columbia in 1801; the South Carolina Military Academy (locally called " The Citadel ") established at Charleston in 1845, Clemson Agricultural College (1889), at Clemson, Oconee county, with departments of agriculture, chemistry, mechanics and electricity, textiles and military, and academic and preparatory courses; Winthrop Normal and Industrial College for Girls (1895) at Rock Hill, and the Coloured Normal, Industrial, Agricultural and Mechanical College (1896) at Orangeburg. Among the other higher institutions of learning are the college of Charleston (1790, non-sectarian), Newberry College (1858, Lutheran) at Newberry, the Presbyterian College of South Carolina (1880) at Clinton, Erskine College (1839, Associate Reformed Presbyterian) at Due West, Furman University (1852, Baptist) at Greenville, and Wofford College (1854, Methodist Episcopal South) at Spartanburg; for women, Converse College (1890, non-sectarian) at Spartanburg, the College for Women (1890, Presbyterian) at Columbia, Columbia College (1859, nonsectarian) near Columbia, Greenville Female College (1854, Baptist) at Greenville, Lander Female College (1872, until 1903 at Williamston, and until 1904 the Williamston Female College, Methodist Episcopal South) at Greenwood, and the Due West Female College (1859, Associate Reformed Presbyterian) at Due West; and for negroes, Claflin University (1869, Methodist Episcopal) at Orangeburg, Allen University (1881, African Methodist Episcopal) at Columbia, and several normal and industrial schools. There are theological seminaries at Columbia (1828, Presbyterian), at Due West (1837, Associate Reformed Presbyterian), and at Mount Pleasant (1898, Lutheran). Charities, eec. - The state has no board of public charities, and under the present constitution the county commissioners are overseers of the poor, except in Charleston and Columbia whose poor are provided for by the municipal authorities. The county commissioners of each county have charge of the poor-house of the county, appoint its superintendent, physician and other officials, and report annually to the judge of the Court of General Sessions, who submits this report to the grand jury. Each poor-house must have sufficient tillable land to give employment to all paupers who are able to work. There is an institution for the deaf, dumb and blind (1849, since 1857 a state institution) at Cedar Springs, and a state hospital for the insane, founded in 1821 at Columbia by Samuel Farrow (1760-1824) and opened in 1828. The state penitentiary is also at Columbia. FinanceThe revenues of the state are derived mainly from the general property tax, fees, licences, dispensary profits and phosphate royalties. At the beginning of the Civil War the public debt was $3,814,862.91 and the credit of the state was sound. The obligations contracted in support of the war, amounting to about $3,000,000 were of course nullified by the Fourteenth Amendment. There were so many irregularities and so much corruption connected with the bond issues of reconstruction days that it is impossible to discover their exact amount. Estimates of the total debt in 1872 vary from $28,000,000 to $33,000,000. The first step towards repudiation was taken by the " carpet-bag " legislature of 1873, when it provided for the issue of consolidated bonds to replace the outstanding obligations at the rate of fifty cents on the dollar. Nearly six million dollars worth were declared null and void because issued without authority of law. After the return of the Democrats to power in 1877 a further investigation was made and the government finally assumed responsibility for $6,406,606. The greater part of this was funded under an act of October 1892, and provision was made for a sinking fund, derived mainly from the royalty on phosphate beds. In 1909 the funded debt amounted to $6,526,885. The legislature is forbidden to create any further debt except for the ordimary current business of the state, unless the proposition he submitted to the voters of the state and approved by a two-thirds majority. After the abolition of the state dispensary system in 1907 a State Dispensary Commission was created for winding up the business of the dispensary and distributing about $900,000 (of which $ioo,000 was still due) of dispensary funds. Two companies brought suit for moneys owed for liquor sold to the state dispensary; the commission resisted the suit on the ground that as a court and as a representative of the state it could not be sued; the circuit court and the circuit court of appeals overruled this plea and put the funds into the hands of a receiver; but in April 1909 this famous cause was closed by the decision of the Federal Supreme Court, upholding the commission and restoring to it the fund. Banks are subject to the supervision of an examiner and in addition are required to make weekly reports to the comptroller-general. HistoryThe history of South Carolina may be divided into four main periods: the period of discovery and exploration (1520-1663); the period of proprietary rule (1663-1719); the period of royal rule (1719-1776); and the period of statehood (from 1776). The first Europeans to visit the coast were a party of Spaniards from Cuba in 1520. In 1562 some French Protestants under Jean Ribaut made an unsuccessful attempt to establish a colony near the mouth of the Broad river (see Port Royal). In 1629, Charles I. granted to his attorneygeneral, Sir Robert Heath, all the territory lying between the 31st and the 36th parallels and extending through from sea to sea, but no settlement was made, and in 1663 the same territory was granted to the earl of Clarendon (1609-1674), and six other favourites of Charles II. A second charter in 1665 extended the limits to 29° and 36° 30'. The proprietors were to legislate for the colony " by and with the advice, assent and approbation of the freemen." They were empowered, though not required, to grant religious freedom to Dissenters. Land was held in free and common socage, and the statute quia emptores was suspended, thus allowing subinfeudation. Concessions or immigration circulars were issued in 1663 and 1665 offering most liberal terms to prospective colonists. This policy was soon abandoned. In the Fundamental Constitution, adopted by the proprietary board in 1669 John Locke and Lord Ashley (1621-1683) prepared for the colony an elaborate feudal system of government which would have been obsolete even in Europe (see North Carolina). Subsequent issues in 1670, 1682 (Jan. 12), 1682 (Aug. 17), and 1698 modified the original plan to some extent. The constitutions possess more than a mere antiquarian interest. They helped to arouse that feeling of discontent among the colonists which culminated in the overthrow of proprietary rule, and they encouraged the large plantation system which constituted the foundation of the slave-holding aristocracy. The first permanent English settlement was made in April 1670 at Albemarle Point, on the west bank of the Ashley river, but as the situation proved unfavourable the government and most of the people moved over in 1680 to the neck between the Ashley and the Cooper rivers, the site of the present city of Charleston. The area of settlement was gradually extended along the coast in both directions, but did not penetrate far into the interior. The province was soon divided into three coast counties: Berkeley, extending from the Stono river to the Sewee and including Charleston; Craven to the north of the Sewee; and Colleton to the south of the Stono. In addition to those settlers who came direct from England there were many Englishmen from Barbadoes and French Protestants, both of which classes exercised considerable influence upon the history of the colony. It was largely due to the Barbadian connexion that South Carolina was for many years more closely associated with the island than with the continental colonies. Her political history during the colonial era is the story of a struggle between popular and prerogative interests, first between the people and the lords proprietors, later between the people and the Crown. From 1670 to 1700 the principal questions at issue were the refusal of the settlers to subscribe to the numerous editions of the Fundamental Constitutions and disputes over the collection of quit-rents. Concessions were finally made which brought the government more directly under popular control. In 1692 the legislature was divided into two houses, and in 1693 the commons house, elected by the people, secured the privilege of initiating legislation. The truce was followed by a controversy between Churchmen and Dissenters. A test act requiring members of the assembly to conform to the Church of England and to take the sacrament of the Eucharist according to the rites and usages of that Church (1704) was defeated only through the intervention of the Whig House of Lords in England. By an act of the 30th of November 1706, which remained in force until the War of American Independence, the Church of England was made the established religion. After a few years of peace and prosperity there came another attack upon the proprietors which culminated in the revolution of 1719 and the downfall of proprietary rule. Acting on the advice of Chief Justice Nicholas Trott (1663-1740) the proprietors adopted a reactionary policy, vetoed several popular laws, and refused to afford protection from the attacks of the Indians. The people rebelled, overthrew the existing government and elected their leader James Moore (1667-1723) as governor. The result of the revolution was accepted in England, and the colony at once came under royal control, although the rights of the proprietors were not extinguished by purchase until 1729. Theoretically South Carolina and North Carolina constituted a single province, but, as the settlements were far apart, there were always separate local governments. Until 1691 each had its own governors, from 1691 to 1712 there was usually a governor at Charleston and a deputy for the northern settlements, and after 1712 there were again separate governors. The first attempt to define the boundary was made in 1732, but the work was not completed until 1815. The change from proprietary to royal government scarcely affected at all the constitutional development of the province. The popular branch of the assembly continued to encroach upon the powers of the governor and council. By 1760 the council had almost ceased to exercise any real control over legislation. They rarely initiated or amended a bill of any kind, never a revenue measure. Public officials chosen nominally by the General Assembly were really the nominees of the lower house. In the conduct of his executive functions the governor found himself constantly hampered by committees of the Assembly. In other words, whether they were conscious of the fact or not, the South Carolinians throughout the colonial era were tending towards independence. The demands of the British government after 1760 were not especially unreasonable or tyrannical, but they were made upon a people who were too long accustomed to having their own way. As the spirit of rebellion developed the sentiment in favour of colonial union gained in strength. Thomas Lynch (c. 1720-1776), Christopher Gadsden (1724-1805), and John Rutledge (1739-1800) attended the Stamp Act Congress of 1765, an intercolonial committee of correspondence was appointed in 1773, and delegates were sent to the Continental Congress in 1774 and 1775. A council of safety appointed by a Provincial Congress practically took charge of the government in June 1775. The Assembly was formally dissolved on the 15th of September, Governor William Campbell (d. 1778) fled from the town, and royal government came to an end. In the conflict with the mother country the people had the advantage of long experience in fighting. There had been wars with the Spanish in 1686, 1702-04, 1740, with the Spanish and French in 1706, with pirates in 1718, with the Yemassee Indians in 1715 and the Cherokees in 1760-61, and a slave uprising in 1739. The state suffered severely during the War of Independence, the numbers and influence of the Loyalists serving to embitter the conflict. In the summer of 1776 the British, under Sir Henry Clinton and Sir Peter Parker attempted to capture Charleston and summon the South Carolina Loyalists to their standard, but on the 28th of June the fleet was repulsed in an assault on Fort Moultrie. Clinton returned, however, early in 1780, and, as he surrounded the city on all sides with an overwhelming force, General Benjamin Lincoln, who was defending it with about 7000 men, surrendered (May 12) to avoid certain destruction. The British thereupon overran the whole state, and until near the close of the war a new American army, first under Horatio Gates and later under Nathanael Greene, was engaged in driving them out. The principal engagements fought within the state were Camden (Aug. 16, 1780), King's Mountain (Oct. 7, 1780), Hobkirk's Hill (April 25, 1781), and Eutaw Springs (Sept. 8, 1781). The most significant feature in the early history of the state was the struggle between the Low Country, which centred about Charleston, and the Up Country, which was settled largely by Scotch-Irish, who came down the mountain valleys from North Carolina, Virginia and Pennsylvania. The great planters of the low country had wealth, the small farmers of the up country had numbers. Under the first state constitution, adopted in March 1776, the low country element maintained the ascendancy which they had possessed during the colonial period. In 1786 they were forced to consent to the removal of the seat of government to Columbia (final removal, 1790) and in 1808 to a reapportionment of the representation, based partly on wealth and partly on numbers. There was to be one representative for every sixty-second part of the whole number of white inhabitants of the state and one for every sixty-second part of the taxes raised by the legislature. More harmonious relations were in time established, partly because of improvements in the methods of transport, but mainly as a result of outside pressure in the form of criticism of slavery and the adoption by the national government of an economic policy which favoured the manufacturers at the expense of the agricultural interests. In 1832 there was a majority from each section in favour of Nullification, and the legislature called the famous Nullification Convention, which met at Charleston the 19th of November, and five days later passed the Ordinance of Nullification declaring that certain acts of Congress imposing import duties " are unauthorized by the Constitution of the United States and violate the true meaning and intent thereof, and are null and void and no law, nor binding upon this state, its officers or citizens." President Jackson was ready to use force against the state; and the tariff, over which the whole disagreement had arisen, was changed in such a way as to effect a compromise with the state. From about 1828 to 1861 South Carolina superseded Virginia as the leader of the South. She stood for states' rights and free trade. John C. Calhoun was her political philosopher and George McDuffie her political economist. Her secession, on the 29th of December 1860, was followed by the formation of the Southern Confederacy, the bombardment of Fort Sumter (April 12, 1861) and the Civil War (1861-65). Although few battles were fought within her limits, because of the distance from the frontier, South Carolina made many sacrifices in the interest of her section. With a white population of 291,300 at the beginning of the conflict, the state put into the field during the four years 62,838 effective men, with an enrolment, including reserves, of 71,083, of whom 2 2% were killed on the field or died in prison. General W. T. Sherman's march across the state (February - March, 1865) was accomplished by an enormous destruction of property by fire and pillage. All the misfortunes of the war itself are insignificant when compared with the sufferings of the people during the era of Reconstruction (1865-1871). In accordance with the liberal views of President Andrew Johnson, the white people assumed control of affairs shortly after the close of hostilities, and James L. Orr (1822-1873) was chosen governor. Congress reversed this policy (1867), disfranchised the majority of the whites and transferred political power to negroes, Northern adventurers and disreputable native whites. There followed an orgy of crime and corruption. The Assembly Hall was furnished with clocks costing $600 dollars each, sofas at $200, and other articles in proportion. A restaurant and bar were kept in the State House at which the members of the legislature and their friends could procure refreshments free of cost. The debt of the state was increased from $5,000,000 in 1868 to more than $18,000,000 in 1872. Crime among the negroes became so frequent that the whites were compelled to form a secret organization for protection (see Ku Klux Klan). In the spring of 1868 the state adopted a new constitution in conformity with the Reconstruction Acts of Congress, and elected state officers and congressmen, and on the 25th of June the state was readmitted to the Union. The inauguration of General Wade Hampton (1818-1902) as governor, and the final withdrawal of United States troops in 1877, marked the downfall of negro rule. The political history of the state since 1877 presents some interesting features. Practically the entire white population is Democratic, partly for historical reasons and partly because of a feeling that union is necessary to maintain white supremacy. The old warfare between the Up Country and the Low Country has been renewed in a modified form in the conflict between Reformers and Conservatives. The triumph of the Reformers culminated in the founding of Clemson Agricultural College (1889), the establishment of the state dispensary system for the sale of intoxicating liquors (1893), the election of Benjamin R. Tillman (b. 1847) to the United States Senate (1894) over M. C. Butler (1836-1909), and the work of the constitutional convention of 1895.
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