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65-539: South Carolina is one of two states where the state legislature elects state court judges, including the justices on the state supreme court. A ten-person committee (composed mostly of state legislators) called the Judicial Merit Selection Commission (JMSC) winnows down the number of candidates to fill a judicial vacancy to three based on candidate qualifications. The General Assembly must then choose from one of these three candidates to fill

130-451: A Jim Crow society occurred because the state's white and black leaders were willing to accept slow change, rather than being utterly unwilling to accept change at all. Other South Carolina political figures, like Sen. Strom Thurmond , on the other hand, were among the nation's most radical and effective opponents of social equality and integration. During the mid-to-late 20th century, South Carolina started to see economic progress first in

195-661: A Hostile Act", and within weeks South Carolina became the first state to secede . On April 12, 1861, Confederate batteries began shelling the Union Fort Sumter in Charleston Harbor, and the American Civil War began. In November of that year, the Union attacked Port Royal Sound and soon occupied Beaufort County and the neighboring Sea Islands . For the rest of the war, this area served as

260-501: A Union base and staging point for other operations. Whites abandoned their plantations, leaving behind about ten thousand enslaved people. Several Northern charities partnered with the federal government to help these people run the cotton farms themselves under the Port Royal Experiment . Workers were paid by the pound harvested and thus became the first enslaved people freed by the Union forces to earn wages. Although

325-434: A cruel injustice and the source of endless litigation, of scandal, horror, feud, and bloodshed to undertake to annul or forbid marriage for a remote, perhaps obsolete trace of Negro blood. The doors would be open to scandal, malice and greed; to statements on the witness stand that the father or grandfather or grandmother had said that A or B had Negro blood in their veins. Any man who is half a man would be ready to blow up half

390-468: A dozen or more separate small tribes summered on the coast harvesting oysters and fish, and cultivating corn, peas and beans. Travelling inland as much as 50 miles (80 km) mostly by canoe, they wintered on the coastal plain, hunting deer and gathering nuts and fruit. The names of these tribes survive in place names like Edisto Island , Kiawah Island , and the Ashepoo River . The Spanish were

455-492: A federal court ordered the change. As of 2022, South Carolina had one of the lowest percentages among all states of women in state legislature, at 17.6% (only five states had a lower percentage; the national average is 30.7%; with the highest percentage being in Nevada at 61.9%). The state can be divided into three natural geographic areas which then can be subdivided into five distinct cultural regions. The natural environment

520-891: A judicial vacancy. However, candidates who gauge a lack of support amongst the General Assembly often drop out of the race, leaving the Assembly only one candidate to vote for. The JMSC is composed of five members appointed by the House Speaker of the South Carolina House of Representatives , three members appointed by the Senate Judiciary Committee chairman, and two members appointed by the South Carolina Senate president. South Carolina statutory law requires that six of

585-417: A new constitution in 1895 which effectively disenfranchised almost all blacks and many poor whites by new requirements for poll taxes , residency, and literacy tests that dramatically reduced the voter rolls. By 1896, only 5,500 black voters remained on the voter registration rolls, although they constituted a majority of the state's population. The 1900 census demonstrated the extent of disenfranchisement:

650-569: A northwest to southeast orientation. The eastern portion of the coastal plain contains many salt marshes and estuaries , as well as natural ports such as Georgetown and Charleston . The natural areas of the coastal plain are part of the Middle Atlantic coastal forests ecoregion . The Sandhills or Carolina Sandhills is a 10–35 mi (16–56 km) wide region within the Atlantic Coastal Plain province, along

715-853: A representative. 21 were members of the Union Reform Party of South Carolina and the other 3 were Independents from Anderson . Two of the Union Reform members from Chesterfield were later replaced by Republicans from a resolution passed in the House. All 33 were members of the Conservative Party of South Carolina . All 17 were Independent Democrats . 34°00′01″N 81°01′59″W  /  34.00028°N 81.03306°W  / 34.00028; -81.03306 South Carolina South Carolina ( / ˌ k ær ə ˈ l aɪ n ə / KARR -ə- LY -nə )

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780-441: A thriving textile industry . The state also converted its main agricultural base from cotton, to more profitable crops. It would attract large military bases during World War I , through its majority Democratic congressional delegation, part of the one-party Solid South following disfranchisement of blacks. In the late 19th century, South Carolina would implement Jim Crow laws which enforced racial segregation policies until

845-801: Is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States . It borders North Carolina to the north and northeast, the Atlantic Ocean to the southeast, and Georgia to the southwest and south across the Savannah River . Along with North Carolina, it makes up the Carolinas region of the East Coast . South Carolina is the 40th-largest and 23rd-most populous U.S. state with a recorded population of 5,118,425 according to

910-979: Is divided from east to west by the Atlantic coastal plain , the Piedmont , and the Blue Ridge Mountains . Culturally, the coastal plain is split into the Lowcountry and the Pee Dee region. While, the upper Piedmont region is referred to as the Piedmont and the lower Piedmont region is referred to as the Midlands. The area surrounding the Blue Ridge Mountains is known as the Upstate . The Atlantic Coastal Plain makes up two-thirds of

975-609: Is located in the state capital of Columbia . The court moved into its current location, a former United States Post Office building, in 1971. It was built between 1917 and 1921, and is a two-story, Neo-Classical style building. The building has been listed on the National Register of Historic Places since 1972. Prior to 1971, the court met in a section of the South Carolina State House in an area totaling approximately 1,400 square feet (130 m);

1040-464: Is water. The Atlantic Coastal plain consists of sediments and sedimentary rocks that range in age from Cretaceous to Present. The terrain is relatively flat and the soil is composed predominantly of sand, silt, and clay. Areas with better drainage make excellent farmland, though some land is swampy. An unusual feature of the coastal plain is a large number of low-relief topographic depressions named Carolina bays . The bays tend to be oval, lining up in

1105-509: The 2020 census . In 2019 , its GDP was $ 213.45 billion. South Carolina is composed of 46 counties . The capital is Columbia with a population of 136,632 in 2020; while its most populous city is Charleston with a 2020 population of 150,227. The Greenville-Spartanburg-Anderson, SC Combined Statistical Area is the most populous combined metropolitan area in the state, with an estimated 2023 population of 1,590,636. South Carolina derives its name from King Charles I of England , who

1170-537: The Atlantic coastal plain , the Piedmont , and the Blue Ridge Mountains located in the northwestern part of Upstate South Carolina . The state predominantly experiences a humid subtropical climate characterized by hot, humid summers and mild winters. In the Upstate region, the climate shifts to a subtropical highland type. The eastern coastal plain is dotted with numerous salt marshes and estuaries . The southeastern Lowcountry of South Carolina includes parts of

1235-482: The Fundamental Constitutions of Carolina , which laid the basis for the future colony. His utopia was inspired by John Locke , an English philosopher and physician, widely regarded as one of the most influential of Enlightenment thinkers and commonly known as the "Father of Liberalism". The Carolina slave trade, which included both trading and direct raids by colonists, was the largest among

1300-638: The Sea Islands , a series of barrier islands along the Atlantic Ocean. There is evidence of human activities in the area dating to about 50,000 years ago. At the time Europeans arrived, marking the end Pre-Columbian era around 1600, there were many separate Native American tribes, the largest being the Cherokee and the Catawba , with a total population being up to 20,000. Up the rivers of

1365-399: The death penalty , state utility rates, judgments involving public bonded indebtedness and elections, and orders limiting state grand juries and relating to abortions by minors. Original jurisdiction pertains to the issuance writs including mandamus , certiorari , and very extraordinary bills. The South Carolina Supreme Court oversees the admission of individuals to practice law in

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1430-480: The inland margin of this province. The Carolina Sandhills are interpreted as eolian (wind-blown) sand sheets and dunes that were mobilized episodically from approximately 75,000 to 6,000 years ago. Most of the published luminescence ages from the sand are coincident with the last glaciation, a time when the southeastern United States was characterized by colder air temperatures and stronger winds. Much of Piedmont consists of Paleozoic metamorphic and igneous rocks, and

1495-548: The 1960s. During the early-to-mid part of the 20th century, millions of African Americans left South Carolina and other southern states for jobs, opportunities, and relative freedom in U.S. cities outside the former Confederate states. In total from 1910 to 1970, 6.5 million blacks left the South in the Great Migration . By 1930, South Carolina had a white majority population for the first time since 1708. South Carolina

1560-599: The 782,509 African American citizens comprised more than 58% of the state's population, but they were essentially without any political representation in the Jim Crow society. The 1895 constitution overturned local representative government, reducing the role of the counties to agents of state government, effectively ruled by the General Assembly, through the legislative delegations for each county. As each county had one state senator, that person had considerable power. The counties lacked representative government until home rule

1625-592: The British colonies in North America. Between 1670 and 1715, between 24,000 and 51,000 captive Native Americans were exported from South Carolina – more than the number of Africans imported to the colonies of the future United States during the same period. Additional enslaved Native Americans were exported from South Carolina to other U.S. colonies. The historian Alan Gallay says, "the trade in Indian slaves

1690-527: The Confederate Army, and are now landowners and taxpayers. Those men served creditably, and it would be unjust and disgraceful to embarrass them in this way. It is a scientific fact that there is not one full-blooded Caucasian on the floor of this convention. Every member has in him a certain mixture of   ... colored blood. The pure-blooded white has needed and received a certain infusion of darker blood to give him readiness and purpose. It would be

1755-628: The U.S. Constitution , and free trade . In 1832, the Ordinance of Nullification declared federal tariff laws unconstitutional and not to be enforced in the state, leading to the Nullification Crisis . The federal Force Bill was enacted to use whatever military force necessary to enforce federal law in the state, bringing South Carolina back into line. An 1831 House Report from the Committee on Military Affairs noted that Before

1820-679: The Union. However, South Carolina did not regain representation in Congress until that date. Until the 1868 presidential election , South Carolina's legislature, not the voters, chose the state's electors for the presidential election. South Carolina was the last state to choose its electors in this manner. During Reconstruction, South Carolina maintained a majority-black government, which lasted until approximately 1876 when Democrats and former Confederates committed voter fraud to regain power. On October 19, 1871, President Ulysses S. Grant suspended habeas corpus in nine South Carolina counties under

1885-756: The United States, and in May 1788, South Carolina ratified the United States Constitution , becoming the eighth state to enter the union. During the American Revolutionary War (1775–1783), about a third of combat action took place in South Carolina, more than any other state. Inhabitants of the state endured being invaded by British forces and an ongoing civil war between loyalists and partisans that devastated

1950-619: The Upstate topography and traditional community relations to resist service in the Confederate ranks. At the end of the war in early 1865, the troops of General William Tecumseh Sherman marched across the state devastating plantations and most of Columbia. South Carolina would be readmitted to the Union on July 9, 1868. In Texas vs. White (1869), the Supreme Court ruled the ordinances of secession (including that of South Carolina) were invalid, and thus those states had never left

2015-555: The authority of the Ku Klux Klan Act . Led by Grant's Attorney General Amos T. Akerman , hundreds of Klansmen were arrested while 2,000 Klansmen fled the state. This was done to suppress Klan violence against African-American and white voters in the South. In the mid-to-late 1870s, white Democrats used paramilitary groups such as the Red Shirts to intimidate and terrorize black voters. They regained political control of

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2080-576: The backcountry. It is estimated 25,000 slaves (30% of those in South Carolina) fled, migrated or died during the war. America's first census in 1790 put the state's population at nearly 250,000. By the 1800 census, the population had increased 38 per cent to nearly 340,000 of which 146,000 were slaves. At that time South Carolina had the largest population of Jews in the sixteen states of the United States, mostly based in Savannah and Charleston,

2145-550: The bar, and its commander apparently meditating an attack upon the forts, the quantity of gunpowder in the harbor, belonging to the United States, was not more than sufficient to have enabled the garrison to fire a single round. In the United States presidential election of 1860 , voting was sharply divided, with the South voting for the Southern Democrats and the North for Abraham Lincoln 's Republican Party . Lincoln

2210-469: The commencement of the war with Great Britain, and for a long time afterwards, the State of South Carolina was almost destitute of any of the means of military protection, excepting as such could be furnished by her own resources. In the harbor of Charleston alone were there any forts, and these were in so feeble a condition, that at a period, when a British squadron was engaged in sounding the depth of water off

2275-669: The convention realized prominent white families with some African ancestry could be affected by such legislation. In terms similar to a debate in Virginia in 1853 on a similar proposal (which was dropped), George Dionysius Tillman said in opposition: If the law is made as it now stands respectable families in Aiken , Barnwell , Colleton , and Orangeburg will be denied the right to intermarry among people with whom they are now associated and identified. At least one hundred families would be affected to my knowledge. They have sent good soldiers to

2340-721: The eastern coastal plain lived about a dozen tribes of Siouan background. Along the Savannah River were the Apalachee , Yuchi , and the Yamasee . Further west were the Cherokee, and along the Catawba River , the Catawba. These tribes were village-dwellers, relying on agriculture as their primary food source. The Cherokee lived in wattle and daub houses made with wood and clay, roofed with wood or thatched grass. About

2405-417: The eighth state to ratify the U.S. Constitution . As a slave state , it was the first to vote for secession from the Union on December 20, 1860. Following the American Civil War , South Carolina was readmitted to the Union on July 9, 1868. In the early to mid-20th century, South Carolina experienced significant economic development with the establishment of numerous textile mills and factories throughout

2470-577: The exam. From 1930 to 2016, the South Carolina Supreme Court had 17 Chief Justices. South Carolina House of Representatives Minority The South Carolina House of Representatives is the lower house of the South Carolina General Assembly . It consists of 124 representatives elected to two-year terms at the same time as U.S. congressional elections. Unlike many legislatures, seating on

2535-446: The first Europeans in the area. From June 24 to July 14, 1521, they explored the land around Winyah Bay . On October 8, 1526, they founded San Miguel de Gualdape , near present-day Georgetown, South Carolina . It was the first European settlement in what is now the contiguous United States . Established with five hundred settlers, it was abandoned eight months later by one hundred and fifty survivors. In 1540, Hernando de Soto explored

2600-641: The floor is not divided by party, but is arranged by county delegation – a legacy of the original apportionment of the chamber. Until 1964, each of South Carolina 's counties was a legislative district, with the number of representatives determined by the county's population. It meets from the second week of January into May. In Colonial times, there was a Commons House of Assembly. Representatives are considered part-time citizen legislators who serve two-year terms. Representatives are elected at-large by their district, and there are no term limits. Representatives must be 21 years of age before they are eligible to become

2665-418: The justices did not have individual offices, but instead met in a common conference room when not presiding over a session of court. Controversy arose in late 2007 after The State newspaper reported that the Supreme Court reversed the grades of 20 people who failed the South Carolina bar exam, including children of prominent attorneys, by voiding the results of the wills , trusts , and estates section of

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2730-429: The landscape has relatively low relief. Due to the changing economics of farming, much of the land is now reforested in loblolly pine for the lumber industry. These forests are part of the Southeastern mixed forests ecoregion. At the southeastern edge of Piedmont is the fall line , where rivers drop to the coastal plain. The fall line was an important early source of water power. Mills built to this resource encouraged

2795-696: The latter being the country's fifth largest city. In the Antebellum period (before the Civil War) the state's economy and population grew. Cotton became an important crop after the invention of the cotton gin . While nominally democratic, from 1790 until 1865, wealthy male landowners were in control of South Carolina. For example, a man was not eligible to sit in the State House of Representatives unless he possessed an estate of 500 acres of land and 10 Negroes, or at least 150 pounds sterling. Columbia ,

2860-571: The new state capital was founded in the center of the state, and the State Legislature first met there in 1790. The town grew after it was connected to Charleston by the Santee Canal in 1800, one of the first canals in the United States. As dissatisfaction of the planters ruling class with the federal government grew, in the 1820s John C. Calhoun became a leading proponent of states' rights , limited government , nullification of

2925-429: The proprietors' rule, seeking more direct representation. In 1712, the former Province of Carolina split into North and South Carolina. In 1719, South Carolina was officially made a royal colony . South Carolina prospered from the fertility of the lowcountry and the harbors, such as at Charleston . It allowed religious toleration, encouraging settlement, and trade in deerskin, lumber, and beef thrived. Rice cultivation

2990-687: The region and the main town of Cofitachequi , where he captured the queen of the Maskoki (Muscogee) and the Chelaque (Cherokee) who had welcomed him. In 1562 French Huguenots established a settlement at what is now the Charlesfort-Santa Elena archaeological site on Parris Island . Many of these settlers preferred a natural life far from civilization and the atrocities of the Wars of Religion . The garrison lacked supplies, however, and

3055-586: The soldiers (as in the France Antarctique ) soon ran away. The French returned two years later but settled in present-day Florida rather than South Carolina. Sixty years later, in 1629, King Charles I of England established the province of Carolana , an area covering what is now South and North Carolina , Georgia and Tennessee . Carolana was granted to Sir Robert Heath , who intended to allow French Huguenots to settle there; however, King Charles refused to grant permission to settle to anyone who

3120-589: The state under conservative white " Redeemers " and pro-business Bourbon Democrats . In 1877, the federal government withdrew its troops as part of the Compromise of 1877 that ended Reconstruction. The state became a hotbed of racial and economic tensions during the Populist and Agrarian movements of the 1890s. A Republican-Populist biracial coalition took power away from White Democrats temporarily. To prevent that from happening again, Democrats gained passage of

3185-412: The state was not a major battleground, the war ruined the state's economy. More than 60,000 soldiers from South Carolina served in the war, with the state losing an estimated 18,000 troops. Though no regiments of Southern Unionists were formed in South Carolina due to a smaller unionist presence, the Upstate region of the state would be a haven for Confederate Army deserters and resisters, as they used

3250-419: The state's fetal heartbeat bill in 2022 based on its violation of the state constitution's right to privacy, state legislators began to deliberate on reforms to the judicial selection process and Governor Henry McMaster called for reform in his 2023 State of the State address. The court enjoys both original and appellate jurisdiction . It enjoys exclusive appellate jurisdiction for all state cases regarding

3315-524: The state. Much of the administration regarding admissions and practice is delegated to the South Carolina Bar , established by statute as an administrative arm of the court; however, the court retains ultimate authority in South Carolina governing the practice of law. It also supervises the disciplining of attorneys and suspension of those no longer able to practice due to mental or physical condition. The Supreme Court of South Carolina Building

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3380-503: The state. Its eastern border is the Sea Islands , a chain of tidal and barrier islands . The border between the lowcountry and the upcountry is defined by the Atlantic Seaboard fall line , which marks the limit of navigable rivers. Altogether, the state has a total area of 32,020.49 square miles (82,932.7 km ), of which 30,060.70 square miles (77,856.9 km ) is land and 1,959.79 square miles (5,075.8 km ) (6.12%)

3445-526: The state. The civil rights movement during the mid-20th century played a crucial role in dismantling segregation and discriminatory laws in the state. Following World War II , South Carolina's economic diversification accelerated, leading to a broader range of industries. By the early 21st century, the state's economy had evolved to include sectors such as aerospace , agribusiness , automotive manufacturing , and tourism. South Carolina features three primary geographic regions stretching from east to west:

3510-418: The ten JMSC members be state legislators. Justices on the supreme court serve ten-year terms and there is no prohibition against justices serving multiple terms on the court. However, there is a mandatory retirement age of 72 for state trial judges and state appellate judges. The judicial selection process has been criticized by commentators for its opacity. Following the supreme court's opinion striking down

3575-559: The textile industry and then in manufacturing. Tourism also started to form into a major industry within the state during the 20th century, especially in areas such as Myrtle Beach and Charleston . As the 21st century progresses, South Carolina has attracted new business by having a 5% corporate income tax rate, no state property tax , no local income tax, no inventory tax, no sales tax on manufacturing equipment, industrial power or materials for finished products; no wholesale tax, and no unitary tax on worldwide profits. South Carolina

3640-400: The world with dynamite to prevent or avenge attacks upon the honor of his mother in the legitimacy or purity of the blood of his father. The state postponed such a one-drop law for years. Virginian legislators adopted a one-drop law in 1924, forgetting that their state had many people of mixed ancestry among those who identified as white. Early in the 20th century, South Carolina developed

3705-551: Was anti-slavery, did not acknowledge the right to secession , and would not yield federal property in Southern states. Southern secessionists believed Lincoln's election meant long-term doom for their slavery-based agrarian economy and social system. Lincoln was elected president on November 6, 1860. The state House of Representatives three days later passed the "Resolution to Call the Election of Abraham Lincoln as U.S. President

3770-628: Was at the center of the English empire's development in the American South. The trade in Indian slaves was the most important factor affecting the South in the period 1670 to 1715". In the 1670s, English planters from Barbados established themselves near what is now Charleston. Settlers from all over Europe built rice plantations in the South Carolina Lowcountry , east of the Atlantic Seaboard fall line . Plantation labor

3835-612: Was developed on a large scale on the back of slave labor. By the second half of the 1700s, South Carolina was one of the richest of the Thirteen Colonies . On March 26, 1776, the colony adopted the Constitution of South Carolina , electing John Rutledge as the state's first president. In February 1778, South Carolina became the first state to ratify the Articles of Confederation , the initial governing document of

3900-464: Was done by African slaves who formed the majority of the population by 1720. Another cash crop was the indigo plant , a plant source of blue dye, developed by Eliza Lucas . Meanwhile, Upstate South Carolina , west of the Fall Line, was settled by small farmers and traders, who due to resource competition fought a number of wars with confederated Native American tribes westward. Colonists overthrew

3965-447: Was instrumental in establishing the English colony, with Carolus being the Latin equivalent of "Charles". The Province of South Carolina was officially created in 1712. As one of the original Thirteen Colonies , it transitioned to a royal colony in 1719. Throughout the American Revolutionary War , South Carolina witnessed significant military engagement, hosting over 200 battles and skirmishes. On May 23, 1788, South Carolina became

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4030-414: Was not a member of the Anglican Church , leading to the failure of the colony. In 1663, King Charles II created the Province of Carolina by granting the same land to eight Lords Proprietors in return for their financial and political assistance in restoring him to the throne in 1660. Anthony Ashley Cooper , one of the Lord Proprietors, planned the Grand Model for the Province of Carolina and wrote

4095-461: Was one of several states that initially rejected the Nineteenth Amendment (1920) giving women the right to vote. The South Carolina legislature later ratified the amendment on July 1, 1969. The struggle of the civil rights movement took place in South Carolina, as they did in other Southern states and elsewhere within the country. South Carolina would experience a much less violent movement than other Deep South states. This tranquil transition from

4160-447: Was one of the first states to stop paying for "early elective" deliveries of babies , under either Medicaid and private insurance. The term early elective is defined as a labor induction or Cesarean section between 37 and 39 weeks. The change was intended to result in healthier babies and fewer costs for the state of South Carolina. On November 20, 2014, South Carolina became the 35th state to legalize same-sex marriages , when

4225-469: Was passed in 1975. Governor "Pitchfork Ben" Tillman , a Populist, led the effort to disenfranchise the blacks and poor whites, although he controlled Democratic state politics from the 1890s to 1910 with a base among poor white farmers. During the constitutional convention in 1895, he supported another man's proposal that the state adopt a one-drop rule , as well as prohibit marriage between whites and anyone with any known African ancestry. Some members of

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