Government and Law

Orr, James Lawrence

Petitioned by convention members to run for governor, Orr became the first popularly elected chief executive in the state’s history. Inaugurated November 29, 1865, he and his administration saw the establishment of a state penitentiary, the provision of artificial limbs for Confederate amputees, the reopening of South Carolina College and other schools, the rebuilding of the state’s governmental infrastructure, and passage of the controversial “Black Codes,” which Orr felt was unwise.

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