SecessionDecember 20, 1860, the day in Charleston on which delegates at the South Carolina state convention voted unanimously to secede from the Union, is arguably the decisive moment in the state’s history.
Secession crisis of 1850-1851In the late 1840s the escalating sectional controversy over the expansion of slavery into the territory acquired from Mexico set in motion South Carolina’s secession crisis of 1850–1851.
SegregationThe legalized segregation of the races in South Carolina arose as a part of white Carolinians’ long reaction to emancipation and Reconstruction.
Sheheen, Robert JosephAs Speaker, Sheheen devoted much of his time to organizational and procedural issues at a time when South Carolina’s two-party system was growing increasingly partisan and competitive.
Sheppard, John CalhounIn addition to his law practice, Sheppard served as director and president of the Bank of Edgefield, director of the Edgefield Farmers’ Loan and Savings Bank, and director of the Edgefield Ginning, Milling, and Mining Company.
Simpson, William DunlapLegislator, judge, governor. Simpson was born in Laurens District on October 27 1823, son of John Wells Simpson and Elizabeth…
Slave CodesSouth Carolina’s earliest formal code of law regarding slaves, established in 1690, borrowed heavily from the statutes governing slavery on…
Smalls, RobertSmalls’s war-time accomplishments made him a political force in the Sea Islands, with its overwhelmingly black population. In 1867 Smalls was one of the founders of the Republican Party in South Carolina, an organization to which he remained loyal all his life.
Smith, BenjaminMerchant, politician, planter. Smith was born in South Carolina in 1717, the eldest child of the planter and politician Thomas…
Smith, Charles AureliusBanker, governor. Smith was born in North Carolina on January 22, 1861, the son of Joseph Smith. After attending local…
Smith, Ellison DurantU.S. senator. Smith was born in Sumter District (later Lee County) on August 1, 1864, one of ten children born…
Smith, Nell WhitleyLegislator, educator, businesswoman. Smith, the daughter of Arthur Hugh Smith and Alice Beryl Whitley, was born in Washington, North Carolina,…
Smith, ThomasGovernor. Born in England around 1648, Smith immigrated with his family to Carolina in 1683, likely as a member of…
Smith, WilliamU.S. senator. Born near the North Carolina border, Smith spent most of his life in York District. After studying with…
Smith, William LoughtonLawyer, congressman, diplomat. Smith was born on October 2, 1758, the son of the prominent merchant Benjamin Smith and Anne…
South Carolina Budget and Control BoardSouth Carolina has historically been a “legislative state” with a tradition of a “commission” approach to government that goes at…
South Carolina Commission on Government RestructuringIn March 1991 Governor Carroll Campbell appointed the thirty-eight-member Commission on Government Restructuring to devise a blueprint for enhancing the…
South Carolina Department of Natural ResourcesOfficially formed on July 1, 1994, the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources (SCDNR) combined the non-regulatory programs of the…
South Carolina Equal Suffrage LeagueThe South Carolina Equal Suffrage League (SCESL) was formed by the Spartanburg New Era Club and other members of the…