Voting Rights ActAccording to the United States Justice Department, the Voting Rights Act of 1965, as extended in 1970, 1975, and 1982, may be the most significant civil rights legislation passed by the United States Congress.
Waring, Julius WatiesJurist. Waring was born in Charleston on July 27, 1880, the son of Edward Perry Waring, Charleston County superintendent of…
West CommitteeCreated in 1966 at the urging of young reformers in the General Assembly, the Committee to Make a Study of…
West, John CarlGovernor, diplomat. Born in Camden on August 27, 1922, to Shelton J. West and Mattie Ratterree West, West was reared…
Whig PartyOne of the two major political parties in the United States from approximately 1834 to 1856, the Whig Party had…
Whipper, William J.Legislator. Whipper was one of the most influential African American politicians in South Carolina’s Reconstruction government. He was born free…
White PrimaryParty primary elections were introduced in the nineteenth century. They were touted as a more democratic means of nominating candidates…
Wigfall, Louis TrezevantU.S. senator. Lewis Trezevant Wigfall was born in Edgefield District on April 21, 1816, the son of Levi Durand Wigfall…
Wigg, JamesLegislator. Wigg was born a slave in Beaufort County around 1850. As a young boy during the Union occupation of…
Wilkes Fund ControversyThe 1770s Wilkes Fund Controversy forced South Carolina to recognize that its own view of the imperial constitution and the…
Williamson, AndrewSoldier. Williamson immigrated to Ninety Six District from his native Scotland. He was earning a living as a cattle driver…
Wilson, John LydeGovernor. Wilson was born in Cheraw District in May 1784 to John Wilson and Mary Lyde. He studied law in…
Women's ClubsThe South Carolina women’s club movement was a powerful force for social change. It challenged the landscape of the state’s…
Women's SuffrageThe enfranchisement of women was first publicly discussed during the Reconstruction era in South Carolina. During the 1868 State Constitutional…
Workman, William Douglas, Jr.Journalist, author. Workman was born on August 10, 1914, in Greenwood, the son of William D. Workman and Vivian Watkins.…
World War IIPrior to the entry of the United States into World War II, the depressed South Carolina economy had already started…
Wragg, WilliamLoyalist. Wragg was born in South Carolina, the son of Samuel Wragg and Marie DuBosc. His father was a prosperous…
Wright, Alice Buck Norwood SpearmanHuman relations activist. Born in Marion on March 12, 1902, Wright was the first child of the banker Samuel Wilkins…
XYZ AffairAfter Pinckney’s arrival, the French government continued to be hostile to the United States: France determined that it had no need for an American minister on its soil and demanded that Pinckney leave in January 1797.
Young, Virginia Durant CovingtonYoung’s career followed the pattern of many suffragists. After active participation in Baptist missionary societies, she joined the Woman’s Christian Temperance Union (WCTU) in 1886. Suffrage appealed as an avenue to temperance goals.