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Wikipedia

South Carolina

December 07, 2023

This article is about the U.S. state. For other uses, see South Carolina (disambiguation).

South Carolina (/ˌkærəˈlaɪnə/ ⓘ KARR-ə-LIE-nə) is a state in the coastal Southeastern region of the United States. It is bordered to the north by North Carolina, to the southeast by the Atlantic Ocean, and to the southwest by Georgia 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 5,124,712 according to the 2020 census.[4] In 2019, its GDP was $213.45 billion. South Carolina is composed of 46 counties. The capital is Columbia with a population of 137,300 in 2020;[5] while its largest city is Charleston with a 2020 population of 150,277.[6] The Greenville-Spartanburg-Anderson, SC Combined Statistical Area is the most populous in the state, with a 2020 population of 1,487,610.[7]

South Carolina
State
Flag
Seal
Nickname: 
The Palmetto State
Motto(s): 
Dum spiro spero
"While I breathe, I hope"
Animis opibusque parati
"Prepared in mind and resources"
Anthem: "Carolina"
"South Carolina on my Mind"
Map of the United States with South Carolina highlighted
CountryUnited States
Before statehoodProvince of South Carolina
Admitted to the UnionMay 23, 1788 (8th)
CapitalColumbia
Largest cityCharleston
Largest county or equivalentGreenville
Largest metro and urban areasGreenville (combined and metro)
Columbia (urban)
Government
 • GovernorHenry McMaster (R)
 • Lieutenant GovernorPamela Evette (R)
LegislatureGeneral Assembly
 • Upper houseSenate
 • Lower houseHouse of Representatives
JudiciarySouth Carolina Supreme Court
U.S. senatorsLindsey Graham (R)
Tim Scott (R)
U.S. House delegation6 Republicans
1 Democrat (list)
Area
 • Total32,020.49 sq mi (77,856.9 km2)
 • Land30,060.70 sq mi (77,856.9 km2)
 • Water1,959.79 sq mi (5,075.8 km2)  6.12%
 • Rank40th
Dimensions
 • Length260 mi (420 km)
 • Width200 mi (320 km)
Elevation
350 ft (110 m)
Highest elevation
(Sassafras Mountain[1][a])
3,560 ft (1,085 m)
Lowest elevation
(Atlantic Ocean[1])
0 ft (0 m)
Population
 (2020)
 • Total5,118,425[2]
 • Rank23rd
 • Density170.27/sq mi (65.74/km2)
  • Rank19th
 • Median household income
$50,570[3]
 • Income rank
41st
DemonymsSouth Carolinian
Language
 • Official languageEnglish
Time zoneUTC– 05:00 (Eastern)
 • Summer (DST)UTC– 04:00 (EDT)
USPS abbreviation
SC
ISO 3166 codeUS-SC
Traditional abbreviationS.C.
Latitude32°02′ N to 35°13′ N
Longitude78°32′ W to 83°21′ W
Websitesc.gov
State symbols of South Carolina
List of state symbols
Living insignia
AmphibianSalamander
BirdCarolina Wren
ButterflyEastern Tiger Swallowtail
Dog breedBoykin Spaniel
FishStriped bass
FlowerYellow jessamine
InsectCarolina mantis
MammalWhite-tailed deer
ReptileLoggerhead sea turtle
TreeSabal palmetto
Inanimate insignia
BeverageMilk
DanceCarolina shag
Food
FossilColumbian mammoth
(Mammuthus columbi)
MineralAmethyst
RockBlue Granite
ShellLettered olive
OtherHogna carolinensis
State route marker
State quarter
Released in 2000
Lists of United States state symbols

South Carolina was named in honor of King Charles I of England, who first formed the English colony, with Carolus being Latin for "Charles".[8] In 1712 the Province of South Carolina was formed. One of the original Thirteen Colonies, South Carolina became a royal colony in 1719. During the American Revolutionary War, South Carolina was the site of major activity among the American colonies, with more than 200 battles and skirmishes fought within the state.[9] South Carolina became the eighth state to ratify the U.S. Constitution on May 23, 1788. A slave state, it was the first state to vote in favor of secession from the Union on December 20, 1860. After the American Civil War, it was readmitted to the Union on July 9, 1868.

During the early-to-mid 20th century, the state started to see economic progress as many textile mills and factories were built across the state. The civil rights movement of the mid-20th century helped end segregation and legal discrimination policies within the state. Economic diversification in South Carolina continued to pick up speed during and in the ensuing decades after World War II. In the early 21st century, South Carolina's economy is based on industries such as aerospace, agribusiness, automotive manufacturing, and tourism.[10]

Within South Carolina from east to west are three main geographic regions, the Atlantic coastal plain, the Piedmont, and the Blue Ridge Mountains in the northwestern corner of Upstate South Carolina. South Carolina has primarily a humid subtropical climate, with hot, humid summers and mild winters. Areas in the Upstate have a subtropical highland climate. Along South Carolina's eastern coastal plain are many salt marshes and estuaries. South Carolina's southeastern Lowcountry contains portions of the Sea Islands, a chain of barrier islands along the Atlantic Ocean.

History edit

Main article: History of South Carolina

Precolonial period edit

 
Top left, the shores of Florida and the future Carolina explored in 1500 and showed in 1502 on the Cantino planisphere

There is evidence of human activities in the area dating to about 50,000 years ago.[11] At the time Europeans arrived, marking the end of the Pre-Columbian era around 1600, there were many separate Native American tribes, the largest being the Cherokee and the Catawba, with the total population being up to 20,000.[12]

Up the rivers of 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.[12] The Cherokee lived in wattle and daub houses made with wood and clay, roofed with wood or thatched grass.[13]

About 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.[12]

Exploration edit

 
Map of French Florida, which included modern-day South Carolina

The Spanish were 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 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 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.[12]

Colonization edit

Main articles: Province of Carolina and Province of South Carolina
 
The Carolina Colony grants of 1663 and 1665

Sixty years later, in 1629, King of England Charles I established the Province of Carolina, an area covering what is now South and North Carolina, Georgia and Tennessee. In 1663, Charles II granted the land to eight Lords Proprietors in return for their financial and political assistance in restoring him to the throne in 1660.[14] Anthony Ashley Cooper, one of the Lord Proprietors, planned the Grand Model for the Province of Carolina and wrote the Fundamental Constitutions of Carolina, which laid the basis for the future colony.[15] 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,[16]: 109  was the largest among the British colonies in North America.[16]: 65  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.[17][16]: 237  Additional enslaved Native Americans were exported from South Carolina to other U.S. colonies.[17] The historian Alan Gallay says, "the trade in Indian slaves 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".[17]

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 was done by African slaves who formed the majority of the population by 1720.[18] 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 displaced Native American tribes westward. Colonists overthrew 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 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.[18]

The American Revolution edit

Main articles: South Carolina in the American Revolution and Southern theater of the American Revolutionary War
 
A twenty-dollar banknote issued by South Carolina in 1777

On March 26, 1776, the colony adopted the Constitution of South Carolina,[19] electing John Rutledge as the state's first president. In February 1778, South Carolina became the first state to ratify the Articles of Confederation,[20] the initial governing document of 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,[21] more than any other state.[18] Inhabitants of the state endured being invaded by British forces and an ongoing civil war between loyalists and partisans that devastated the backcountry.[21] It is estimated 25,000 slaves (30% of those in South Carolina) fled, migrated or died during the war.[22]

Antebellum edit

Main article: Antebellum South Carolina
 
Millford Plantation built 1839–41, is an example of Greek Revival architecture

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,[23] the latter being the country's fifth largest city.[24]

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.[25]

Columbia, 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 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 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 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.[26]

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 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.[27]

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 a Hostile Act",[28] and within weeks South Carolina became the first state to secede.[18]

Civil War 1861–1865 edit

Main articles: Ordinance of Secession, Confederate States of America, and South Carolina in the American Civil War
 
Charleston in ruins, 1865

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 a Union base and staging point for other operations. Whites abandoned their plantations,[29] 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.[30]

Although 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,[29] with the state losing an estimated 18,000 troops.[31] 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 the Upstate topography and traditional community relations to resist service in the Confederate ranks.[32] 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.

Reconstruction 1865–1877 edit

Main article: Reconstruction era
 
Joseph Rainey was the first black person to serve in the U.S. House of Representatives. He represented SC's 1st congressional district.

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 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.[33][34][35] On October 19, 1871, President Ulysses S. Grant suspended habeas corpus in nine South Carolina counties under the authority of the Ku Klux Klan Act.[36] Led by Grant's Attorney General Amos T. Akerman, hundreds of Klansmen were arrested while 2,000 Klansmen fled the state.[36] This was done to suppress Klan violence against African-American and white voters in the South.[36] 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 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.

Populist and agrarian movements edit

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 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.[37] The 1900 census demonstrated the extent of disenfranchisement: 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.[38]

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 was passed in 1975.[39]

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 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 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 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 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.[40][41][42][43]

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.

20th century edit

 
Children workers c. 1912. Some children who worked in South Carolina textile mills went to school half a day and worked before and after school—and eight or nine hours on Saturday.

Early in the 20th century, South Carolina developed 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 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.[44] South Carolina 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.

See also: South Carolina in the civil rights movement

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.[45] This tranquil transition from 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.[46] 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 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.[47]

21st century edit

 
North Ocean Boulevard in Myrtle Beach, 2010

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.[48]

South Carolina was one of the first states to stop paying for "early elective" deliveries of babies, under either Medicaid and private insurance.[49][50] 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.[51]

On November 20, 2014, South Carolina became the 35th state to legalize same-sex marriages, when a federal court ordered the change.[52]

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%).[53]

Geography edit

 
Interactive map of South Carolina

Regions edit

The state can be divided into three natural geographic areas which then can be subdivided into five distinct cultural regions. The natural environment 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.[54] The Atlantic Coastal Plain makes up two-thirds of 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 km2), of which 30,060.70 square miles (77,856.9 km2) is land and 1,959.79 square miles (5,075.8 km2) (6.12%) is water.[55]

Atlantic Coastal Plain edit

Main article: South Carolina Lowcountry

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 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.[56]

The Sandhills or Carolina Sandhills is a 10–35 mi (16–56 km) wide region within the Atlantic Coastal Plain province, along 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.[57]

Piedmont edit

Much of Piedmont consists of Paleozoic metamorphic and igneous rocks, and 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.[56] 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 the growth of several cities, including the capital, Columbia. The larger rivers are navigable up to the fall line, providing a trade route for mill towns.

The northwestern part of Piedmont is also known as the Foothills. The Cherokee Parkway is a scenic driving route through this area. This is where Table Rock State Park is located.

Blue Ridge edit

 
Pinnacle Mountain viewed from Caesars Head

The Blue Ridge consists primarily of Precambrian metamorphic rocks, and the landscape has relatively high relief. The Blue Ridge Region contains an escarpment of the Blue Ridge Mountains that continues into North Carolina and Georgia as part of the southern Appalachian Mountains. Sassafras Mountain, South Carolina's highest point at 3,560 feet (1,090 m), is in this area.[58] Also in this area is Caesars Head State Park. The environment here is that of the Appalachian-Blue Ridge forests ecoregion.[56] The Chattooga River, on the border between South Carolina and Georgia, is a favorite whitewater rafting destination.

Lakes edit

Main article: List of lakes in South Carolina

South Carolina has several major lakes covering over 683 square miles (1,770 km2). All major lakes in South Carolina are human-made. The following are the lakes listed by size.[59][60]

Earthquakes edit

Main article: List of earthquakes in South Carolina

South Carolina is the most seismically active state on the East Coast.[61] Between July 1, 2021, and July 1, 2022, there were 74 recorded earthquakes in South Carolina,[62] six of which exceeded a 3 magnitude.[63] In 2021 and 2022, most of which were concentrated in Kershaw County and the coastal area of Charleston.[62] The Charleston area demonstrates the greatest frequency of earthquakes in South Carolina. South Carolina averages 10–15 earthquakes a year below magnitude 3 (FEMA). The Charleston earthquake of 1886 was the largest quake ever to hit the eastern United States. The 7.0–7.3 magnitude earthquake killed 60 people and destroyed much of the city.[64] Faults in this region are difficult to study at the surface due to thick sedimentation on top of them. Many of the ancient faults are within plates rather than along plate boundaries.

Climate edit

Main article: Climate of South Carolina
 
A map of the average annual precipitation in South Carolina

South Carolina has a humid subtropical climate (Köppen climate classification Cfa), although high-elevation areas in the Upstate area have fewer subtropical characteristics than areas on the Atlantic coastline. In the summer, South Carolina is hot and humid, with daytime temperatures averaging between 86–93 °F (30–34 °C) in most of the state and overnight lows averaging 70–75 °F (21–24 °C) on the coast and from 66–73 °F (19–23 °C) inland. Winter temperatures are much less uniform in South Carolina. Coastal areas of the state have very mild winters, with high temperatures approaching an average of 60 °F (16 °C) and overnight lows around 40 °F (5–8 °C).

 
A snow plow in South Carolina. The upstate and mountainous region of the state receives the most measurable snowfall.

Inland, the average January overnight low is around 32 °F (0 °C) in Columbia and temperatures well below freezing in the Upstate. While precipitation is abundant the entire year in almost the entire state, the coast tends to have a slightly wetter summer, while inland, the spring and autumn transitions tend to be the wettest periods and winter the driest season, with November being the driest month. The highest recorded temperature is 113 °F (45 °C) in Johnston and Columbia on June 29, 2012, and the lowest recorded temperature is −19 °F (−28 °C) at Caesars Head on January 21, 1985.

Snowfall in South Carolina is minimal in the lower elevation areas south and east of Columbia. It is not uncommon for areas along the southernmost coast to not receive measurable snowfall for several years. In the Piedmont and Foothills, especially along and north of Interstate 85, measurable snowfall occurs one to three times in most years. Annual average total amounts range from 2 to 6 inches. The Blue Ridge Escarpment receives the most average total measurable snowfall; amounts range from 7 to 12 inches.

South Carolina averages around 50 days of thunderstorm activity a year. This is less than some of the states further south, and it is slightly less vulnerable to tornadoes than the states which border on the Gulf of Mexico. Some notable tornadoes have struck South Carolina, and the state averages around 14 tornadoes annually. Hail is common with many of the thunderstorms in the state, as there is often a marked contrast in temperature of warmer ground conditions compared to the cold air aloft.[65]

Hurricanes and tropical cyclones edit

 
Category 4 Hurricane Hugo in 1989

The state is occasionally affected by tropical cyclones. This is an annual concern during hurricane season, which lasts from June 1 to November 30. The peak time of vulnerability for the southeast Atlantic coast is from early August to early October, during the Cape Verde hurricane season. Memorable hurricanes to hit South Carolina include Hazel (1954), Hugo (1989), and Florence (2018).

Climate change edit

This section is an excerpt from Climate change in South Carolina.[edit]
 
Köppen climate types in South Carolina, showing a large majority of the state being humid subtropical, with smaller, outlier pockets of an oceanic climate in the Blue Ridge Mountains.

Climate change in South Carolina encompasses the effects of climate change, attributed to man-made increases in atmospheric carbon dioxide, in the U.S. state of South Carolina.

Studies show that South Carolina is among a string of "Deep South" states that will experience the worst effects of climate change.[66] According to the United States Environmental Protection Agency:

South Carolina's climate is changing. Most of the state has warmed by one-half to one degree (F) in the last century, and the sea is rising about one to one-and-a-half inches every decade. Higher water levels are eroding beaches, submerging low lands, and exacerbating coastal flooding. Like other southeastern states, South Carolina has warmed less than most of the nation. But in the coming decades, the region's changing climate is likely to reduce crop yields, harm livestock, increase the number of unpleasantly hot days, and increase the risk of heat stroke and other heat-related illnesses.[67]

As of January 2020, "South Carolina's failure to develop a comprehensive climate plan means the state has no overall effort to cut greenhouse gas pollution, limit sprawl or educate the public on how to adapt to the changing climate."[68]

South Carolina released its Climate, Energy, and Commerce Committee Final Report in 2008. The report recommends a voluntary economy-wide goal of reducing emissions to 5% below 1990 levels by 2020. Key policy recommendations in the report include developing renewable portfolio standards, increasing use of local agricultural products, and increasing advanced recycling and composting.

Federal lands in South Carolina edit

Main article: List of federal lands in South Carolina
 
Fort Sumter National Monument, site of the first battle of the American Civil War, in Charleston

Flora and fauna edit

Further information: List of mammals of South Carolina

South Carolina is home to two dominant ecosystems, the bottomlands, which consist of floodplains and creeks, and the toplands. The floodplains contain large tracts of old and mature second growth cypress and tupelo forest. The uplands are home to longleaf pine, shortleaf pine, and mixed hardwood forests.[69] The Longleaf Pine are an important part of South Carolina's coastal ecosystem. They improve soil, water, and air quality while a habitat for deer and songbirds.[70] These forests are endangered by logging for agriculture and development.[69][71]

Oysters are a critical part of South Carolina's coastal ecology. They serve a dual function, filtering the water and forming reefs that provide a habitat for small fish and crabs. Oysters are imperiled by overharvesting because young oysters need older oysters to latch on to as they age.[71] South Carolina is home to many shorebirds including various sandpipers and ibises.[72][73] The state serves as a stopover site for birds migrating farther south and a wintering ground for birds that do not fly as far south.[73]

Major cities edit

See also: List of municipalities in South Carolina
 
 
Largest cities or towns in South Carolina
(2022 census estimate)[74][75]
Rank Name County Pop. Rank Name County Pop.
 
Charleston
 
Columbia 		1 Charleston Charleston 153,672 11 Florence Florence 40,072  
North Charleston
 
Mount Pleasant
2 Columbia Richland 139,698 12 Spartanburg Spartanburg 38,584
3 North Charleston Charleston 118,608 13 Myrtle Beach Horry 38,417
4 Mount Pleasant Charleston 94,545 14 Hilton Head Island Beaufort 38,069
5 Rock Hill York 75,349 15 Bluffton Beaufort 34,493
6 Greenville Greenville 72,310 16 Aiken Aiken 32,463
7 Summerville Dorchester 51,617 17 Fort Mill York 30,940
8 Goose Creek Berkeley 47,618 18 Anderson Anderson 29,771
9 Sumter Sumter 42,757 19 Conway Horry 27,346
10 Greer Greenville 42,090 20 Mauldin Greenville 26,918

Statistical areas edit

See also: South Carolina statistical areas

The following tables show the major metropolitan and combined statistical areas of South Carolina. Some statistical areas of South Carolina overlap with neighboring states of North Carolina and Georgia.

Demographics edit

Main articles: Demographics of South Carolina and List of cities and towns in South Carolina
Historical population
CensusPop.Note%±
1790249,073—
1800345,59138.8%
1810415,11520.1%
1820502,74121.1%
1830581,18515.6%
1840594,3982.3%
1850668,50712.5%
1860703,7085.3%
1870705,6060.3%
1880995,57741.1%
18901,151,14915.6%
19001,340,31616.4%
19101,515,40013.1%
19201,683,72411.1%
19301,738,7653.3%
19401,899,8049.3%
19502,117,02711.4%
19602,382,59412.5%
19702,590,5168.7%
19803,121,82020.5%
19903,486,70311.7%
20004,012,01215.1%
20104,625,36415.3%
20205,118,42510.7%
2022 (est.)5,282,634[2]3.2%
Source: 1910–2020[80]
Ethnic composition as of the 2020 census
Race and ethnicity[81] Alone Total
White (non-Hispanic) 62.1% 62.1
 
 65.5% 65.5
 
African American (non-Hispanic) 24.8% 24.8
 
 26.3% 26.3
 
Hispanic or Latino[d] — 6.9% 6.9
 
Asian 1.7% 1.7
 
 2.3% 2.3
 
Native American 0.3% 0.3
 
 1.8% 1.8
 
Pacific Islander 0.1% 0.1
 
 0.1% 0.1
 
Other 0.4% 0.4
 
 1.0% 1
 
 
Ethnic origins in South Carolina
 
Map of South Carolina counties by racial plurality, per the 2020 U.S. census
South Carolina racial breakdown of population
Racial composition 1990[82] 2000[83] 2010[84]
White 69.0% 67.2% 66.2%
Black 29.8% 29.5% 27.9%
Asian 0.6% 0.9% 1.3%
Native American 0.2% 0.3% 0.4%
Native Hawaiian and
other Pacific Islander		 – – 0.1%
Two or more races – 1.0% 1.7%
 
Population density of South Carolina

The 2020 census determined the state had a population of 5,118,425. The United States Census Bureau estimates the population of South Carolina was 5,148,714 on July 1, 2019, an 11.31 percentage increase since the 2010 census.[85]

According to HUD's 2022 Annual Homeless Assessment Report, there were an estimated 3,608 homeless people in South Carolina.[86][87]

At the 2017 census estimate, the racial make up of the state is 68.5% White (63.8% non-Hispanic white), 27.3% Black or African American, 0.5% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.7% Asian, 0.1% Native Hawaiian and other Pacific Islander, 1.9% from two or more races. 5.7% of the total population was of Hispanic or Latino origin of any race.[88]

At the 2019 census estimate, South Carolina had an estimated population of 5,148,714, which is an increase of 64,587 from the prior year and an increase of 523,350, or 11.31%, since the year 2010. Immigration from outside the United States resulted in a net increase of 36,401 people, and migration within the country produced a net increase of 115,084 people. According to the University of South Carolina's Arnold School of Public Health, Consortium for Latino Immigration Studies, South Carolina's foreign-born population grew faster than any other state between 2000 and 2005.[89][90] South Carolina has banned sanctuary cities.[91]

The top countries of origin for South Carolina's immigrants were Mexico, India, Germany, Honduras and the Philippines, as of 2018.[92]

Legend
  African American
  European American
  Other

Historical South Carolina racial breakdown of population[93]

Religion edit

Religious self-identification, per Public Religion Research Institute's 2022 American Values Survey[94]

  Protestantism (64%)
  Unaffilated (20%)
  Catholicism (11%)
  New Age (3%)
  Jehovah's Witness (1%)
  Judaism (1%)

According to the Association of Religion Data Archives (ARDA), in 2010, the largest religion is Christianity, of which the largest denominations were the Southern Baptist Convention with 913,763 adherents, the United Methodist Church with 274,111 adherents, and the Roman Catholic Church with 181,743 adherents. Fourth-largest is the African Methodist Episcopal Church with 564 congregations and 121,000 members and fifth-largest is the Presbyterian Church (USA) with 320 congregations and almost 100,000 members.[95] As of 2010, South Carolina was the American state with the highest per capita proportion of citizens who follow the Baháʼí Faith, with 17,559 adherents,[96] making Baháʼí the second-largest religion in the state at the time.[97]

According to the Public Religion Research Institute in 2020, Christianity remained the largest religion at approximately 74% of the population.[98] Among the Christian population, evangelical Protestantism remained the majority; the irreligious community was 18% of the total population. Per ARDA's 2020 religion census, Southern Baptists remained the majority with 816,405 adherents, and Roman Catholics had 407,840 adherents, followed by United Methodists at 242,467. As other Baptist denominations had from 10 to 40,000+ members individually, nondenominational/interdenominational Protestants increased to 454,063 adherents.[99]

Outside of Christianity, ARDA's 2020 study reported 6,677 Muslims in the state, and 830 Orthodox Jews; Reform Judaism consisted of 3,430 adherents. Altogether, Hinduism had 8,383 adherents.[99]

In 2022, the Public Religion Research Institute estimated that Christians increased to 76% of the population (64% Protestant, 11% Catholic, and 1% Jehovah's Witness). The unaffiliated also increased, forming 20% of the state's population, although New Agers constituted 3% of the state. Judaism was 1% of the total population.

Economy edit

See also: Economy of South Carolina and South Carolina locations by per capita income
 
A roller coaster in the South Carolina portion of Carowinds
  • Total employment (2021): 1,936,015[2]
  • Total employer establishments (2021): 116,896[2]

In 2019, South Carolina's GDP was $249.9 billion, making the state the 26th largest by GDP in the United States.[100] According to the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, South Carolina's gross state product (GSP) was $97 billion in 1997 and $153 billion in 2007. Its per-capita real gross domestic product (GDP) in chained 2000 dollars was $26,772 in 1997 and $28,894 in 2007; which represented 85% of the $31,619 per-capita real GDP for the United States overall in 1997, and 76% of the $38,020 for the U.S. in 2007. The state debt in 2012 was calculated by one source to be $22.9bn, or $7,800 per taxpayer.[101]

Industrial outputs include textile goods, chemical products, paper products, machinery, automobiles, automotive products and tourism. Major agricultural outputs of the state are tobacco, poultry, cotton, cattle, dairy products, soybeans, hay, rice, and swine.[102][103] According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, as of March 2012, South Carolina had 1,852,700 nonfarm jobs of which 12% are in manufacturing, 11.5% are in leisure and hospitality, 19% are in trade, transportation, and utilities, and 11.8% are in education and health services. The service sector accounts for 83.7% of the South Carolina economy.[104]

Many large corporations have moved their locations to South Carolina. Boeing opened an aircraft manufacturing facility at Charleston International Airport in 2011, which serves as one of two final assembly sites for the 787 Dreamliner. South Carolina is a right-to-work state[105] and many businesses use staffing agencies to temporarily fill positions.[106] Domtar, in Rock Hill, used to be the only Fortune 500 company headquartered in South Carolina, but it was later moved into the Fortune 1000 list.[107][108] The three Fortune 1000 companies headquartered in the state are Domtar, Sonoco Products, and ScanSource.[108]

South Carolina also benefits from foreign investment. There are 1,950 foreign-owned firms operating in South Carolina employing almost 135,000 people.[109] Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) brought 1.06 billion dollars to the state economy in 2010.[110] Since 1994, BMW has had a production facility in Spartanburg County near Greer and since 1996 the Zapp Group operates in Summerville near Charleston.

Transportation and infrastructure edit

 
Arthur Ravenel Jr. Bridge from Charleston Harbor

The state has the fourth largest state-maintained highway system in the country, consisting of 11 Interstates, numbered highways, state highways, and secondary roads, totalling approximately 41,500 miles.[111]

On secondary roads, South Carolina uses a numbering system to keep track of all non-interstate and primary highways that the South Carolina Department of Transportation maintains. Secondary roads are numbered by the number of the county followed by a unique number for the particular road.

Interstates edit

Main article: List of Interstate Highways in South Carolina

Primary edit

Auxiliary (three-digit) edit

Business routes edit

US highways edit

Further information: List of U.S. Highways in South Carolina

State routes edit

Further information: List of state highways in South Carolina

Secondary roads edit

Further information: South Carolina State Highway System § Secondary roads

Rail edit

South Carolina passenger rail
Legend

CSX Transportation and Norfolk Southern are the only Class I railroad companies in South Carolina, as other freight companies in the state are short lines.

Amtrak operates four passenger routes in South Carolina: the Crescent, the Palmetto, the Silver Meteor, and the Silver Star. The Crescent route serves the Upstate cities, the Silver Star serves the Midlands cities, and the Palmetto and Silver Meteor routes serve the lowcountry cities.

Major and regional airports edit

Main article: List of airports in South Carolina

There are seven significant airports in South Carolina, all of which act as regional airport hubs. The busiest by passenger volume is Charleston International Airport.[112] Just across the border in North Carolina is Charlotte/Douglas International Airport, the 30th busiest airport in the world, in terms of passengers.[113]

Education edit

Main article: Education in South Carolina

As of 2010, South Carolina is one of three states that have not agreed to use competitive international math and language standards.[114]

In 2014, the South Carolina Supreme Court ruled the state had failed to provide a "minimally adequate" education to children in all parts of the state as required by the state's constitution.[115]

South Carolina has 1,144 K–12 schools in 85 school districts with an enrollment of 712,244 as of fall 2009.[116][117] As of the 2008–2009 school year, South Carolina spent $9,450 per student which places it 31st in the country for per student spending.[118]

In 2015, the national average SAT score was 1490 and the South Carolina average was 1442, 48 points lower than the national average.[119]

South Carolina is the only state which owns and operates a statewide school bus system. As of December 2016, the state maintains a 5,582-bus fleet with the average vehicle in service being fifteen years old (the national average is six) having logged 236,000 miles.[120] Half of the state's school buses are more than 15 years old and some are reportedly up to 30 years old. In 2017 in the budget proposal, Superintendent of Education Molly Spearman requested the state lease to purchase 1,000 buses to replace the most decrepit vehicles. An additional 175 buses could be purchased immediately through the State Treasurer's master lease program.[121] On January 5, 2017, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency awarded South Carolina more than $1.1 million to replace 57 school buses with new cleaner models through its Diesel Emissions Reduction Act program.[122]

Higher education edit

See also: List of colleges and universities in South Carolina

South Carolina has diverse institutions from large state-funded research universities to small colleges that cultivate a liberal arts, religious or military tradition.

 
Furman University bell tower near Greenville
  • Furman University is a private, coeducational, non-sectarian, liberal arts university in Greenville. Founded in 1826, Furman enrolls approximately 2,900 undergraduate and 500 graduate students. Furman is the largest private institution in South Carolina. The university is primarily focused on undergraduate education (only two departments, education and chemistry, offer graduate degrees).
  • Erskine College is a private, coeducational liberal arts college in Due West, South Carolina. The college was founded in 1839 and is affiliated with the Associate Reformed Presbyterian Church, which maintains a theological seminary on the campus.
  • The Citadel, The Military College of South Carolina is a state-supported, comprehensive college in Charleston. Founded in 1842, it is best known for its undergraduate Corps of Cadets military program for men and women, which combines academics, physical challenges and military discipline. In addition to the cadet program, the Citadel Graduate College offers evening certificate, undergraduate and graduate programs to civilians. The Citadel has 2,200 undergraduate cadets in its residential military program and 1,200 civilian students in the evening programs.
  • Wofford College is a small liberal arts college in Spartanburg. Wofford was founded in 1854 with a bequest of $100,000 from the Rev. Benjamin Wofford (1780–1850), a Methodist minister and Spartanburg native who sought to create a college for "literary, classical, and scientific education in my native district of Spartanburg". It is one of the few four-year institutions in the southeastern United States founded before the American Civil War that operates on its original campus.
  • Newberry College is a small liberal arts college in Newberry. Founded in 1856, Newberry is a co-educational, private liberal-arts college of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) on a historic 90-acre (36 ha) campus in Newberry, South Carolina. It has roughly 1,110 students and a 14:1 student-teacher ratio. According to U.S. News & World Report's America's Best Colleges, Newberry College ranks among the nation's top colleges in the southern region.
  • Claflin University, founded in 1869 by the American Missionary Association, is the oldest historically black college in the state. After the Democratic-dominated legislature closed the university in 1877, before passing a law to restrict admission to whites, it designated Claflin as the only state college for blacks.
  • Lander University is a public liberal arts university in Greenwood. Lander was founded in 1872 as Willamston Female College.[123] The school moved to Greenwood in 1904 and was renamed Lander College in honor of its founder, Samuel Lander. In 1973 Lander became part of the state's higher education system and is now a co-educational institution. The university is focused on undergraduate education and enrolls approximately 3,000 undergraduates.
  • Presbyterian College (PC) is a private liberal arts college founded in 1880 in Clinton. Presbyterian College enrolls around 1000 undergraduate students and around 200 graduate students in its pharmacy school. In 2007, Washington Monthly ranked PC as the No. 1 Liberal Arts College in the nation.[124]
  • Winthrop University, founded in 1886 as an all-female teaching school in Rock Hill, became a co-ed institution in 1974. It is now a public university with an enrollment of just over 6,100 students. It is one of the fastest growing universities in the state, with several new academic and recreational buildings being added to the main campus in the past five years, as well as several more planned for the near future. The Richard W. Riley College of Education is still the school's most well-known area of study.
  • Clemson University, founded in 1889, is a public, coeducational, land-grant research university in Clemson. It has more than 19,000 undergraduate students and 5,200 graduate students from all 50 states and from more than 70 countries. Clemson is also the home to the South Carolina Botanical Garden.
  • North Greenville University, founded in 1891, is a comprehensive university in Tigerville. It is affiliated with South Carolina Baptist Convention and the Southern Baptist Convention, and is accredited by the Commission on Colleges of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools. It has an enrollment of around 2,500 undergraduates.
  • South Carolina State University, founded in 1896, is a historically black university in Orangeburg. SCSU has an enrollment of nearly 5,000, and offers undergraduate, graduate and post-graduate degrees. SCSU boasts the only Doctor of Education program in the state.
  • Anderson University, founded in 1911, is a selective comprehensive university that offers bachelor's and master's degrees. It enrolls about 2,900 students.
  • Webster University, founded in 1915 in St. Louis, MO, with five extended campuses in SC, offers undergraduate and graduate degrees.
  • Bob Jones University, founded in 1927, is a private, non-denominational and conservative Christian liberal arts university with a 2019 total enrollment of 3,000. BJU offers more than 60 undergraduate majors and 70 graduate programs.[125][126]
  • Coastal Carolina University, founded in 1954, became an independent state-supported liberal arts university in 1993. The university enrolls approximately 10,500 students on its 307-acre (1.24 km2) campus in Conway, part of the Myrtle Beach metropolitan area. Baccalaureate programs are offered in 51 major fields of study, along with graduate programs in education, business administration (MBA), and coastal marine and wetland studies.
  • Charleston Southern University, founded in 1969, is a liberal arts university, and is affiliated with the South Carolina Baptist Convention. Charleston Southern (CSU) is on 300 acres, formerly the site of a rice and indigo plantation, in the City of North Charleston one of South Carolina's largest accredited, independent universities, enrolling approximately 3,400 students.
  • Francis Marion University, formerly Francis Marion College, is a state-supported liberal arts university near Florence, South Carolina. It was founded in 1970 and achieved university status in 1992.

Health care edit

For overall health care, South Carolina is ranked 37th out of the 50 states in 2022, according to The Commonwealth Fund, a private health foundation working to improve the health care system.[127] The state's teen birth rate was 53 births per 1,000 teens, compared to the national average of 41.9 births, according to the Kaiser Family Foundation.[128] The state's infant mortality rate was 9.4 deaths per 1,000 births compared to the national average of 6.9 deaths.[129]

There were 2.6 physicians per 1,000 people compared to the national average of 3.2 physicians.[130] There was $5,114 spent on health expenses per capita in the state, compared to the national average of $5,283.[131] There were 26 percent of children and 13 percent of elderly living in poverty in the state, compared to 23 percent and 13 percent, respectively, doing so in the U.S.[132] And, 34 percent of children were overweight or obese, compared to the national average of 32 percent.[133]

Media edit

See also: List of newspapers in South Carolina and Category:Mass media in South Carolina

There are 36 TV stations (including PBS affiliates) serving South Carolina with terrestrial, and some online streaming access. Markets in which the stations are located include Columbia, Florence, Allendale, Myrtle Beach, Greenville, Charleston, Conway, Beaufort, Hardeeville, Spartanburg, Greenwood, Anderson and Sumter. There are multiple news companies in South Carolina, some major ones are The Charleston Chronicle, Greenville News, The Post and Courier, The State, and The Sun News.

Government and politics edit

Main article: South Carolina government and politics
See also: Political party strength in South Carolina
 
Treemap of the popular vote by county, 2016 presidential election

South Carolina's state government consists of executive, legislative, and judicial branches. The governor of South Carolina heads the executive branch; the South Carolina General Assembly heads the legislative branch; and the South Carolina Supreme Court heads the judicial branch.

South Carolina is a largely conservative state. Since the Declaration of Independence, South Carolina's politics have been controlled by three main parties: the Democratic-Republican Party in the early 1800s, the Democratic Party through most of the 19th and 20th centuries, and the Republican Party in the 21st century. Since the mid-1990s, the South Carolina General Assembly has been controlled by the Republican party, and currently, eight of nine statewide offices are held by Republican officeholders and one by a Democratic officeholder.[134][135]

At the federal level, South Carolina has voted Republican in every presidential election since the 1976 election of Jimmy Carter.[136] Both of South Carolina's senators are Republican. The most-recent Democratic senator to serve was Fritz Hollings, who left office in 2005. South Carolina has seven representatives in the United States House of Representatives, six of whom are Republican.

 
South Carolina State House

As of November 8, 2022, there were 3,740,743 registered voters.[137] In a 2020 study, South Carolina was ranked by the Election Law Journal as the 7th hardest state for citizens to vote in.[138] South Carolina retains the death penalty. Authorized methods of execution include by electric chair or firing squad.[139]

An April 2023 Winthrop University poll found that an overwhelming majority of South Carolians supported legalizing medical marijuana and believed that a separation between church and state was "critical". A large majority were also found to support same-sex marriage, legalized recreational marijuana and sports gambling, along with an independent commission system for congressional redistricting.[140]

Culture edit

See also: South Carolina literature

South Carolina has many venues for visual and performing arts. The Gibbes Museum of Art in Charleston, the Greenville County Museum of Art, the Columbia Museum of Art, Spartanburg Art Museum, and the South Carolina State Museum in Columbia among others provide access to visual arts to the state. There are also numerous historic sites and museums scattered throughout the state paying homage to many events and periods in the state's history from Native American inhabitation to the present day.

South Carolina also has performing art venues including the Peace Center in Greenville, the Koger Center for the Arts in Columbia, and the Newberry Opera House, among others to bring local, national, and international talent to the stages of South Carolina. Several large venues can house major events, including Colonial Life Arena in Columbia, Bon Secours Wellness Arena in Greenville, and North Charleston Coliseum.

One of the nation's major performing arts festivals, Spoleto Festival USA, is held annually in Charleston. There are also countless local festivals throughout the state highlighting many cultural traditions, historical events, and folklore.

According to the South Carolina Arts Commission, creative industries generate $9.2 billion annually and support over 78,000 jobs in the state.[141] A 2009 statewide poll by the University of South Carolina Institute for Public Service and Policy Research found that 67% of residents had participated in the arts in some form during the past year and on average citizens had participated in the arts 14 times in the previous year.

Sports edit

Main article: Sports in South Carolina

Although no major league professional sports teams are based in South Carolina, the Carolina Panthers have training facilities in the state and played their inaugural season's home games at Clemson's Memorial Stadium in 1995. They now play at Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte, North Carolina. The Panthers consider themselves "The Carolinas' Team" and refrained from naming themselves after Charlotte or either of the Carolinas. The state is also home to numerous minor league professional teams. College teams represent their particular South Carolina institutions, and are the primary options for football, basketball and baseball attendance in the state. South Carolina is also a top destination for golf and water sports.

South Carolina is also home to one of NASCAR's first tracks and its first paved speedway, Darlington Raceway, located northwest of Florence.

See also edit

Notes edit

  1. ^ Elevation adjusted to North American Vertical Datum of 1988.
  2. ^ Not a true representation of current population in the statistical area. Brunswick County, North Carolina was removed from the Myrtle Beach metropolitan area after a realignment in 2023.[77] The county was moved to the Wilmington, NC Metropolitan Statistical Area.[79]
  3. ^ Unofficial readjusted 2020 count of 351,029.
  4. ^ Persons of Hispanic or Latino origin are not distinguished between total and partial ancestry.

References edit

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Further reading edit

  • Morris, J. Brent. Yes, Lord, I Know the Road: A Documentary History of African Americans in South Carolina, 1526–2008 (2017)

External links edit

  • Official website
  • South Carolina State Guide, from the Library of Congress
  • South Carolina State Facts from USDA
  • South Carolina Lakes Database
  • South Carolina Department of Parks & Tourism
  • South Carolina at Curlie
  •   Geographic data related to South Carolina at OpenStreetMap
Preceded by List of U.S. states by date of admission to the Union
Ratified Constitution on May 23, 1788 (8th) 		Succeeded by

34°N 81°W / 34°N 81°W / 34; -81 (State of South Carolina)

December 07, 2023
south, carolina, this, article, about, state, other, uses, disambiguation, karr, state, coastal, southeastern, region, united, states, bordered, north, north, carolina, southeast, atlantic, ocean, southwest, georgia, across, savannah, river, along, with, north. This article is about the U S state For other uses see South Carolina disambiguation South Carolina ˌ k aer e ˈ l aɪ n e KARR e LIE ne is a state in the coastal Southeastern region of the United States It is bordered to the north by North Carolina to the southeast by the Atlantic Ocean and to the southwest by Georgia 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 5 124 712 according to the 2020 census 4 In 2019 update its GDP was 213 45 billion South Carolina is composed of 46 counties The capital is Columbia with a population of 137 300 in 2020 5 while its largest city is Charleston with a 2020 population of 150 277 6 The Greenville Spartanburg Anderson SC Combined Statistical Area is the most populous in the state with a 2020 population of 1 487 610 7 South CarolinaStateFlagSealNickname The Palmetto StateMotto s Dum spiro spero While I breathe I hope Animis opibusque parati Prepared in mind and resources Anthem Carolina South Carolina on my Mind Map of the United States with South Carolina highlightedCountryUnited StatesBefore statehoodProvince of South CarolinaAdmitted to the UnionMay 23 1788 8th CapitalColumbiaLargest cityCharlestonLargest county or equivalentGreenvilleLargest metro and urban areasGreenville combined and metro Columbia urban Government GovernorHenry McMaster R Lieutenant GovernorPamela Evette R LegislatureGeneral Assembly Upper houseSenate Lower houseHouse of RepresentativesJudiciarySouth Carolina Supreme CourtU S senatorsLindsey Graham R Tim Scott R U S House delegation6 Republicans1 Democrat list Area Total32 020 49 sq mi 77 856 9 km2 Land30 060 70 sq mi 77 856 9 km2 Water1 959 79 sq mi 5 075 8 km2 6 12 Rank40thDimensions Length260 mi 420 km Width200 mi 320 km Elevation350 ft 110 m Highest elevation Sassafras Mountain 1 a 3 560 ft 1 085 m Lowest elevation Atlantic Ocean 1 0 ft 0 m Population 2020 Total5 118 425 2 Rank23rd Density170 27 sq mi 65 74 km2 Rank19th Median household income 50 570 3 Income rank41stDemonymsSouth CarolinianLanguage Official languageEnglishTime zoneUTC 05 00 Eastern Summer DST UTC 04 00 EDT USPS abbreviationSCISO 3166 codeUS SCTraditional abbreviationS C Latitude32 02 N to 35 13 NLongitude78 32 W to 83 21 WWebsitesc wbr govState symbols of South CarolinaList of state symbolsFlag of South CarolinaSeal of South CarolinaLiving insigniaAmphibianSalamanderBirdCarolina WrenButterflyEastern Tiger SwallowtailDog breedBoykin SpanielFishStriped bassFlowerYellow jessamineInsectCarolina mantisMammalWhite tailed deerReptileLoggerhead sea turtleTreeSabal palmettoInanimate insigniaBeverageMilkDanceCarolina shagFoodFruit PeachSnack Boiled peanutsVegetable Collard greensFossilColumbian mammoth Mammuthus columbi MineralAmethystRockBlue GraniteShellLettered oliveOtherHogna carolinensisState route markerState quarterReleased in 2000Lists of United States state symbolsSouth Carolina was named in honor of King Charles I of England who first formed the English colony with Carolus being Latin for Charles 8 In 1712 the Province of South Carolina was formed One of the original Thirteen Colonies South Carolina became a royal colony in 1719 During the American Revolutionary War South Carolina was the site of major activity among the American colonies with more than 200 battles and skirmishes fought within the state 9 South Carolina became the eighth state to ratify the U S Constitution on May 23 1788 A slave state it was the first state to vote in favor of secession from the Union on December 20 1860 After the American Civil War it was readmitted to the Union on July 9 1868 During the early to mid 20th century the state started to see economic progress as many textile mills and factories were built across the state The civil rights movement of the mid 20th century helped end segregation and legal discrimination policies within the state Economic diversification in South Carolina continued to pick up speed during and in the ensuing decades after World War II In the early 21st century South Carolina s economy is based on industries such as aerospace agribusiness automotive manufacturing and tourism 10 Within South Carolina from east to west are three main geographic regions the Atlantic coastal plain the Piedmont and the Blue Ridge Mountains in the northwestern corner of Upstate South Carolina South Carolina has primarily a humid subtropical climate with hot humid summers and mild winters Areas in the Upstate have a subtropical highland climate Along South Carolina s eastern coastal plain are many salt marshes and estuaries South Carolina s southeastern Lowcountry contains portions of the Sea Islands a chain of barrier islands along the Atlantic Ocean Contents 1 History 1 1 Precolonial period 1 2 Exploration 1 3 Colonization 1 4 The American Revolution 1 5 Antebellum 1 6 Civil War 1861 1865 1 7 Reconstruction 1865 1877 1 8 Populist and agrarian movements 1 9 20th century 1 10 21st century 2 Geography 2 1 Regions 2 2 Atlantic Coastal Plain 2 3 Piedmont 2 4 Blue Ridge 2 5 Lakes 2 6 Earthquakes 2 7 Climate 2 7 1 Hurricanes and tropical cyclones 2 7 2 Climate change 2 8 Federal lands in South Carolina 2 9 Flora and fauna 2 10 Major cities 2 11 Statistical areas 3 Demographics 3 1 Religion 4 Economy 5 Transportation and infrastructure 5 1 Interstates 5 1 1 Primary 5 1 2 Auxiliary three digit 5 1 3 Business routes 5 2 US highways 5 3 State routes 5 4 Secondary roads 5 5 Rail 5 6 Major and regional airports 6 Education 6 1 Higher education 7 Health care 7 1 Media 8 Government and politics 9 Culture 9 1 Sports 10 See also 11 Notes 12 References 13 Further reading 14 External linksHistory editMain article History of South Carolina Precolonial period edit nbsp Top left the shores of Florida and the future Carolina explored in 1500 and showed in 1502 on the Cantino planisphereThere is evidence of human activities in the area dating to about 50 000 years ago 11 At the time Europeans arrived marking the end of the Pre Columbian era around 1600 there were many separate Native American tribes the largest being the Cherokee and the Catawba with the total population being up to 20 000 12 Up the rivers of 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 12 The Cherokee lived in wattle and daub houses made with wood and clay roofed with wood or thatched grass 13 About 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 12 Exploration edit nbsp Map of French Florida which included modern day South CarolinaThe Spanish were 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 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 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 12 Colonization edit Main articles Province of Carolina and Province of South Carolina nbsp The Carolina Colony grants of 1663 and 1665Sixty years later in 1629 King of England Charles I established the Province of Carolina an area covering what is now South and North Carolina Georgia and Tennessee In 1663 Charles II granted the land to eight Lords Proprietors in return for their financial and political assistance in restoring him to the throne in 1660 14 Anthony Ashley Cooper one of the Lord Proprietors planned the Grand Model for the Province of Carolina and wrote the Fundamental Constitutions of Carolina which laid the basis for the future colony 15 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 16 109 was the largest among the British colonies in North America 16 65 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 17 16 237 Additional enslaved Native Americans were exported from South Carolina to other U S colonies 17 The historian Alan Gallay says the trade in Indian slaves 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 17 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 was done by African slaves who formed the majority of the population by 1720 18 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 displaced Native American tribes westward Colonists overthrew 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 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 18 The American Revolution edit Main articles South Carolina in the American Revolution and Southern theater of the American Revolutionary War nbsp A twenty dollar banknote issued by South Carolina in 1777On March 26 1776 the colony adopted the Constitution of South Carolina 19 electing John Rutledge as the state s first president In February 1778 South Carolina became the first state to ratify the Articles of Confederation 20 the initial governing document of 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 21 more than any other state 18 Inhabitants of the state endured being invaded by British forces and an ongoing civil war between loyalists and partisans that devastated the backcountry 21 It is estimated 25 000 slaves 30 of those in South Carolina fled migrated or died during the war 22 Antebellum edit Main article Antebellum South Carolina nbsp Millford Plantation built 1839 41 is an example of Greek Revival architectureAmerica 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 23 the latter being the country s fifth largest city 24 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 25 Columbia 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 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 thatBefore 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 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 26 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 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 27 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 a Hostile Act 28 and within weeks South Carolina became the first state to secede 18 Civil War 1861 1865 edit Main articles Ordinance of Secession Confederate States of America and South Carolina in the American Civil War nbsp Charleston in ruins 1865On 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 a Union base and staging point for other operations Whites abandoned their plantations 29 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 30 Although 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 29 with the state losing an estimated 18 000 troops 31 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 the Upstate topography and traditional community relations to resist service in the Confederate ranks 32 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 Reconstruction 1865 1877 edit Main article Reconstruction era nbsp Joseph Rainey was the first black person to serve in the U S House of Representatives He represented SC s 1st congressional district 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 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 33 34 35 On October 19 1871 President Ulysses S Grant suspended habeas corpus in nine South Carolina counties under the authority of the Ku Klux Klan Act 36 Led by Grant s Attorney General Amos T Akerman hundreds of Klansmen were arrested while 2 000 Klansmen fled the state 36 This was done to suppress Klan violence against African American and white voters in the South 36 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 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 Populist and agrarian movements edit 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 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 37 The 1900 census demonstrated the extent of disenfranchisement 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 38 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 was passed in 1975 39 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 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 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 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 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 40 41 42 43 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 20th century edit nbsp Children workers c 1912 Some children who worked in South Carolina textile mills went to school half a day and worked before and after school and eight or nine hours on Saturday Early in the 20th century South Carolina developed 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 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 44 South Carolina 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 See also South Carolina in the civil rights movement 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 45 This tranquil transition from 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 46 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 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 47 21st century edit nbsp North Ocean Boulevard in Myrtle Beach 2010As 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 48 South Carolina was one of the first states to stop paying for early elective deliveries of babies under either Medicaid and private insurance 49 50 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 51 On November 20 2014 South Carolina became the 35th state to legalize same sex marriages when a federal court ordered the change 52 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 53 Geography edit nbsp Interactive map of South Carolina Regions edit The state can be divided into three natural geographic areas which then can be subdivided into five distinct cultural regions The natural environment 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 54 The Atlantic Coastal Plain makes up two thirds of 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 km2 of which 30 060 70 square miles 77 856 9 km2 is land and 1 959 79 square miles 5 075 8 km2 6 12 is water 55 Atlantic Coastal Plain edit Main article South Carolina Lowcountry 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 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 56 The Sandhills or Carolina Sandhills is a 10 35 mi 16 56 km wide region within the Atlantic Coastal Plain province along 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 57 Piedmont edit Much of Piedmont consists of Paleozoic metamorphic and igneous rocks and 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 56 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 the growth of several cities including the capital Columbia The larger rivers are navigable up to the fall line providing a trade route for mill towns The northwestern part of Piedmont is also known as the Foothills The Cherokee Parkway is a scenic driving route through this area This is where Table Rock State Park is located Blue Ridge edit nbsp Pinnacle Mountain viewed from Caesars HeadThe Blue Ridge consists primarily of Precambrian metamorphic rocks and the landscape has relatively high relief The Blue Ridge Region contains an escarpment of the Blue Ridge Mountains that continues into North Carolina and Georgia as part of the southern Appalachian Mountains Sassafras Mountain South Carolina s highest point at 3 560 feet 1 090 m is in this area 58 Also in this area is Caesars Head State Park The environment here is that of the Appalachian Blue Ridge forests ecoregion 56 The Chattooga River on the border between South Carolina and Georgia is a favorite whitewater rafting destination Lakes edit Main article List of lakes in South Carolina South Carolina has several major lakes covering over 683 square miles 1 770 km2 All major lakes in South Carolina are human made The following are the lakes listed by size 59 60 Lake Marion 110 000 acres 450 km2 Lake Strom Thurmond also known as Clarks Hill Lake 71 100 acres 290 km2 Lake Moultrie 60 000 acres 240 km2 Lake Hartwell 56 000 acres 230 km2 Lake Murray 50 000 acres 200 km2 Russell Lake 26 650 acres 110 km2 Lake Keowee 18 372 acres 70 km2 Lake Wylie 13 400 acres 50 km2 Lake Wateree 13 250 acres 50 km2 Lake Greenwood 11 400 acres 50 km2 Lake Jocassee 7 500 acres 30 km2 Lake Bowen 1 534 acres 6 21 km2 Earthquakes edit Main article List of earthquakes in South Carolina South Carolina is the most seismically active state on the East Coast 61 Between July 1 2021 and July 1 2022 there were 74 recorded earthquakes in South Carolina 62 six of which exceeded a 3 magnitude 63 In 2021 and 2022 most of which were concentrated in Kershaw County and the coastal area of Charleston 62 The Charleston area demonstrates the greatest frequency of earthquakes in South Carolina South Carolina averages 10 15 earthquakes a year below magnitude 3 FEMA The Charleston earthquake of 1886 was the largest quake ever to hit the eastern United States The 7 0 7 3 magnitude earthquake killed 60 people and destroyed much of the city 64 Faults in this region are difficult to study at the surface due to thick sedimentation on top of them Many of the ancient faults are within plates rather than along plate boundaries Climate edit Main article Climate of South Carolina nbsp A map of the average annual precipitation in South CarolinaSouth Carolina has a humid subtropical climate Koppen climate classification Cfa although high elevation areas in the Upstate area have fewer subtropical characteristics than areas on the Atlantic coastline In the summer South Carolina is hot and humid with daytime temperatures averaging between 86 93 F 30 34 C in most of the state and overnight lows averaging 70 75 F 21 24 C on the coast and from 66 73 F 19 23 C inland Winter temperatures are much less uniform in South Carolina Coastal areas of the state have very mild winters with high temperatures approaching an average of 60 F 16 C and overnight lows around 40 F 5 8 C nbsp A snow plow in South Carolina The upstate and mountainous region of the state receives the most measurable snowfall Inland the average January overnight low is around 32 F 0 C in Columbia and temperatures well below freezing in the Upstate While precipitation is abundant the entire year in almost the entire state the coast tends to have a slightly wetter summer while inland the spring and autumn transitions tend to be the wettest periods and winter the driest season with November being the driest month The highest recorded temperature is 113 F 45 C in Johnston and Columbia on June 29 2012 and the lowest recorded temperature is 19 F 28 C at Caesars Head on January 21 1985 Snowfall in South Carolina is minimal in the lower elevation areas south and east of Columbia It is not uncommon for areas along the southernmost coast to not receive measurable snowfall for several years In the Piedmont and Foothills especially along and north of Interstate 85 measurable snowfall occurs one to three times in most years Annual average total amounts range from 2 to 6 inches The Blue Ridge Escarpment receives the most average total measurable snowfall amounts range from 7 to 12 inches South Carolina averages around 50 days of thunderstorm activity a year This is less than some of the states further south and it is slightly less vulnerable to tornadoes than the states which border on the Gulf of Mexico Some notable tornadoes have struck South Carolina and the state averages around 14 tornadoes annually Hail is common with many of the thunderstorms in the state as there is often a marked contrast in temperature of warmer ground conditions compared to the cold air aloft 65 Hurricanes and tropical cyclones edit nbsp Category 4 Hurricane Hugo in 1989The state is occasionally affected by tropical cyclones This is an annual concern during hurricane season which lasts from June 1 to November 30 The peak time of vulnerability for the southeast Atlantic coast is from early August to early October during the Cape Verde hurricane season Memorable hurricanes to hit South Carolina include Hazel 1954 Hugo 1989 and Florence 2018 Climate change edit This section is an excerpt from Climate change in South Carolina edit nbsp Koppen climate types in South Carolina showing a large majority of the state being humid subtropical with smaller outlier pockets of an oceanic climate in the Blue Ridge Mountains Climate change in South Carolina encompasses the effects of climate change attributed to man made increases in atmospheric carbon dioxide in the U S state of South Carolina Studies show that South Carolina is among a string of Deep South states that will experience the worst effects of climate change 66 According to the United States Environmental Protection Agency South Carolina s climate is changing Most of the state has warmed by one half to one degree F in the last century and the sea is rising about one to one and a half inches every decade Higher water levels are eroding beaches submerging low lands and exacerbating coastal flooding Like other southeastern states South Carolina has warmed less than most of the nation But in the coming decades the region s changing climate is likely to reduce crop yields harm livestock increase the number of unpleasantly hot days and increase the risk of heat stroke and other heat related illnesses 67 As of January 2020 South Carolina s failure to develop a comprehensive climate plan means the state has no overall effort to cut greenhouse gas pollution limit sprawl or educate the public on how to adapt to the changing climate 68 South Carolina released its Climate Energy and Commerce Committee Final Report in 2008 The report recommends a voluntary economy wide goal of reducing emissions to 5 below 1990 levels by 2020 Key policy recommendations in the report include developing renewable portfolio standards increasing use of local agricultural products and increasing advanced recycling and composting Federal lands in South Carolina edit Main article List of federal lands in South Carolina nbsp Fort Sumter National Monument site of the first battle of the American Civil War in CharlestonCharles Pinckney National Historic Site at Mt Pleasant Congaree National Park in Hopkins Cowpens National Battlefield near Chesnee Fort Moultrie National Monument at Sullivan s Island Fort Sumter National Monument in Charleston Harbor Kings Mountain National Military Park at Blacksburg Ninety Six National Historic Site in Ninety Six Overmountain Victory National Historic Trail Fort Jackson near Columbia Joint Base Charleston near Charleston Shaw Air Force Base near Sumter Marine Corps Recruit Depot Parris Island at Parris IslandFlora and fauna edit Further information List of mammals of South CarolinaSouth Carolina is home to two dominant ecosystems the bottomlands which consist of floodplains and creeks and the toplands The floodplains contain large tracts of old and mature second growth cypress and tupelo forest The uplands are home to longleaf pine shortleaf pine and mixed hardwood forests 69 The Longleaf Pine are an important part of South Carolina s coastal ecosystem They improve soil water and air quality while a habitat for deer and songbirds 70 These forests are endangered by logging for agriculture and development 69 71 Oysters are a critical part of South Carolina s coastal ecology They serve a dual function filtering the water and forming reefs that provide a habitat for small fish and crabs Oysters are imperiled by overharvesting because young oysters need older oysters to latch on to as they age 71 South Carolina is home to many shorebirds including various sandpipers and ibises 72 73 The state serves as a stopover site for birds migrating farther south and a wintering ground for birds that do not fly as far south 73 Major cities edit See also List of municipalities in South Carolina Largest cities or towns in South Carolina 2022 census estimate 74 75 Rank Name County Pop Rank Name County Pop nbsp Charleston nbsp Columbia 1 Charleston Charleston 153 672 11 Florence Florence 40 072 nbsp North Charleston nbsp Mount Pleasant2 Columbia Richland 139 698 12 Spartanburg Spartanburg 38 5843 North Charleston Charleston 118 608 13 Myrtle Beach Horry 38 4174 Mount Pleasant Charleston 94 545 14 Hilton Head Island Beaufort 38 0695 Rock Hill York 75 349 15 Bluffton Beaufort 34 4936 Greenville Greenville 72 310 16 Aiken Aiken 32 4637 Summerville Dorchester 51 617 17 Fort Mill York 30 9408 Goose Creek Berkeley 47 618 18 Anderson Anderson 29 7719 Sumter Sumter 42 757 19 Conway Horry 27 34610 Greer Greenville 42 090 20 Mauldin Greenville 26 918 Statistical areas edit See also South Carolina statistical areas The following tables show the major metropolitan and combined statistical areas of South Carolina Some statistical areas of South Carolina overlap with neighboring states of North Carolina and Georgia Rank Metropolitan statistical area MSA Population 2020 76 77 Counties1 Charlotte Concord Gastonia NC SC 2 660 329 York2 Greenville SC 928 195 Greenville Anderson Laurens Pickens3 Columbia SC 829 470 Calhoun Kershaw Fairfield Richland Lexington Saluda4 Charleston North Charleston SC 799 636 Charleston Dorchester Berkeley5 Augusta Richmond County GA SC 611 000 Aiken Allendale Edgefield Bamberg Barnwell McCormick6 Spartanburg SC 355 241 Spartanburg7 Myrtle Beach Conway North Myrtle Beach SC 351 029 Horry Georgetown8 Hilton Head Island Bluffton Port Royal SC 215 908 Beaufort Jasper9 Florence SC 199 964 Florence Darlington10 Sumter SC 105 556 Sumter ClarendonRank Combined statistical area CSA Population 2020 78 77 Counties1 Charlotte Concord NC SC 2 822 352 York Lancaster Chesterfield Chester2 Greenville Spartanburg Anderson SC 1 487 610 Greenville Spartanburg Anderson Pickens Oconee Laurens Cherokee Union3 Columbia Sumter Orangeburg SC 951 412 Richland Lexington Orangeburg Kershaw Newberry Fairfield Saluda Calhoun5 Myrtle Beach Conway Georgetown SC 551 126 b c Horry GeorgetownDemographics editMain articles Demographics of South Carolina and List of cities and towns in South Carolina Historical population CensusPop Note 1790249 073 1800345 59138 8 1810415 11520 1 1820502 74121 1 1830581 18515 6 1840594 3982 3 1850668 50712 5 1860703 7085 3 1870705 6060 3 1880995 57741 1 18901 151 14915 6 19001 340 31616 4 19101 515 40013 1 19201 683 72411 1 19301 738 7653 3 19401 899 8049 3 19502 117 02711 4 19602 382 59412 5 19702 590 5168 7 19803 121 82020 5 19903 486 70311 7 20004 012 01215 1 20104 625 36415 3 20205 118 42510 7 2022 est 5 282 634 2 3 2 Source 1910 2020 80 Ethnic composition as of the 2020 census Race and ethnicity 81 Alone TotalWhite non Hispanic 62 1 62 1 65 5 65 5 African American non Hispanic 24 8 24 8 26 3 26 3 Hispanic or Latino d 6 9 6 9 Asian 1 7 1 7 2 3 2 3 Native American 0 3 0 3 1 8 1 8 Pacific Islander 0 1 0 1 0 1 0 1 Other 0 4 0 4 1 0 1 nbsp Ethnic origins in South Carolina nbsp Map of South Carolina counties by racial plurality per the 2020 U S census Non Hispanic White 40 50 50 60 60 70 70 80 80 90 Black or African American 40 50 50 60 60 70 70 80 South Carolina racial breakdown of population Racial composition 1990 82 2000 83 2010 84 White 69 0 67 2 66 2 Black 29 8 29 5 27 9 Asian 0 6 0 9 1 3 Native American 0 2 0 3 0 4 Native Hawaiian andother Pacific Islander 0 1 Two or more races 1 0 1 7 nbsp Population density of South CarolinaThe 2020 census determined the state had a population of 5 118 425 The United States Census Bureau estimates the population of South Carolina was 5 148 714 on July 1 2019 an 11 31 percentage increase since the 2010 census 85 According to HUD s 2022 Annual Homeless Assessment Report there were an estimated 3 608 homeless people in South Carolina 86 87 At the 2017 census estimate the racial make up of the state is 68 5 White 63 8 non Hispanic white 27 3 Black or African American 0 5 American Indian and Alaska Native 1 7 Asian 0 1 Native Hawaiian and other Pacific Islander 1 9 from two or more races 5 7 of the total population was of Hispanic or Latino origin of any race 88 At the 2019 census estimate South Carolina had an estimated population of 5 148 714 which is an increase of 64 587 from the prior year and an increase of 523 350 or 11 31 since the year 2010 Immigration from outside the United States resulted in a net increase of 36 401 people and migration within the country produced a net increase of 115 084 people According to the University of South Carolina s Arnold School of Public Health Consortium for Latino Immigration Studies South Carolina s foreign born population grew faster than any other state between 2000 and 2005 89 90 South Carolina has banned sanctuary cities 91 The top countries of origin for South Carolina s immigrants were Mexico India Germany Honduras and the Philippines as of 2018 update 92 Legend African American European American Other Historical South Carolina racial breakdown of population 93 Graphs are unavailable due to technical issues There is more info on Phabricator and on MediaWiki wiki Religion edit Religious self identification per Public Religion Research Institute s 2022 American Values Survey 94 Protestantism 64 Unaffilated 20 Catholicism 11 New Age 3 Jehovah s Witness 1 Judaism 1 According to the Association of Religion Data Archives ARDA in 2010 the largest religion is Christianity of which the largest denominations were the Southern Baptist Convention with 913 763 adherents the United Methodist Church with 274 111 adherents and the Roman Catholic Church with 181 743 adherents Fourth largest is the African Methodist Episcopal Church with 564 congregations and 121 000 members and fifth largest is the Presbyterian Church USA with 320 congregations and almost 100 000 members 95 As of 2010 South Carolina was the American state with the highest per capita proportion of citizens who follow the Bahaʼi Faith with 17 559 adherents 96 making Bahaʼi the second largest religion in the state at the time 97 According to the Public Religion Research Institute in 2020 Christianity remained the largest religion at approximately 74 of the population 98 Among the Christian population evangelical Protestantism remained the majority the irreligious community was 18 of the total population Per ARDA s 2020 religion census Southern Baptists remained the majority with 816 405 adherents and Roman Catholics had 407 840 adherents followed by United Methodists at 242 467 As other Baptist denominations had from 10 to 40 000 members individually nondenominational interdenominational Protestants increased to 454 063 adherents 99 Outside of Christianity ARDA s 2020 study reported 6 677 Muslims in the state and 830 Orthodox Jews Reform Judaism consisted of 3 430 adherents Altogether Hinduism had 8 383 adherents 99 In 2022 the Public Religion Research Institute estimated that Christians increased to 76 of the population 64 Protestant 11 Catholic and 1 Jehovah s Witness The unaffiliated also increased forming 20 of the state s population although New Agers constituted 3 of the state Judaism was 1 of the total population Economy editSee also Economy of South Carolina and South Carolina locations by per capita income nbsp A roller coaster in the South Carolina portion of CarowindsTotal employment 2021 1 936 015 2 Total employer establishments 2021 116 896 2 In 2019 South Carolina s GDP was 249 9 billion making the state the 26th largest by GDP in the United States 100 According to the U S Bureau of Economic Analysis South Carolina s gross state product GSP was 97 billion in 1997 and 153 billion in 2007 Its per capita real gross domestic product GDP in chained 2000 dollars was 26 772 in 1997 and 28 894 in 2007 which represented 85 of the 31 619 per capita real GDP for the United States overall in 1997 and 76 of the 38 020 for the U S in 2007 The state debt in 2012 was calculated by one source to be 22 9bn or 7 800 per taxpayer 101 Industrial outputs include textile goods chemical products paper products machinery automobiles automotive products and tourism Major agricultural outputs of the state are tobacco poultry cotton cattle dairy products soybeans hay rice and swine 102 103 According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics as of March 2012 South Carolina had 1 852 700 nonfarm jobs of which 12 are in manufacturing 11 5 are in leisure and hospitality 19 are in trade transportation and utilities and 11 8 are in education and health services The service sector accounts for 83 7 of the South Carolina economy 104 Many large corporations have moved their locations to South Carolina Boeing opened an aircraft manufacturing facility at Charleston International Airport in 2011 which serves as one of two final assembly sites for the 787 Dreamliner South Carolina is a right to work state 105 and many businesses use staffing agencies to temporarily fill positions 106 Domtar in Rock Hill used to be the only Fortune 500 company headquartered in South Carolina but it was later moved into the Fortune 1000 list 107 108 The three Fortune 1000 companies headquartered in the state are Domtar Sonoco Products and ScanSource 108 South Carolina also benefits from foreign investment There are 1 950 foreign owned firms operating in South Carolina employing almost 135 000 people 109 Foreign Direct Investment FDI brought 1 06 billion dollars to the state economy in 2010 110 Since 1994 BMW has had a production facility in Spartanburg County near Greer and since 1996 the Zapp Group operates in Summerville near Charleston Transportation and infrastructure edit nbsp Arthur Ravenel Jr Bridge from Charleston HarborThe state has the fourth largest state maintained highway system in the country consisting of 11 Interstates numbered highways state highways and secondary roads totalling approximately 41 500 miles 111 On secondary roads South Carolina uses a numbering system to keep track of all non interstate and primary highways that the South Carolina Department of Transportation maintains Secondary roads are numbered by the number of the county followed by a unique number for the particular road Interstates edit Main article List of Interstate Highways in South Carolina Primary edit nbsp I 20 nbsp I 26 nbsp Future I 73 nbsp Future I 74 nbsp I 77 nbsp I 85 nbsp I 95 Auxiliary three digit edit nbsp I 126 nbsp nbsp nbsp I 185 I 185 Toll nbsp I 385 nbsp I 520 nbsp I 526 nbsp I 585 Business routes edit nbsp I 20 BS nbsp I 85 BL nbsp I 385 BS nbsp I 526 BS US highways edit Further information List of U S Highways in South Carolina State routes edit Further information List of state highways in South Carolina Secondary roads edit Further information South Carolina State Highway System Secondary roads Rail edit vteSouth Carolina passenger railLegendCrescentto New York City nbsp nbsp nbsp Palmetto Silver Serviceto New York CitySpartanburg nbsp nbsp nbsp FlorenceGreenville nbsp nbsp nbsp KingstreeClemson nbsp nbsp nbsp CamdenCrescentto New Orleans nbsp nbsp nbsp Charleston nbsp nbsp Columbia nbsp nbsp Yemassee nbsp nbsp Denmark nbsp nbsp Silver Serviceto Miami nbsp Palmettoto SavannahCSX Transportation and Norfolk Southern are the only Class I railroad companies in South Carolina as other freight companies in the state are short lines Amtrak operates four passenger routes in South Carolina the Crescent the Palmetto the Silver Meteor and the Silver Star The Crescent route serves the Upstate cities the Silver Star serves the Midlands cities and the Palmetto and Silver Meteor routes serve the lowcountry cities Station ConnectionsCamden Silver StarNorth Charleston Palmetto Silver MeteorColumbia Silver StarClemson CrescentDenmark Silver StarDillon PalmettoFlorence Palmetto Silver MeteorGreenville CrescentKingstree Palmetto Silver MeteorSpartanburg CrescentYemassee Palmetto Silver MeteorMajor and regional airports edit Main article List of airports in South Carolina There are seven significant airports in South Carolina all of which act as regional airport hubs The busiest by passenger volume is Charleston International Airport 112 Just across the border in North Carolina is Charlotte Douglas International Airport the 30th busiest airport in the world in terms of passengers 113 Columbia Metropolitan Airport Columbia Charleston International Airport North Charleston Greenville Spartanburg International Airport Greenville Spartanburg Florence Regional Airport Florence Myrtle Beach International Airport Myrtle Beach Hilton Head Airport Hilton Head Island Beaufort Rock Hill York County Airport Rock HillEducation editMain article Education in South Carolina As of 2010 South Carolina is one of three states that have not agreed to use competitive international math and language standards 114 In 2014 the South Carolina Supreme Court ruled the state had failed to provide a minimally adequate education to children in all parts of the state as required by the state s constitution 115 South Carolina has 1 144 K 12 schools in 85 school districts with an enrollment of 712 244 as of fall 2009 116 117 As of the 2008 2009 school year South Carolina spent 9 450 per student which places it 31st in the country for per student spending 118 In 2015 the national average SAT score was 1490 and the South Carolina average was 1442 48 points lower than the national average 119 South Carolina is the only state which owns and operates a statewide school bus system As of December 2016 the state maintains a 5 582 bus fleet with the average vehicle in service being fifteen years old the national average is six having logged 236 000 miles 120 Half of the state s school buses are more than 15 years old and some are reportedly up to 30 years old In 2017 in the budget proposal Superintendent of Education Molly Spearman requested the state lease to purchase 1 000 buses to replace the most decrepit vehicles An additional 175 buses could be purchased immediately through the State Treasurer s master lease program 121 On January 5 2017 the U S Environmental Protection Agency awarded South Carolina more than 1 1 million to replace 57 school buses with new cleaner models through its Diesel Emissions Reduction Act program 122 Higher education edit See also List of colleges and universities in South Carolina South Carolina has diverse institutions from large state funded research universities to small colleges that cultivate a liberal arts religious or military tradition The College of Charleston founded in 1770 and chartered in 1785 is the oldest institution of higher learning in South Carolina the 13th oldest in the United States and the first municipal college in the country The college is in company with the Colonial Colleges as one of the original and foundational institutions of higher education in the United States Its founders include three signers of the United States Declaration of Independence and three signers of the United States Constitution The college s historic campus listed on the U S Department of the Interior s National Register of Historic Places forms an integral part of Charleston s colonial era urban center The Graduate School of the College of Charleston offers a number of degree programs and coordinates support for its nationally recognized faculty research efforts The University of South Carolina in Columbia is a flagship public co educational research university with seven satellite campuses It was founded in 1801 as South Carolina College and its original campus The Horseshoe is listed on the National Register of Historic Places The university s main campus covers over 359 acres 1 5 km2 in the urban core less than one city block from the South Carolina State House The University of South Carolina has around 35 000 students on the Columbia campus nbsp Furman University bell tower near GreenvilleFurman University is a private coeducational non sectarian liberal arts university in Greenville Founded in 1826 Furman enrolls approximately 2 900 undergraduate and 500 graduate students Furman is the largest private institution in South Carolina The university is primarily focused on undergraduate education only two departments education and chemistry offer graduate degrees Erskine College is a private coeducational liberal arts college in Due West South Carolina The college was founded in 1839 and is affiliated with the Associate Reformed Presbyterian Church which maintains a theological seminary on the campus The Citadel The Military College of South Carolina is a state supported comprehensive college in Charleston Founded in 1842 it is best known for its undergraduate Corps of Cadets military program for men and women which combines academics physical challenges and military discipline In addition to the cadet program the Citadel Graduate College offers evening certificate undergraduate and graduate programs to civilians The Citadel has 2 200 undergraduate cadets in its residential military program and 1 200 civilian students in the evening programs Wofford College is a small liberal arts college in Spartanburg Wofford was founded in 1854 with a bequest of 100 000 from the Rev Benjamin Wofford 1780 1850 a Methodist minister and Spartanburg native who sought to create a college for literary classical and scientific education in my native district of Spartanburg It is one of the few four year institutions in the southeastern United States founded before the American Civil War that operates on its original campus Newberry College is a small liberal arts college in Newberry Founded in 1856 Newberry is a co educational private liberal arts college of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America ELCA on a historic 90 acre 36 ha campus in Newberry South Carolina It has roughly 1 110 students and a 14 1 student teacher ratio According to U S News amp World Report s America s Best Colleges Newberry College ranks among the nation s top colleges in the southern region Claflin University founded in 1869 by the American Missionary Association is the oldest historically black college in the state After the Democratic dominated legislature closed the university in 1877 before passing a law to restrict admission to whites it designated Claflin as the only state college for blacks Lander University is a public liberal arts university in Greenwood Lander was founded in 1872 as Willamston Female College 123 The school moved to Greenwood in 1904 and was renamed Lander College in honor of its founder Samuel Lander In 1973 Lander became part of the state s higher education system and is now a co educational institution The university is focused on undergraduate education and enrolls approximately 3 000 undergraduates Presbyterian College PC is a private liberal arts college founded in 1880 in Clinton Presbyterian College enrolls around 1000 undergraduate students and around 200 graduate students in its pharmacy school In 2007 Washington Monthly ranked PC as the No 1 Liberal Arts College in the nation 124 Winthrop University founded in 1886 as an all female teaching school in Rock Hill became a co ed institution in 1974 It is now a public university with an enrollment of just over 6 100 students It is one of the fastest growing universities in the state with several new academic and recreational buildings being added to the main campus in the past five years as well as several more planned for the near future The Richard W Riley College of Education is still the school s most well known area of study Clemson University founded in 1889 is a public coeducational land grant research university in Clemson It has more than 19 000 undergraduate students and 5 200 graduate students from all 50 states and from more than 70 countries Clemson is also the home to the South Carolina Botanical Garden North Greenville University founded in 1891 is a comprehensive university in Tigerville It is affiliated with South Carolina Baptist Convention and the Southern Baptist Convention and is accredited by the Commission on Colleges of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools It has an enrollment of around 2 500 undergraduates South Carolina State University founded in 1896 is a historically black university in Orangeburg SCSU has an enrollment of nearly 5 000 and offers undergraduate graduate and post graduate degrees SCSU boasts the only Doctor of Education program in the state Anderson University founded in 1911 is a selective comprehensive university that offers bachelor s and master s degrees It enrolls about 2 900 students Webster University founded in 1915 in St Louis MO with five extended campuses in SC offers undergraduate and graduate degrees Bob Jones University founded in 1927 is a private non denominational and conservative Christian liberal arts university with a 2019 total enrollment of 3 000 BJU offers more than 60 undergraduate majors and 70 graduate programs 125 126 Coastal Carolina University founded in 1954 became an independent state supported liberal arts university in 1993 The university enrolls approximately 10 500 students on its 307 acre 1 24 km2 campus in Conway part of the Myrtle Beach metropolitan area Baccalaureate programs are offered in 51 major fields of study along with graduate programs in education business administration MBA and coastal marine and wetland studies Charleston Southern University founded in 1969 is a liberal arts university and is affiliated with the South Carolina Baptist Convention Charleston Southern CSU is on 300 acres formerly the site of a rice and indigo plantation in the City of North Charleston one of South Carolina s largest accredited independent universities enrolling approximately 3 400 students Francis Marion University formerly Francis Marion College is a state supported liberal arts university near Florence South Carolina It was founded in 1970 and achieved university status in 1992 Health care editFor overall health care South Carolina is ranked 37th out of the 50 states in 2022 according to The Commonwealth Fund a private health foundation working to improve the health care system 127 The state s teen birth rate was 53 births per 1 000 teens compared to the national average of 41 9 births according to the Kaiser Family Foundation 128 The state s infant mortality rate was 9 4 deaths per 1 000 births compared to the national average of 6 9 deaths 129 There were 2 6 physicians per 1 000 people compared to the national average of 3 2 physicians 130 There was 5 114 spent on health expenses per capita in the state compared to the national average of 5 283 131 There were 26 percent of children and 13 percent of elderly living in poverty in the state compared to 23 percent and 13 percent respectively doing so in the U S 132 And 34 percent of children were overweight or obese compared to the national average of 32 percent 133 Media edit See also List of newspapers in South Carolina and Category Mass media in South Carolina There are 36 TV stations including PBS affiliates serving South Carolina with terrestrial and some online streaming access Markets in which the stations are located include Columbia Florence Allendale Myrtle Beach Greenville Charleston Conway Beaufort Hardeeville Spartanburg Greenwood Anderson and Sumter There are multiple news companies in South Carolina some major ones are The Charleston Chronicle Greenville News The Post and Courier The State and The Sun News Government and politics editMain article South Carolina government and politicsSee also Political party strength in South Carolina nbsp Treemap of the popular vote by county 2016 presidential electionSouth Carolina s state government consists of executive legislative and judicial branches The governor of South Carolina heads the executive branch the South Carolina General Assembly heads the legislative branch and the South Carolina Supreme Court heads the judicial branch South Carolina is a largely conservative state Since the Declaration of Independence South Carolina s politics have been controlled by three main parties the Democratic Republican Party in the early 1800s the Democratic Party through most of the 19th and 20th centuries and the Republican Party in the 21st century Since the mid 1990s the South Carolina General Assembly has been controlled by the Republican party and currently eight of nine statewide offices are held by Republican officeholders and one by a Democratic officeholder 134 135 At the federal level South Carolina has voted Republican in every presidential election since the 1976 election of Jimmy Carter 136 Both of South Carolina s senators are Republican The most recent Democratic senator to serve was Fritz Hollings who left office in 2005 South Carolina has seven representatives in the United States House of Representatives six of whom are Republican nbsp South Carolina State HouseAs of November 8 2022 there were 3 740 743 registered voters 137 In a 2020 study South Carolina was ranked by the Election Law Journal as the 7th hardest state for citizens to vote in 138 South Carolina retains the death penalty Authorized methods of execution include by electric chair or firing squad 139 An April 2023 Winthrop University poll found that an overwhelming majority of South Carolians supported legalizing medical marijuana and believed that a separation between church and state was critical A large majority were also found to support same sex marriage legalized recreational marijuana and sports gambling along with an independent commission system for congressional redistricting 140 Culture editSee also South Carolina literature South Carolina has many venues for visual and performing arts The Gibbes Museum of Art in Charleston the Greenville County Museum of Art the Columbia Museum of Art Spartanburg Art Museum and the South Carolina State Museum in Columbia among others provide access to visual arts to the state There are also numerous historic sites and museums scattered throughout the state paying homage to many events and periods in the state s history from Native American inhabitation to the present day South Carolina also has performing art venues including the Peace Center in Greenville the Koger Center for the Arts in Columbia and the Newberry Opera House among others to bring local national and international talent to the stages of South Carolina Several large venues can house major events including Colonial Life Arena in Columbia Bon Secours Wellness Arena in Greenville and North Charleston Coliseum One of the nation s major performing arts festivals Spoleto Festival USA is held annually in Charleston There are also countless local festivals throughout the state highlighting many cultural traditions historical events and folklore According to the South Carolina Arts Commission creative industries generate 9 2 billion annually and support over 78 000 jobs in the state 141 A 2009 statewide poll by the University of South Carolina Institute for Public Service and Policy Research found that 67 of residents had participated in the arts in some form during the past year and on average citizens had participated in the arts 14 times in the previous year Sports edit Main article Sports in South Carolina Although no major league professional sports teams are based in South Carolina the Carolina Panthers have training facilities in the state and played their inaugural season s home games at Clemson s Memorial Stadium in 1995 They now play at Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte North Carolina The Panthers consider themselves The Carolinas Team and refrained from naming themselves after Charlotte or either of the Carolinas The state is also home to numerous minor league professional teams College teams represent their particular South Carolina institutions and are the primary options for football basketball and baseball attendance in the state South Carolina is also a top destination for golf and water sports South Carolina is also home to one of NASCAR s first tracks and its first paved speedway Darlington Raceway located northwest of Florence See also edit nbsp United States portal nbsp South Carolina portalIndex of South Carolina related articles Outline of South Carolina Bibliography of South Carolina historyNotes edit Elevation adjusted to North American Vertical Datum of 1988 Not a true representation of current population in the statistical area Brunswick County North Carolina was removed from the Myrtle Beach metropolitan area after a realignment in 2023 77 The county was moved to the Wilmington NC Metropolitan Statistical Area 79 Unofficial readjusted 2020 count of 351 029 Persons of Hispanic or Latino origin are not distinguished between total and partial ancestry References edit a b Elevations and Distances in the United States United States Geological Survey 2001 Archived from the original on October 15 2011 Retrieved October 24 2011 a b c d QuickFacts South Carolina United States Census Bureau Retrieved June 23 2022 Median Annual Household Income The Henry J Kaiser Family Foundation Archived from the original on December 20 2016 Retrieved December 9 2016 2020 Census Data PDF Census gov April 26 2021 QuickFacts Columbia city South Carolina Archived from the original on June 11 2019 Retrieved November 6 2019 QuickFacts Charleston city South Carolina Archived from the original on March 31 2019 Retrieved November 6 2019 Metropolitan and Micropolitan Statistical Areas Population Totals and Components of Change 2020 2021 United States Census Bureau February 24 2022 Retrieved August 13 2022 N C Board of Agriculture 1902 A sketch of North Carolina Charleston Lucas Richardson Co p 4 OL 6918901M Revolutionary War in South Carolina Discover South Carolina Retrieved July 15 2022 2019 Top Industries in South Carolina Archived June 15 2021 at the Wayback Machine greerdevelopment com Retrieved June 14 2021 University Of South Carolina New Evidence Puts Man In North America 50 000 Years Ago ScienceDaily ScienceDaily November 18 2004 a b c d Liefermann Henry Horan Eric 2000 South Carolina 3rd ed Oakland CA Compass American Guides pp 13 47 252 254 ISBN 978 0 679 00509 4 What type of dwellings did the Cherokee Indians live in Reference Archived from the original on February 12 2017 Retrieved February 12 2017 Prince Danforth March 10 2011 Frommer s The Carolinas and Georgia John Wiley amp Sons p 11 ISBN 978 1 118 03341 8 Archived from the original on April 27 2016 Retrieved September 19 2017 Wilson Thomas D The Ashley Cooper Plan The Founding of Carolina and the Origins of Southern Political Culture Chapter 1 a b c Ethridge R 2010 From Chicaza to Chickasaw The European Invasion and the Transformation of the Mississippian World 1540 1715 United States University of North Carolina Press ISBN 9780807899335 a b c Gallay Alan 2002 The Indian Slave Trade The Rise of the English Empire in the American South 1670 1717 New York Yale University Press p 299 ISBN 0 300 10193 7 a b c d South Carolina Information History and Culture SC State Library Archived from the original on February 13 2017 Retrieved February 12 2017 The Avalon Project Constitution of South Carolina March 26 1776 Avalon law yale edu June 30 1906 Archived from the original on January 17 2013 Retrieved December 19 2012 South Carolina State and Local Government The Green Papers Archived from the original on January 15 2017 Retrieved October 25 2016 a b Gordon John W 2007 South Carolina and the American Revolution a battlefield history Paperback ed Columbia University of South Carolina Press ISBN 978 1570036613 Peter Kolchin American Slavery 1619 1877 New York Hill and Wang 1994 p 73 Nell Porter Brown A portion of the People Archived September 4 2018 at the Wayback Machine Harvard Magazine January February 2003 POP Culture 1800 United States Census Bureau Archived from the original on October 9 2017 Retrieved February 14 2017 South Carolina Constitution of 1790 Archived from the original on February 14 2017 Retrieved February 14 2017 H Rept 22 1 South Carolina claims December 15 1831 GovInfo gov U S Government Printing Office Retrieved June 21 2023 Avery Craven The Growth of Southern Nationalism 1848 1861 Archived May 25 2017 at the Wayback Machine 1953 ISBN 978 0 8071 0006 6 p 391 394 396 Resolution to Call the Election of Abraham Lincoln as U S President a Hostile Act 9 November 1860 Teaching American History in South Carolina Archived from the original on March 1 2017 Retrieved February 14 2017 a b Civil War in South Carolina Palmetto History Archived from the original on May 25 2017 Retrieved February 14 2017 The Port Royal Experiment 1862 1865 Virginia Commonwealth University February 24 2014 Archived from the original on February 15 2017 Retrieved February 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Governance Project Archived June 29 2019 at the Wayback Machine University of South Carolina 1998 pp 221 222 All Niggers More or Less The News and Courier Oct 17 1895 5 Joel Williamson New People Miscegenation and Mulattoes in the United States New York 1980 93 Lerone Bennett Jr Before the Mayflower A History of Black America 6th rev ed New York 1993 319 Theodore D Jervey The Slave Trade Slavery and Color Columbia The State Company 1925 p 199 South Carolina The Decline of Agriculture and the Rise of Jim Crowism Archived December 10 2014 at the Wayback Machine infoplease Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia 2012 Mickey Robert Paths Out of Dixie The Democratization of Authoritarian Enclaves in America s Deep South 1944 1972 p 29 ISBN 0691149631 Edgar Walter South Carolina in the Modern Age pp 104 107 ISBN 087249831X History and Culture South Carolina State Library Retrieved June 24 2021 Pro Business Environment Archived January 19 2016 at the Wayback Machine SC Department of Commerce Accessed on May 10 2012 Galewitz Phil December 8 2014 Despite Decline Elective Early Births Remain A Medicaid Problem NPR Retrieved September 7 2023 Dahlen Heather M McCullough J Mac Fertig Angela R Dowd Bryan E Riley William J March 2017 Texas Medicaid Payment Reform Fewer Early Elective Deliveries And Increased Gestational Age And Birthweight Health Affairs 36 3 460 467 doi 10 1377 hlthaff 2016 0910 ISSN 0278 2715 PMID 28264947 Non Payment Policy for Deliveries Prior to 39 weeks Birth Outcomes Initiative SC DHHS Archived from the original on December 16 2012 Retrieved December 20 2012 WCNC Same sex marriage begins in South Carolina Archived November 29 2014 at the Wayback Machine 2014 11 19 Women in State Legislatures for 2022 ncsl org National Conference for State Legislatures Archived from the original on August 5 2022 Retrieved August 5 2022 The Geography of South Carolina Archived from the original on March 7 2017 Retrieved February 17 2017 United States Summary 2010 Population and Housing Unit Counts 2010 Census of Population and Housing PDF United States Census Bureau September 2012 pp V 2 1 amp 41 Tables 1 amp 18 Archived PDF from the original on October 9 2022 Retrieved February 7 2014 a b c Olson D M E Dinerstein et al 2001 Terrestrial Ecoregions of the World A New Map of Life on Earth BioScience 51 11 933 938 doi 10 1641 0006 3568 2001 051 0933 TEOTWA 2 0 CO 2 Swezey C S Fitzwater B A Whittecar G R Mahan S A Garrity C P Aleman Gonzalez W B and Dobbs K M 2016 The Carolina Sandhills Quaternary eolian sand sheets and dunes along the updip margin of the Atlantic Coastal Plain province southeastern United States Quaternary Research v 86 p 271 286 www cambridge org core journals quaternary research Elevations and Distances in the United States U S Geological Survey April 29 2005 Archived from the original on January 16 2008 Retrieved November 7 2006 South Carolina SC Lakes Sciway net Archived from the original on September 18 2009 Retrieved July 31 2010 Limnological Conditions in Lake William C Bowen PDF U S Geological Survey Retrieved April 8 2017 Smith Nevin June 30 2022 DHEC answers Is mining causing the recent earthquakes WISTV Retrieved June 30 2022 a b Recent Earthquakes SCDNR Geological Survey South Carolina Department of Natural Resources Retrieved June 30 2022 Recent Earthquakes Near South Carolina United States Earthquaketracker com Retrieved June 30 2022 Abridged from Seismicity of the United States 1568 1989 Revised by Carl W Stover and Jerry L Coffman U S Geological Survey Professional Paper 1527 United States Government Printing Office Washington 1993 NOAA National Climatic Data Center Archived October 16 2011 at the Wayback Machine Retrieved on October 24 2006 Meyer Robinson June 29 2017 The American South Will Bear the Worst of Climate Change s Costs The Atlantic What Climate Change Means for South Carolina PDF United States Environmental Protection Agency August 2016 Fretwell Sammy January 26 2020 As heat rises SC watches quietly Will state suffer from lack of climate action The State Archived from the original on January 26 2020 Retrieved February 11 2020 a b The Green Heart of South Carolina Beats in the Congaree Biosphere Region U S National Park Service www nps gov Retrieved June 19 2022 Longleaf Pine Initiative in South Carolina Natural Resources Conservation Service South Carolina Archived from the original on July 1 2022 Retrieved June 19 2022 a b South Carolina Wants You To Recycle Your Empty Oyster Shells Saveur April 4 2022 Retrieved June 19 2022 White Ibis South Carolina Public Radio Retrieved June 19 2022 a b SCDNR Coastal Birds in South Carolina Shorebirds www dnr sc gov Retrieved June 19 2022 USA South Carolina City Population July 1 2022 Retrieved September 7 2023 South Carolina Cities by Population www southcarolina demographics com Retrieved October 10 2023 2020 Population and Housing State Data United States Census Bureau Population Division May 18 2023 Archived from the 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1970 to 1990 For The United States Regions Divisions and States United States Census Bureau Archived from the original on July 25 2008 Retrieved October 9 2014 Population of South Carolina Census 2010 and 2000 Interactive Map Demographics Statistics Quick Facts Censusviewer com Retrieved April 17 2021 permanent dead link 2010 Census Data United States Census Bureau Archived from the original on May 16 2014 Retrieved October 9 2014 QuickFacts South Carolina UNITED STATES 2019 Population Estimates United States Census Bureau Population Division February 18 2020 Archived from the original on January 23 2019 Retrieved February 18 2020 2007 2022 PIT Counts by State The 2022 Annual Homelessness Assessment Report AHAR to Congress PDF South Carolina QuickFacts from the US Census Bureau Quickfacts census gov Retrieved July 25 2018 The Economic and Social Implications of the Growing Latino Population in South Carolina Archived June 24 2008 at the Wayback Machine A Study for the South Carolina Commission for Minority Affairs prepared by The Consortium for Latino Immigration Studies University of South Carolina August 2007 Retrieved June 4 2008 Mexican Immigrants The New Face of the South Carolina Labor Force Archived October 1 2008 at the Wayback Machine Moore School of Business Division of Research IMBA Globilization Project University of South Carolina March 2006 Shoichet Catherine E May 9 2019 Florida is about to ban sanctuary cities At least 11 other states have too CNN Archived from the original on June 16 2019 Retrieved September 5 2019 Immigrants in South Carolina PDF Rogers George C Jr Taylor C James 1994 A South Carolina Chronology 1497 1992 University of South Carolina Press ISBN 0 87249 971 5 Staff February 24 2023 American Values Atlas Religious Tradition in South Carolina Public Religion Research Institute Retrieved April 12 2023 The Association of Religion Data Archives State Membership Report www thearda com Archived from the original on February 9 2014 Retrieved December 5 2013 Religious Congregations amp Membership Study Rcms2010 org Archived from the original on August 22 2014 Retrieved August 23 2014 Hawes Jennifer Berry Baha i infusion Louis G Gregory was a key Baha i figure in Charleston Archived from the original on September 15 2016 Retrieved September 1 2016 PRRI American Values Atlas ava prri org Retrieved September 17 2022 a b Maps and data files for 2020 U S Religion Census Religious Statistics amp Demographics www usreligioncensus org Retrieved February 2 2023 Info www bea gov Retrieved June 20 2020 statedatalab org The 24th worst state Truth in Accounting PDF Archived PDF from the original on October 16 2014 Retrieved February 27 2014 Gross Domestic Product by State Archived July 7 2010 at the Wayback Machine June 5 2008 Retrieved March 15 2009 Bls gov Archived July 25 2018 at the Wayback Machine Retrieved May 10 2012 Economy at a Glance South Carolina Archived May 27 2012 at the Wayback Machine Accessed on May 10 2012 List of Right To Work States Right to Work States Meaning Righttoworkstates org Archived from the original on December 14 2012 Retrieved December 19 2012 Staffing Firms Employed 354 400 Workers in South Carolina PDF American Staffing Association February 8 2023 Retrieved September 3 2023 Exxon Mobil Corporation Archived May 11 2012 at the Wayback Machine Retrieved May 10 2012 a b Sam June 26 2019 Can a Fortune 500 company open their headquarters in S C COLAtoday Retrieved September 3 2023 South Carolina Tennessee Archived May 25 2017 at the Wayback Machine Retrieved May 10 2012 FDI in south Carolina a five year report Retrieved May 10 2012 SCDOT Statewide Transportation Improvement Program PDF South Carolina Department of Transportation July 16 2009 Archived PDF from the original on March 30 2015 Retrieved June 24 2013 2007 PRELIMl passenger ranking dead link Airports Council International Aci aero Archived from the original on May 31 2011 Retrieved January 27 2011 Hunt Albert R August 23 2009 A 5 billion bet on better education The New York Times Archived from the original on May 10 2013 Retrieved May 23 2010 Click Carolyne Hinshaw Dawn November 12 2014 SC Supreme Court finds for poor districts in 20 year old school equity suit The State Archived from the original on March 31 2016 Retrieved March 25 2016 South Carolina Fast Facts Archived May 11 2012 at the Wayback Machine Retrieved May 10 2012 NEA Rankings and Estimates Page 11 Archived May 5 2012 at the Wayback Machine Retrieved May 10 2012 NEA Rankings and Estimates Page 54 Archived May 5 2012 at the Wayback Machine Retrieved May 10 2012 Average SAT Scores By State US LEAP blog Archived from the original on October 15 2015 Retrieved March 25 2016 SC should privatize school bus fleet Lowcountry Source December 17 2016 Archived from the original on February 2 2017 Retrieved January 24 2017 Update South Carolina s decrepit school bus fleet The Post and Courier Archived from the original on September 11 2018 Retrieved January 24 2017 EPA Awards South Carolina 1 1 Million For Cleaner School Buses South Carolina Department of Education Archived from the original on February 2 2017 Retrieved January 24 2017 About Lander University Archived from the original on July 2 2012 Retrieved May 19 2013 Our Third Annual College Rankings Washingtonmonthly com Archived from the original on December 4 2010 Retrieved July 31 2010 Fast Facts Bob Jones University Archived from the original on December 11 2004 Bob Jones University Enrollment Profile Retrieved June 4 2021 2022 Scorecard on State Health System Performance www commonwealthfund org June 16 2022 Retrieved June 7 2023 Kaiser State Health Facts 2006 Statehealthfacts org Archived from the original on July 18 2011 Retrieved July 31 2010 US Census US National Center for Health Statistics 2005 Archived copy at the Portuguese Web Archive July 10 2009 Kaiser State Health Facts based on Amer Medical Association data 2008 Statehealthfactsonline org July 1 2008 Archived from the original on July 28 2011 Retrieved July 31 2010 Kaiser State Health Facts based on Center for Medicare and Medicaid Statistics 2007 Statehealthfactsonline org Archived from the original on July 28 2011 Retrieved July 31 2010 Kaiser State Health Facts 2008 2008 Statehealthfactsonline org Archived from the original on July 28 2011 Retrieved July 31 2010 Kaiser State Health Facts based on Nat Survey of Children s Health 2009 Statehealthfactsonline org Archived from the original on July 28 2011 Retrieved July 31 2010 Democratic Party South Carolina Encyclopedia Retrieved June 10 2010 Folks Will South Carolina Democrats Finally Win A Statewide Office FITSNews Retrieved May 21 2023 South Carolina 270towin Retrieved June 10 2023 South Carolina Voter Registration Demographics South Carolina State Election Commission Archived from the original on June 11 2021 Retrieved March 2 2023 Schraufnagel Scot Pomante II Michael J Li Quan December 15 2020 Cost of Voting in the American States 2020 Election Law Journal Rules Politics and Policy 19 4 503 509 doi 10 1089 elj 2020 0666 S2CID 225139517 Methods of Execution Death Penalty Information Center Retrieved April 6 2023 Staff April 12 2023 April 2023 Winthrop Poll Results Winthrop University Retrieved April 12 2023 The South Carolina Arts Commission Economic Impact southcarolinaarts com Archived from the original on June 27 2012 Retrieved May 10 2012 Further reading editMorris J Brent Yes Lord I Know the Road A Documentary History of African Americans in South Carolina 1526 2008 2017 External links editSouth Carolina at Wikipedia s sister projects nbsp Definitions from Wiktionary nbsp Media from Commons nbsp News from Wikinews nbsp Quotations from Wikiquote nbsp Texts from Wikisource nbsp Textbooks from Wikibooks nbsp Resources from Wikiversity nbsp Travel information from Wikivoyage Official website South Carolina State Guide from the Library of Congress Energy amp Environmental Data for South Carolina USGS real time geographic and other scientific resources of South Carolina South Carolina State Facts from USDA South Carolina Lakes Database South Carolina Department of Parks amp Tourism South Carolina Visitor amp Travel Information South Carolina at Curlie nbsp Geographic data related to South Carolina at OpenStreetMapPreceded byMaryland List of U S states by date of admission to the UnionRatified Constitution on May 23 1788 8th Succeeded byNew Hampshire 34 N 81 W 34 N 81 W 34 81 State of South Carolina Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title South Carolina amp oldid 1187236692, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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