South Carolina

State of South Carolina
Flag Seal
Nickname(s): The Palmetto State
Motto(s): Dum spiro spero* (Latin), While I Breathe I Hope
Animis opibusque parati† (Latin), Prepared in Mind and Resources
Official language English
Demonym South Carolinian
Capital Columbia
Largest city Charleston
Largest metro Greenville
Area Ranked 40th
 • Total 32,020[1] sq mi
(82,931 km2)
 • Width 200 miles (320 km)
 • Length 260 miles (420 km)
 • % water 6
 • Latitude 32° 2′ N to 35° 13′ N
 • Longitude 78° 32′ W to 83° 21′ W
Population Ranked 23rd
 • Total 4,961,119 (2016 est.)[2]
 • Density 155/sq mi  (60.0/km2)
Ranked 19th
 • Median household income $46,360[3] (44th)
Elevation
 • Highest point Sassafras Mountain[4][5]
3,560 ft (1,085 m)
 • Mean 350 ft  (110 m)
 • Lowest point Atlantic Ocean[4]
sea level
Before statehood Province of South Carolina
Admission to Union May 23, 1788 (8th)
Governor Henry McMaster (R)
Lieutenant Governor Kevin Bryant (R)
Legislature General Assembly
 • Upper house Senate
 • Lower house House of Representatives
U.S. Senators Lindsey Graham (R)
Tim Scott (R)
U.S. House delegation 6 Republicans
1 Democrat (list)
Time zone Eastern: UTC -5/-4
ISO 3166 US-SC
Abbreviations SC, S.C.
Website www.sc.gov
South Carolina state symbols

Living insignia
Amphibian Salamander
Bird Carolina wren
Butterfly Eastern tiger swallowtail
Fish Striped bass
Flower Yellow jessamine
Insect Carolina Mantis
Mammal White-tailed deer
Reptile Loggerhead Sea Turtle
Tree Sabal palmetto
Inanimate insignia
Beverage Milk
Dance Carolina shag
Food
Fossil Columbian mammoth
Mammuthus columbi
Mineral Amethyst
Rock Blue granite
Shell Lettered olive
Song "Carolina",
"South Carolina On My Mind"
State route marker
State quarter

Released in 2000
Lists of United States state symbols
Wikivoyage has a travel guide for South Carolina.

South Carolina /ˌsaʊθ kærəˈlaɪnə/ is a state in the southeastern region of the United States. The state is bordered to the north by North Carolina, to the south and west by Georgia, across the Savannah River, and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean.

South Carolina became the eighth state to ratify the U.S. Constitution, on May 23, 1788. South Carolina became the first state which voted to secede from the Union on December 20, 1860. After the American Civil War, it was readmitted into the United States on June 25, 1868.

South Carolina is the 40th most extensive and 23rd most populous U.S. state. Its GDP as of 2013 was $183.6 billion, with an annual growth rate of 3.13%.[6] South Carolina is composed of 46 counties. The capital is Columbia with a 2016 population of 134,309; while its largest city is Charleston with a 2016 population of 134,385. The Greenville-Anderson-Mauldin metropolitan area is the largest in the state, with a 2016 population estimate of 884,975.

South Carolina is named in honor of King Charles I of England, who first formed the English colony, with Carolus being Latin for "Charles".[7]

South Carolina is known for its 187 miles of coastline, lush gardens, historic sites and Southern plantations, colonial and European cultures, and its growing economic development.

History

Precolonial period

There is evidence of human activity in the area about 12,000 years ago. 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, and the total population being up to 20,000.[8]

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.[8] The Cherokee lived in wattle and daub houses made with wood and clay, roofed with wood or thatched grass.[9]

About a dozen 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.[8]

Colonization

The Carolina Colony grants of 1663 and 1665

The Spanish were the first Europeans in the area, in 1521, founding San Miguel de Gualdape, the first European settlement in what is now mainland USA five years later. Established with 500 settlers, it was abandoned within a year by 150 survivors. In 1562 French settlers established a settlement at what is now the Charlesfort-Santa Elena archaeological site on Parris Island but abandoned after a fire destroyed their supplies. Three years later the Spanish built a fort on the same site, but withdrew following hostilities with the English navy.[8]

In 1629, King Charles I of England established the Province of Carolina, an area covering what is now South and North Carolina, Georgia and Tennessee. In the 1670s, English planters from the Barbados established themselves near what is now Charleston.

Settlers built rice plantations in the South Carolina Lowcountry, east of the Atlantic Seaboard fall line. Settlers came from all over Europe. Plantation labor was done by African slaves who formed the majority of the population by 1720.[10] Another cash crop was the Indigo plant, a plant source of blue dye, developed by Eliza Lucas.

Meanwhile, in 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' (absentee English landowners) rule, seeing more direct representation. In 1719, the colony was officially made a crown colony. In 1729 North Carolina was split off into a separate colony.

Southern Carolina prospered from the fertility of the Low Country and the harbors, such as that at Charleston. It allowed religious toleration, encouraging Settlements spread, and trade in deerskin, lumber, and beef thrived. Rice cultivation was developed on a large scale.

By the second half of the 1700s South Carolina was one of the richest of what were about to become the Thirteen Colonies.[10]

The American Revolution

On March 26, 1776, the colony adopted the Constitution of South Carolina,[11] electing John Rutledge as the state's first president. In February, 1778, South Carolina became the first state to ratify the Articles of Confederation,[12] 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,[13] more than in any other state.[10] Inhabitants of the state endured being invaded by English forces and an ongoing civil war between loyalists and partisans that devastated the backcountry.[13] It is estimated that 25,000 slaves (30% of those in South Carolina) fled, migrated or died during the war.[14]

Antebellum

Millford Plantation (1839–41), 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 16 United States, mostly based in Savannah and Charleston,[15] the latter being the country's fifth largest city.[16]

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.[17]

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 with the federal government grew, in the 1820s John C. Calhoun became a leading proponent of states' rights, limited government, nullification of the US 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.

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.[18]

Lincoln was elected president on 6 November 1860. The state House of Representatives immediately passed the "Resolution to Call the Election of Abraham Lincoln as U.S. President a Hostile Act, 9 November 1860",[19] and within weeks South Carolina became the first state to declare secession from the US.[10]

Civil War 1861–1865

The Southern economy had been ruined by the war. Charleston, South Carolina: Broad Street, 1865

On April 12, 1861, Confederate (southern) batteries began shelling the Union (federal, northern, or US) Fort Sumter in Charleston Harbor, after US troops refusal to leave the fort peacefully, 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,[20] leaving behind about 10,000 slaves. 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 former slaves freed by the Union forces to earn wages.[21]

Although the state was not a major battleground, the war ruined the economy. Under conscription, all men aged 18–35 (later 45) were drafted for Confederate service. More than 60,000 served,[20] and the state lost nearly one-third of the white male population of fighting age.[22]

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.

Reconstruction 1865–1877

After the war, South Carolina was restored to the United States during Reconstruction. Under presidential Reconstruction (1865–66), freedmen (former slaves) were given limited rights. Under Radical reconstruction (1867–1877), a Republican coalition of freedmen, carpetbaggers and scalawags was in control, supported by Union Army forces. They established public education, welfare institutions, and home rule for counties, expanding democracy.

In Texas vs. White (1869), the Supreme Court ruled that 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. 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.[23] Led by Grant's Attorney General Amos T. Akerman, hundreds of Klansmen were arrested while 2000 Klansmen fled the state.[23] This was done in order to suppress Klan violence against African-American and white voters in the South.[23] 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

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 that effectively disfranchised 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.[24] 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.[25]

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.[26]

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 that 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 the following 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.[27][28][29][30]

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

Children in Port Royal, South Carolina, ca 1912. Some of the children went to school half a day, and worked before school, and several hours 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 agricultural base from cotton to more profitable crops; attracted large military bases through its powerful Democratic congressional delegation, part of the one-party South following disfranchisement of blacks at the turn of the century; and created tourism industries. During the early part of the 20th century, thousands of African Americans left South Carolina and other southern states for jobs and better opportunities in northern, Midwestern and western cities. 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[31] for the first time since 1708.

The struggle of the Civil Rights Movement took place in South Carolina as well as other places in the South.

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.

21st century

As of 2015, South Carolina had one of the lowest percentages among all states of women in state legislature, at 13.5% (only Louisiana, Oklahoma, and Wyoming had a lower percentage; the national average is 24.3%; with the highest percentage being in Colorado at 41%).[32] In 2011, South Carolina ranked first in the country in the rate of women killed by men.[33]

As the 21st century progresses, South Carolina attracts 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, no unitary tax on worldwide profits.[34]

Starting January 1, 2013, South Carolina was one of the first states that no longer pays for 'early elective' deliveries of babies, under either Medicaid and private insurance. The term early elective is defined as a labor induction or Cesarean section between 37–39 weeks that is not medically based. This change is intended to result in healthier babies and fewer unnecessary costs for South Carolina.[35]

On November 20, 2014, South Carolina became the 35th state to legalize same-sex marriages, when a federal court ordered the change.[36] For further information see: Same-sex marriage in South Carolina.

Geography

Table Rock State Park in the mountains of South Carolina
Francis Marion National Forest in Berkeley County
Lake Marion – Indian Bluff Park – Eutawville, South Carolina

The state can be divided into three geographic areas. From east to west: the Atlantic coastal plain, the Piedmont, and the Blue Ridge Mountains. Locally, the coastal plain is referred to as the Low Country and the other two regions as Up Country.[37] 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 low country and the up country is defined by the Atlantic Seaboard fall line, which marks the limit of navigable rivers.

The state's coastline contains many salt marshes and estuaries, as well as natural ports such as Georgetown and Charleston. An unusual feature of the coastal plain is a large number of Carolina bays, the origins of which are uncertain. The bays tend to be oval, lining up in a northwest to southeast orientation. The terrain is flat and the soil is composed entirely of recent sediments such as sand, silt, and clay. Areas with better drainage make excellent farmland, though some land is swampy. The natural areas of the coastal plain are part of the Middle Atlantic coastal forests ecoregion.[38]

Just west of the coastal plain is the Sandhills region. The Sandhills are remnants of coastal dunes from a time when the land was sunken or the oceans were higher.

The Upstate region contains the roots of an ancient, eroded mountain chain. It is generally hilly, with thin, stony clay soils, and contains few areas suitable for farming. Much of the Piedmont was once farmed. 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.[38] At the southeastern edge of the 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 harness 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 the 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.

Highest in elevation is the Blue Ridge Region, containing an escarpment of the Blue Ridge Mountains, which continue 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 located in this area.[39] Also located in this area is Caesars Head State Park. The environment here is that of the Appalachian-Blue Ridge forests ecoregion.[38] The Chattooga River, located on the border between South Carolina and Georgia, is a favorite whitewater rafting destination.

Lakes

South Carolina has several major lakes covering over 683 square miles (1,770 km2). The following are the lakes listed by size.[40]

Earthquakes

Earthquakes in South Carolina demonstrate the greatest frequency along the central coastline of the state, in the Charleston area. 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 Southeastern United States. This 7.2 magnitude earthquake killed 60 people and destroyed much of the city.[41] 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

A map of the average annual precipitation in South Carolina
Lake Wylie in autumn

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). 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, March tends to be the wettest month 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 somewhat uncommon in most of the state, while coastal areas receive less than an inch (2.5 cm) annually on average. It is not uncommon for areas along the coast (especially the southern coast) to receive no recordable snowfall in a given year. The interior receives a little more snow, although nowhere in the state averages more than 12 inches (30 cm) of snow annually. The mountains of extreme northwestern South Carolina tend to have the most substantial snow accumulation. Freezing rain and ice tend to be more common than snow in many areas of the state. Road bridges in South Carolina are commonly marked, "Bridge ices before road."

South Carolina is also prone to tropical cyclones and tornadoes. Two of the strongest hurricanes to strike South Carolina in recent history were Hurricane Hazel (1954) and Hurricane Hugo (1989).

Hurricanes and tropical cyclones

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) and Hugo (1989), both Category 4 hurricanes.[53]

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.[53]

Demographics

The United States Census Bureau estimates that the population of South Carolina was 4,896,146 on July 1, 2015, a 5.85% increase since the 2010 United States Census.[54]

Historical population
Census Pop. %±
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%
Est. 20164,961,1197.3%
Source: 1910–2010[55]
2016 estimate[54]

As of the 2013 census estimate, the racial make up of the state is 68.3% White (63.9% non-Hispanic white), 27.9% Black or African American, 0.5% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.5% Asian, 0.1% Native Hawaiian and other Pacific Islander, 1.7% from two or more races. 5.3% of the total population was of Hispanic or Latino origin of any race.[56]

South Carolina Racial Breakdown of Population
Racial composition 1990[57] 2000[58] 2010[59] 2015[60]
White 69.0% 67.2% 66.2% 68.4%
Black 29.8% 29.5% 27.9% 27.6%
Asian 0.6% 0.9% 1.3% 1.6%
Native American 0.2% 0.3% 0.4% 0.5%
Native Hawaiian and
other Pacific Islander 		– – 0.1% 0.1%
Two or more races – 1.0% 1.7% 1.8%
Population density of South Carolina.

According to the United States Census Bureau, as of 2014, South Carolina had an estimated population of 4,896,146, which is an increase of 63,664 from the prior year and an increase of 270,782, or 5.85%, 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.[61][62]

An August 2011 Public Policy Polling survey found that 21% of South Carolina voters thought that same-sex marriage should be legal, while 69% thought it should be illegal and 10% were not sure. A separate question on the same survey found that 48% of South Carolina voters supported the legal recognition of same-sex couples, with 19% supporting same-sex marriage, 29% supporting civil unions but not marriage, 51% favoring no legal recognition and 2% not sure.[63]

Religion

Religion in South Carolina[64]

  Evangelical Protestant (35%)
  Unaffiliated (19%)
  Mainline Protestant (16%)
  Black Protestant (15%)
  Catholic (10%)
  Other Christian (4%)
  Other (3%)
  Don't Know (1%)

According to the Association of Religion Data Archives (ARDA), in 2010 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.[65]

As of 2010, South Carolina is the American state with the highest per capita proportion of Baha'is with 17,559 adherents,[66] making the Baha'i Faith the second largest religion in the state.[67]

Major cities

In 2016, the US Census Bureau released 2015 population estimates for South Carolina's most populous cities.[68]

 
Largest cities or towns in South Carolina
Source:[69]
Rank Name County Pop. Rank Name County Pop.

Charleston

Columbia		 1 Charleston Charleston 134,385 11 Florence Florence 38,317
North Charleston

Mount Pleasant
2 Columbia Richland 134,309 12 Spartanburg Spartanburg 37,876
3 North Charleston Charleston 108,304 13 Myrtle Beach Horry 32,240
4 Mount Pleasant Charleston 81,317 14 Aiken Aiken 30,937
5 Rock Hill York 72,937 15 Greer Greenville and Spartanburg 29,000
6 Greenville Greenville 67,453 16 Mauldin Greenville 25,188
7 Summerville Dorchester 48,848 17 Hanahan Berkeley 23,439
8 Sumter Sumter 40,816 18 North Augusta Aiken and Edgefield 22,932
9 Goose Creek Berkeley 40,633 19 Simpsonville Greenville 21,314
10 Hilton Head Island Beaufort 40,512 20 Lexington Lexington 20,988

Population centers

Rank Metropolitan Area Population Counties
1 Greenville-Anderson-Mauldin 884,975 Greenville, Anderson, Laurens, Pickens
2 Columbia 810,068 Calhoun, Kershaw, Fairfield, Richland, Lexington, Saluda
3 Charleston-North Charleston-Summerville SC MSA 744,526 Charleston, Dorchester, Berkeley
4 Charlotte-Gastonia-Concord NC-SC MSA 251,195 Mecklenburg, Union, Gaston, Cabarrus, Anson, York
5 Myrtle Beach-Conway-North Myrtle Beach SC MSA 309,199 Horry, Georgetown, Brunswick
6 Florence 206,448 Florence, Darlington
7 Sumter, SC MSA 107,480 Sumter
8 Hilton Head Island-Bluffton-Beaufort, SC metropolitan area 207,413 Beaufort, Jasper
9 Spartanburg, SC MSA 297,302 Spartanburg
Total 3,818,606

Economy

The Arthur Ravenel Jr. Bridge from Charleston Harbor.

According to the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, South Carolina's gross state product (GSP) in current dollars 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; that represents 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.[70]

Major agricultural outputs of the state are tobacco, poultry, cotton, cattle, dairy products, soybeans, hay, rice, and swine. Industrial outputs include textile goods, chemical products, paper products, machinery, automobiles, automotive products and tourism.[71][72] According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, as of March 2012, South Carolina has 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.[73]

During the economic downturn in the Late 2000s Recession, South Carolina's Unemployment Rate peaked at 12.0% in November and December 2009. It is continuing a steady decline with an unemployment rate of 8.9% as of March 2012.[74]

Margate Hotel Tower in Myrtle Beach

Many large corporations have moved their locations to South Carolina. Boeing opened an aircraft manufacturing facility in Charleston in 2011, which serves as one of two final assembly sites for the 787 Dreamliner. South Carolina is a right-to-work state[75] and many businesses utilize staffing agencies to temporarily fill positions. This labor force is appealing to companies because of lower wages and no responsibility of maintaining healthcare benefits for its temporary employees. Domtar, located in Rock Hill, is the only Fortune 500 company headquartered in South Carolina.[76] The Fortune 1000 list includes SCANA, Sonoco Products and ScanSource.

South Carolina also benefits from foreign investment. There are 1,950 foreign-owned firms operating in South Carolina employing almost 135,000 people.[77] Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) brought 1.06 billion dollars to the state economy in 2010.[78] Since 1994, BMW has had a production facility in Spartanburg County near Greer. Official Currencies of South Carolina are the U.S. Dollar and the Euro[79]

The arts

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. There are several large venues in the state that can house major events, such as 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.[80] 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.

Transportation

Road

The state has the fourth largest state-maintained system in the country, consisting of 11 Interstates, numbered highways, state highways, and secondary roads, totalling approximately 41,500 miles.[81]

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

Rail

Passenger

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 low country cities.

Station stops

Station Connections
Camden
North Charleston
Columbia
Clemson
Denmark
Dillon
Florence
Greenville
Kingstree
Spartanburg
Yemassee

Freight

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.

Major and regional airports

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.[82] Just across the border in North Carolina is Charlotte/Douglas International Airport, the 30th busiest airport in the world, in terms of passengers.[83]

Government and politics

South Carolina State House

South Carolina's state government consists of the Executive, Legislative, and Judicial branches. Also relevant are the state constitution, law enforcement agencies, federal representation, state finances, and state taxes.

South Carolina has historically had a weak executive branch and a strong legislature. Before 1865, governors in South Carolina were appointed by the General Assembly, and held the title "President of State." The 1865 Constitution changed this process, requiring a popular election. Local governments were also weak. But, the 1867 Constitution, passed during the Reconstruction era, extended democratization by establishing home rule for counties, which were established from the former designated districts of the state.

The 1895 state constitution overturned this, reducing the role of counties and strengthening the relative role of the state legislature; essentially the counties were agents of the state and ruled by the General Assembly through the legislative delegation for each county.[26] They are geographically comprehensive; all areas of the state are included in counties. As each county had one state senator, that position was particularly powerful. This status continued until 1973, when the state constitution was amended to provide for home rule for the counties. During this time the state had changed, with increasing urbanization, but rural counties retained proportionally more power as the legislature was based in representatives elected from counties rather than population districts.[84]

The federal court case, Reynolds v. Sims (1964), "established the one-man, one-vote concept for electoral representation at the state level. Legislators were now supposed to represent more or less equal numbers of people."[84] Residents of urban areas had been found to be markedly underrepresented in the legislature under the county-based system. Reapportionment made obvious the need for other changes to county structure, leading to the legislature passing the constitutional amendment. The Home Rule Act of 1975 implemented the amendment giving more power to the counties. With urbanization their governments have become increasingly important in the state.[84]

Several changes to the state constitution have affected the office of the governor and the cabinet. In 1926 the governor's term was extended from two to four years; in 1982 the governor was allowed to run for a second succeeding term. In 1993, the state passed an amendment requiring a limited cabinet (all of whom must be popularly elected).

As of January 2, 2016, there were 2,948,772 registered voters.[85][86]

Education

As of 2010, South Carolina is one of three states that has not agreed to use competitive international math and language standards.[87]

In 2014, the state supreme court ruled that 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.[88]

South Carolina has 1,144 K–12 schools in 85 school districts, with an enrollment of 712,244 as of fall 2009.[89][90] 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.[91]

In 2015, the national average SAT score was 1490. South Carolina students averaged 1442.[92]

South Carolina is the only state which owns and operates its own statewide school bus system. As of December 2016, the state maintains a 5,582 bus fleet with the average vehicle in service being 15 years old with 236,000 miles, compared to the national average of 6 years.[93] Half of the state's school buses are more than 15 years old and some are reportedly up to 30 years old. In 2017, Superintendent of Education Molly Spearman proposed in her budget that 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.[94] 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.[95]

Institutions of higher education

South Carolina has a diverse group of institutions of higher education, from large state-funded research universities to small colleges that cultivate a liberal arts, religious or military tradition, including the following:

Listed in order of date of founding
Furman University bell tower near Greenville.

Universities and colleges ranked by endowment, 2010

State
Rank		 National
Rank		 Institution Location Public or
Private		 Endowment Funds Percentage Change YOY
1 142 Furman University Greenville Private $650,000,000 7.8%
2 151 University of South Carolina Columbia &
regional campuses		 Public $625,186,000 6.0%
3 153 Clemson University Clemson Public $623,200,000 9.5%
4 236 Medical University of South Carolina Charleston Public $272,319,000 13.7%
5 270 The Citadel Charleston Public $244,000,000 8.1%
6 324 Wofford College Spartanburg Private $166,619,000 10.2%
7 447 Presbyterian College Clinton Private $97,590,000 11.0%
8 530 Converse College Spartanburg Private $78,240,000 6.4%
9 782 Winthrop University Rock Hill Public $43,600,000 13.6%
10 658 Coker College Hartsville Private $37,660,000 4.9%

[99]

Health care

For overall health care, South Carolina is ranked 33rd out of the 50 states, according to the Commonwealth Fund, a private health foundation working to improve the health care system.[100] The state's teen birth rate was 53 births per 1,000 teens, compared to the average of 41.9 births for the US, according to the Kaiser Family Foundation.[101] The state's infant mortality rate was 9.4 deaths per 1,000 births compared to the US average of 6.9 deaths.[102]

There were 2.6 physicians per 1,000 people compared to the US average of 3.2 physicians.[103] There was $5,114 spent on health expenses per capita in the state, compared to the US average of $5,283.[104] 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 US.[105] And, 34 percent of children were overweight or obese, compared to the US average of 32 percent.[106]

Sports

Although no major league professional sports teams are based in South Carolina, the Carolina Panthers do have training facilities in the state and played their Inaugural Season's home games at Clemson's Memorial Stadium. The Panthers consider themselves " The Carolina's 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 northwest of Florence.

Federal lands in South Carolina

Congaree National Park, Hopkins

See also

Notes

    1. ↑ Mean monthly maxima and minima (i.e. the expected highest and lowest temperature readings at any point during the year or given month) calculated based on data at said location from 1981 to 2010.
    2. ↑ Official records for Greenville kept April 1884 to 10 December 1941 at downtown, 11 December 1941 to 14 October 1962 at Greenville Downtown Airport, and at Greenville–Spartanburg Int'l near Greer since 15 October 1962. For more information, see Threadex
    3. ↑ Mean monthly maxima and minima (i.e. the expected highest and lowest temperature readings at any point during the year or given month) calculated based on data at said location from 1981 to 2010.
    4. ↑ Official records for Columbia were kept at downtown from June 1887 to December 1947, and at Columbia Airport since January 1948. For more information, see Threadex

    References

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    2. ↑ "Population and Housing Unit Estimates". U.S. Census Bureau. June 22, 2017. Retrieved June 22, 2017.
    3. ↑ "Median Annual Household Income". The Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation. Retrieved December 9, 2016.
    4. 1 2 "Elevations and Distances in the United States". United States Geological Survey. 2001. Archived from the original on October 15, 2011. Retrieved October 24, 2011.
    5. ↑ Elevation adjusted to North American Vertical Datum of 1988.
    6. ↑ "Widespread Economic Growth in 2013". Bureau of Economic Analysis. 2013. Retrieved May 30, 2014.
    7. ↑ N. C. Board of Agriculture (1902). A sketch of North Carolina. Charleston: Lucas-Richardson Co. p. 4. Retrieved May 26, 2014.
    8. 1 2 3 4 Liefermann, Henry; Horan, Eric (2000). South Carolina (3rd ed.). Oakland, CA: Compass American Guides. pp. 13–47, 252–254. ISBN 0-679-00509-9.
    9. ↑ "What type of dwellings did the Cherokee Indians live in?". Reference. Retrieved 2017-02-12.
    10. 1 2 3 4 "South Carolina Information: History and Culture". SC State Library. Retrieved 12 February 2017.
    11. ↑ "The Avalon Project : Constitution of South Carolina – March 26, 1776". Avalon.law.yale.edu. June 30, 1906. Retrieved December 19, 2012.
    12. ↑ "South Carolina State and Local Government". The Green Papers. Retrieved October 25, 2016.
    13. 1 2 Gordon, John W. (2007). South Carolina and the American Revolution : a battlefield history (Paperback ed.). Columbia: University of South Carolina Press. ISBN 978-1570036613.
    14. ↑ Peter Kolchin, American Slavery: 1619–1877, New York: Hill and Wang, 1994, p.73
    15. ↑ Nell Porter Brown, "A 'portion of the People'", Harvard Magazine, January–February 2003
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    23. 1 2 3 McFeely (1981), Grant: A Biography, pp. 367–374
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    27. ↑ "All Niggers, More or Less!," The News and Courier, Oct. 17 1895, 5
    28. ↑ Joel Williamson, New People: Miscegenation and Mulattoes in the United States (New York, 1980) 93
    29. ↑ Lerone Bennett Jr., Before the Mayflower: A History of Black America, 6th rev. ed. (New York, 1993) 319
    30. ↑ Theodore D. Jervey, The Slave Trade: Slavery and Color (Columbia: The State Company, 1925), p. 199
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    32. ↑ "Women in state legislatures for 2015". ncsl.org. Retrieved April 9, 2015.
    33. ↑ "South Carolina worst in country". The State newspaper. September 25, 2013. Archived from the original on August 25, 2014. Retrieved August 23, 2014.
    34. ↑ Pro Business Environment SC Department of Commerce, Accessed on May 10, 2012
    35. ↑ "Non Payment Policy for Deliveries Prior to 39 weeks: Birth Outcomes Initiative | SC DHHS". Retrieved December 20, 2012.
    36. ↑ WCNC Same-sex marriage begins in South Carolina Archived November 29, 2014, at the Wayback Machine. 2014/11/19
    37. ↑ "The Geography of South Carolina". Retrieved 17 February 2017.
    38. 1 2 3 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. Archived from the original on October 14, 2011.
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    40. ↑ "South Carolina SC – Lakes". Sciway.net. Retrieved July 31, 2010.
    41. ↑ 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.
    42. ↑ "NowData - NOAA Online Weather Data". National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Retrieved 2016-09-04.
    43. ↑ "Station Name: SC GREER". National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Retrieved 2016-09-04.
    44. ↑ "WMO Climate Normals for GREENVILLE/G-SPARTANBURG, SC 1961–1990". National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Retrieved 2016-09-04.
    45. ↑ "NowData – NOAA Online Weather Data". National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Retrieved 2016-09-04.
    46. ↑ "Station Name: SC COLUMBIA". National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Retrieved 2016-09-04.
    47. ↑ "WMO Climate Normals for COLUMBIA/METRO ARPT SC 1961–1990". National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Retrieved 2016-09-04.
    48. 1 2 Mean monthly maxima and minima (i.e. the expected highest and lowest temperature readings at any point during the year or given month) calculated based on data at said location from 1981 to 2010.
    49. 1 2 "NowData - NOAA Online Weather Data". National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Retrieved 2016-09-04.
    50. ↑ "Station Name: SC CHARLESTON INTL AP". National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Retrieved 2014-05-09.
    51. ↑ "WMO Climate Normals for CHARLESTON/MUNICIPAL, SC 1961–1990". National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Retrieved 2016-09-04.
    52. ↑ "Station Name: SC CHARLESTON CITY". National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Retrieved 2014-05-09.
    53. 1 2 NOAA National Climatic Data Center. Retrieved on October 24, 2006.
    54. 1 2 "Table 1. Annual Estimates of the Resident Population for the United States, Regions, States, and Puerto Rico: April 1, 2010 to July 1, 2014" (CSV). U.S. Census Bureau. December 31, 2014. Retrieved December 31, 2014.
    55. ↑ Resident Population Data. "Resident Population Data – 2010 Census". 2010.census.gov. Archived from the original on December 20, 2012. Retrieved December 31, 2014.
    56. ↑ "South Carolina QuickFacts from the US Census Bureau". Quickfacts.census.gov. Retrieved December 19, 2012.
    57. ↑ "Historical Census Statistics on Population Totals By Race, 1790 to 1990, and By Hispanic Origin, 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.
    58. ↑ Population of South Carolina: Census 2010 and 2000 Interactive Map, Demographics, Statistics, Quick Facts
    59. ↑ "2010 Census Data". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved October 9, 2014.
    60. ↑ "South Carolina". Census Bureau. Census Bureau. Retrieved October 1, 2016.
    61. ↑ "The Economic and Social Implications of the Growing Latino Population in South Carolina," 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.
    62. ↑ ""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.
    63. ↑ Public Policy Polling: "SC against gay marriage, Tea Party; Dems want Hillary in '16," September 9, 2011, Retrieved September 9, 2011
    64. ↑ "Religious composition of adults in South Carolina". Pew Research Center. Pew Research Center. Retrieved May 22, 2017.
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    67. ↑ http://www.postandcourier.com/article/20140621/PC1204/140629879/1002/bahai-faith-states-second-largest-religion-teaches-oneness-of-people-and-faiths
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    72. ↑ Bls.gov Retrieved May 10, 2012
    73. ↑ Economy at a Glance South Carolina, Accessed on May 10, 2012
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    75. ↑ "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.
    76. ↑ Exxon Mobil Corporation, Retrieved May 10, 2012
    77. ↑ South Carolina Tennessee, Retrieved May 10, 2012
    78. ↑ FDI in south Carolina a five year report, Retrieved May 10, 2012
    79. ↑ http://www.sc.gov
    80. ↑ "The South Carolina Arts Commission – Economic Impact". southcarolinaarts.com.
    81. ↑ "SCDOT: Statewide Transportation Improvement Program" (PDF). South Carolina Department of Transportation. July 16, 2009. Retrieved June 24, 2013.
    82. ↑ 2007 PRELIMl passenger ranking
    83. ↑ "Airports Council International". Aci.aero. Retrieved January 27, 2011.
    84. 1 2 3 Tyler (1998), "The South Carolina Governance Project", p. 222
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    86. ↑ "Voter Registration ('By County and Precinct')". South Carolina State Election Commission. Archived from the original on March 4, 2016. Retrieved February 19, 2016.
    87. ↑ Hunt, Albert R. (August 23, 2009). "A $5 billion bet on better education". New York Times. Retrieved May 23, 2010.
    88. ↑ Click, Carolyne; Hinshaw, Dawn (November 12, 2014). "SC Supreme Court finds for poor districts in 20-year-old school equity suit". The State. Retrieved March 25, 2016.
    89. ↑ South Carolina – Fast Facts Retrieved May 10, 2012
    90. ↑ NEA Rankings and Estimates Page 11, Retrieved May 10, 2012
    91. ↑ NEA Rankings and Estimates Page 54, Retrieved May 10, 2012
    92. ↑ "Average SAT Scores By State (US)". LEAP blog. Retrieved March 25, 2016.
    93. ↑ "SC should privatize school bus fleet". Lowcountry Source. Retrieved January 24, 2017.
    94. ↑ "Update South Carolina's decrepit school bus fleet". The Post and Courier. Retrieved January 24, 2017.
    95. ↑ "EPA Awards South Carolina $1.1 Million For Cleaner School Buses". South Carolina Department of Education. Retrieved January 24, 2017.
    96. ↑ "About Lander University". Archived from the original on July 4, 2012. Retrieved May 19, 2013.
    97. ↑ "Our Third Annual College Rankings". Washingtonmonthly.com. Archived from the original on December 4, 2010. Retrieved July 31, 2010.
    98. ↑ Fast Facts – Bob Jones University Archived December 11, 2004, at the Wayback Machine.
    99. ↑ As of June 30, 2010. "U.S. and Canadian Institutions Listed by Fiscal Year 2010 Endowment Market Value and Percentage Change in Endowment Market Value from FY 2009 to FY 2010" (PDF). 2010 NACUBO-Commonfund Study of Endowments. National Association of College and University Business Officers. Retrieved February 17, 2010.
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    101. ↑ "Kaiser State Health Facts, 2006". Statehealthfacts.org. Retrieved July 31, 2010.
    102. ↑ US Census, US National Center for Health Statistics, 2005 Archived copy at the Portuguese Web Archive (July 10, 2009).
    103. ↑ "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.
    104. ↑ "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.
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    Preceded by
    Maryland    		 List of U.S. states by date of admission to the Union
    Ratified Constitution on May 23, 1788 (8th)     		Succeeded by
    New Hampshire

    Coordinates: 34°N 81°W / 34°N 81°W / 34; -81

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