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302. South Carolina 1806 Intendant, Charleston City
303. South Carolina 1806 Lieutenant Governor
304. South Carolina 1806 Secretary of State
305. South Carolina 1806 Speaker of the House
306. South Carolina 1806 State Senate, All Saints Parish
307. South Carolina 1806 State Senate, Charleston City
308. South Carolina 1806 State Senate, Chester, Fairfield, and Richland Parishes
309. South Carolina 1806 State Senate, Edgefield District
310. South Carolina 1806 State Senate, Horry and Marion Districts
311. South Carolina 1806 State Senate, Prince William Parish
312. South Carolina 1806 State Senate, Saint Bartholomew Parish
313. South Carolina 1806 State Senate, Saint John's Berkeley Parish
314. South Carolina 1806 State Senate, Saxe Gotha Parish, Special
315. South Carolina 1806 State Senate, Winton District
316. South Carolina 1806 U.S. House of Representatives, District 1
317. South Carolina 1806 U.S. House of Representatives, District 2
318. South Carolina 1806 U.S. House of Representatives, District 3
319. South Carolina 1806 U.S. House of Representatives, District 4
320. South Carolina 1806 U.S. House of Representatives, District 5
321. South Carolina 1806 U.S. House of Representatives, District 6
322. South Carolina 1806 U.S. House of Representatives, District 7
323. South Carolina 1806 U.S. House of Representatives, District 8
324. South Carolina 1806 U.S. Senate
325. South Carolina 1806 U.S. Senate, Ballot 2
326. South Carolina 1807 House of Representatives, Prince William Parish, Special Election
327. South Carolina 1807 House of Representatives, Saint Bartholomew Parish, Special Election
328. South Carolina 1807 U.S. House of Representatives, District 6, Special
329. South Carolina 1808 Electoral College
330. South Carolina 1808 Governor
331. South Carolina 1808 House of Representatives, Abbeville District
332. South Carolina 1808 House of Representatives, Charleston City
333. South Carolina 1808 House of Representatives, Chester District
334. South Carolina 1808 House of Representatives, Clarendon District
335. South Carolina 1808 House of Representatives, Fairfield District
336. South Carolina 1808 House of Representatives, Greenville District
337. South Carolina 1808 House of Representatives, Horry District
338. South Carolina 1808 House of Representatives, Kershaw District
339. South Carolina 1808 House of Representatives, Lancaster District
340. South Carolina 1808 House of Representatives, Laurens District
341. South Carolina 1808 House of Representatives, Prince George Winyah District
342. South Carolina 1808 House of Representatives, Prince William Parish
343. South Carolina 1808 House of Representatives, Saint Andrew Parish
344. South Carolina 1808 House of Representatives, Saint Bartholomew Parish
345. South Carolina 1808 House of Representatives, Saint Dennis and Saint Thomas Parishes
346. South Carolina 1808 House of Representatives, Saint Helena Parish
347. South Carolina 1808 House of Representatives, Saint James Goosecreek Parish
348. South Carolina 1808 House of Representatives, Saint James, Santee Parish
349. South Carolina 1808 House of Representatives, Saint John, Berkeley Parish
350. South Carolina 1808 House of Representatives, Saint John, Colleton Parish
351. South Carolina 1808 House of Representatives, Saint Luke Parish
352. South Carolina 1808 House of Representatives, Saint Matthew Parish
353. South Carolina 1808 House of Representatives, Saint Paul Parish
354. South Carolina 1808 House of Representatives, Saint Stephen Parish
355. South Carolina 1808 House of Representatives, York District
356. South Carolina 1808 Speaker of the House
357. South Carolina 1808 State Senate, Abbeville District
358. South Carolina 1808 State Senate, Charleston City
359. South Carolina 1808 State Senate, Chesterfield, Darlington, and Marlboro Districts
360. South Carolina 1808 State Senate, Greenville District
361. South Carolina 1808 State Senate, Prince George Winyah Parish and Williamsburg District
362. South Carolina 1808 State Senate, Saint Andrew Parish
363. South Carolina 1808 State Senate, Saint Helena Parish, Special
364. South Carolina 1808 State Senate, Saint James Goosecreek Parish
365. South Carolina 1808 State Senate, Saint James Santee Parish
366. South Carolina 1808 State Senate, Saint Luke Parish
367. South Carolina 1808 State Senate, Saint Paul Parish
368. South Carolina 1808 State Senate, Saint Stephen Parish
369. South Carolina 1808 State Senate, York District
370. South Carolina 1808 U.S. House of Representatives, District 1
371. South Carolina 1808 U.S. House of Representatives, District 2
372. South Carolina 1808 U.S. House of Representatives, District 3
373. South Carolina 1808 U.S. House of Representatives, District 4
374. South Carolina 1808 U.S. House of Representatives, District 5
375. South Carolina 1808 U.S. House of Representatives, District 6
376. South Carolina 1808 U.S. House of Representatives, District 7
377. South Carolina 1808 U.S. House of Representatives, District 8
378. South Carolina 1809 House of Representatives, Charleston City, Special
379. South Carolina 1809 House of Representatives, Fairfield County, Special
380. South Carolina 1809 State Senate, Charleston City, Special
381. South Carolina 1810 Governor
382. South Carolina 1810 House of Representatives, Abbeville District
383. South Carolina 1810 House of Representatives, Charleston City
384. South Carolina 1810 House of Representatives, Chesterfield District
385. South Carolina 1810 House of Representatives, Claremont District
386. South Carolina 1810 House of Representatives, Lancaster District
387. South Carolina 1810 House of Representatives, Lexington District
388. South Carolina 1810 House of Representatives, Marion District
389. South Carolina 1810 House of Representatives, Pendleton District
390. South Carolina 1810 House of Representatives, Saint Andrew's Parish
391. South Carolina 1810 House of Representatives, Saint Bartholomew Parish
392. South Carolina 1810 House of Representatives, Saint Dennis and Saint Thomas Parish
393. South Carolina 1810 House of Representatives, Saint Helena Parish
394. South Carolina 1810 House of Representatives, Saint John, Berkeley Parish
395. South Carolina 1810 House of Representatives, Saint Peter Parish
396. South Carolina 1810 House of Representatives, Spartanburg District
397. South Carolina 1810 House of Representatives, York District
398. South Carolina 1810 Lieutenant Governor
399. South Carolina 1810 State Senate, Charleston City
400. South Carolina 1810 State Senate, Chesterfield District
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On May 23, 1788, South Carolina became the eighth state to ratify the Federal Constitution. Although there was considerable opposition from the backcountry region, representatives from the capital, Charleston, and the surrounding lowcountry regions prevailed. This division in state politics would continue until a series of compromises were completed in 1808 balancing the representation of the two regions.
A new state constitution was adopted by the South Carolina General Assembly in 1790. This document preserved the weak executive structure that dated back to before the American Revolution. For example, the governor did not possess veto power after 1790. The governor and lieutenant governor were each elected to a two-year term and were then required to not hold the office for four years before being eligible for election again. The General Assembly was comprised of two branches, the House of Representatives and the Senate. Both bodies were elected by popular vote. Members of the House of Representatives served two-year terms. There were a total of 124 members whose districts were determined by a combination of population and the amount of taxes generated. It was through electoral innovations like this that the lowcountry region maintained its political dominance even though it possessed a minority of the state’s white population. Senators were elected to four year terms.
The most significant political issue in the state during this period was balancing the interests of the lowcountry and the backcountry. Under the Constitution of 1790, the state capital was moved from Charleston, on the coast, to Columbia in the interior. Eventually, the lowcountry representatives agreed to other Constitutional amendments which increased the number of electoral districts in the backcountry region and led to a greater balance of political power.
The Federalist Party dominated South Carolina in the 1790s as it could count a number of prominent lowcountry planters among their ranks. Many South Carolinians played important roles for the Federalist Party at the national level. The Jeffersonian-Republicans, however, were rising in prominence, especially as Charles Pinckney and Pierce Butler, both of whom signed the Constitution for South Carolina, joined the rival party. Although the Federalists dominated the state until 1800, by 1804 there were no Federalists in power. South Carolina would remain a one-party state until the start of the Civil War.
The Constitution of 1790 eliminated the religious qualification for voting and holding political office in South Carolina. All free, white men who were 21 years of age, had lived in the state for two years, was a resident of the district in which he was voting, owned fifty acres of land or a town lot and paid taxes were eligible to vote. In 1810 an amendment to the state constitution eliminated the property qualification for voting, extending suffrage to all white men who had lived in the state for six months. Thus, South Carolina was among the very first states to allow universal white male suffrage.
Bibliography
- James Banner
“The Problem of South Carolina” in Stanley Elkins and Eric McKittrick,The Hofstadter Aegis: A Memorial. (New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1974) 60-93. - Walter Edgar,
South Carolina: A History (Columbia: University of South Carolina Press, 1998) - Lacy K. Ford,
The Origins of Southern Radicalism: The South Carolina Upcountry, 1800-1860 (New York: Oxford University Press, 1991) - Rachel Klein,
Unification of a Slave State: The Rise of the Planter Class in the South Carolina Backcountry, 1760-1808 (Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 1990). - George C. Rogers,
Evolution of a Federalist: William Loughton Smith of Charleston , (Columbia, SC: University of South Carolina Press, 1962). - C. Blease Graham, South Carolina’s Constitutions
- South Carolina Information Highway – Governors