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152. South Carolina 1824 House of Representatives, Saint John Colleton Parish
153. South Carolina 1820 House of Representatives, Saint Andrew Parish
154. South Carolina 1818 Comptroller
155. South Carolina 1793 U.S. House of Representatives, District 3
156. South Carolina 1820 House of Representatives, Claremont District
157. South Carolina 1814 House of Representatives, Saint John Berkeley Parish
158. South Carolina 1816 Sheriff, Richland District
159. South Carolina 1808 House of Representatives, Prince William Parish
160. South Carolina 1814 State Senate, Saint Dennis and Saint Thomas Parishes
161. South Carolina 1818 Governor, Ballot 4
162. South Carolina 1822 House of Representatives, Kershaw District
163. South Carolina 1814 U.S. House of Representatives, District 4
164. South Carolina 1816 Sheriff, Charleston District
165. South Carolina 1819 State Senate, Christ Church Parish, Special
166. South Carolina 1804 U.S. House of Representatives, District 8
167. South Carolina 1824 House of Representatives, Saint Stephen Parish
168. South Carolina 1797 Intendant, Charleston City
169. South Carolina 1820 House of Representatives, All Saints Parish
170. South Carolina 1800 House of Representatives, Saint Helena Parish
171. South Carolina 1820 U.S. House of Representatives, District 4
172. South Carolina 1824 U.S. Senate
173. South Carolina 1814 House of Representatives, Lancaster District
174. South Carolina 1816 U.S. Senate, Special
175. South Carolina 1796 House of Representatives, Saint Peter's Parish
176. South Carolina 1822 House of Representatives, Prince George Winyaw (Georgetown) Parish
177. South Carolina 1816 House of Representatives, Prince William Parish
178. South Carolina 1804 U.S. House of Representatives, District 7
179. South Carolina 1807 House of Representatives, Prince William Parish, Special Election
180. South Carolina 1818 Governor
181. South Carolina 1823 U.S. House of Representatives, District 5
182. South Carolina 1824 State Senate, Saint Andrew Parish
183. South Carolina 1823 Warden, Charleston City, Ward 2
184. South Carolina 1796 House of Representatives, Kingston County
185. South Carolina 1798 House of Representatives, Richland County
186. South Carolina 1811 State Senate, Saint Matthew Parish, Special
187. South Carolina 1813 Sheriff, Barnwell District
188. South Carolina 1825 U.S. House of Representatives, District 1, Special
189. South Carolina 1797 U.S. House of Representatives, District 1, Special
190. South Carolina 1816 U.S. House of Representatives, District 9, Special
191. South Carolina 1816 Lieutenant Governor
192. South Carolina 1810 House of Representatives, York District
193. South Carolina 1816 U.S. House of Representatives, District 1
194. South Carolina 1796 State Senate, Saint Luke's Parish
195. South Carolina 1814 State Senate, Prince William District
196. South Carolina 1823 U.S. House of Representatives, District 7
197. South Carolina 1794 House of Representatives, Saint Andrew's Parish
198. South Carolina 1802 House of Representatives, Saint Paul's Parish
199. South Carolina 1798 House of Representatives, Charleston City, Special
200. South Carolina 1814 House of Representatives, Darlington 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