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302. South Carolina 1808 U.S. House of Representatives, District 8
303. South Carolina 1810 House of Representatives, Abbeville District
304. South Carolina 1810 House of Representatives, Charleston City
305. South Carolina 1810 House of Representatives, Chesterfield District
306. South Carolina 1810 House of Representatives, Claremont District
307. South Carolina 1810 House of Representatives, Lancaster District
308. South Carolina 1810 House of Representatives, Lexington District
309. South Carolina 1810 House of Representatives, Marion District
310. South Carolina 1810 House of Representatives, Pendleton District
311. South Carolina 1810 House of Representatives, Saint Andrew's Parish
312. South Carolina 1810 House of Representatives, Saint Bartholomew Parish
313. South Carolina 1810 House of Representatives, Saint Dennis and Saint Thomas Parish
314. South Carolina 1810 House of Representatives, Saint Helena Parish
315. South Carolina 1810 House of Representatives, Saint John, Berkeley Parish
316. South Carolina 1810 House of Representatives, Saint Peter Parish
317. South Carolina 1810 House of Representatives, Spartanburg District
318. South Carolina 1810 House of Representatives, York District
319. South Carolina 1810 State Senate, Charleston City
320. South Carolina 1810 State Senate, Chesterfield District
321. South Carolina 1810 State Senate, Claremont District
322. South Carolina 1810 State Senate, Marion District
323. South Carolina 1810 State Senate, Saint Bartholomew Parish
324. South Carolina 1810 State Senate, Saint Dennis and Saint Thomas Parish
325. South Carolina 1810 State Senate, Saint Helena Parish
326. South Carolina 1810 U.S. House of Representatives, District 1
327. South Carolina 1810 U.S. House of Representatives, District 2
328. South Carolina 1810 U.S. House of Representatives, District 3
329. South Carolina 1810 U.S. House of Representatives, District 4
330. South Carolina 1810 U.S. House of Representatives, District 5
331. South Carolina 1810 U.S. House of Representatives, District 6
332. South Carolina 1810 U.S. House of Representatives, District 7
333. South Carolina 1810 U.S. House of Representatives, District 8
334. South Carolina 1812 House of Representatives, All Saints Parish
335. South Carolina 1812 House of Representatives, Charleston City
336. South Carolina 1812 House of Representatives, Christ Church Parish
337. South Carolina 1812 House of Representatives, Edgefield District
338. South Carolina 1812 House of Representatives, Kershaw District
339. South Carolina 1812 House of Representatives, Lancaster District
340. South Carolina 1812 House of Representatives, Laurens District
341. South Carolina 1812 House of Representatives, Lexington District
342. South Carolina 1812 House of Representatives, Pendleton District
343. South Carolina 1812 House of Representatives, Prince George, Winyah Parish
344. South Carolina 1812 House of Representatives, Richland District
345. South Carolina 1812 House of Representatives, Saint Andrew Parish
346. South Carolina 1812 House of Representatives, Saint Bartholomew Parish
347. South Carolina 1812 House of Representatives, Saint Dennis and Saint Thomas Parish
348. South Carolina 1812 House of Representatives, Saint Helena Parish
349. South Carolina 1812 House of Representatives, Saint James Santee Parish
350. South Carolina 1812 House of Representatives, Saint John Berkeley Parish
351. South Carolina 1812 House of Representatives, Saint John Colleton Parish
352. South Carolina 1812 House of Representatives, Saint Paul Parish
353. South Carolina 1812 House of Representatives, Saint Stephen Parish
354. South Carolina 1812 House of Representatives, Spartanburg District
355. South Carolina 1812 House of Representatives, Union District
356. South Carolina 1812 Intendant, Charleston City
357. South Carolina 1812 Sheriff, Charleston District
358. South Carolina 1812 Sheriff, Kershaw District
359. South Carolina 1812 Sheriff, Pendleton District
360. South Carolina 1812 State Senate, Charleston City
361. South Carolina 1812 State Senate, Christ Church Parish
362. South Carolina 1812 State Senate, Kershaw District
363. South Carolina 1812 State Senate, Lancaster District
364. South Carolina 1812 State Senate, Lexington District
365. South Carolina 1812 State Senate, Saint Andrew Parish
366. South Carolina 1812 State Senate, Saint James, Goosecreek Parish
367. South Carolina 1812 State Senate, Saint James, Santee Parish
368. South Carolina 1812 State Senate, Saint Paul Parish
369. South Carolina 1812 State Senate, Saint Stephen Parish
370. South Carolina 1812 State Senate, Union District
371. South Carolina 1812 U.S. House of Representatives, District 1
372. South Carolina 1812 U.S. House of Representatives, District 2
373. South Carolina 1812 U.S. House of Representatives, District 3
374. South Carolina 1812 U.S. House of Representatives, District 4
375. South Carolina 1812 U.S. House of Representatives, District 5
376. South Carolina 1812 U.S. House of Representatives, District 6
377. South Carolina 1812 U.S. House of Representatives, District 7
378. South Carolina 1812 U.S. House of Representatives, District 8
379. South Carolina 1812 U.S. House of Representatives, District 9
380. South Carolina 1813 Intendant, Charleston City
381. South Carolina 1813 Sheriff, Barnwell District
382. South Carolina 1813 Sheriff, Colleton District
383. South Carolina 1813 Warden, Charleston City, Ward 1
384. South Carolina 1814 House of Representatives, Charleston City
385. South Carolina 1814 House of Representatives, Christ Church Parish
386. South Carolina 1814 House of Representatives, Claremont District
387. South Carolina 1814 House of Representatives, Clarendon District
388. South Carolina 1814 House of Representatives, Darlington District
389. South Carolina 1814 House of Representatives, Kershaw District
390. South Carolina 1814 House of Representatives, Lancaster District
391. South Carolina 1814 House of Representatives, Laurens District
392. South Carolina 1814 House of Representatives, Lexington District
393. South Carolina 1814 House of Representatives, Marion District
394. South Carolina 1814 House of Representatives, Marlborough District
395. South Carolina 1814 House of Representatives, Prince George Winyah Parish
396. South Carolina 1814 House of Representatives, Prince William Parish
397. South Carolina 1814 House of Representatives, Saint Andrew Parish
398. South Carolina 1814 House of Representatives, Saint Bartholomew Parish
399. South Carolina 1814 House of Representatives, Saint Dennis and Saint Thomas Parish
400. South Carolina 1814 House of Representatives, Saint George Dorchester Parish
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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