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402. South Carolina 1814 State Senate, Clarendon District
403. South Carolina 1814 State Senate, Laurens District
404. South Carolina 1814 State Senate, Prince George Winyah Parish
405. South Carolina 1814 State Senate, Prince William District
406. South Carolina 1814 State Senate, Saint Bartholomew Parish
407. South Carolina 1814 State Senate, Saint Dennis and Saint Thomas Parishes
408. South Carolina 1814 State Senate, Saint John Colleton Parish
409. South Carolina 1814 State Senate, Saint Paul Parish, Special
410. South Carolina 1814 State Senate, Williamsburgh District
411. South Carolina 1814 Surveyor General, Ballot 3
412. South Carolina 1814 Treasurer, Lower Division
413. South Carolina 1814 Treasurer, Lower Division, Ballot 2
414. South Carolina 1815 House of Representatives, Saint Bartholomew Parish, Special
415. South Carolina 1815 State Senate, Greenville District, Special
416. South Carolina 1816 Attorney General
417. South Carolina 1816 Bank Director
418. South Carolina 1816 Clerk of the House of Representatives
419. South Carolina 1816 Clerk of the House of Representatives, Ballot 2
420. South Carolina 1816 Clerk of the House of Representatives, Ballot 3
421. South Carolina 1816 Comptroller General
422. South Carolina 1816 Governor
423. South Carolina 1816 House of Representatives, All Saints Parish
424. South Carolina 1816 House of Representatives, Barnwell District
425. South Carolina 1816 House of Representatives, Charleston City
426. South Carolina 1816 House of Representatives, Christ Church Parish
427. South Carolina 1816 House of Representatives, Clarendon District
428. South Carolina 1816 House of Representatives, Edgefield District
429. South Carolina 1816 House of Representatives, Horry District
430. South Carolina 1816 House of Representatives, Kershaw District
431. South Carolina 1816 House of Representatives, Lancaster District
432. South Carolina 1816 House of Representatives, Marion District
433. South Carolina 1816 House of Representatives, Marlborough District
434. South Carolina 1816 House of Representatives, Prince George Winyah Parish
435. South Carolina 1816 House of Representatives, Prince William Parish
436. South Carolina 1816 House of Representatives, Richland District
437. South Carolina 1816 House of Representatives, Saint Bartholomew Parish
438. South Carolina 1816 House of Representatives, Saint Helena Parish
439. South Carolina 1816 House of Representatives, Saint James Santee Parish
440. South Carolina 1816 House of Representatives, Saint Luke Parish
441. South Carolina 1816 House of Representatives, Saint Paul Parish
442. South Carolina 1816 House of Representatives, Spartanburg District
443. South Carolina 1816 Lieutenant Governor
444. South Carolina 1816 State Senate, All Saints Parish
445. South Carolina 1816 State Senate, Charleston City
446. South Carolina 1816 State Senate, Christ Church Parish
447. South Carolina 1816 State Senate, Horry District
448. South Carolina 1816 State Senate, Kershaw District
449. South Carolina 1816 State Senate, Lancaster District
450. South Carolina 1816 State Senate, Marion District
451. South Carolina 1816 State Senate, Prince George Winyah Parish
452. South Carolina 1816 State Senate, Saint James Santee Parish
453. South Carolina 1816 State Senate, Saint Luke Parish
454. South Carolina 1816 State Senate, Saint Paul Parish, Special
455. South Carolina 1816 Treasurer, Upper Division
456. South Carolina 1817 House of Representatives, Charleston City, Special
457. South Carolina 1818 Comptroller
458. South Carolina 1818 Governor
459. South Carolina 1818 Governor, Ballot 2
460. South Carolina 1818 Governor, Ballot 3
461. South Carolina 1818 Governor, Ballot 4
462. South Carolina 1818 House of Representatives, All Saints Parish
463. South Carolina 1818 House of Representatives, Charleston City
464. South Carolina 1818 House of Representatives, Christ Church Parish
465. South Carolina 1818 House of Representatives, Horry District
466. South Carolina 1818 House of Representatives, Kershaw District
467. South Carolina 1818 House of Representatives, Marlborough District
468. South Carolina 1818 House of Representatives, Prince William Parish
469. South Carolina 1818 House of Representatives, Richland District
470. South Carolina 1818 House of Representatives, Saint Andrew Parish
471. South Carolina 1818 House of Representatives, Saint Bartholomew Parish
472. South Carolina 1818 House of Representatives, Saint Dennis and Saint Thomas Parishes
473. South Carolina 1818 House of Representatives, Saint James Santee Parish
474. South Carolina 1818 House of Representatives, Saint Luke Parish
475. South Carolina 1818 House of Representatives, Saint Peter Parish
476. South Carolina 1818 House of Representatives, Sumter District
477. South Carolina 1818 Secretary of State, Ballot 4
478. South Carolina 1818 Solicitor, Western Circuit
479. South Carolina 1818 State Senate, All Saints Parish
480. South Carolina 1818 State Senate, Charleston City
481. South Carolina 1818 State Senate, Marlborough District
482. South Carolina 1818 State Senate, Prince William Parish
483. South Carolina 1818 State Senate, Richland District
484. South Carolina 1818 State Senate, Saint Bartholomew Parish
485. South Carolina 1818 State Senate, Saint Dennis and Saint Thomas Parish
486. South Carolina 1818 State Senate, Sumter District
487. South Carolina 1818 Surveyor General
488. South Carolina 1819 House of Representatives, Charleston City, Special
489. South Carolina 1819 House of Representatives, Charleston City, Special
490. South Carolina 1819 State Senate, Charleston City, Special
491. South Carolina 1819 State Senate, Charleston City, Special
492. South Carolina 1819 State Senate, Charleston City, Special
493. South Carolina 1819 State Senate, Chester District, Special
494. South Carolina 1819 State Senate, Christ Church Parish, Special
495. South Carolina 1820 Comptroller General
496. South Carolina 1820 Governor
497. South Carolina 1820 House of Representatives, All Saints Parish
498. South Carolina 1820 House of Representatives, Charleston City
499. South Carolina 1820 House of Representatives, Charleston City, Special
500. South Carolina 1820 House of Representatives, 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