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202. South Carolina 1800 State Senate, Saint Bartholomew's Parish
203. South Carolina 1800 State Senate, Saint Helena Parish
204. South Carolina 1800 U.S. House of Representatives, District 1
205. South Carolina 1800 U.S. House of Representatives, District 2
206. South Carolina 1800 U.S. House of Representatives, District 3
207. South Carolina 1800 U.S. House of Representatives, District 4
208. South Carolina 1800 U.S. House of Representatives, District 5
209. South Carolina 1800 U.S. House of Representatives, District 6
210. South Carolina 1800 U.S. Senate
211. South Carolina 1800 U.S. Senate, Ballot 2
212. South Carolina 1801 Associate Judge
213. South Carolina 1801 House of Representatives, Charleston City, Special
214. South Carolina 1801 U.S. Senate, Special
215. South Carolina 1802 Governor
216. South Carolina 1802 House of Representatives, Charleston City
217. South Carolina 1802 House of Representatives, Prince William Parish
218. South Carolina 1802 House of Representatives, Saint Bartholomew's Parish
219. South Carolina 1802 House of Representatives, Saint Dennis and Saint Thomas Parishes
220. South Carolina 1802 House of Representatives, Saint Helena Parish
221. South Carolina 1802 House of Representatives, Saint James Santee Parish
222. South Carolina 1802 House of Representatives, Saint John's Berkeley Parish
223. South Carolina 1802 House of Representatives, Saint John's Colleton Parish
224. South Carolina 1802 House of Representatives, Saint John's Colleton Parish, Special
225. South Carolina 1802 House of Representatives, Saint Paul's Parish
226. South Carolina 1802 House of Representatives, Winton County
227. South Carolina 1802 Lieutenant Governor
228. South Carolina 1802 Speaker of the House
229. South Carolina 1802 State Senate, Charleston City
230. South Carolina 1802 State Senate, Prince William Parish
231. South Carolina 1802 State Senate, Saint Bartholomew's Parish
232. South Carolina 1802 State Senate, Saint Dennis and Saint Thomas Parishes
233. South Carolina 1802 State Senate, Saint Helena Parish
234. South Carolina 1802 State Senate, Saint John's Berkeley Parish
235. South Carolina 1802 State Senate, Saint John's Colleton Parish
236. South Carolina 1802 State Senate, Winton County
237. South Carolina 1802 U.S. House of Representatives, District 4, Special
238. South Carolina 1802 U.S. Senate, Special
239. South Carolina 1803 House of Representatives, Christ Church Parish, Special
240. South Carolina 1803 House of Representatives, Clarendon County, Special
241. South Carolina 1803 House of Representatives, Saint Andrew's Parish, Special
242. South Carolina 1803 House of Representatives, Spartanburg County, Special
243. South Carolina 1803 U.S. House of Representatives, District 1
244. South Carolina 1803 U.S. House of Representatives, District 2
245. South Carolina 1803 U.S. House of Representatives, District 3
246. South Carolina 1803 U.S. House of Representatives, District 4
247. South Carolina 1803 U.S. House of Representatives, District 5
248. South Carolina 1803 U.S. House of Representatives, District 6
249. South Carolina 1803 U.S. House of Representatives, District 7
250. South Carolina 1803 U.S. House of Representatives, District 8
251. South Carolina 1804 Electoral College
252. South Carolina 1804 House of Representatives, All Saints Parish
253. South Carolina 1804 House of Representatives, Claremont District
254. South Carolina 1804 House of Representatives, Kingston District
255. South Carolina 1804 House of Representatives, Laurens District
256. South Carolina 1804 House of Representatives, Orange Parish
257. South Carolina 1804 House of Representatives, Prince George Winyah Parish
258. South Carolina 1804 House of Representatives, Saint Andrew Parish
259. South Carolina 1804 House of Representatives, Saint Bartholomew Parish
260. South Carolina 1804 House of Representatives, Saint George Dorchester Parish
261. South Carolina 1804 House of Representatives, Saint James, Goose Creek Parish
262. South Carolina 1804 House of Representatives, Saint John, Colleton Parish
263. South Carolina 1804 House of Representatives, Saint Paul Parish
264. South Carolina 1804 State Senate, All Saints Parish, Special
265. South Carolina 1804 State Senate, Kershaw and Lancaster Districts
266. South Carolina 1804 State Senate, Saint Andrew Parish
267. South Carolina 1804 State Senate, Saint James, Goose Creek Parish
268. South Carolina 1804 State Senate, Saint Paul Parish
269. South Carolina 1804 Treasurer, Lower Division
270. South Carolina 1804 U.S. House of Representatives, District 1
271. South Carolina 1804 U.S. House of Representatives, District 2
272. South Carolina 1804 U.S. House of Representatives, District 3
273. South Carolina 1804 U.S. House of Representatives, District 4
274. South Carolina 1804 U.S. House of Representatives, District 5
275. South Carolina 1804 U.S. House of Representatives, District 6
276. South Carolina 1804 U.S. House of Representatives, District 7
277. South Carolina 1804 U.S. House of Representatives, District 8
278. South Carolina 1804 U.S. Senate
279. South Carolina 1804 U.S. Senate, Special
280. South Carolina 1805 State Senate, Saint Stephen Parish, Special
281. South Carolina 1805 U.S. House of Representatives, District 8, Special
282. South Carolina 1806 Governor
283. South Carolina 1806 Governor, Ballot 2
284. South Carolina 1806 House of Representatives, All Saints Parish
285. South Carolina 1806 House of Representatives, Edgefield District
286. South Carolina 1806 House of Representatives, Fairfield District
287. South Carolina 1806 House of Representatives, Greenville District
288. South Carolina 1806 House of Representatives, Horry District
289. South Carolina 1806 House of Representatives, Kershaw District
290. South Carolina 1806 House of Representatives, Lexington District
291. South Carolina 1806 House of Representatives, Orange Parish
292. South Carolina 1806 House of Representatives, Prince William Parish
293. South Carolina 1806 House of Representatives, Richland District
294. South Carolina 1806 House of Representatives, Saint Andrew's Parish
295. South Carolina 1806 House of Representatives, Saint Bartholomew Parish
296. South Carolina 1806 House of Representatives, Saint John's Berkeley Parish
297. South Carolina 1806 House of Representatives, Saint Luke's Parish
298. South Carolina 1806 House of Representatives, Saint Matthew Parish
299. South Carolina 1806 House of Representatives, Union District
300. South Carolina 1806 House of Representatives, Winton 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