“Settled by the English in 1670, South Carolina became the eighth state to ratify the U.S. Constitution in 1788. Its early economy was largely agricultural, benefitting from the area’s fertile soil. Plantation farmers relied on the slave trade for cheap labor to maximize profits.”
By 1730, people of African descent made up two-thirds of the colony’s population. South Carolina became the first state to secede from the Union in 1861 and was the site of the first shots of the Civil War on April 12, 1861.
South Carolina’s coastline near Myrtle Beach is one of the premier resort destinations on the East Coast and has over 100 golf courses. Famous South Carolinians include musicians James Brown, Chubby Checker and Dizzy Gillespie, novelist Pat Conroy, boxer Joe Frazier, tennis champion Althea Gibson, politician Jesse Jackson and long-serving U.S. Senator Strom Thurmond.
South Carolina Native American History
The first people migrated to the area now known as South Carolina around 13,000 years ago. By the time the first British colony was established in the 17th century, more than 29 groups of Native Americans lived in the area, the largest being the Cherokee and Catawba, as well as the Chickasaw, Creek (Muskogean), Congaree, Pee Dee, Shawnee, Waccamaw, Yamasee and others.
The first Spanish settlers in modern-day Parris Island disrupted the Escamacu, who launched an attack in 1576. During the resulting Escamacu War, the Spanish recruited other tribes to enslave the Escamacu. Warfare plus the introduction of European diseases dispersed and greatly reduced the Indigenous population.
When British colonists arrived near Charleston in the second half of the 17th century, many Indigenous people died from diseases carried to the continent by Europeans. Some Indigenous people coexisted with the colonists, but other tribes pushed back against the incursion and were killed. Colonists also enslaved Indigenous people and sold them to the British in the Caribbean and other colonies. Colonists displaced much of the remaining Indigenous population for settlements and plantations. When the Spanish returned in 1687 in an attempt to reclaim the Carolinas, they displaced and killed more Indigenous people.
Native Americans continued to trade deer skins with the British, who frequently defrauded them. In 1715, the Yamasee people of South Carolina rebelled against trading injustices and the Native American slave trade. Various Indigenous tribes, including the Cherokee and the Pee Dee, banded together during the Yamasee War (1715-1717) to attack the British, forcing many colonists to flee South Carolina.
Immigration
Various groups have immigrated to South Carolina throughout its history. In the 1700s, most immigrants were French, German, Swiss and Scots-Irish, including religious and political refugees. In the 1840s and 1850s, South Carolinians protested when a wave of poor Germans and Irish arrived in the state, but their place in society was cemented thanks to their participation in the Civil War. Immigration stalled until the 1970s when a new wave of people arrived from Germany, followed by Central and South America.
Tourism Industry
After struggling to recover during Reconstruction, South Carolina’s economy grew stronger in the early 20th century thanks to the textile and manufacturing industries. Tourism has become a major industry in the 21st century as visitors explore South Carolina’s beaches, mountains and historical centers in Charleston, Myrtle Beach and Hilton Head Island.
South Carolina is also known for its golf courses. Charleston welcomed a shipment of golf balls and clubs from Scotland as early as 1743. On September 29, 1786, the South Carolina Golf Club formed, and, within the same year, America’s first golf course was established on Harleston Green. As of 2022, there were more than 350 golf courses within the state.
Interesting Facts
On November 2, 1954, former Governor Strom Thurmond became the first person to be elected to the U.S. Senate as a write-in candidate, winning 63 percent of the vote. Thurmond served the state of South Carolina as senator for 47 years, five months and eight days.
In 2000, the Confederate flag was removed from the dome on top of the State House and placed on the grounds near the Confederate Soldier Monument in response to an NAACP boycott of the state and protests over its legacy. More than 10 years later, the flag’s location continues to be the subject of ongoing controversy.
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