It is impossible to include all of the history of South Carolina in the images that have been included in this roughly chronological section of the entire collection. Those who wish to expand their understanding of a particular period are urged to use the search function for particular dates for images from the other sections of the collection illustrating other aspects of South Carolina life at that time.
Photo
The WPA undertook large, as well as small, construction projects, and the character of some of their projects began to change in 1939 and 1940, as the nation turned its attention to the war that had...
Photo
Federal troops, waging the total war that Sherman believed was necessary, were instructed to destroy the South's ability to make war. Here, they destroy a section of railroad tracks at Pocataligo...
Photo
Several prisoner-of-war camps were established in South Carolina to house captured Germans. This is the street of a camp in Hampton, photographed around 1944. Courtesy of Mildred B. Rivers.
Photo
Although it was the Englishman Sir Francis Drake whose raids persuaded the Spanish to abandon Santa Elena and concentrate on defending St. Augustine in 1587, it was nearly a century before the English...
Photo
Runaway slaves were a constant problem in maintaining a workforce of unfree laborers. Slaves ran away because of mistreatment, out of a desire for freedom, or often simply to be reunited with husbands...
Photo
The lands added to the nation through the conquests of the Mexican War raised anew the question of whether or not slavery would be allowed to expand into the new territories of the west. For two years...
Photo
At the end of the Civil War, both of South Carolina's major cities lay in ruins. Even as Sherman approached Columbia, another branch of his army occupied Charleston. The accidental explosion of a...
Photo
The wealth of centers like Charleston helped prepare the way for the dissatisfactions against British rule that finally resulted in the Revolution. A wealthy elite, with connections through trade to...
Photo
Victory in Europe was celebrated throughout the nation after four years of warfare. Although American forces were still fighting in Japan, the Greenville "News" headline illustrates the celebration...
Photo
To become binding, colonial legal documents had to be signed and sealed. This partially ratified indenture between the Lords Proprietors never took effect because only six of the Proprietors agreed to...
