D. Federal Period

The slave trade continued in South Carolina until the constitutionally set limit of 1808. The "middle passage" for slaves from Africa to the New World was full of hazards. Many slaves did not survive the voyage, and their bodies were thrown overboard, as illustrated in this crude engraving.

Courtesy of the South Carolniana Library.

Palmetto Symbol - South Carolina Regiment | History of SC Slide Collection

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Palmetto Symbol - South Carolina Regiment | History of SC Slide Collection

Episode 22

The palmetto symbol of the South Carolina regiment's heroic exploits at Cherubusco, Vera Cruz, and Chapultapec became the rallying cry for South Carolinians in general, as well as for veterans of the...

Battle of Cherubusco | History of SC Slide Collection

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Battle of Cherubusco | History of SC Slide Collection

Episode 21

South Carolinians were among those who most strongly supported the Mexican War, for it promised westward expansion of the nation in territory south of the Missouri Compromise Line of 1820, and thus...

The Chester Volunteers | History of SC Slide Collection

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The Chester Volunteers | History of SC Slide Collection

Episode 20

The Chester Volunteers, Captain Robert Mills Dunovants's company of the Palmetto Regiment, were one of the many South Carolina military units who made up the army that fought in the War with Mexico...

Union and States' Rights Gazette | History of SC Slide Collection

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Union and States' Rights Gazette | History of SC Slide Collection

Episode 19

The front page of the short-lived "Union and States' Rights Gazette" illustrates the complexity of South Carolina politics even though many outsiders thought the state unified behind opposition to the...

The Webster-Hayne Debate | History of SC Slide Collection

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The Webster-Hayne Debate | History of SC Slide Collection

Episode 18

The Webster-Hayne Debate. Bitter sectional disputes emerged during the presidency of Andrew Jackson: the issues that divided north from south, and sometimes east from west, included the disposal of...

Petition to Free Slaves, 1815 | History of SC Slide Collection

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Petition to Free Slaves, 1815 | History of SC Slide Collection

Episode 17

The legislature of South Carolina retained a great deal of authority over many aspects of everyday life. Roads could not be built, ferries across rivers could not be established, slaves could not be...

Southern Chivalry - Argument Versus Clubs | History of SC Slide Collection

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Southern Chivalry - Argument Versus Clubs | History of SC Slide Collection

Episode 16

"Southern Chivalry - Argument versus Clubs," a cartoon by I.L. Magee, illustrated the strong feelings of revulsion that Northerners expressed over the Sumner-Brooks affair. The question of expansion...

Practical Illustration of the Fugitive Slave Law | History of SC Slide Collection

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Practical Illustration of the Fugitive Slave Law | History of SC Slide Collection

Episode 15

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...

Runaway Slaves | History of SC Slide Collection

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Runaway Slaves | History of SC Slide Collection

Episode 14

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...

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Legareville | History of SC Slide Collection

Episode 13

Legareville was a summer resort community of the early 19th century, where planters and their families could retreat from the heat and disease of their plantations and enjoy cooling breezes. This 1919...

Plantation Owner Land Distribution | History of SC Slide Collection

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Plantation Owner Land Distribution | History of SC Slide Collection

Episode 12

This relief map of what is now Parris Island shows the distribution of the land among the large plantation owners around 1820. Courtesy of the United States Marine Corps, Parris Island Museum.

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Charleston Jockey Club Advertisement | History of SC Slide Collection

Episode 11

Antebellum Charleston was famed for its racing, and for the devotion that its citizens showed to breeding and racing horses, making the contests extravagant betting and drinking events. Here the...

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Friends and Amateurs in Musick | History of SC Slide Collection

Episode 10

"Friends and Amateurs in Musick" was drawn in 1827 by Thomas Middleton, an amateur artist; it is probably deliberately modeled on the convivial gathering of "Peter Manigault and His Friends" (see...

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The seat of Dr. William Read on the Cooper River | History of SC Slide Collection

Episode 9

"The seat of Dr. William Read on the Cooper River" illustrates the continued wealth and prosperity of the large planters in the Lowcountry even as the economic center of cotton growing moved westward...

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Encampment at Hadril's Point | History of SC Slide Collection

Episode 8

John C. Calhoun (see John C. Calhoun and John C. Calhoun), newly elected to the House of Representatives in 1811, was an eager supporter of avenging American honor by going to war against England...

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Petition from "Free people of Colour and free Negroes," 1820 | History of SC Slide Collection

Episode 7

Petition from "Free people of Colour and free Negroes," 1820. In 1756, the General Assembly passed a law which levied a tax on "All free Negroes, Mulattos and Mestizos who do not pay any other part of...

Cherokee Reservation, Fort Gibson, Arkansas | History of SC Slide Collection

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Cherokee Reservation, Fort Gibson, Arkansas | History of SC Slide Collection

Episode 6

The Cherokee nation was gradually pushed out of the western Piedmont by the expanding European encroachment on their lands. The Cherokees in South Carolina had been hard hit by the attacks of Andrew...

George Washington Letter to Charles Pinckney | History of SC Slide Collection

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George Washington Letter to Charles Pinckney | History of SC Slide Collection

Episode 5

One of the objections of those who opposed the adoption of the Constitution was its lack of a Bill of Rights, and South Carolina's ratifying convention directed that its delegates to the new Congress...

Delegates to a 1787 Convention in Philadelphia | History of SC Slide Collection

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Delegates to a 1787 Convention in Philadelphia | History of SC Slide Collection

Episode 4

Delegates to a convention in Philadelphia in the summer of 1787 drew up a constitution to replace the Articles of Confederation. For the next year, supporters and opponents of the stronger national...

A Coffle of Slaves | History of SC Slide Collection

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A Coffle of Slaves | History of SC Slide Collection

Episode 2

A coffle of slaves is being marched through town by an overseer. From "Slavery in South Carolina," 1862. Courtesy of the South Caroliniana Library.

Middle Passage for Slaves | History of SC Slide Collection

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Middle Passage for Slaves | History of SC Slide Collection

Episode 1