SC Disagreements Post Revolutionary War

8-3.1--Explain the tensions between the Upcountry and the Lowcountry of

South Carolina, including their economic struggles after the

Revolutionary War, their disagreement over representation in the General Assembly, the location of the new

capital, and the transformation of the state’s economy.

Tensions Backcountry vs Lowcountry/ Loyalists

vs Patriots in the Revolutionary War After the Revolutionary War the

Backcountry was now called the upcountry

Tensions between the two areas were due to the economic differences

Tensions

Most Upcountry people were sustenance farmers & only a few own slaves

They didn’t have large plantations & most people worked their farms without the assistance of slave labor

Lowcountry depended on slave labor for their economic well-being

Both groups suffered economically as a result of the war

What happens in a war?

Ravaged countryside, slaves & livestock

Goods were taken by the British

The economy was slow to improve after the war…

Economic Upset in the Lowcountry

Lowcountry Plantation owners had received economic subsides by Britain for cash crops… after the war

South Carolina as a part of the new independent United States turned against the planters

Planters owed money to creditors in Britain that now couldn’t pay (US Govnt also couldn’t pay for goods commandeered during war)

Poor crop yields also made it hard to recover

Economic Upset in the Lowcountry

Economic problems would persist until 1800’s when cotton was introduced as the new cash crop

How inventions change history for better & for worse (5:14)

SC’s Early Years

Lowcountry elite had little respect for other South Carolinians & had the majority of representation in government

White population differences Charleston was the capital of SC and all

legal business was done there In 1785, county & country courts were

created to help ease upcountry travel to hear a legal matter

New State Capital The newly established city

of Columbia was located in the middle of the state and deemed assessable by all

The capital was moved there in 1776

This moved helped ease tensions between the two areas

But, the Lowcountry still maintained a majority in the state legislature

Meet Columbia (2:27)

The New Capital

The Lowcountry resisted giving the up the majority because they feared the Upcountry would not support slavery

The invention of the cotton gin made cotton a viable cash crop in the Upcountry, resulting in the need for slaves there too

As more save labor was needed and used in the Upcountry the legislative balance became more equal between the to areas

Compromise of 1808

Legislature agreed to reappointment SC Representation was to be based

equally on white population and the amount of taxable property (including slaves)

Resulting in those areas with higher concentrations of slaves still having more representation, but now both areas had their share of slaves and political power