The Palmetto State

A concise approach to the major themes and events that define contemporary South Carolina The captivating, colorful, and controversial history of South Carolina continues to warrant fresh explorations. In this sweeping story of defining episodes in the state's history, accomplished historians Jack Bass and W. Scott Poole trace the importance of race relations, historical memory, and cultural life in the progress of the Palmetto State from its colonial inception to the present day. In the discussion of contemporary South Carolina that makes up the majority of this volume, the authors map the ways through which hard-won economic and civil rights advancements, a succession of progressive state leaders, and federal court mandates operated in tandem to bring a largely peaceful end to the Jim Crow era in South Carolina, in stark contrast to the violence wrought elsewhere in the South. This volume speaks directly to the connections between the state's past, present, and future, and it serves as a valuable point of entrance for new inquiries into South Carolina's diverse and complex heritage.

Examines the history, people, land, economy and commerce, politics and government, culture, notable people, and state events and attractions of South Carolina.

South Carolina: The Palmetto State, is a part of the Discover America Series. South Carolina celebrates the people and culture with beautiful images and engaging facts as well as describing the history, industry, environment, and sports that make this state unique.

Discover America explores each state, district, and territory in the United States of America. From Alabama to Wyoming, this series features vivid images, informative charts, and detailed maps to guide readers through their nation. Each book explores geography, history, culture, and economics to illustrate the diversity of this unique country.

The ex-slaves of South Carolina gave their experiences of being slaves as children and talked about what it was like living on the plantations throughout the state. The book is one of twelve books of the Black Children Speak series. The books are compiled from the interviews with slaves taken by the interviewers of the Federal Writers Project of the Works Progress Administration (WPA) in 19361938. Most of the ex-slaves who were interviewed were children during slavery and gave interviews of their experiences and insights from living on plantations. The ex-slaves answered questions on all aspects of the plantations in seventeen states of the United States before the Civil War. African Americans were freed from slavery after the Civil War in 1865. The series is dedicated to all people.

The Federal Writers Project creates an image of South Carolina of years past All of us, at one time or another, have had a strong desire to be able to get into a time machine and be transported magically to an earlier place and time. Science has not yet produced for us such a time machine, but the Federal Writers Project (FWP), a division of the Works Progress Administration, did produce for prosperity guides to all of the old 48 states. Using talented local researchers and writers the FWP created an image of America fifty plus years ago. A reprint of the original, South Carolina: The WPA Guide to the Palmetto State is divided into three sections: 19 essays on a variety of topics ranging from history to cookery; detailed descriptions of the 11 towns in the state that had populations of more than 10,000; and 21 remarkably detailed guided tours to all sections of the state. In addition to the original chapters, there are two appendices—updated highway numbers for each tour and a guide to getting off the present Interstate Highway System and picking up the guided tours. South Carolina's Guide is very much a product of its times. The essays and tours mince no words in describing the state's poverty or the reality of a world in which class and race played major roles. For those who have studied and taught South Carolina history, the old Guide has been an indispensable reference work. Parts of it may be dated to some jaded modern eyes; some phrases may be jarring to the post-1954 generation. However, the original South Carolina: The WPA Guide to the Palmetto State was what its cover claimed it to be. It accurately described the state as it was—not as romantics wanted it to be.

Reprint. Originally published: New York: Oxford University Press, 1941.