Welcome to the Great State of South Carolina, home to Myrtle Beach, Hilton Head, and other golf paradises. (evidently the land of "Smiling Faces, Beautiful Places"). I have been to South Carolina at least once on vacation with OSG, Mrs. OSG, and Mrs. BA and was lucky enough to play golf at the famous Harbour Town Golf Links in Hilton Head.
Named for King Charles I (Carolus is Latin for Charles), South Carolina was the first state to secede from the Union at the start of the Civil War. South Carolina has played an important role in American History. During the American Revolution, the Battle of Cowpens pitted South Carolina Loyalist forces against the American Revolutionary Army and the Loyalist defeat was the beginning of the end for the British in the Revolution. The Nullification Crisis was a showdown between President Andrew Jackson and the state of South Carolina, which exercised it's states rights to not enforce the protective tariffs of the United States. Anti-abolitionism ran strong in South Carolina, leading indirectly to the caning of Massachusetts Senator Charles Sumner by South Carolina Representative Preston Brooks. After South Carolina seceded in December 1860, Confederate forces began shelling Fort Sumter in Charleston Harbor, ultimately taking the fort from the Union.
The current governor of South Carolina is a Republican, Nikki Haley. And you can say you heard it here first - if Mitt Romney is the Republican nominee - she should be at the top of the short list for vice president. Both of the Senators for the state are also Republicans, Jim DeMint and Lindsay Graham. The House Members for the Palmetto State are heavily Republican, with only one Democrat in the 6 person delegation.
- 1st District - Tim Scott (R)
- 2nd District - Joe Wilson (R) (he of the "YOU LIE" fame)
- 3rd District - Jeff Duncan (R)
- 4th District - Trey Gowdy (R)
- 5th District - Mick Mulvaney (R)
- 6th District - James Clyburn (D) - Clyburn is also Assistant Democratic Leader
- State Capital - Columbia
- Date of Admission - May 23, 1788
- Area - 32,020 sq mi (40th)
- State Motto - "Animis Opibusque Parati" ("Prepared in Mind and Resources") and "Dum Spiro Spero" ("While I breathe, I hope")
- State Nickname - the Palmetto State
- State tree - the Palmetto (duh, it's on the flag)
- State bird - the Carolina Wren
- State wildflower - Yellow Jessamine
- State University - The University of South Carolina
- State Archives - South Carolina Department of Archives and History
- Population (2011 est.) - 4,679,230
- Signers of the Declaration of Independence - Thomas Heyward, Jr., Thomas Lynch, Jr., Arthur Middleton, Edward "Molasses to Rum" Rutledge,
- sc.gov - the Official Website of the State of South Carolina
- The South Carolina Tourism site - discoversouthcarolina.com
- The Encyclopedia Britannic entry for South Carolina
- Wikpedia
- 50states.com entry for South Carolina
- InfoPlease site for South Carolina
- Wiki Travel site for South Carolina
- Bernard Baruch
- Mary McLeoud Bethune
- John C. Calhoun (possibly one of the most famous South Carolinians)
- Chubby Checker
- Stephen Colbert
- Joe Frazier
- Althea Gibson
- Eartha Kitt
- Andrew Jackson (though he is usually credited as being from Tennessee)
- Jesse Jackson
- Ronald McNair (he's one of the seven answers to my all-time trivia question)
- The Rutledges (Edward, Francis, John, and John, Jr.)
- Strom Thurmond
- Vanna White
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