1. SC Disagreements Post Revolutionary War
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.

2. 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

3. Tensions
Most Upcountry people were sustenance farmers & only a few owned 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

4. The economy was slow to improve after 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…

5. 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 Gov’t also couldn’t pay for goods commandeered during war)
Poor crop yields also made it hard to recover

6. 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)

7. 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

8. 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)

9. 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 slave labor was needed and used in the Upcountry the legislative balance became more equal between the to areas

10. 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