Horses and riders participate in the Aiken Steeplechase. Image courtesy of flickr user Tbev.

salt marsh (n)

- low-lying wet land that is frequently flooded with saltwater

Sandhills (n)

- the hilly, central area of South Carolina that was a prehistoric beachfront and is marked by deposits of sand and sedimentary rock

sawmill (n)

- a building with machines used to cut lumber

scalawag (n)

- a nickname for southern whites who supported Reconstruction following the Civil War

Scots-Irish (n)

- a person from Scotland living in Ireland; especially Scottish Protestants sent by the English crown to settle in Catholic Northern Ireland. Many immigrated to the United States in the 18th and 19th centuries.

seagull (n)

- a common bird that lives near the ocean

secede (v)

- to split from or to withdraw from membership of a political union, an alliance or an organization

segregate (v)

- to separate by race or religion. Also, to practice a policy of racial segregation.

seminary (n)

- a theological school for training ministers, priests or rabbis

Senate (n)

- the upper house of the South Carolina General Assembly. It consists of 46 senators elected from single member districts for four-year terms.

sharecropper (n)

- a person who enters an agreement with a land owner to farm the land and then pay a portion (share) of the produce as rent

shoal (n)

- a shallow area of water in a river, often rocky

short-staple cotton (n)

- a cotton variety that has shorter fibers than long-staple cotton and became the signature crop across the American South after the invention of Eli Whitney’s Cotton Gin in 1793.

sit-in (n)

- a form of civil disobedience in which demonstrators occupy seats and refuse to move

slave (n)

- a person who is owned by another person. Enslaved people usually came from Africa, and were bought and sold by planters. Enslaved people were made to do all of the heavy work on a plantation.

Slave Codes (n)

- laws which each US state, or colony, enacted which defined the status of slaves and the rights of masters. Such codes gave slave-owners absolute power over their human property.

soldier (n)

- a member of an army

sovereign (n)

- a person who possesses superior power, rank, or authority

soybean (n)

- an important legume grown in South Carolina, and used in a variety of foods, as fodder for cattle, and in industrial products

steeplechase (n)

- a horse race

Supreme Court (n)

- the highest federal court in the United States. Also used as the name for the highest state court.

surrender (v)

- to give up

swamp (n)

- an area of land that is usually under shallow water. Swamps often have large trees and plants.