History After 1865

factory workers

Modern day South Carolina continues to be home to a blend of cultures and traditions.

Explore the history of South Carolina after the Civil War, from Reconstruction and mill village life, to the civil rights movement and contemporary events.

Workers in a factory in Cowpens, South Carolina, May 1912. Image courtesy of the Library of Congress.

  • Reconstruction - Meet black legislators, sharecroppers, and white farm owners who rebuilt the South after the Civil War.

  • Industrialization - Industry came to South Carolina as entire families worked in the textile mills and factories in the Upstate.

  • WWI & the Jazz Age - From hometown soldiers and nurses to Camp Sevier in Greenville, South Carolina was deeply invested in World War I.

  • Great Depression & WWII - South Carolinians during the Great Depression faced significant hardships, only relieved with the economic relief of World War II.

  • Civil Rights - Many South Carolinians participated in the struggle for equal rights, including Septima Poinsette Clark, Modjeska Monteith Simkins, and the participants in the landmark Briggs v. Elliott court case.

  • Modern Era - Explore our state’s participation in modern wars, increased infrastructure, and economic development in the “New South.”

  • SC Places & Photographs - Learn more about the places of South Carolina and discover images of our state, from its earliest settlers to modern day.

Find Out More

Search here to discover more about historical topics in DISCUS, SC’s Virtual Library.

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