Historical Beginnings

Seal of the Lord Proprietors of Carolina. Courtesy of North Carolina Digital Collections.

South Carolina had a system of government as a British colony that evolved into a state government after the American Revolution.

Colonial Government

• List of Colonial Governors
  Meet the governors of South Carolina under the Lords Proprietors and then as a British colony, from 1670 until 1775.
• Charter of Carolina, March 24, 1663
  See a map of the land granted to the Lords Proprietors and read the text of the charter that granted this land in 1663.
• Old Exchange and Provost Dungeon
  Take a virtual trip to the Old Exchange and Provost Dungeon in Charleston, first built in 1771
• Articles of Agreement between the Lords Proprietors, 1674 
  Read the contract between the Lords Proprietors, agreeing to pay for supplies to the settlement.

Signing of the Constitution

• 4 South Carolina Signers of the Constitution
  Meet the four South Carolinians who signed the Constitution of the United States in 1787.

Notable South Carolinians

• Charles Pinckney
  Charles Pinckney was born in Charleston and served as governor of South Carolina and a U.S. senator.
• Pierce Butler
  Pierce Butler lived in Charleston as a planter and was a U.S. senator after being a delegate to the Constitutional Convention and signing the Constitution of the United States.
• Charles Cotesworth Pinckney
  Charles Cotesworth Pinckney was a lawyer and statesman in Charleston, Revolutionary War veteran, and delegate to the Constitutional Convention.
• John Rutledge
  John Rutledge was the first governor of South Carolina after the signing of the Declaration of Independence and a Chief Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court.
• John C. Calhoun
  John C. Calhoun, born near Abbeville, SC, was a U.S. Representative and Vice President of the United States.

Early State Government

• Constitution of the State of South Carolina, 1776
  The first state constitution was written in 1776, establishing its new government as a state rather than a colony.
• Constitution of South Carolina, 1778
  The Constitution of South Carolina was rewritten in 1778 after the Declaration of Independence.
• Return of the Presidential Electors Casting their Vote for George Washington, 1789
  See the returns for the first presidential election. South Carolina electors voted seven votes for George Washington, six votes for John Rutledge, and one vote for John Hancock.
• The First State House
  The first State House in South Carolina was in Charleston, on the corner of Broad and Meeting Streets.
  • Movie of the State House
• The State Seal
  The state seal was first used in 1777 and shows a palmetto tree, the goddess Spes representing hope, and our two state mottos
  • Colonization of South Carolina 
    Learn about the colonization of South Carolina from the earliest explorers to the American Revolution.
• Colonial America to 1763: The Carolinas and Georgia
  Read about the establishment of the Carolina and Georgia colonies by English settlers.