Learn about the economics and hardships of slavery in South Carolina
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The Emancipation Proclamation has often been misunderstood, even by those who admire it. Abraham Lincoln disliked the system of slavery, but he made it clear from the beginning that the war effort was...
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A raid of the Second South Carolina Volunteers among the rice plantations along the Combahee. Published in the July 4, 1863, issue of "Harper's Weekly." Courtesy of the Pratt Memorial Library.
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Forfeited estate plat from Port Royal Island. The surveyor reported, "This tract subject to Mrs. Poingsett's Right of Dower during her life." The plat--an official map made by a surveyor that gave the...
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The occupation of the Beaufort area enabled many slaves to flee their masters. In the chaos of war and occupation, many brought with them household goods, furniture, and clothing from the homes their...
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The legislature of South Carolina retained a great deal of authority over many aspects of everyday life. Roads could not be built, ferries across rivers could not be established, slaves could not be...
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"Southern Chivalry - Argument versus Clubs," a cartoon by I.L. Magee, illustrated the strong feelings of revulsion that Northerners expressed over the Sumner-Brooks affair. The question of expansion...
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The lands added to the nation through the conquests of the Mexican War raised anew the question of whether or not slavery would be allowed to expand into the new territories of the west. For two years...
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Runaway slaves were a constant problem in maintaining a workforce of unfree laborers. Slaves ran away because of mistreatment, out of a desire for freedom, or often simply to be reunited with husbands...
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Petition from "Free people of Colour and free Negroes," 1820. In 1756, the General Assembly passed a law which levied a tax on "All free Negroes, Mulattos and Mestizos who do not pay any other part of...
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A coffle of slaves is being marched through town by an overseer. From "Slavery in South Carolina," 1862. Courtesy of the South Caroliniana Library.
