Robert Smalls, Part 1 | The Big Picture - Episode 1

In this episode, host Alex Sanders, takes a look at a South Carolina Civil War hero, Robert Smalls.

Smalls was born as an enslaved person in 1839 in Beaufort, South Carolina. In 1851, Smalls was hired out by his owner as a laborer in Charleston.  During those years, he held various jobs eventually leading to his job as a pilot aboard the Planter.  He later made a bold escape under the noses of the confederates making national headlines in the North.  Smalls was invited to the White House by Abraham Lincoln.

Robert Smalls enjoyed popularity in the predominantly black lowcountry of South Carolina and soon he became a political influence in Beaufort and South Carolina. He was elected to the House of Representatives during Reconstruction. By 1895, only a few black legislators remained in South Carolina. It was during that year that Senator "Pitchfork" Ben Tillman pushed through a plan to eradicated blacks from the political process and ensure the return of white supremacy.

Standards

• 8-5 The student will understand the impact of Reconstruction, industrialization, and Progressivism on society and politics in South Carolina in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.
  • During the periods of Reconstruction, industrial expansion, and the Progressive movement, South Carolina searched for ways to revitalize its economy while maintaining its traditional society. To understand South Carolina’s experience as represen...
    • 8-5.6 Compare the plight of farmers in South Carolina with that of farmers throughout the United States, including the problems of overproduction, natural disasters, and sharecropping and encompassing the roles of Ben Tillman, the Populists, and land-g...
• USHC-4 The student will demonstrate an understanding of the industrial development and the consequences of that development on society and politics during the second half of the nineteenth and the early twentieth centuries.
  • Political democracy depends upon the active participation of individuals working through political and economic-interest groups to protect their welfare. To understand how groups in the past have protected their rights, the student will utilize the kn...
    • USHC-4.6 Compare the accomplishments and limitations of the women’s suffrage movement and the Progressive Movement in affecting social and political reforms in America, including the roles of the media and of reformers such as Carrie Chapman Catt...
• This indicator was developed to encourage inquiry into the continuities and changes experienced by Americans of various genders, positions, races, and social status during the Civil War.
  • This indicator was developed to encourage inquiry into the relationship between the Civil War and the experiences of women, African Americans, and the planter class in South Carolina.
• This indicator was developed to encourage inquiry into the significant causes of World War I and the factors leading to U.S. involvement. This indicator was also developed to promote inquiry into the effects of the war, to include its impact on the homefront, migration patterns, and continued foreign policy debates.
  • This indicator was designed to encourage inquiry into how new state and federal Progressive legislation affected individuals and businesses in South Carolina and the U.S. The indicator was also designed to promote inquiry into the new perspectives tha