South Carolina in the Modern Age

by Walter B. Edgar

• ISBN13: 9780872498310
• ISBN10: 087249831X
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 1992-08-01
• Publisher: Univ of South Carolina Pr

Summary

Originally published in 1992, South Carolina in the Modern Age was the first history of contemporary South Carolina to appear in more than a quarter century and helped establish the reputation of the Palmetto State's premier historian, Walter Edgar, who had not yet begun the two landmark volumes--South Carolina: A History and The South Carolina Encyclopedia--that also bear his name. Available once again, this illustrated volume chronicles transformational events in South Carolina as the state emerged from the devastation that followed the Civil War and progressed through the challenges of the twentieth century. After the Civil War, South Carolina virtually disappeared from the national consciousness and became a historical backwater. But as the nation began to look to the twentieth century, South Carolina stirred once again. It took a world war, the U.S. Supreme Court, and strong-willed leadership to place South Carolina once more within the American mainstream. Edgar has divided this text into four essays, each covering a quarter century of South Carolina history. Each essay has a particular focus: South Carolina's hectic political scene (1891-1916); a period of economic stagnation during which the myths of the state's glorious past were honed and polished (1916-41); the impetus that World War II gave to economic development (1941-66); and social changes wrought by urbanization, industrial development, and desegregation (1966-91). South Carolina in the Modern Age also includes a chronology of state history and a list of suggested readings. More than seventy illustrations, many previously unpublished, add a visual dimension to the story.

Table of Contents

Illustrations	p. 9
Preface	p. 11
Acknowledgments	p. 13
A Political Bullring, 1891-1916	p. 17
Some Background: The United States in 1890	p. 18
South Carolina in 1890	p. 19
The Rise of Ben Tillman	p. 22
Legalizing Jim Crow	p. 25
The Coming of the Mills	p. 29
A Divided Electorate	p. 31
The Blease Phenomenon	p. 32
The Progressives	p. 34
The Threat of Violence	p. 38
Richard I. Manning	p. 40
The Mill Problem	p. 41
A New Order	p. 42
A Land of Monuments and Memories, 1916-1941	p. 43
"The War to End All Wars"	p. 44
The Farm Problem	p. 46
"The Draining Years on the Cotton Farms"	p. 47
Exodus	p. 49
Hard Times in the Textile Industry	p. 50
A Shortage of Ready Cash	p. 51
Boosters and Tourists	p. 54
Cherishing the Past	p. 57
Preserving the Past	p. 59
Black and White: Slogans and Reality	p. 62
"Ol' Car'lina"	p. 64
The Agrarian Tradition	p. 65
"South Carolina Upon a Pedestal"	p. 68
The Great Depression	p. 69
The New Deal in South Carolina	p. 71
The Political Scene	p. 75
South Carolina and FDR	p. 77
Ignited by War, 1941-1966	p. 81
World War II	p. 81
Coming Home	p. 84
The Sky Didn't Fall	p. 85
"Killbillies" and "Opera in Greenville"	p. 88
"The Spark of Industrial Development"	p. 89
A Cooperative State Government	p. 90
"A Two-Fisted Competitive Spirit"	p. 93
Town and Country	p. 96
The Price of Prejudice	p. 99
South Carolina Reacts to the Brown Decision	p. 101
"We Shall Overcome"	p. 104
The Year of Decision: 1963	p. 104
The Confederate War Centennial	p. 107
The Emergence of Two-Party Politics	p. 109
Some Things Changed; Some Things Didn't	p. 111
Changes and Challenges, 1966-1991	p. 115
The Decline of Rural South Carolina	p. 115
"Bubba Gate," Lost Trust and Reform	p. 119
Two-Party Politics	p. 121
"Adjusting to New Circumstances"	p. 124
Private Schools	p. 128
Pennies for Education	p. 129
Questioning Plastics in Beaufort - and Development	p. 132
Deja Vu With A Difference	p. 135
South Carolinians Abroad	p. 136
South Carolina Then and Now	p. 140
A South Carolina Chronology, 1890-1991	p. 143
Notes	p. 157
Suggested Readings	p. 169
Index	p. 172
Table of Contents provided by Blackwell. All Rights Reserved.