Economic Growth in South Carolina

Decline of Cotton Cotton prices rose during WWI and helped farmers get out of debt. In 1921, the boll weevil destroyed the cotton crop and cut production by 50%. Cotton production continued to decline during the Great Depression, recovered during WWII, and declined again. Besides the destruction caused by the boll weevil, soil erosion from row farming negatively affected South Carolina’s cotton crop. Before WWII, cotton was a labor intensive crop requiring many man hours to harvest it. Plowing, planting, and picking were all done by hand by cheap labor. Many African Americans were sharecroppers because there weren’t many other employment options for them. Because of the decline in agriculture and due to discrimination, many African Americans had left South Carolina and the rest of the South to live out west or in northern industrial cities.

War Industry WWII brought new employment opportunities for African Americans. Because people enlisted into the armed forces, it created a labor shortage, and there were more jobs than white people. Because of needed supplies for the military, new factory jobs were created. The United States had not been prepared to fight in WWII so factories around the country had to be retooled to make weapons, ammunition, airplanes, and ships. Because there were more factories in the North, there were more employment opportunities there causing a huge shift in population in the United States. Between 1940 and 1944, about one million African Americans left southern farms, moved north, and went to work in northern factories. When they left the South, they took their families with them.

War Industry The emigration of African Americans from the South to the North continued during the first half of the 20 th century majority of the African Americans who remained in the South left rural areas for southern cities The textile industry in South Carolina had to hire women and African Americans because the demand for textiles rose during the war. Because of the labor shortage, cotton farmers were forced to buy new expensive machinery in order to plant and harvest their cotton, or they would have to go out of business. This led to the end of sharecropping by the late 1950s.

New Technology John Deere and International Harvester started mass producing cotton picking machines during the late 1940s and early 1950s. machines could do the work of between 50 and 100 people in the field. Because these machines worked so well, farmers in other states began growing cotton. What was left of the cotton industry in South Carolina finally fell apart. It was no longer the biggest business in the state. Most of these farmers found other business opportunities including raising livestock instead of crops.

The Contributions of Strom Thurmond Strom Thurmond died in 2003 at the age of 100 represented SC in the United States Senate longer than any other politician had ever represented any state. United States senator from 1954 until his death in 2003 Before he was a senator, he was the governor of South Carolina.

The Contributions of Strom Thurmond Thurmond was governor of South Carolina for one term (1947 – 1951) during a time of great prosperity in our country. A lot of investment money for new projects existed, and Gov. Thurmond worked very hard to bring as much of that investment money to South Carolina as he could. He promoted South Carolina to large business interests around the United States, and it paid off for him. One of his important accomplishments as governor was the Savannah River Project.

Savannah River Project plan to build a new plant that would make plutonium and tritium needed for nuclear weapons part of the arms race between the United States and the Soviet Union. project created thousands of jobs in South Carolina as the arms race lasted until 1991 when the Soviet Union collapsed. The 310 square mile plant stayed busy helping build weapons for most of the arms race. When the arms race ended, the plant was retooled to become a place where nuclear weapons were disassembled.

Development of Industry In 1945, the South Carolina Department of Research, Planning, and Development was created. Later renamed the South Carolina Development Board. The function of this board is to promote and help control commerce in South Carolina. Commerce is the trading of something of value. It could be money, information, goods, services, etc.

Development of Industry Part of the job of the Development Board is to attract business to South Carolina. For example, a large automobile manufacturer wants to build a new plant to make cars and trucks. This plant would bring thousands of jobs to an area. This company is going to look at different locations before it decides where to build its new plant. The Development Board can direct the automobile manufacturer in the direction they need to look within the state to find an area suitable for their needs. Because the company will need employees with technical skills, they are going to want to build their plant in an area where they find people with the right skills.

Development of Industry In order to help encourage industry to settle in South Carolina, the state formed the South Carolina Technical College System in created schools to teach specific skills needed to perform jobs that were not being taught in traditional colleges. Originally, these schools taught welding, car repair, and air conditioner repair. Through the years with the advancements made in technology, jobs have become more specialized and offerings in these schools have become more specialized. This system includes sixteen different colleges throughout the state.

Lack of Unions The lack of labor unions in the South makes our state very attractive to automobile plants. Oftentimes dealing with labor unions is very difficult for manufacturing plants; they would rather deal directly with their laborers. If the laborers are members of a union, they have someone to speak and deal for them with issues such as fair wages, safe working conditions, health benefits, and pensions. Big unions can be very powerful and have caused some large companies in some states to have to close.

Benefits of Transportation Systems good roads and highways makes an area more attractive to business interested in moving into the area. Transportation systems around plants must be good because goods need to be shipped as safely and quickly as possible, and roads must be able to handle large amounts of traffic. Because South Carolina is easy to reach by boat, it becomes even more attractive to businesses that handle international commerce. South Carolina has three major ports that are able to handle international commerce: Charleston, Georgetown, and Port Royal. The Port of Charleston is the busiest port in the southeast, and it is one of the busiest ports in the United States. South Carolina makes a great effort to maintain these ports as a major selling point for new business in the state.

Tourism Tourism brings millions of dollars to South Carolina every year. When people travel, they spend money. When people vacation, they spend even more money. All of this brings money to local businesses and to the state. While states work to encourage tourism in their state, South Carolina has lots of natural resources that make it an easy draw. South Carolina has 187 miles of coastline with additional beaches found around islands, inlets, and bays. Beaches along with long, hot summers make South Carolina a frequent choice for tourists and vacationers. Major attractions in South Carolina include state parks, historical sites, major golf and tennis events, steeplechase events, and NASCAR events.

Military Bases During the late 1980s and early 1990s, 97 major military bases were closed in the United States causing people to lose their jobs. Charleston, home to three military bases, has only been able to keep one open it is a naval hospital Many local jobs were lost as a result of the closure of these military bases.

Education Education is key to economic freedom. South Carolina has continued to invest in the improvements of public education for its students. With these improvements, high school graduation rates have increased. South Carolina has been recognized on a national level for its high level of expectations for students. South Carolina is home to 37 colleges and universities, and students continue to receive grants and scholarships to make college a reality for them. Some of these institutions are recognized as some of the best public universities in the country. South Carolina also has 16 technical schools to ensure that the state has a technically skilled work force trained to fill technical jobs that come open.

Industry Because South Carolina experiences economic diversity, the state attracts different kids of businesses. attracted to the state due to low taxes and lack of labor unions. Spartanburg has become a center for industry and has attracted over 100 international corporations from 20 different countries. Several large American based companies also have offices there. The Greenville – Spartanburg area as well as Pickens County continue to grow as new industries move into South Carolina. The trade industry has significantly impacted the South Carolina economy by adding 23 billion dollars to the state’s economy yearly. Textiles and clothing create many jobs in the Piedmont. Although cotton has not been the main business in South Carolina for some time, it still creates business and jobs.

Industry Lumber and paper industries add to the economy of South Carolina million acres of forest are mined to feed this industry making the state attractive to lumber companies. Farming is still considered big business in South Carolina. Cotton, soybeans, and tobacco are the primary crops grown in the state, but various fruits and vegetables are also considered money makers. Many South Carolina farmers breed and raise livestock with beef and poultry being the main livestock to create jobs for people in rural areas of the state. South Carolina provides a good amount of seafood to the rest of the country. Fish along with blue crabs, oysters, clams, and shrimp are caught in the Atlantic off the Carolina coast. Tourism is the biggest industry in South Carolina. People come from all over the world to enjoy the weather, beaches, forests, mountains, historical sites, sports, and events that South Carolina has to offer.

Ports Because of Charleston harbor, the state is able to attract industry. In dollar value, it is the sixth largest port in the United States and makes the city a major area for shipping and distribution. Many people work in one of the three main ports in South Carolina. These ports are funded by the South Carolina State Ports Authority which was created to promote waterborne business to the state. South Carolina ports help move cargo to more than 150 international countries. 24 different states also use South Carolina ports to handle their importing and exporting needs.

Diversity Because South Carolina experiences economic diversity, it attracts people from all over the world who want to live in the state. Asian, Chinese, Filipino, Vietnamese, Indian, Korean, Thai, Japanese, and Laotian people have immigrated in significant numbers to South Carolina. The Hispanic population of South Carolina has also increased in the last 50 years with people immigrating from Mexico, Puerto Rico, Cuba, Honduras, Columbia, Guatemala, Costa Rica, and the Dominican Republic

Briggs vs. Elliott This was an important United States Supreme Court case for the desegregation of schools. This case helped overturn a previous ruling in the case of Plessy vs. Ferguson. The Ferguson case ruled that “separate but equal” was legal and helped the South segregate white and black children in schools during the first half of the 20 th century. The Elliott case was an effort to educate children together.

Fight for Desegregation All public facilities were segregated with separate faculties for blacks and whites including separate water fountains and restrooms. African Americans could only use certain state parks, they had to sit in the backs of busses, and in the balconies of movie theaters. Some restaurants would not serve African Americans. Public schools were kept separate, but they were definitely not equal. In 1951, South Carolina spent $ per year on each white student and $44.32 on each black student. White children rode a bus to school. Black children had to walk.

Fight for Desegregation The Briggs vs. Elliott case began in Columbia, South Carolina when African American students asked for school bus service. Harry and Eliza Briggs signed a petition asking the Claredon County school district for bus service for their daughter. As a result of signing the petition, they were fired from their jobs. Other people who had signed the petition also lost their jobs. Once the case reached the Supreme Court, it was attached to four other cases that were similar in nature including Brown vs. Board of Education. South Carolina defended itself in the case. The state wanted segregated schools, and its lawyers tried to convince the justices that they were working to make schools more equal. The lawyers for the other side argued that as long as schools were kept separate, they would never be equal.

Fight for Desegregation In 1954, the United States Supreme Court voted unanimously to desegregate schools used the fourteenth amendment to defend their decision Politicians and officials in South Carolina were slow to enforce the new laws because they disagreed with them. However, public education was segregated by the mid 1960s, and all public schools in South Carolina were desegregated by 1970.

Civil Rights Movement Other court battles were being fought at the same time that dealt with segregation including transportation. In 1856, the United States Supreme Court ruled that people could not be told where to sit on a bus based on the color of their skin. This was a small part of a bigger movement known as the Civil Rights Movement. African Americans tired of being treated as second class citizens began marches and protests throughout the United States.

Civil Rights Movement On many occasions, armed forces had to intervene due to violence in the protests. While protests in Alabama and Mississippi turned violent, violence was almost nonexistent in the South Carolina protests. The exception occurred in Orangeburg, South Carolina at South Carolina State when three black protesters were shot in This event became known as the Orangeburg Massacre.

Civil Rights Movement The Civil Rights Act of 1964 was signed into law by President Lyndon Johnson, and it outlawed discrimination in restaurants, churches, hotels, and other public places. The Voting Rights Act of 1965 was another key accomplishment of the Civil Rights Movement. The poll taxes, literacy tests, and other tricks used to keep African Americans from voting were made illegal African Americans were able to have a voice in state government.

Explain the economic impact of twentieth century events on South Carolina, including the opening and closing of military bases, the development of industries, the influx of new citizens, and the expansion of port facilities.