1. Post-War Era Strom Thurmond
Chapter 19 A
Post-War Era
Strom Thurmond

2. Question
1. How were Northerners involved in South Carolina tourism?

3. Post-WW II South Carolina
SC continued promoting Northern tourism to the South.
Aiken & Camden were popular with wealthy Northerners in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.
Horse racing and hunting were common activities, and former plantations purchased by Northerners, were used for hunting and relaxation.
Aiken’s Wilcox Inn and horse racing

4. Question
2. Describe the change in South Carolina’s economy.

5. Post-WW II South Carolina
SC’s economy changed after the war as a result of industrialization and mechanization
It changed from an economy that was based on agriculture to one based on manufacturing and tourism.

6. Question
3. The State Development Board was able to attract businesses to the state because of: …

7. Post-WW II South Carolina
The State Development Board was created in 1954 to attract industries to South Carolina.
The Board recruits businesses from other parts of the country and from Europe that are attracted to the state because of …
tax breaks
low wages
the state government’s opposition to labor unions
Jobs were more available as industries moved into the state.
Gerber had a mill for many years in Pelzer

8. Post-WW II South Carolina
In 1946, J. Strom Thurmond ran for governor and won.
With his encouragement, the legislature passed a series of reform bills that helped to support economic growth.
Strom Thurmond

9. Question 4. Describe Strom Thurmond’s affect on the following:
SC school year:
Trade schools:
State Port Authority:
Poll tax & divorce:
South Carolina Budget and Control Board:

10. Strom Thurmond: The School Year & Trade Schools
Thurmond also supported education reform that would supply a better educated work force.
The school year was extended to 9 months & the 12th grade added to high schools.
The South Carolina Trade School was also established and evolved into a system of technical colleges,
Which attracted economic investment to SC by supplying an educated & trained work force to meet industry requirements
Greenville and Tri-County technical schools

11. The State Port Authority
Designed to improve the economy by encouraging trade and shipping, and development of ports of Charleston, Georgetown and Port Royal.
Thurmond expanded and modernized the port facilities at Charleston
Became one of the leading seaports in the US
Charleston’s modernization as a container port has attracted worldwide trade and promoted international trade.
Port of Charleston

12. South Carolina Budget and Control Board
Under Thurmond, the South Carolina Budget and Control Board was established to regulate the state’s finances.
Poll Tax & Divorce
The poll tax was also repealed
Divorce was legalized in South Carolina

13. Question
5. What was the effect of the state’s “right to work” law?

14. SC a ‘right to work’ state
The state legislature passed a bill in the late 1940s that established South Carolina as a ‘right to work’ state.
These laws protect business management by preventing workers from striking.
It also allows employees to work in a factory without joining the recognized & elected union (which would sometimes bully people into joining.)
This fractured the structure of the union and its effectiveness at the bargaining table
Leading to the scarcity of labor unions in SC

15. Question
6. When Thurmond paved SC roads, what effect did that have for farmers and manufacturers?

16. Post-WW II South Carolina
Between 1946 and 1950, Thurmond also oversaw the paving of many miles of highways and rural roads
Improving access to markets for farmers and manufacturers.
The wide availability of automobiles and the expansion of highways by the national government during the Eisenhower administration accelerated the development of the tourist industry.
Paving roads allowed cars access to more places, like Cape Hatteras, NC

17. Question
7. Paved roads increased tourism in SC, what other things encouraged tourists to visit?

18. Post-WW II South Carolina
Motels & fast food restaurants followed the building of highways, and resort development gave Americans a place to go.
Airports were built in major cities in SC and have contributed to economic development.
The greater availability of air conditioning contributed to the growth of tourism in South Carolina during the hot summer months.

19. Question
8. What were eventual uses of SC’s large undeveloped plots of land?

20. Post-WW II South Carolina
Large tracts of undeveloped land later became national parks and preserves for research, recreation and tourism (such as Brookgreen Gardens and Huntington State Park).
Charleston and the South Carolina coast, especially Myrtle Beach, became popular vacation destinations.
Top: Brookgreen Gardens
Bottom: Huntington State Park

21. Question
9. As more development is taking place in SC, of what do developers have to be careful?

22. Post-WW II South Carolina
As the Baby Boom generation gets older and retire, they are looking for places to play golf and tennis and to enjoy their golden years.
Resorts such as Hilton Head Island and other SC resort islands answer this demand.
Although these resorts are popular…
Developers are careful to help preserve the threatened African American communities and their cultural heritage.

23. Globalization of Trade
The globalization of trade has also impacted the economy of South Carolina.
Not only have international companies been attracted to the state by the State Development Board, but these companies have attracted workers.
Large numbers of migrants, both legal and illegal, have come into the state to find jobs.

24. Globalization of Trade
Workers were attracted to the Sunbelt (South) when industries in the Rustbelt (North), such as the American automobile industry, suffered from foreign competition and downsized.
Hispanic migrant workers have taken the place of South Carolinians who left agriculture for better opportunities.
Retirees attracted to the Sunbelt by climate and low taxes have spawned businesses to meet their needs, such as the construction of new housing.

25. Globalization of Trade
The lowering of tariff barriers to international trade has impacted the economy of South Carolina.
The American textile industry has been hurt by foreign competition
textile jobs moving overseas where labor costs are lower
And trade agreements such as…
The North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA)
The need to retrain workers to stay economically competitive has stimulated the growth of the technical college system.

26. Question
10. When many people left SC farms, why did farmers start growing soybeans?
11. How did the small number of veterans returning to farms after WWII affect farming?

27. Post-WWII Agriculture
When many workers, especially African Americans, left the farm during WWII for factory jobs in towns in SC (or in wartime industries across the nation), landowners turned to crops that could be harvested by machine such as soybeans.
Many returning veterans did not return to the farm and the reduced number of workers led to an even greater reliance on mechanization and fewer acres planted in cotton (which was still harvested by hand).

28. Question
12. What would become the new cash crop in SC in the 1950’s?

29. Post-WWII Agriculture
By the mid 1950s, tobacco had replaced cotton as the most important crop in the state.
Unable to buy the expensive equipment needed to plant and harvest their crops, sharecroppers and tenant farmers left the countryside.
Others borrowed money from banks to buy equipment.
1950s farm

30. Question
13. Describe the cause and effect of new farming methods which developed between the 1950s and 1970s. 14. What was the population shift in SC by the 1970’s?

31. Post-WWII Agriculture
New farming methods and the use of fertilizers led to increased yields, overproduction, and falling prices
which drove many small farmers out of business
Falling prices left farmers unable to pay their loans
therefore, they left the farm for cities and towns.
By the 1970s, more South Carolinians lived in cities than in rural areas and farms.

32. Cold War
The Cold War was a non-bellicose (war-like) conflict between the U.S.S.R and the United States.
Although there were no actual military battles, it impacted the economy of the US and even that of SC.
The Savannah River Nuclear Plant was built to provide weapons grade plutonium for the United States nuclear arsenal.
It, along with military bases, continue to provide jobs and an economic boost to the region.

33. Cold War
After the fall of the Soviet Union, the Myrtle Beach Air Force base and the Charleston Naval Shipyard were closed in the 1990s.
However, recent problems in the Middle East, including the first and second Gulf Wars in Iraq, have seen an increase on America’s dependence on other training facilities and staging areas in South Carolina, such as…
Fort Jackson, Parris Island, Sumter Air Force Base and the port of Charleston.