1. SC Prepares for War SC reassembles the General Meeting (of 99)
Months before the first shots of the Rev War and 2nd Continental Congress met
Leaders call for creation of the Provincial Congress
A new governing body
Replaces all previous legislative bodies
Backcountry underrepresented
Provincial Congress responds to the First Shots of War
Create three regiments
Two infantry regiments
One regiment of horse rangers
Form the Council of Safety
Oversee the state militia
Enforce local regulations
Manage government business whenever congress not in session

2. SC Prepares for War
Provincial Congress responds to the First Shots of War
Set up a five-man secret committee
Intercept mail communication between British officials in SC and Britain
Seizes gunpowder and weapons from arsenals in and around Charles Town.
Royal Governor flees
Had only arrived two months earlier
Last SC Royal Governor
Not received well by people of Charles Town
Refused to recognize the authority of the Provincial Congress
Flees to the harbor for safety
Boards a ship in harbor
Hopes to rally support
Support doesn’t come
Colonists cut off his freshwater supply
He sails away for good
This ends the Royal Government

3. SC Prepares for War Patriots and Loyalists
Two groups of South Carolinians
Patriots
Want independence from Britain
Loyalists
Support the British
Hope colonies and British would make peaceful resolution
Also known as Tories
Named after ruling party in Britain
Like security of being part of British Empire
SC had one of the highest populations of Loyalists
Mainly in the backcountry and in Charles Town
Many planters and merchants hesitant to join Patriots
They profited from trade with Britain and her other colonies
Tension between these groups brings civil war to colonies

5. SC Prepares for War
Other South Carolinians didn’t want to get involved
Backcountry South Carolinians can’t be persuaded
They don’t feel sympathy for Patriots
Feel Patriot’s complaint of “no taxation without representation” is ridiculous
The Backcountry had been underrepresented in colonial government
They knew low country viewed them as “lower sort”
Many backcountry towns were settled by Germans who had been given large tracts of land by king
Many backcountry settlers believed the British could protect them better against Cherokee
Violence breaks out
Council of Safety sends out Patriots to backcountry
Effort to persuade backcountry Loyalists to support Revolution
Officials of the town of Ninety Six sign treaty
Both sides agree to a truce
Three days later fighting breaks out
One Patriot killed
Four Loyalists killed

6. SC Prepares for War Council of Safety responds
Orders 2,500 men to march through backcountry
They were to capture Loyalist opposition
Many in the region surrender
Known as “the Snow Campaign”
Two feet of snow fell in a 30 hr. period on return trip
This puts an end to Loyalist challenges to the Provincial Government
Loyalists wouldn’t be a problem until British troops arrived in SC

7. SC Prepares for War
The Provincial Congress creates a new constitution in 1776
It stated that the new government was temporary
“until an accommodation of the unhappy differences between Great Britain and America can be obtained.”
Referred to itself as a colony rather than a state
Created the General Assembly, a bicameral legislature
Lower house
Members were elected by qualified voters (white male property owners)
Low country representatives outnumbered backcountry reps
126 Low country
76 backcountry
Upper house (Legislative Council)
Consisted of 13 men
Elected by members of the Lower house
Both houses elected a president for SC
John Rutledge became first president of SC

8. SC Prepares for War New constitution created in 1778
Legislative Council replaced with a Senate
Popularly-elected
Each parish and district received one seat
President became the governor
South Carolina’s Role in the Declaration of Independence
On July 1, 1776 nine colonies vote for independence
Three colonies oppose it
South Carolina, Georgia and Pennsylvania
New York abstained
Edward Rutledge of SC asked to take another vote the next day
Believed SC delegates would change vote
In effort to keep unity with other colonies
All colonies except NY vote for independence on July 2, 1776
NY refrains from voting
Finally, a week later the colony votes for independence

9. SC Prepares for War
South Carolina’s Role in the Declaration of Independence
For two days the delegates debated on the wording
SC delegates opposed the wording that condemned the slave trade as “a cruel war against human nature.”
This wording was removed from the document.
After much debate, the Declaration of Independence was completed on July 4, 1776.
John Hancock, the president of the Continental Congress officially signed it
Most of the rest of the delegates signed it on August 2.