Colonial Unrest, American Revolution, and New Republic (1765-1789)

The First Provincial Congress of South Carolina raised two regiments of infantry to protect the lowcountry against the British and a third to protect the backcountry from potential Indian raids during the summer of 1775.

In South Carolina, Cooper completed his philosophical journey and became an ardent proponent of states’ rights. He was appointed the second president of South Carolina College in May 1820 and taught courses in chemistry, mineralogy, and political economy.

The first known professional artist in the South to explore the art of landscape for purely aesthetic purposes, Coram derived his initial style and approach by studying and copying picturesque English books and engravings.

Chief among the business of the council was the command and administration of the provincial military force and issuing paper currency to finance military expenses.

The Battle of Cowpens was a turning point in the Revolutionary War.

He won local prominence as a writer and orator, especially for his speeches on behalf of various reforming causes. In 1807 he joined Stephen Elliott, Thomas Smith Grimké, and others to found the Conversation or Literary Club.

According to legend, Cunningham developed a relentless animosity for all patriots in 1778 after the murder of his invalid brother by backcountry Whigs.

An active member of the South Carolina Agricultural Society, Davie also assisted in negotiating the boundary dispute between North and South Carolina.

Davis’s most significant public undertaking was his involvement in the campaign to establish a public lunatic asylum in Columbia.

On October 20, 1757, De Brahm’s fortunes rose with the publication of his cartographic opus, “A Map of South Carolina and a Part of Georgia.” The elegant and precedent-setting map brought De Brahm to the attention of Europe.

His military career in Europe culminated in 1776, when he was commissioned a brigadier general in the French army. De Kalb subsequently decided to seek his military fortune in America, where he was contracted as a major general in the Continental army.

At trading posts the Catawbas, Cherokees, Creeks, Choctaws, and Chickasaws exchanged dressed deerskins for blankets, firearms, shot, gunpowder, cloth, axes, hoes, and brass kettles.

DeSaussure and many of his fellow lowcountrymen feared that upcountry growth would overwhelm their interests, especially the protections given to both plantation and slave holdings. Regarding the increasingly egalitarian rhetoric of upcountry leaders and their yeomen constituents with “dread,” he warned of the “ultimate effects of a degrading, calumnating democracy.”

He devoted most of his energy while governor toward the establishment of South Carolina College in Columbia to advance public learning and to help unify the state. Following his term as governor, he again served as warden of Charleston and was one of its representatives in the Senate until 1808, when he again won election as governor.

He won a seat in the Provincial Congress in January 1775 and soon after sat on all important revolutionary committees. Drayton used his extensive powers to lead raids against the city’s royal post office and armories, thereby obtaining both crucial information regarding the intentions of the British Ministry and arms for the patriot forces.

Agriculture dominated Edgefield’s economy throughout its history. Early settlers grew grains and raised impressive numbers of cattle and hogs. Staple crops, particularly tobacco, grew in significance by the 1790s.

Elfe’s accounts reveal the general structure of his shop, the types of labor and raw materials he utilized, and the extensive list of clients and associated artisans with whom he conducted business.

Although a highly respected legislator and banker, Elliott is perhaps best remembered for his activities as a botanist.

Elliott returned to Beaufort to pursue a career in planting, politics, and literature. He was known as one of the South’s most progressive and scientific planters.

John England abhorred slavery but stated that his church permitted retention in servitude of descendants of those originally enslaved. He hoped that American slavery would not continue, but he saw no quick end to it.