World War I (1914-1918)

Over his lifetime Byrnes held many public positions, coming closer than any other South Carolinian in the twentieth century to obtaining the national political influence wielded by John C. Calhoun in the nineteenth century. Byrnes left a series of political legacies in South Carolina, the nation, and the world. His advocacy of highway and New Deal legislation provided numerous material benefits to South Carolinians. His services to President Roosevelt had a major impact on the national economy during World War II. His role as secretary of state was instrumental in defining postwar foreign policy. In the 1950s and 1960s Byrnes’s support of Republican presidential candidates was a key factor in the party’s revitalization in the South.

Callen is best remembered for her work as a nurse midwife, delivering more than one thousand babies and providing prenatal and postnatal care to mothers. Recognizing that lay midwives provided the only care for many of the African Americans in rural South Carolina, Callen sought opportunities for educating women in midwifery.

Camp Sevier was a temporary cantonment site in Greenville County created to train federalized National Guard soldiers during World War I.

This site in Spartanburg County was one of sixteen chosen nationally as a U.S. Army training camp in the summer of 1917. It included two thousand acres on the western edge of Spartanburg.

Camp introduced the long-staple Pima variety in California’s San Joaquin Valley and as far south as Arizona. Camp’s efforts bore fruit, and soon thousands of acres were thriving.

Throughout Carroll’s public career, his sharp intellect and stirring oratory commanded large audiences across the state.

The Pine State Playboys were essentially a small western swing combo, deeply influenced by the foot-stomping rhythms of Texas performers Bob Wills and Milton Brown.

Cash’s masterpiece and only book, The Mind of the South, appeared in February 1941 to wide critical praise. An instant classic that has not been out of print since its initial publication, the work sought to dispel myths about the “Old South” by tracing the pervasive influence of racism on southern history and culture.

Popularly known as the “apostle of Pentecost in the South,” Cashwell was instrumental in bringing the Pentecostal message to South Carolina in the opening years of the twentieth century.

During the era before home rule, when South Carolina remained primarily rural, managing county farms and chain gangs was an essential function of county government.

Despite the burdens of his position, Chamberlain produced more than sixty scientific publications, mostly on birds but also on amphibians, reptiles, and mammals. His most important contribution was South Carolina Bird Life, written with [Alexander] Sprunt.

Through words, melodies, pictures, and even a dance step, the idea of Charleston was broadcast across the nation.

Cheap to employ, easily controlled, and with small, nimble fingers, children were well suited to perform the repetitive, minor tasks that the textile industry demanded.

She was a founder of the Bethlehem Center, an educational and community center in one of Spartanburg’s black communities sponsored by Bethel Methodist Church.

Abbie Christensen was a progressive force for women’s rights, black and white education, racial tolerance, and social welfare in South Carolina from the 1890s until her death.

South Carolina heralds the moderation of its leadership during the civil rights era, especially when compared to the actions of leaders in other Deep South states. Moderate leaders put accommodation over confrontation and worked within the legal framework. But these same leaders also did all they could to manipulate the government and the legal system to forestall civil rights.

Clark is credited with the creation in 1957 of the “citizenship school” model, which ultimately engaged thousands of ordinary people in literacy and political education throughout the South.

Georgia Alden Cleveland kept a detailed dairy from 1890 to 1914 in which she chronicled life as an upper-class, married, southern white female.

It was Charles Coker who brought modern industrial and managerial practice to the family-controlled business. He established an industrial research and development program, developed a dedicated sales staff, and emphasized long-range planning.

From the World War I era until his death, Coker became an agricultural evangelist, promoting diversification, improved farming methods, and his seeds through numerous speeches, articles, and personal visits.