A New State and Nation
Chapter 9
8-3.1 Explain the tensions between the Upcountry and
the Lowcountry of South Carolina, including their
economic struggles after the Revolutionary War, their
disagreement over representation in the General
Assembly, the location of the new capital, and the
transformation of the state’s economy.
1
How did the American Revolution
stress the already poor
relationship between the Low
Country and the Up Country?
2
Up Country vs Low Country
The American Revolution
Made the already stressed
relationship even worse
Low Country Patriots
fought Up Country Loyalists
Sometimes turning
neighbors and even family
members against each other
These tensions continued
after the Revolutionary
War ended
3
What caused most of the differences
between the Low Country and the Up
Country?
How did the Low Country view the Up
Country settlers?
4
Up Country vs Low Country
The Economic Differences
Caused most of the
differences between the Up
Country & the Low Country
in SC
The first white settlers to
move to the Up Country
were traders and woodsmen
They were viewed by the
Low Country elite as
“uncivilized.”
5
The Up Country “Folk”
6
Up Country vs Low Country
Up Country Folk
Subsistence farmers
who worked the land
A few owned slaves, but
they did not have large
plantations and large
slave holdings
Many worked their
farms without the
assistance of slave labor
7
The People of the Low Country
8
Up Country vs Low Country
The Low Country
The first area settled in
the state
Dominated by the
wealthy planter elite
Whose economic well
being and social status
depended on their slave
holdings
Eventually, the plantation
owners in this area grew
wealthy (rich) from the
export of rice and indigo.
9
As a result of the American
Revolution, what happened to
South Carolina’s farms/fields?
10
Economic issues
All of South Carolina suffered
economically as a result of the war
During the war years:
Fighting destroyed the countryside
Slaves, livestock and goods were
taken by the British
Fields/farms were also damaged
from revenge actions between
loyalists and patriots, OR as a result
of supporting the armies camped
nearby
The fields that had grown rice before
the war were damaged beyond repair
After the War: The economy was slow
to improve
11
As a result of the American
Revolution…
1. What happened to South
Carolina’s slave population?
2. What happened to South
Carolina’s cash crop market?
12
Economic issues
The slave population
Drastically decreased
By the end of the war nearly
25,000 slaves had been killed,
stolen, or escaped.
This made rebuilding the damaged
fields and growing new crops
extremely difficult.
Before the war: the Low Country
benefited from England’s subsidies,
and Great Britain provided SC a
guaranteed rice market
After the war: the subsidies were
gone
Great Britain was lost as a trade
partner
13
Poor crop yields:
Planters’ debt:
14
Economic issues
Poor crop yields
•Made it even more difficult to
recover economically
•When you don’t have a lot of
crops to sell, you don’t get a lot
of money to repay debt.
•The planters owed money to
creditors in England
•Which they had borrowed
before the war and they could
not pay it back because they
weren’t making money off of
their crops.
15
Commandeered goods:
16
Economic issues
During the war the Armies
from both side took food
and property from the local
people.
Commandeered goods
Property that was lost to
either army and not
repaid/replaced
17
What plant helped South Carolina
recover economically when it
became a cash crop in the 1800s?
18
Economic issues
The American Government
Was also unable to pay for the goods it had
commandeered during the fighting from the
citizens of the state
Economic problems persisted until the early
1800s when cotton became a new cash crop.
19
For what 3 reasons did the Low
Country have a greater influence
on the SC government?
20
Economic issues
South Carolina’s early years
There was a larger white
population living in the Up
Country
1. Most of the political power
rested in the Low Country
2. The Low Country had greater
representation in the
legislature
3. Charleston was the capital
– Which gave the Charleston
elite a greater influence on
the government
21
What was a major complaint that
the Up Country had about having
the state capital in Charleston?
To where was the capital moved?
What did the Low Country get to
keep in the compromise to move
the capital?
22
Economic issues
Up Country people didn’t like
having to travel so far to present
issues to the legislature.
In 1786, the Low Country
compromised and the capital was
moved to the newly established city
of Columbia.
It was in the center of the state
and equally accessible to both
regions
As a compromise for moving the
capital, the Low Country
maintained its majority in the
legislature.
23
Economic issues
This helped ease but did not eliminate
political tensions between the Up Country
and the Low Country.
24