General Meeting
1. Elected a Committee of 99, became de facto
government
a) De facto—exercising power or serving a function
without being legally or officially established
2. Royal governor still in Charleston, most South
Carolinians obeyed Committee of 99
3. November 1774, General Committee called for
elections of delegates to a Provincial Congress
4. Representation was disproportionally from
Lowcountry
Provincial Congress
1.
2.
3.
4.
Raised an army
Issued currency
Created a committee to enforce non-importation
commissioned the writing of a constitution
a) eventually approved
Confederation
as
the
Articles
of
5. Not everyone in SC agreed with the Provincial
Congress, especially people in the backcountry
Provincial Congress
6. sent a delegation to backcountry to try & make
peace
7. The Treaty of Ninety Six- backcountry people
agreed they would remain neutral in fight
w/Great Britain
8. Later, Provincial sent forces to backcountry to
defeat Loyalist militia and silence opposition
from backcountry
SC’s First Constitution
1. Made SC an independent state before
Declaration of Independence was signed
2. Written by the provincial government
3. served as a foundation for government until the
disagreements with England could be resolved
SC Government Set-up
SC’s First Constitution
a) Two house legislative (lower house elected by people,
upper house elected by lower house)
b) President elected by legislature (power to veto laws)
c) Lowcountry had more representation than
backcountry
d) A second constitution was created after signing of
Declaration of Independence (minor changes)
e) President was now the state Governor, slightly more
equal representation, & Church of England was no
longer the official, state supported church
Role in New National Gov’t
1. Continental Congress acted as the first national
government
2. SC only colony out of the 13 to meet all financial
obligations to the Continental Congress
3. South Carolinian Henry Laurens served as President
to the Continental Congress, & later on the
committee that negotiated the Treaty of Paris for the
government under the Article of Confederation
The Muppets Reenact the Continental Congress
After the signing of the Declaration
1. The A of C written to become the first national
government
2. SC ratified the articles quickly; other states waited
till a deal of western land ownership had been
reached
3. A of C were modeled on the Continental Congress,
giving each state one vote
4. With war over & state agreement wavering led to an
unsuccessful national government
Problems with the early gov’t
1. Debt was a major problem for national
government
2. Disagreements over interstate trade, currency,
& taxes made Confederation government too
weak to meet needs of new nation
Charles Pinckney
1. Early advocate for a strong national government
2. Served as chair on committee of Confederation
Congress that recommended amendments to
strengthen government under Articles of
Confederation
3. Tried to encourage other states to pay their
obligation to national government
4. Shay’s Rebellion caused other states to call for a
meeting in Philadelphia to amend Article of
Confederation & strengthen national government
Shays' Rebellion (6:17)