1. 8-2.6—Explain the role of South Carolinians in the
establishment of their new state government & the
national government after the American Revolution
School House Rocks Video (3:11)

2.  Elected a Committee of 99 that became the
de facto government
 Royal governor was still in Charleston, but
most South Carolinians obeyed the
Committee of 99
 Nov 1774, the General Committee called for
elections of delegates to a Provincial
Congress
 Representation was disproportionally from
the Lowcountry

3.  Raised an army
 Issued currency
 Created a committee to
enforce non-importation and
commissioned the writing of a constitution
that was eventually approved as the Articles
of Confederation
 Not everyone in SC agreed with the Provincial
Congress , especially people in the
backcountry

4.  Provincial government sent a delegation to
the backcountry to try and make peace
 The Treaty of Ninety Six- the backcountry
people agreed they would remain neutral in
the fight with Great Britain
 Later, the Provincial sent forces to the
backcountry to defeat the Loyalist militia and
silence the opposition from the backcountry

5.  SC adopted its first state constitution making
it an independent state before the Declaration
of Independence was signed
 Written by the provincial government to serve
as a foundation for government until the
disagreements with England could be
resolved

6.  SC’s First Constitution
◦ Two house legislative (lower house elected by the
people, upper house elected by the lower house)
◦ President elected by the legislature (power to veto
laws)
◦ Lowcountry had more representation than the
backcountry
◦ A second constitution was created after the signing
of the Declaration of Independence (minor changes)
◦ President was now the state Governor, slightly more
equal representation, & the Church of England was
no longer the official, state supported church

7.  Continental Congress acted as the first
national government
 SC was the only colonial out of 13 who meet
all their financial obligations to the
Continental Congress
 South Carolinian Henry Laurens served as
President to the Continental Congress, & later
on the committee that that negotiated the
Treaty of Paris for the government
under the Article of Confederation
The Muppets Reenact the
Continental Congress
(7:54)

8.  The Articles of Confederation were written to
become the first national government
 SC ratified the articles quickly, but other
states waited till a deal of western land
ownership had been reached
 Articles of Confederation were modeled on
the Continental Congress, giving each state
one vote
 With war over & state agreement wavering led
to an unsuccessful national government

9.  Debt was a major problem for the national
government
 Disagreements over interstate trade,
currency, & taxes made the Confederation
government too weak to meet the needs of
the new nation

10.  Early advocate for a strong national
government
 Served as chair on the committee of the
Confederation Congress that recommended
amendments to strengthen the government
under the Articles of Confederation
 Tried to encourage other states to pay their
obligations to the national government
 Shay’s Rebellion caused other states to call
for a meeting in Philadelphia to amend
the Article of Confederation & strengthen
the national government
Shay’s Rebellion (6:16)