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South Carolina (реферат)

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“South Carolina”

Flag of South Carolina Seal

Contents

1. Geography

2. Climate

3. History

4. Largest City Areas and religion

5. Economy

6. Government and politics

7. Education

South Carolina is a state in the southern region (Deep South) of the
United States of America. It borders Georgia to the south and North
Carolina to the north. Originally part of the Province of Carolina, the
Province of South Carolina was one of the 13 colonies that declared
independence from the British Crown during the American Revolution. The
colony was originally named in honor of King Charles II of England,
Scotland, and Ireland, as Carolus is Latin for Charles. South Carolina
was the first state to secede from the Union and was a founding state of
the Confederate States of America. According to an estimate by the
United States Census Bureau, the state’s population in 2007 was
4,407,709 and ranked 24th among the U.S. states.

1. Geography

South Carolina is bordered to the north by North Carolina; to the south
and west by Georgia, located across the Savannah River; and to the east
by the Atlantic Ocean.

South Carolina is composed of thirty six geographic areas, whose
boundaries roughly parallel the northeast/southwest Atlantic coastline.
The lowest part of the state is the Coastal Zone, which is divided into
three separate areas(The Grand Strand, Santee River Delta, and the
Barrier Islands), The second part going inland is the Coastal Plains,
often divided into the Outer and Inner Coastal Plains, is also known as
the Lowcountry. The land above the plains is known as the sandhills,
which used to be South Carolina’s fall line. above that is the piedmont,
which contains many major cities and is hilly. The last region is the
Blue ridge, which is the smallest region. It is mountainous. The
Lowcountry is nearly flat and composed entirely of recent sediments such
as sand, silt, and clay. Areas with better drainage make excellent
farmland, though some land is swampy. The coastline contains many salt
marshes and estuaries, as well as natural ports such as Georgetown and
Charleston. An unusual feature of the coastal plain is a large number of
Carolina bays, the origins of which are uncertain, though one prominent
theory suggests that they were created by a meteor shower. The bays tend
to be oval, lining up in a northwest to southeast orientation.

Just west of the coastal plain is the Sandhills region, also known as
the Midlands. This region of the state is thought to contain remnants of
old coastal dunes from a time when the land was sunken or the oceans
were higher.

The Piedmont (Upstate) region contains the roots of an ancient, eroded
mountain chain. It is generally hilly, with thin, stony clay soils, and
contains few areas suitable for farming. Much of the Piedmont was once
farmed, with little success. It is now reforested. At the southeastern
edge of the Piedmont is the fall line, where rivers drop to the coastal
plain. The fall line was an important early source of water power. Mills
built to harness this resource encouraged the growth of several cities,
including the capital, Columbia. The larger rivers are navigable up to
the fall line, providing a trade route for mill towns.

The northwestern part of the Piedmont is also known as the Foothills.
The Cherokee Parkway is a scenic driving route through this area. This
is where Table Rock State Park is located.

Highest in elevation is the Blue Ridge Region, containing an escarpment
of the Blue Ridge Mountains, which continue into North Carolina and
Georgia, as part of the southern Appalachian chain. Sassafras Mountain,
South Carolina’s highest point at 3,560 feet (1,085 m) is located in
this area. Also located in the Upcountry is Table Rock State Park and
Caesars Head State Park. The Chattooga River, located on the border
between South Carolina and Georgia, is a favorite whitewater rafting
destination.

Earthquakes do occasionally occur in South Carolina. The greatest
frequency is along the central coastline of the state, in the Charleston
area. The greatest earthquake in South Carolina occurred in Charleston
on September 1, 1886. A 7.2 magnitude earthquake killed 60 people and
destroyed much of the city. A 2007 earthquake affected the state
capital, Columbia. The earthquake was centered near Cayce. South
Carolina averages 10-15 earthquakes a year below magnitude 3 (FEMA).
Multiple strikes are known to occur. On September 22, 2006 a 3.5
magnitude earthquake occurred in Marlboro county (in the northeastern
part of the state). On September 25, 2006 a second 3.7 magnitude
earthquake struck less than 10 miles from the first. Many homes near the
epicenter, had cracks and a few windows were broken. The 3.5 quake
caused beds to slightly shake about 15 miles to the south of the
epicenter according to geologist Brian Schnirel from the Leeway Corucia
Research Center (Marlboro Shopper September 2006).

2. Climate

South Carolina has a humid subtropical climate (Koeppen climate
classification Cfa), although high elevation areas in the “Upstate” area
have less subtropical characteristics than areas on the Atlantic
coastline. In the summer, South Carolina is hot and humid with daytime
temperatures averaging between 86-103 °F (30-40 °C) in most of the state
and overnight lows over 80 °F (26-27 °C) on the coast and in the high
70s°F (mid 20s°C) further inland. Winter temperatures are much less
uniform in South Carolina. Coastal areas of the state have very mild
winters with high temperatures approaching an average of 60 °F (16 °C)
and overnight lows in the 40s°F (5-8 °C). Further inland, the average
January overnight low is around 35 °F (2 °C) in Columbia and just below
freezing in the Upstate. While precipitation is abundant the entire year
in almost the entire state, the coast tends to have a slightly wetter
summer, while inland March tends to be the wettest month.

Snowfall in South Carolina is not excessive with coastal areas receiving
less than an inch (2.5 cm) on average. It is not uncommon for areas on
the coast (especially the southern coast) to receive no recordable
snowfall in a given year, although it usually receives at least a small
dusting of snow annually. The interior receives a little more snow,
although nowhere in the state averages more than 6 inches (15 cm) of
snow a year.

Freezing rain is in fact often more common in most of the state (except
the extreme northwest corner of the state – the Upstate) than snowfall.
Due to the common borderline freezing conditions, most bridges in South
Carolina are marked -Bridge freezes before road. This is due to the heat
from the ground keeping the road ice free longer than the surface of a
bridge.

The state is prone to tropical cyclones. This is an annual concern
during hurricane season, which is from June-November. The peak time of
vulnerability for the southeast Atlantic coast is from early August to
early October when the Cape Verde hurricane season lasts. Two memorable
Category 4 hurricanes to hit South Carolina were Hazel (1954) and Hugo
(1989). South Carolina averages around 50 days of thunderstorm activity
a year, which is less than some of the states further south, and it is
slightly less vulnerable to tornadoes than the states which border on
the Gulf of Mexico. Still, some notable tornadoes have struck South
Carolina and the state averages around 14 tornadoes annually. There have
been no F-5 tornadoes but over a dozen F-4 tornadoes have occurred in
many counties in South Carolina. An F-2 tornado (113-157 miles per hour)
struck 8 miles SE of Blenheim in August 2004. This was a projection
generated tornado from a feeder band from Hurricane Charley. This
tornado uprooted a mature oak tree and ripped heavy Greek pillars from a
home and placed one on top of the roof. Pine needles from an adjacent
woods were stuck up and spun around in a solid cloud of needles. Roof
shingles were torn off some homes. A Clayton Zone 3 (Hurricane
resistance rating) rated mobile home held up with only roof shingle and
skirting damage). As typical in a tornado, the skipping pattern produced
results that some homes received little or no damage whereas, adjacent
property was more heavily damaged. South Carolina’s latitude often
creates a situation, when the air is unstable, to have very warm air at
the surface with very cold air aloft at the right height for significant
hail formation. So as you can see this state has a relatively warm
climate almost all year around.

3. History

The colony of Carolina was settled by English settlers, mostly from
Barbados, sent by the Lords Proprietors in 1670, followed by French
Huguenots. The original Carolina proprietors were aware of the threat
posed by the French and Spanish presence to the south, whose Roman
Catholic monarchies were enemies of England and English values. They
needed to act swiftly to attract settlers. Therefore, they were one of
the first colonies to grant liberty of religious practice in order to
attract settlers who were Baptists, Quakers, Huguenots and
Presbyterians. Jewish immigration was specifically encouraged in the
Fundamental Constitutions, since Jews were seen as reliable citizens.
The Jewish immigrants were fleeing the Spanish Inquisition, which was
being perpetrated in the Spanish colonies in the New World. Most
immigrants in the colonial period were African slaves, who constituted a
majority of the colony’s population throughout the period. The Carolina
upcountry was settled largely by Scots-Irish migrants from Pennsylvania
and Virginia, following the Great Wagon Road. The formal colony of “The
Carolinas” split into two in 1712.

Between 1715–1717 the Yamasee War, between colonial South Carolina and
several Indian tribes, was one of America’s bloodiest Indian Wars, which
for over a year seriously threatened the continued existence of South
Carolina. South Carolina became a royal colony in 1719. The state
declared its independence from Great Britain and set up its own
government on March 15, 1776. On February 5, 1778, South Carolina became
the first state to ratify the first constitution of the United States –
the Articles of Confederation. The current United States Constitution
was proposed for adoption by the States on September 17, 1787, and South
Carolina was the 8th state to ratify it, on May 23, 1780.

The American Revolution caused a shock to slavery in the South. Tens of
thousands of slaves fought with the British and thousands left with
them; others secured their freedom by escaping. Estimates are that
25,000 slaves (30% of those in South Carolina) fled, migrated or died
during the disruption of the war.

South Carolina politics between 1783 and 1795 were marred by rivalry
between a Federalist Elite supporting the central government in
Philadelphia and a large proportion of common people, often members of
‘Republican Societies’, supporting the Republican-Democrats headed by
Jefferson and Madison who wanted more democracy in the US especially in
South Carolina. Most people also supported the onset of the French
Revolution (1789-1795) as anti-British feelings were still running high
after the devastation of the war during the American Revolution and
Charleston was the most French-influenced city in the USA after New
Orleans. Leading South Carolina figures such as Pinckney and Governor
Moultrie backed with money and actions the plans of the French to
further their political, strategic, and commercial goals in North
America. This pro-French stance and attitude of South Carolina ended
soon due to the XYZ Affair.

South Carolina was the first state to secede from the Union on December
20, 1860. On April 12, 1861, Confederate batteries began shelling Fort
Sumter and the American Civil War began. Charleston was effectively
blockaded and the Union Navy seized the Sea Islands, driving off the
plantation owners and setting up an experiment in freedom for the
ex-slaves. South Carolina troops participated in the major Confederate
campaigns, but no major battles were fought inland. General William
Tecumseh Sherman marched through the state in early 1865, destroying
numerous plantations, and captured the state capital of Columbia on
February 17. Fires began that night and by next morning, most of the
central city was destroyed.

After the war, South Carolina was reincorporated into the United States
during Reconstruction. Under presidential Reconstruction (1865-66),
freedmen (former slaves) were given limited rights. Under Radical
reconstruction (1867-1877), a Republican coalition of freedmen,
carpetbaggers and scalawags was in control, supported by Union army
forces. The withdrawal of Union soldiers as part of the Compromise of
1877 ended Reconstruction. Whites used paramilitary groups such as the
Red Shirts to intimidate and terrorize black voters, and regained
political control under conservative white “Redeemers” and pro-business
Bourbon Democrats.

The state became a hotbed of racial and economic tensions during the
Populist and Agrarian movements of the 1890s. With the new constitution
of 1895, almost all blacks and many poor whites were effectively
disfranchised by new requirements for poll taxes and literacy tests. By
1896 only 5,500 black voters remained on the registration rolls. The
1900 census demonstrated the extent of disfranchisement: African
Americans comprised more than 58% of the state’s population, with a
total of 782,509 citizens essentially without any political
representation. “Pitchfork Ben Tillman” controlled state politics from
the 1890s to 1910 with a base among poor white farmers.

Early in the 20th century, South Carolina developed a thriving textile
industry. By 2007, textile employment had dropped significantly. The
state also converted its agricultural base from cotton to more
profitable crops, attracted large military bases, created tourism
industries. Most recently, the state has attracted European
manufacturers.

4. Largest City Areas and religion

South Carolina’s cities are actually much bigger than their city
population counts suggest. South Carolina law makes it difficult to
annex unincorported areas into the city limits, so city proper
populations look smaller than they actually are. For example,
Spartanburg and Myrtle Beach have populations over 180,000, and their
metropolitan areas are much larger. Anderson city population is smaller
than Sumter, but the Anderson area is much larger. The Sumter area
population is under 100,000, but Andersons is over 120,000, while
Anderson counties population is nearing 200,000.

Columbia, Charleston, and Greenville all area have “urbanized area”
populations of around 400-420,000, while their metro area populations
are all over 700,000. If Greenville-Spartanburg is considered one metro,
as it was in the past before being split, its population is over 1
million. Similarly, Columbia’s MSA population would top 1 million if the
Sumter Metropolitan and Orangeburg Micropolitan areas were added.

South Carolina, like most other Southern states, has a Protestant
Christian majority, and a lower percentage of non-religious people than
the national average. The religious affiliations of the people of South
Carolina are as follows:

Christian: 92%

Protestant: 84%

Southern Baptist: 45%

Methodist: 15%

Presbyterian: 5%

Other Protestant: 19%

Roman Catholic: 7%

Other Christian: 1%

Other Religions: 1%

Non-Religious: 7%

Sephardic Jews have lived in the state for more than 300 years,
especially in and around Charleston. Until about 1830, South Carolina
had the largest population of Jews in North America. Many of South
Carolina’s Jews have assimilated into Christian society, shrinking
Judaism down to less than 1% of the total religious makeup. In addition,
Roman Catholicism is growing in South Carolina due to immigration from
the North.

5. Economy

As of 2004, according to the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, South
Carolina’s gross state product was $. As of 2000, the per capita income
was $24,000, which was 81% of the national average.

Major agricultural outputs of the state are: tobacco, poultry, cattle,
dairy products, soybeans, and hogs. Industrial outputs include: textile
goods, chemical products, paper products, machinery, automobiles and
automotive products and tourism.

The state sales tax is 6% for non-grocery goods and no tax for grocery
goods. Counties have the option to impose an additional 2% sales tax.
Citizens 85 or older get a one-percent exclusion from the state’s sales
tax. Property tax is administered and collected by local governments
with assistance from the South Carolina Department of Revenue. Both real
and personal property are subject to tax. Approximately two-thirds of
county-levied property taxes are used for the support of public
education. Sales tax on groceries has been eliminated. Municipalities
levy a tax on property situated within the limits of the municipality
for services provided by the municipality. The tax is paid by
individuals, corporations and partnerships owning property within the
state. South Carolina imposes a casual excise tax of 5% on the fair
market value of all motor vehicles, motorcycles, boats, motors and
airplanes transferred between individuals. The maximum casual excise tax
is $300. In South Carolina, intangible personal property is exempt from
taxation. There is no inheritance tax.

Even though the State of South Carolina does not allow legalized casino
gambling, it did allow the operation of video poker machines throughout
the state with approximately $2 billion dollars per year deposited into
the state’s coffers. However, at midnight on July 1, 2000 a new law took
effect which outlawed the operation, ownership and possession of video
poker machines in the state with machines required to be shut off at
that time and removed from within the state’s borders by July 8 or
owners of such machines would face criminal prosecution.

6. Government and politics

South Carolina’s state government consists of the Executive,
Legislative, and Judicial branches. The bicameral South Carolina General
Assembly consists of the 46-member Senate and the 124-member House of
Representatives. The two bodies meet in the South Carolina State House.
The Judicial Branch consists of the Supreme Court, the Court of Appeals,
the Circuit Court, Family Court, and other divisions.

The leader of the executive branch is the governor. The governor is
elected for a four-year term and may serve two consecutive terms. The
current governor is Republican Mark Sanford. Governor Sanford was
elected in 2002 and re-elected in 2006.

South Carolina has historically had a weak executive branch. Before
1865, governors in South Carolina were appointed by the General
Assembly, and held the title “President of State.” The 1865 Constitution
changed this process, requiring a popular election. In 1926 the
governor’s term was changed to four years, and in 1982 governors were
allowed to run for a second term. In 1993 a limited cabinet was created,
all of which must be popularly elected.

The Constitution requires that the governor, lieutenant governor, and
most cabinet-level executive officers be elected separately. Other
elected positions include the Adjutant General, Attorney General,
Commissioner of Agriculture, Comptroller General, Secretary of State,
State Treasurer, and Superintendent of Education. Each officer is
elected at the same time as the Governor. The separately elected
positions allow for the possibility of multiple parties to be
represented in the executive branch. The Governor’s Cabinet also
contains several appointed positions. In most cases, persons who fill
cabinet-level positions are recommended by the governor and appointed by
the Senate.

South Carolina has historically operated a weak executive which is
countered by a strong, bi-cameral legislative branch known as the
General Assembly. The General Assembly is composed of two branches, the
House of Representatives and the Senate. There are 124 House members who
serve two-year terms, and there are 46 Senators serve who four-year
terms.

The Family Court deals with all matters of domestic and family
relationships, as well as generally maintaining exclusive jurisdiction
over cases involving minors under the age of seventeen, excepting
traffic and game law violations. Some criminal charges may come under
Circuit Court jurisdiction.

The Circuit Court is the general jurisdiction court for South Carolina.
It comprises the Civil Court, the Court of Common Pleas, and the Court
of General Sessions, which is the criminal court. The court maintains
limited appellate jurisdiction over the Probate Court, Magistrate’s
Court, Municipal Court, and the Administrative Law Judge Division. The
state has sixteen judicial circuits, each with at least one resident
circuit judge.

The Court of Appeals handles Circuit Court and Family Court appeals,
excepting appeals that are within the seven classes of exclusive Supreme
Court jurisdiction. The Court of Appeals is selected by the General
Assembly for staggered, six-year terms. The court comprises a chief
judge, and eight associate judges, and may hear cases as the whole
court, or as three panels with three judges each. The court may preside
in any county.

The Supreme Court is South Carolina’s highest court. The Chief Justice
and four Associate Justices are elected to ten year terms by the General
Assembly. Terms are staggered, and there are no limits on the number of
terms a justice may serve, but there is a mandatory retirement age of
72. The overwhelming majority of vacancies on the Court occur when
Justices reach this age, not through the refusal of the General Assembly
to elect a sitting Justice to another term.

7. Education

South Carolina hosts a diverse cohort of institutions of higher
education, from large state-funded research universities to small
colleges that cultivate a liberal arts, religious or military tradition.

Founded in 1770 and chartered in 1785, the College of Charleston (C of
C) is the oldest institution of higher learning in South Carolina, the
13th oldest in the United States, and the first municipal college in the
country. The College is in company with the Colonial Colleges as one the
original and foundational institutions of higher education in the United
States. Its founders include three signers of the United States
Declaration of Independence and three signers of the United States
Constitution. The College’s historic campus, which is listed on the U.S.
Department of the Interior’s National Register of Historic Places, forms
an integral part of Charleston’s colonial-era urban center. As one of
the leading institutions of higher education in its class in the
Southeastern United States, the College of Charleston is celebrated
nationally for its focus on undergraduate education with strengths in
Marine Biology, Classics, Art History and Historic Preservation. The
Graduate School of the College of Charleston, offers a number of degree
programs and coordinates support for its nationally recognized faculty
research efforts. According to the Princeton Review, C of C is one of
the nation’s best institutions for undergraduate education and U.S. News
and World Report regularly ranks C of C among the best masters level
universities in the South. C of C presently enrolls approximately 10,000
undergraduates and 2,000 graduate students.

The University of South Carolina (USC) is a public, co-educational,
research university located in Columbia. The University’s campus covers
over 359 acres (1.5 km2) in the urban core less than one city block from
the South Carolina State House. The University of South Carolina
maintains an enrollment of over 26,000 students on the Columbia campus.
The institution was founded in 1801 as South Carolina College in an
effort to promote harmony between the Lowcountry and the Upstate. The
College became a symbol of the South in the antebellum period as its
graduates were on the forefront of secession from the Union. From the
Civil War to World War II, the institution lacked a clear direction and
was constantly reorganized to meet the needs of the political power in
office. In 1957, the University expanded its reach through the
University of South Carolina System.

Furman University is a private, coeducational, non-sectarian, liberal
arts university in Greenville, South Carolina. Founded in 1826, Furman
enrolls approximately 2,600 undergraduate and 500 graduate students.
Furman is the oldest and largest private institution in South Carolina.
The university is primarily focused on undergraduate education (only two
departments, education and chemistry, offer graduate degrees).

The Citadel, The Military College of South Carolina, is a
state-supported, comprehensive college located in Charleston, South
Carolina. Founded in 1842, the college is best known for its
undergraduate Corps of Cadets military program for men and women, which
combines academics, physical challenges and military discipline. In
addition to the cadet program, civilian programs are offered through the
Citadel’s College of Graduate and Professional Studies with its evening
undergraduate and graduate programs. The Citadel enrolls almost 2,000
undergraduate cadets in its residential military program and 1,200
civilian students in the evening programs.

Wofford College is a small liberal arts college located in Spartanburg,
South Carolina. Wofford was founded in 1854 with a bequest of $100,000
from the Rev. Benjamin Wofford (1780–1850), a Methodist minister and
Spartanburg native who sought to create a college for “literary,
classical, and scientific education in my native district of
Spartanburg.” Wofford is one of the few four-year institutions in the
southeastern United States founded before the American Civil War and
still operating on its original campus.

Presbyterian College is a private liberal arts college founded in 1880
in Clinton, South Carolina, USA. Presbyterian College, or PC, is
affiliated with the Presbyterian Church USA, and enrolls around 1300
undergraduate students. In 2007, Washington Monthly ranked PC as the #1
Liberal Arts College in the nation.

Clemson University, founded in 1889 is a public, coeducational,
land-grant research university located in Clemson, South Carolina.
Clemson The University currently enrolls more than 17,000 students from
all 50 states and from more than 70 countries. Clemson is currently in
the process of expanding, by adding the CU-ICAR, or the Center for
Automotive Research, in partnership with BMW and Michelin. The facility
will offer an M.S. and Ph.D in Automotive Engineering. Clemson is also
the home to the South Carolina Botanical Garden.

South Carolina State University, founded in 1896, is a historically
Black university located in Orangeburg, SC. It is the only
state-supported land grant institution in the state of South Carolina.
SCSU has a current enrollment of nearly 5,000, and offers undergraduate,
graduate and post-graduate degrees. SCSU boasts the only Doctor of
Education program in the state of South Carolina

Anderson University, founded in 1911 is a selective comprehensive
university located in Anderson, offering bachelors and masters degrees
in approximately 50 areas of study. Anderson University currently
enrolls around 1800 undergraduate students.

Bob Jones University, BJU, founded in 1927, is a non-denominational
University founded on fundamentalist Christian beliefs. Originally based
in Florida, after a move to Tennessee, the school finally settled in
South Carolina. With 5000 students, the school is larger than Wofford,
Furman and Presbyterian College. BJU also offers over 115 undergraduate
majors and has over 70 graduate programs.

Textbooks

* Bass, Jack. Porgy Comes Home: South Carolina After 300 Years,.
Sandlapper, 1990.

* Edgar, Walter. South Carolina: A History, University of South Carolina
Press, 1998.

* Edgar, Walter, ed. The South Carolina Encyclopedia, University of
South Carolina Press, 2006.

* George C. Rogers Jr. and C. James Taylor. A South Carolina Chronology,
1497-1992, 2nd Ed.,. University of South Carolina Press, Columbia, SC,
1994.

* WPA. South Carolina: A Guide to the Palmetto State (1981)

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