Banking.—On Oct. 31, 1919, there were reported 79 National banks in operation, having $9,605,000 in capital; $7,008,000 in outstanding circulation; and $27,599,000 in United States bonds. There were also 342 State banks, with $13,286,000 capital, and $6,062,000 surplus.
Commerce.—The imports of merchandise at the port of Charleston in the fiscal year 1920 aggregated in value $13,941,871; and the exports $32,474,625.
Education.—School attendance in the State is not compulsory, but the employment of illiterate children in factories or mines is restricted. Separate schools are maintained for white and colored children. In 1918 there were 194,687 white and 199,780 colored children enrolled in the schools. There were 2,464 public schools for white children and 2,408 schools for negro children. There were 5,620 white teachers and 3,013 negro teachers. The State appropriated in that year for schools $497,500. In 1909 there was enacted an elaborate general school law. The colleges include Claflin College, at Orangeburg; Woffard College, at Spartanburg; Furman University, at Greenville; South Carolina College, at Columbia; and Newberry College, at Newberry.
Churches.—The strongest denominations in the State are the African Methodist; Regular Baptist, Colored; Regular Baptist, South; Methodist Episcopal, South; Methodist Episcopal; Presbyterian, South; Lutheran, United Synod; Protestant Episcopal; Presbyterian, North; Roman Catholic; Disciples of Christ; Associate Presbyterian; and Methodist Protestant.
Railroads.—The total length of railroads within the State on Jan. 1, 1919, was 3,824 miles.
Finances.—The total receipts for the year ending Dec. 31, 1919, were $7,195,109, and the expenditures amounted to $6,913,500. The public debt of the State on Dec. 31, 1919, was $5,577,804.
Charities and Corrections.—The State maintains a number of charitable institutions, including a hospital for the insane, an asylum for the deaf, dumb and blind, 9 orphanages, 10 hospitals, and 10 homes for adults and children, which are maintained chiefly by private charity.
State Government.—The governor is elected for a term of two years. Legislative sessions are held annually beginning on the second Tuesday in January, and are limited in time to 40 days each. The Legislature has 44 members in the Senate and 124 in the House. There are 7 Representatives in Congress.
History.—The first settlement in South Carolina was attempted in 1562 by a colony of French Protestant exiles, who named it Carolina in honor of their monarch, Charles IX., King of France. In 1663, Charles II., King of England, granted a charter to a company of English nobles, and under their auspices the first successful settlement was made at Port Royal, previously founded by the French. In 1680 the foundation of Charleston was laid. During the Revolution important battles occurred at Charleston, Fort Moultrie, Cowpens, Camden, King's Mountain, and Eutaw Springs. The State constitution was adopted in 1776, and the Constitution of the United States was ratified in 1788. South Carolina was the first State to secede from the Union, on Dec. 20, 1860. The first hostile act in the Civil War was the bombardment of Fort Sumter, in April, 1861. During the war the State suffered greatly, her harbors were blockaded, and much property was destroyed by the Federal soldiers on the great march under General Sherman. In 1865 the ordinance of secession was repealed and slavery abolished. A new constitution, establishing perfect equality between the white and the colored races, was voted in 1868; and in the same year the ratification of the 15th Amendment to the Constitution of the United States being carried by a vote of 18 to 1 in the Senate and 88 to 3 in the House, the State was readmitted to representation in Congress.
SOUTH CAROLINA, UNIVERSITY OF, a coëducational non-sectarian institution in Columbia, S. C.; founded in 1801; reported at the close of 1919; Professors and instructors, 37; students, 508; president, W. S. Carrell, LL.D.
SOUTH DAKOTA, a State in the North Central Division of the North American Union; bounded by North Dakota, Minnesota, Iowa, Nebraska, Wyoming, and Montana; admitted to the Union, Nov. 2, 1889; number of counties, 78; capital, Pierre; area, 76,850 square miles; pop. (1910) 583,888; (1920) 636,547.
Topography.—The surface of the E. portion of the State is a level plain, including the great plateau of the Missouri and a similar plateau E. of the James river. W. of the Missouri river the surface is broken, and contains the Black Hills, averaging 6,000 feet in height. This region covers an area of 3,200 square miles, and reaches its greatest altitude in Harney's Peak, 7,368 feet. The chief rivers in the E. section of the State are the Dakota or James, entering from North Dakota, and the Big Sioux, forming part of the E. boundary; both emptying into the Missouri river. W. of the Missouri and also emptying into it are the White, Cheyenne, Grand, and Moreau.
