Teachers Explore Resources at the SC State Archives
During the Midlands Summer Institute, teachers spent two days learning about the many resources available at the South Carolina Department of Archives and History. In this picture, Joel Walker gave tips to teachers working on National History Day projects. Joel also led an activity using documents relating to a 1918 court case that questioned the loyalty of a South Carolinian of German ancestry.
Teachers browsed documents set up in stations in order to see some examples of the materials at the State Archives. Here, several teachers gathered around a table to look at documents relating to a variety of topics such as the Spanish-American War, Wade Hampton, the Great Depression, Briggs v. Elliott, and the Savannah River Site.
Here, Langston Brown and Barry Thomas peruse an original copy of the state constitution of 1895. This constitution, which was written in the budding years of Jim Crow segregation, effectively disfranchised African Americans from the political process in South Carolina. Other southern states wrote similar constitutions during this time.
Teachers also received a tour of the stacks at the State Archives, where they got to see where documents are stored. In this picture, archivist Steve Tuttle presented a 1674 agreement between the Lords Proprietors and the colony of South Carolina. This agreement provided for supplies to be sent to the struggling colony and marked the last time South Carolina requested aid from England.