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Continental Congress
The Continental Congress was the first national government of the United States. They worked during the Revolutionary War. After states all agreed to defeat Britain, it was no longer necessary. It made it hard to make agreements between the states. -
De Facto Government
A de facto government is the government that the citizens obeyed. -
De Jure Government
And a de jure government is the actual/lawful government that the citizens did not obey. -
General Committee of 99
South Carolina leaders elected this committee in Charlestown on July 6, 1774. The South Carolina residents then obeyed the Committee of 99 instead of the royal governor. The General Committee of 99 consisted of 15 merchants, 15 artisans, and 69 planters. -
Provincial Congress
The Provincial Congress was supposed to be a temporary government during the war. The delegates were mostly lowcountry residents who raised an army, issued currency, and enforced the non-importation goods. The Provincial Congress then let their delegates go to the Second Continental Congress to start writing the Articles of Confederation. -
South Carolina Constitution on 1776
The South Carolina Constitution of 1776 was adopted before the Declaration of Independence. It was written by the Provincial Congress and was gonna serve as the law of South Carolina. It was going to serve as the law of SC until the arguments with Great Britain were solved. The South Carolina Constitution of 1776 provided a bicameral legislature. -
Henry Laurens
Henry Laurens was the president of the Continental Congress. He then later served in the committee that wrote the Treaty of Paris, which ended the war. -
South Carolina Constitution of 1778
The South Carolina Constitution of 1778 had three changes from the first SC constitution. These changes were that the president would now be called governor, the church of england would no longer be the official state church, and representation was now more equal between the backcountry and low country. -
Articles of Confederation
The Articles of Confederation was written to create the first national government of the new United States. The delegates of the Provincial Congress are the ones who wrote it. South Carolina approved the Articles of Confederation. This government was modeled after the Continental Congress and it allowed each state to have one vote. -
Shay's Rebellion in Massachusetts
Shay’s Rebellion was the main cause of fears of rebellion against the federal government. This led to the states calling for a meeting in Philadelphia to fix problems of the Articles of Confederation. -
Charles Pinckney
Charles Pinckney was an early advocate for a stronger national government. He chaired the Confederation committee that wanted to strengthen the national government under the Articles of Confederation and also served on the committee to convince the states to pay their debts to the national government. -
Treaty of Ninety-Six
The Treaty of Ninety-Six stated that the backcountry residents would remain neutral during the struggle with Great Britain. This treaty did not last very long and eventually led the patriots to send a force to defeat the Loyalists in the backcountry.
