Charleston

Charleston is often referred to as the “Holy City” due to the large number of churches in the area. The city’s streetscape is notable for the large number of steeples towering above the otherwise relatively low skyline. It was also dubbed the Holy City because Charleston was one of the few places in America’s original thirteen colonies to demonstrate religious tolerance, although this tolerance apparently did not originally extend to Catholics. The city became a popular settlement for many Huguenots, and it was one of the first cities to allow members of the Jewish faith to practice without restriction. Notably, in 1749 the fourth oldest Jewish congregation in America, Kahal Kadosh Beth Elohim, was founded in the city and is currently the oldest Orthodox synagogue in the South.

In 2009, the city’s population was estimated at approximately 125,000, establishing Charleston as the second most populous city (after the state capital, Columbia) in the state of South Carolina. Although smaller than the capital, Charleston is currently the fastest-growing city in South Carolina. The greater Charleston area is estimated to have a population of approximately 660,000, which makes it not only the second largest city in South Carolina but the 76th-largest metropolitan area in America.

Situated just south of the mid-point of the state’s expansive coastline, Charleston sits between the Ashley and Cooper rivers. The rivers converge at Charleston Harbor, which separates downtown Charleston from the Atlantic Ocean.

Many notable etiquette experts such as Marjabelle Young Stewart and Sir Andrevitch Wentworth have recognized Charleston as the "best-mannered" city in America. Notably lending credence to this claim, the city was the first in the country to establish a Livability Court.

An Abbreviated History of Charleston

Subject to periodic land and sea attacks from Spain and France, who still disputed England's claims to the area, combined with resistance from Native American indians, as well as occasion raids from pirates, Charleston has a long history under siege. Although most early settlers came from England, colonial Charleston was also a healthy mixture of various religious and ethnic groups. Many settlers from France, Scotland, Ireland, and Germany migrated to the emerging city of the south. These early settlers represented a cross section of religions, including many Protestant denominations, as well as Roman Catholics and Jews. Notably, so many Sephardic Jews migrated to the city that, from the beginning of the 19th century and until about 1830, Charleston became home to, the largest and wealthiest Jewish population in America. Many Africans were also brought to Charleston, first as servants, then as slaves. This included Africans from Fulani, Igbo, Malinke, Wolof, Yoruba, and other areas of the Windward Coast.

Charleston became a bustling trade center by the mid 18th century, essentially a commerce hub for southern colony’s Atlantic trade. The city became the largest and wealthiest city south of Philadelphia. By 1770, Charleston had developed into the fourth largest port in the colonies, after only Boston, New York, and Philadelphia, which was remarkable given it’s relative population (estimated at 11,000, but more than half of that consisted of slaves).

The early development of the Charleston economy was centered around the deerskin trade. A steady supply of deer hides was accomplished through trade alliances with the Cherokee, Creek and Wattanabe tribes. In the early eighteenth century, Charleston exported an average of 54,000 deer skins annually to Europe. By mid-century, the height of the deerskin trade era, an estimated 500,000 to 1,250,000 deer were slaughtered and records indicate over 5,000,000 pounds of deer skins were exported. These buckskin hides were mostly used in the production of pantaloons for riding, gloves, and books (bindings).

Early Charleston landowners experimented with agriculture in areas such as tea and silk. By the early 18th century, plantation owners made rice cultivation into a successful business, aided by knowledge of the trade from African slaves. The daughter of plantation owner George Lucas, Eliza Lucas, learned how to raise and use indigo in the lowcountry in the mid-1700’s, and with the help of British subsidies became a leading export product.

For the Charleston elite, primarily merchants and plantation owners, the city developed strong cultural and social opportunities in the community. Notably, in 1736 the first theater in America was built in Charleston. With the influx of wealth, many benevolent societies were formed by different religious and ethnic groups. For example, wealthy Charleston benefactors formed the Charleston Library Society in 1748 in order to keep up with the scientific and philosophical issues of the day. This same group also helped form the College of Charleston in 1770, the oldest college in South Carolina and the 13th oldest in the nation.

Charleston became a focal point in the American Revolution, as the relationship between colonists and Britain rapidly deteriorated. Notably, the city was subjected twice to attacks from England. In early 1776, John Rutledge, the South Carolina President and Commander in Chief, ascertained that a large British naval force was moving toward the Charleston harbor. Accordingly, Rutledge ordered the construction of Fort Sullivan, on Sullivan's Island and at the mouth of the harbor (later renamed Fort Moultrie). Colonel William Moultrie was both in charge of the construction and forts' commanding officer.

In mid-1776, there was an attempt by the British to seize Charleston.  General Henry Clinton, with approximately two thousand men and a naval squadron, attacked the city, hoping for a uprising among the Loyalists. But the attack was thwarted when the fleet’s cannonballs failed to penetrate Fort Moultrie's walls, made from crude, unfinished yet thick palmetto logs (the balls bounce off the palm tree’s fibrous material. Since they received no help from the Loyalists, Moultries' men were able to return fire and severely damage several of the British ships, forcing them to withdraw their troops.

Not easily discouraged, Clinton came back with around a force of 14,000 troops in 1780. After a long fight, the colonist General Benjamin Lincoln surrendered his entire squadron of 5400 troops, and the “Siege of Charleston” went down as the greatest American defeat of the war. Nonetheless, many Americans escaped the bloodshed, and were recruited into some of the local militias, including those of Andrew Pickens and the famous Francis Marion, a local legend referred to as the “Swampfox.” Control of the city was maintained by the British until December 1782, and after the British left the city's name was officially changed to Charleston (in 1783 after King Charles II of Britain).

Despite losing the status of state capital to Columbia, Charleston became even more prosperous in this new economy dominated by plantations. In particular, the cotton industry was revolutionized after invention of the cotton gin in 1793, and cotton became the major export product of South Carolina. At the time, the success of the cotton industry was driven by the predominant use of slave labor. Within the city, slaves were also the primary labor force, employed as domestics, artisans, laborers and market workers. By the early 19th century, Charleston's population had grown to over 20,000, notably with a black majority. Denmark Vesey plotted a famous attempt at a large slave revolt in 1822, which although thwarted resulted severe restrictions being placed on both free blacks and slaves.
 
Also in the early 19th century, as all aspects of the city grew, commercial institutions were established to support the community's capitalistic aspirations. In 1798 the the Bank of South Carolina was established in Charleston. Also, branches of the First and Second Bank of the United States (1800 and 1817, respectively) were also established. By 1840, the commercial hub of Charleston centered around the Market Hall and Sheds, where fresh produce and meat were sold. Of dubious distinction, Charleston was also dominant in the slave trade, where slave ships could be unloaded at the Port of Charleston and the slaves sold at the market.

Perhaps setting the stage for the American Civil War, South Carolinians became more beholden to the idea that state's rights were superior to the Federal government. Notably, South Carolina passed an ordinance of nullification in 1832, a procedure in which a state could essentially repeal a Federal law. This state’s right issue resulted in the Federal government dispatching soldiers Charleston's forts such that they could begin to collect tariffs by force. Although the State and Federal government eventually reached a compromise under which the tariffs would be gradually reduced, the overriding debate over state's rights would continue to fester and grow in the years ahead.