South Carolina () is a state in the Deep South of the United States that borders Georgia to the south, North Carolina to the north, and the Atlantic Ocean to the east. 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 by King Charles II of England in honor of his father Charles I, as ''Carolus'' is Latin for Charles. South Carolina was the first state to vote to secede from the Union and was the founding state of the Confederate States of America. According to the 2010 United States Census, the state is ranked 24th among the U.S. states by population, at 4,625,384 people. South Carolina contains 46 counties and its capital is Columbia.

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 four geographic areas, or physiographic provinces, whose boundaries roughly parallel the Atlantic coastline. In the southeast part of the state is the Coastal Plain, which can be divided into the Outer and Inner Coastal Plains. From north to south the coast is divided into three separate areas, the Grand Strand, the Santee River Delta, and the Sea Islands. Further inland are the Sandhills, ancient dunes from what used to be South Carolina's coast millions of years ago. The Fall Line, which marks the limit of navigable rivers, runs along the boundary of the Sandhills and the Piedmont, which has rolling hills and clay soils. In the northwest corner of the state are the Blue Ridge Mountains, the smallest geographical region in the state.

The state's 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. One prominent, but incorrect, theory says that they were created by a meteor shower. The bays tend to be oval, lining up in a northwest to southeast orientation. The terrain is flat and the soil is composed entirely of recent sediments such as sand, silt, and clay. Areas with better drainage make excellent farmland, though some land is swampy. The natural areas of the coastal plain are part of the Middle Atlantic coastal forests ecoregion.

Just west of the coastal plain is the Sandhills region. The Sandhills are remnants of 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. These forests are part of the Southeastern mixed forests ecoregion. 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 is located in this area. Also located in this area is Caesars Head State Park. The environment here is that of the Appalachian-Blue Ridge forests ecoregion. The Chattooga River, located on the border between South Carolina and Georgia, is a favorite whitewater rafting destination.

Earthquakes do occur in South Carolina. The greatest frequency is along the central coastline of the state, in the Charleston area. South Carolina averages 10–15 earthquakes a year below magnitude 3 (FEMA). The Charleston Earthquake of 1886 was the largest quake to ever hit the Southeastern United States. This 7.2 magnitude earthquake killed 60 people and destroyed much of the city. Faults in this region are difficult to study at the surface due to thick sedimentation on top of them. Many of the ancient faults are within plates rather than along plate boundaries.

Lakes

South Carolina has several major lakes covering over , or . The following are the lakes listed by size. Lake Marion Lake Strom Thurmond (also known as Clarks Hill Lake) Lake Moultrie Lake Hartwell Lake Murray Russell Lake Lake Keowee Lake Wylie Lake Wateree Lake Greenwood Lake Jocassee

Climate

South Carolina has a humid subtropical climate (Köppen climate classification ''Cfa''), although high elevation areas in the "Upstate" or "Upcountry" 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 in most of the state and overnight lows averaging on the coast and from 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 and overnight lows in the 40s°F (5–8 °C). Inland, the average January overnight low is around in Columbia and temperatures well 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 and winter being the driest season, with November being the driest month. The highest recorded temperature is at Camden on June 28, 1954 and the lowest recorded temperature is at Caesars Head on January 21, 1985.

Snowfall in South Carolina is somewhat common in parts of the state, with coastal areas receiving less than an inch (2.5 cm) annually on average. It is not uncommon for areas on the coast (especially the southern coast) to receive no recordable snowfall in a given year. The interior receives a little more snow, although nowhere in the state averages more than of snow annually. The mountains of extreme northwestern South Carolina tend to have the most substantial snow accumulation. Freezing rain and ice tend to be more common than snow and rain in many areas of the state. Road bridges in South Carolina are commonly marked, "Bridge ices before road."

The state is occasionally affected by tropical cyclones. This is an annual concern during hurricane season, which lasts from June 1 to November 30. The peak time of vulnerability for the southeast Atlantic coast is from early August to early October, during the Cape Verde hurricane season. Memorable hurricanes to hit South Carolina include Hazel (1954), a Category 4 hurricane, and Hugo (1989), a Category 5 hurricane. South Carolina averages around 50 days of thunderstorm activity a year. This 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. Some notable tornadoes have struck South Carolina and the state averages around 14 tornadoes annually. Hail is common with many of the thunderstorms in the state as there is often a marked contrast in temperature of warmer ground conditions compared to the cold air aloft.

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Earthquakes

An estimated $23 million damage was caused by one of the great earthquakes in United States history in 1886. Charleston, South Carolina, and nearby cities suffered most of the damage, although points as far as 160 kilometers away were strongly shaken. Many of the 20 earthquakes of intensity V or greater (Modified Mercalli scale) that centered within South Carolina occurred near Charleston. A 1924 shock in the western part of the State was felt over 145,000 square kilometers. Several earthquakes outside the State borders were felt strongly in South Carolina.

The August 31, 1886, Charleston earthquake was initially perceived in that city as a barely perceptible tremor, then a sound like a heavy body rolling along; the sound became a roar, all movable objects began to shake and rattle, and the tremor became a rude, rapid quiver. The first shock was at 9:51 p.m. and lasted 35 to 40 seconds. A strong aftershock occurred 8 minutes later. Six additional shocks followed during the next 24 hours. Few buildings in the city escaped damage and many were totally destroyed. Chimneys of at least 14,000 houses were destroyed in Charleston. The maximum intensity has been estimated at X.

An estimated 60 persons were killed by falling buildings and many more were injured. Within a radius of 160 kilometers, the cities of Columbia, South Carolina and Augusta and Savannah, Georgia, also experienced damage. The total area affected by this earthquake covered more than 5 million square kilometers and included distant points such as New York City, Boston, Milwaukee in the United States and Havana, Cuba, and Bermuda. All or parts of 30 states and Ontario, Canada, felt the principal earthquake.

Two strong aftershocks were reported on October 22, 1886, and another on November 5. The first of these was felt (intensity VI) at Charleston, at Atlanta and Augusta, Georgia, and at other towns. The second shock was intensity VII at Summerville. which received significant damage from the August 31 earthquake. Another tremor caused intensity VI effects on November 5 at Charleston and was felt over the same area as the previous aftershocks. The total felt area covered approximately 78,000 square kilometers.

On January 23, 1903, houses were shaken strongly (intensity VI) in the area of the South Carolina - Georgia border near Savannah. Intensity IV - V effects were noted at Charleston, III - IV at Columbia, and III at Augusta, Georgia.

A moderate shock affected Charleston, Augusta, and Savannah on April 19, 1907. Dishes rattled and objects were thrown from shelves throughout the 26,000 square kilometer area. A somewhat stronger earthquake caused some damage to chimneys (intensity VII) at Summerville on June 12, 1912. The shock was felt at Charleston with intensity VI and also was felt as far as Brunswick and Macon, Georgia; Greenville, South Carolina, and Wilmington, North Carolina, an area of about 90,000 square kilometers.

The Union County area was shaken with an intensity VI - VII earthquake about 6 months later (January 1, 1913). At Union, cracks appeared in many brick buildings and many chimneys were damaged. The total felt area, roughly elliptical in shape, covered approximately 111,000 square kilometers.

Another earthquake affected the Summerville area on September 22, 1914. Pictures on walls were displaced (intensity V). The shock was preceded by a noise like a train approaching from a distance. The shock was felt (intensity IV) at Charleston and with less intensity at Augusta, Macon, and Savannah, Georgia, an area of about 78,000 square kilometers.

Pickens County was the apparent center of an October 20, 1924, earthquake which shook most of South Carolina and western North Carolina, northeastern Georgia, and eastern Tennessee. The area affected was approximately 145,000 square kilometers. Highest intensities were reported at Pickens, Walhalla, Brevard, and Hendersonville, North Carolina. Buildings were shaken, and furniture was overturned (intensity V). A loud roar accompanied the shock.

On July 26, 1945, an earthquake centered in the vicinity of Lake Murray, about 50 kilometers west of Columbia, was felt over 65,000 square kilometers, including part of Georgia, North Carolina, and Tennessee. No damage was noted and only intensity IV - V effects were observed in the epicentral region.

Moderately strong shocks occurred near Charleston on November 19, 1952, August 3, 1959, March 12, 1960, July 23, 1960, and October 23, 1967. The 1959 disturbance caused minor damage (intensity VI) at Charleston, Summerville, and Wadmalaw Island. Chimneys were damaged, plaster cracked and fell, walls cracked, and objects fell from shelves. Cracked plaster was also reported from Columbia, Johns Island, Meggett, and Pierpont in South Carolina and from Augusta, Georgia. The total affected area was about 65,000 square kilometers. The other earthquakes did not exceed intensity V. The epicenter for the March 12, 1960, tremor was off the coast of South Carolina; Augusta, Georgia, and Greensboro, North Carolina, also felt this shock.

Moderate earthquakes also awakened many residents (intensity V) at Anderson on October 20, 1958, and caused minor damage (cracked and fallen plaster - intensity V) at Chesterfield on October 26, 1959. Another shock on April 20, 1964, was felt strongly (intensity V) at Gaston and Jenkinsville. Places in Fairfield, Florence, Lexington, and Richland Counties also reported the tremors. Several windows were broken in Bowman and Orangeburg (intensity V) from a magnitude 3.4 earthquake on May 19, 1971. Two small shocks, about 3 hours apart, were felt in western South Carolina July 13, 1971. The main shock at 7:42 a.m. edt was felt over approximately 5,200 square kilometers, including two places in Georgia. The tremor was felt by all in Newry; many were frightened by the loud Earth noises (intensity VI), hanging objects swung violently, and furniture shifted.

"South Carolina averages 20 earthquakes a year" says research team from College of Charleston.

History

Early years

The colony of Carolina was settled by English settlers, mostly from Barbados. King Charles gave eight aristocrats a royal charter to settle Carolina (Carolina is Latin for "Charles land") because earlier they had helped him regain his throne. Parts of Carolina (mostly the coastal areas) were colonized earlier by Spain (see Fort Caroline), but battles between the Spanish and the Native Americans caused the Spanish people to retreat to Florida, Cuba, Mexico, and Central and South America. Carolina was settled to make profit from trade and also by selling land. John Locke, an English philosopher, wrote a constitution for the colony that covered topics such as land divisions and social rankings. In the early years, not many people bought land there, so the proprietors lowered the price on some portions.

Carolina did not develop as planned. It split into northern and southern Carolina, creating two different colonies. It separated because of political reasons as the settlers wanted political power. In 1719 settlers in southern Carolina seized control from its proprietors. Then, in 1729, Carolina became two royal colonies- North Carolina and South Carolina. Farmers from inland Virginia settled northern Carolina. They grew tobacco, and sold timber and tar, both categories of naval supplies needed by England. The northern Carolina coast lacked a good harbor, so many of the farmers used Virginia's ports to conduct their trade.

Southern Carolina prospered from the fertility of the Low Country and the harbors, such as that at Charles Town (later Charleston). Settlements spread, and trade in deerskin, lumber, and beef thrived. Rice cultivation was developed on a large scale with the help of skills and techniques of slaves imported from rice-growing regions of Africa. They created the large earthworks of dams and canals required to irrigate the rice fields. In addition, indigo became a commodity crop, also developed with the skills of African slaves. The cultivation and processing of indigo, a blue flowering plant, was developed here by a young English woman, Eliza Lucas, a planter's daughter who had come with her father, also a military officer, from the Caribbean. She took over managing the plantation when he was assigned elsewhere. Indigo became an important commodity crop for the dying of textiles. Slave labor was integral to making the cultivation of rice and indigo profitable as commodity crops. In South Carolina, the number of slaves exceeded those of Anglo-European colonists by the time of the Revolution, a characteristic of the state through the Civil War.

The American Revolution

On March 26, 1776, the colony set up its own provisional government under the leadership of South Carolina President John Rutledge. On February 5, 1778, South Carolina became the first state to ratify the Articles of Confederation, the initial governing document of the United States. However, in 1780, South Carolinian loyalists to the British crown helped British troops recapture South Carolina from the previously successful rebels. On January 17, 1781, the Battle of Cowpens won by the American forces, marked the beginning of the decline in British fortunes. In 1782 they decided to evacuate their troops by the end of the year. Thousands of Loyalists and slaves left with them.

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, 1788.

The American Revolution caused a shock to slavery in the South. Many thousands of slaves fled to British authorities to obtain freedom; and many of those left with the British in the last days of the war. Others secured their freedom by escaping to perceived friendlier locations during the turmoil. Estimates are that 25,000 slaves (30% of those in South Carolina) fled, migrated or died during the disruption of the war.

The Federal Period

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. The latter were often members of 'Republican Societies', and they supported the Republican-Democrats, headed by Jefferson and Madison. This party wanted more democracy in the US, especially in South Carolina.

Most people supported the French Revolution (1789–1795), as the French had been allies and they were proud of their own revolution. Charleston was one of the most French-influenced cities in the USA. Leading South Carolina figures, such as governors Charles Pinckney and William Moultrie, backed with money and actions the French plans to further their political, strategic, and commercial goals in North America. This pro-French stance and attitude of South Carolina ended soon because of the XYZ Affair.

Antebellum

Antebellum South Carolina did more to advance nullification and secession than any other Southern state. In 1832, a South Carolina state convention passed the Ordinance of Nullification, declaring the Federal tariff laws of 1828 and 1832 unconstitutional, null and not to be enforced in the state of South Carolina after February 1, 1833. This led to the Nullification Crisis, in which U.S. President Andrew Jackson received congressional authorization, through the Force Bill, to use whatever military force necessary to enforce Federal law in the state. This was the first U.S. legislation denying individual states the right to secede. As a result of Jackson's threat of force, the South Carolina state convention was re-convened and repealed the Ordinance of Nullification in March.

Anti-abolitionist feelings ran strong in South Carolina. In 1856, South Carolina congressman Preston Brooks entered the United States Senate chamber and, with a metal-tipped cane, beat Massachusetts Senator Charles Sumner. He drew blood and injured Sumner badly enough that the latter was unable to serve for several months. Brooks was retaliating for a speech Sumner had just given in which he attacked slavery and insulted South Carolinians. Brooks resigned his seat but received a hero's welcome on returning home.

The Civil War

On December 20, 1860, when it became clear that Lincoln would be the next president, South Carolina became the first state to declare its secession from the Union. On April 12, 1861, Confederate batteries began shelling Fort Sumter in Charleston Harbor, and the American Civil War began. The Union Navy effectively blockaded Charleston and seized the Sea Islands. Planters had taken their families (and sometimes slaves) to points inland for refuge.

The Union Army set up an experiment in freedom for the ex-slaves, in which they started education and farmed land for themselves. South Carolina troops participated in 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.

Reconstruction

After the war, South Carolina was restored to 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. White Democrats used paramilitary groups such as the Red Shirts to intimidate and terrorize black voters. They regained political control of the state under conservative white "Redeemers" and pro-business Bourbon Democrats.

Until the 1868 presidential election, South Carolina's legislature, not the voters, chose the state's electors for the presidential election. South Carolina was the last state to choose its electors in this manner.

Populist and Agrarian movements

The state became a hotbed of racial and economic tensions during the Populist and Agrarian movements of the 1890s. Passage of the new conservative constitution of 1895 meant that almost all blacks and many poor whites were effectively disfranchised by new requirements for poll taxes, residency 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, but their total of 782,509 citizens was essentially without any political representation. "Pitchfork Ben Tillman" controlled state politics from the 1890s to 1910 with a base among poor white farmers.

Women's Suffrage

Georgia, North Carolina, and Louisiana ratified the Amendment in 1970 and 1971; only Mississippi implemented it later than South Carolina, not ratifying the Nineteenth Amendment until 1984.

20th century and beyond

Early in the 20th century, South Carolina developed a thriving textile industry. The state also converted its agricultural base from cotton to more profitable crops, attracted large military bases, and created tourism industries.

Of extended controversy has been the state's display of the flags of the Confederate States of America, which was raised on the state capitol in 1962. The state capital is located directly next to the University of South Carolina campus, a move seen as a protest against the court-ordered desegregation of the schools. A lawsuit calling for the flag to be removed was filed in 1994. On July 1, 2000, South Carolina became the last state to remove the Confederate flag, placed there in 1962, during Democatic Governor Fritz Hollings term in office, from over its statehouse. The state Senate had approved a bill for its removal on April 12, 2000, by a margin of 36 to 7; the bill had specified that a Confederate flag be flown in front of the Capitol next to a monument honoring fallen Confederate soldiers. Debate was more heated in the state House of Representatives, which passed the bill on May 18, 2000, by a margin of only 66 to 43, after including a measure's ensuring that the Confederate flag by the monument be high. The flag by the monument continues to fuel a cause for controversy, by the NAACP. The NAACP maintains an economic boycott of the state of South Carolina. The NCAA refuses to allow South Carolina to host NCAA athletic events whose locations are determined in advance. On July 6, 2009, the Atlantic Coast Conference announced a decision to move three future baseball tournaments out of South Carolina, citing concerns by the NAACP over the continuing state-sponsored display of the Confederate flag.

Demographics

South Carolina's center of population is north of the State House in the city of Columbia.

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, as of 2009, South Carolina had an estimated population of 4,561,242, which is an increase of 57,962 from the prior year and an increase of 549,230, or 13.6%, since the year 2000. Immigration from outside the United States resulted in a net increase of 36,401 people, and migration within the country produced a net increase of 115,084 people.

According to the University of South Carolina's Arnold School of Public Health, Consortium for Latino Immigration Studies, South Carolina's foreign-born population grew faster than any other state between 2000 and 2005. The Consortium reports that the number of Hispanics in South Carolina is greatly undercounted by census enumerators and may be more than 400,000.

The five largest ancestry groups in South Carolina are Black (29.5%), American (13.9%), English (8.4%), German (8.4%) and Irish (7.9%). For most of South Carolina's history, African slaves, and then their descendants, made up a majority of the state's population. Whites became a majority in the early 20th century, when tens of thousands of blacks moved north in the Great Migration. Most of the African-American population lives in the Lowcountry and the Midlands areas. 6.6% of South Carolina's population were reported as under 5 years old, 25.2% under 18, and 12.1% were 65 or older. Females made up approximately 51.4% of the population in 2000. Those who self-identify as having American ancestry are mostly of English and Scots-Irish stock.

Most populous counties

South Carolina Office of Research & Statistics (Projection) Census Bureau(Estimates) Columbia, South CarolinaCharleston, South CarolinaSpartanburg, South CarolinaConway, South CarolinaLexington, South CarolinaYork, South Carolina

County !! Seat !! 2000 Population !! 2010 Population
Greenville County, South Carolina	Greenville	Greenville, South Carolina>Greenville	379,616
Richland County, South Carolina	Richland	Columbia ||	320,667	384,504
Charleston County, South Carolina	Charleston	Charleston ||	309,969	350,209
Spartanburg County, South Carolina	Spartanburg	Spartanburg ||	253,791	284,307
Horry County, South Carolina	Horry	Conway ||	196,629	269,291
Lexington County, South Carolina	Lexington	Lexington ||	216,014	254,920
York County, South Carolina	York	York ||	164,614	229,073

Cities and Towns

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Largest Municipalities (estimates)

Columbia – 130,000

Charleston – 120,000

North Charleston – 100,000

Rock Hill – 70,000

Mount Pleasant – 68,000

Greenville – 65,000

Hilton Head Island – 50,000

Summerville – 45,000

Sumter- 43,000

Spartanburg – 40,000

Florence – 35,000

Myrtle Beach-33,000

Aiken – 30,000

Goose Creek – 30,000

Anderson – 27,000

Greenwood – 23,000

North Augusta – 22,000

James Island – 20,000

Easley – 18,000

Greer – 18,000

Largest city areas

South Carolina's metropolitan statistical areas are actually much larger than their central city population counts suggest. South Carolina law makes it difficult for municipalities to annex unincorporated areas into the city limits, so city proper populations look smaller than the actual size of the area.

For example, Myrtle Beach has a municipal population of less than 50,000 persons, but its metropolitan statistical areas (MSAs) are over 200,000. Anderson's municipal population is smaller than Sumter's, but the Anderson area is actually much larger. The Sumter area population is under 100,000, but Anderson's is over 120,000, while Anderson County's population is nearing 200,000.

Columbia, Charleston, and Greenville all have urbanized area populations between 350,000–500,000, while their metropolitan statistical area (MSA) populations are all over 600,000. The Greenville-Spartanburg-Anderson metropolitan statistical area population consists of approximately 1.2 million people.

Urban Area Population

Columbia - 325,739

Greenville - 302,194

Charleston - 248,443

Spartanburg - 150,000

North Charleston - 120,608

Myrtle Beach - 113,496

Florence - 90,128

Rock Hill - 81,212

Anderson - 43,620

Primary Cities

Columbia

Charleston

Greenville

Florence

Rock Hill

Myrtle Beach

North Charleston

Spartanburg

Hilton Head Island

Religion

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: 93%

Protestant: 84%

* Southern Baptist: 45%

* Methodist: 15%

* Presbyterian: 5%

* Other Protestant: 19%

Roman Catholic: 7%

Other Christian: 1%

Other Religions: 1% Non-Religious: 6%

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.

Economy

thumb|Arthur Ravenel Bridge|500px|left|The Arthur Ravenel Jr. Bridge from Charleston Harbor. According to the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, South Carolina's gross state product in current dollars was $97 billion in 1997, and $153 billion in 2007. Its per-capita real gross domestic product (GDP) in chained 2000 dollars was $26,772 in 1997, and $28,894 in 2007; that represents 85% of the $31,619 per-capita real GDP for the United States overall in 1997, and 76% of the $38,020 for the U.S. in 2007.

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

The state was especially hard hit by the 2008 economic crisis. As of January 2010, the states unemployment rate is 12.6%.

Transportation

Major highways

Major interstate highways passing through include: I-20 which runs from Florence in the east through Columbia to the southwestern border near Aiken; I-26 which runs from Charleston in the southeast through Columbia to Spartanburg and the northern border in Spartanburg County; I-77 which runs from York County in the north to Columbia; I-85 which runs from Cherokee County in the north through Spartanburg and Greenville to the southwestern border in Oconee County; I-385 which runs from Greenville and intersects with I-26 near Clinton; and I-95 which runs from the northeastern border in Dillon County to Florence and on to the southern border in Jasper County.

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30px Interstate 73 (Future)

30px Interstate 74 (Future)

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In March 2008, "The American State Litter Scorecard," presented at the American Society for Public Administration conference, rated South Carolina a nationally "Worst" state for removing litter from public properties such as highways. The state has an extremely high fatality rate from litter/debris-related vehicle accidents, according to National Highway Traffic Safety Administration data.

Rail

Passenger

Amtrak operates four passenger routes in South Carolina: the Crescent, the Palmetto, the Silver Meteor, and the Silver Star. The Crescent route serves the Upstate cities, the Silver Star serves the Midlands cities, and the Palmetto and Silver Meteor routes serve the Lowcountry cities.

Station Stops

{|class="wikitable" |- !Station !Connections |- |Camden | |- |North Charleston | |- |Columbia || |- |Clemson | |- |Denmark | |- |Dillon | |- |Florence | |- |Greenville | |- |Kingstree | |- |Spartanburg | |- |Yemassee | |}

Freight

South Carolina is served by many freight carriers, but the most common carriers are CSX Transportation (CSXT) and The Norfolk Southern Railway (NS).

Major and regional airports

There are seven significant airports in South Carolina, all of which act as regional airport hubs. The busiest by passenger volume is Charleston International Airport. Just across the border in North Carolina is Charlotte/Douglas International Airport, the 30th busiest airport in the world, in terms of passengers.

Columbia Metropolitan Airport – Columbia

Charleston International Airport – Charleston/North Charleston

Greenville-Spartanburg International Airport – Greenville/Spartanburg

Florence Regional Airport – Florence

Myrtle Beach International Airport – Myrtle Beach

Hilton Head Airport – Hilton Head Island/Beaufort

Rock Hill/York County Airport – Rock Hill

Government and politics

South Carolina's state government consists of the Executive, Legislative, and Judicial branches.

South Carolina has historically had a weak executive branch and a strong legislature. 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.

Executive branch

The South Carolina Constitution provides for separate election of nine executive officers, which is very large compared to most states:

Governor of South Carolina

Lieutenant Governor of South Carolina

South Carolina Attorney General

South Carolina Adjutant General

South Carolina Commissioner of Agriculture

South Carolina Comptroller General

Secretary of State of South Carolina

South Carolina State Treasurer

South Carolina Superintendent of Education

The Governor of South Carolina is the chief executive of the state. The governor is elected for a four-year term and may serve up to two consecutive terms. The current governor is Republican Nikki Haley. Haley was elected in 2010 as the state's first female governor, as well the second Indian American governor in the United States.

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.

Legislative branch

The South Carolina General Assembly is the state legislature. It is bicameral, consisting of a 124-member South Carolina House of Representatives and a 46-member South Carolina Senate. Representatives serve two-year terms and Senators serve four-year terms. The two houses meet in the South Carolina State House.

Judicial branch

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 South Carolina Circuit Court is the trial court of general jurisdiction court for South Carolina. It consists of a civil division (the Court of Common Pleas) and a criminal division (the Court of General Sessions). It is also a superior court, having limited appellate jurisdiction over appeals from the lower Probate Court, Magistrate's Court, and Municipal Court, and appeals from the Administrative Law Judge Division, which hears matters relating to state administrative and regulatory agencies. South Carolina's 46 counties are divided into 16 judicial circuits, and there are currently 46 judges. Circuit court judges are elected by the General Assembly to staggered six-year terms.

The South Carolina Court of Appeals is the state intermediate appellate court. It hears all 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 to 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 South Carolina Supreme Court is the state supreme court. The Chief Justice and four Associate Justices are elected to staggered ten-year terms. 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.

South Carolina Constitution

South Carolina has had seven constitutions:

1776 – SC's first constitution

1778 – Disestablished the Anglican Church, created a popularly elected upper house

1790 – Expanded upcountry representation, further established General Assembly control over all aspects of government

1861 – Confederate constitution

1865 – Required to be readmitted to the Union, abolished property owning qualifications to vote, created popularly elected governor and granted veto power

1868 – Only constitution to be ratified by popular vote, provided for public education, abolished property ownership as a qualification for office holding, created counties, race abolished as limit on male suffrage

1895 – established attempts to disenfranchise black voters, such as the option for poll taxes, literacy tests, etc.

Since 1895, there have been many calls for a new Constitution, one that is not based on the politics of a post-Civil War population. The most recent call for reformation was by Governor Mark Sanford in his 2008 State of the State speech. Several hundred amendments have been made to the 1895 Constitution (in 1966 there were 330 amendments). Amendments have been created to comply with federal acts, and for many other issues. The most recent was in 1988. The volume of amendments makes South Carolina's Constitution one of the longest in the nation.

Law enforcement agencies

South Carolina Department of Public Safety

* South Carolina Highway Patrol Division

* South Carolina State Transport Police Division

* South Carolina Bureau of Protective Services

South Carolina Criminal Justice Academy

South Carolina Department of Corrections

SC Department of Corrections Training Academy

SC Department of Corrections Tactical Teams (Rapid Response Team-S.O.R.T.-Sitcon)

SC Department of Juvenile Justice

South Carolina Department of Probation, Parole and Pardon Services

South Carolina State Law Enforcement Division (SLED)

* Homeland Security

South Carolina Department of Natural Resources

* South Carolina Climatology Department

Federal representation

Like most Southern states, South Carolina consistently voted Democratic in the 19th century and the first half of the 20th century as a part of the Democrats' Solid South. The Republican Party became competitive in the 1960 presidential election when Richard Nixon lost the state to John F. Kennedy by just two percentage points. In 1964, Barry Goldwater became the first Republican to win the state since Reconstruction. Since then, South Carolina has voted for a Republican in every presidential election from 1964 to 2008, with the exception of 1976 when Jimmy Carter, from neighboring Georgia, won the state over Gerald Ford. John McCain won the state in 2008 with 54% of the statewide vote over Barack Obama. Republicans now hold the governor's office and all other statewide offices, control both chambers of legislature, and include both U.S. Senators, and five of six members of the U.S. House of Representatives. Every presidential election year, the South Carolina primary is the first such primary in the South and holds importance to both the Republicans and the Democrats. The primary is important to the Republicans because it is a conservative testing ground, and it holds importance to the Democrats because of the large proportion of African-Americans that vote in that primary. From 1980 to 2008 the winner in the Republican primary has gone on to become the party nominee.

US Senate

In the 112th United States Congress, the South Carolina delegation to the U.S. Senate are:

Lindsey Graham (R)

Jim DeMint (R)

US House of Representatives

South Carolina currently has six representatives in Congress:

District 1 – Tim Scott (R)

District 2 – Joe Wilson (R)

District 3 – Jeff Duncan (R)

District 4 – Trey Gowdy (R)

District 5 – Mick Mulvaney (R)

District 6 – James Clyburn (D)

A district map is found here.

Finances

Even though the state does not allow 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 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.

Taxes

The state's personal income tax has a maximum marginal tax rate of 7 percent on taxable income of $13,351 and above.

State sales tax revenues are used exclusively for education. South Carolina has a 6% state sales tax, but when combined with local and county taxes South Carolina has the second highest sales tax in the United States next to California. In Charleston, South Carolina, the tax rates equals 10.5% with state tax, county tax, local option tax, and the hospitality tax. Some items have different rates; e.g., the tax is 3% on unprepared food items and 7% on sleeping accommodation rentals. Individuals 85 or older get a one-percent exclusion from the general sales tax. Counties may impose an additional 1% local option sales tax and other local sales taxes, and local governments may impose a local accommodations tax of up to 3%.

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.

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. 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. Intangible personal property is exempt from taxation. There is no inheritance tax.

Education

South Carolina is one of just three states that have not agreed to using competitive international math and language standards.

Institutions of higher education

(''In order of foundation date'')

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 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 is a public, co-educational, research university located in Columbia. The University's campus covers over 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 27,000 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. Founded in 1826, Furman enrolls approximately 2,600 undergraduate and 500 graduate students. Furman is the 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. 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. 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 (PC) is a private liberal arts college founded in 1880 in Clinton. Presbyterian College 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.

Winthrop University, founded in 1886 as an all-female teaching school in Rock Hill, became a co-ed institution in 1974. Winthrop is now a public university that has an enrollment of just over 6,000 students. It is currently one of the fastest growing universities in the state, with several new academic and recreational buildings being added to the main campus in the past five years, as well as several more planned for the near future. The Richard W. Riley College of Education is still the school's most well-known area of study.

Clemson University, founded in 1889, is a public, coeducational, land-grant research university located in Clemson. Clemson The University currently enrolls more than 18,000 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. 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.

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 2,300 students.

Bob Jones University, founded in 1927, is a non-denominational University founded on fundamental Christian beliefs (e.g., inspiration and inerrancy of the Scriptures, the creation of man by the direct act of God, the fall of man, the "young earth" and flood geology, and man's need for personal faith in the finished work of the Lord Jesus Christ). Originally based in Florida, after a move to Tennessee, the school finally settled in South Carolina. With 4000 students from all 50 states and more than 100 countries the school is larger than Wofford, Furman and Presbyterian College. BJU also offers over 60 undergraduate majors and has over 70 graduate programs.

Universities and Colleges ranked by endowment

Conference Rank	National Rank	Institution	Location	Public or Private	Endowment Funds	Percentage Change YOY
1	129	Furman University	Greenville, South Carolina	Private	$498,282,000	12.2%
2	145	University of South Carolina	Columbia, South Carolina	Public	$414,002,000	5.8%
3	153	Clemson University	Clemson, South Carolina	Public	$382,189,000	15.4%
4	253	Medical University of South Carolina	Charleston, South Carolina	Public	$181,554,000	24.6%
5	259	The Citadel	Charleston, South Carolina	Public	$179,289,000	7.5%
6	308	Wofford College	Spartanburg, South Carolina	Private	$138,211,000	9.4%
7	442	Presbyterian College	Clinton, South Carolina	Private	$69,892,000	12.0%
8	507	Converse College	Spartanburg, South Carolina	Private	$57,586,000	11.8%
9	762	Spartanburg Methodist College	Spartanburg, South Carolina	Private	$15,384,000	9.1%
10	782	Tri-County Technical College	Pendleton, South Carolina	Public	$12,954,000	8.7%
11	847	Midlands Technical College	Columbia, South Carolina	Public	$4,717,000	13.1%

Health care

For overall health care, South Carolina is ranked 33rd out of the 50 states, according to the Commonwealth Fund, a private health foundation working to improve the health care system. The state’s teen birth rate was 53 births per 1000 teens, compared to the average of 41.9 births for the US, according to the Kaiser Family Foundation. The state’s infant mortality rate was 9.4 deaths per 1000 births compared to the US average of 6.9 deaths. There were 2.6 physicians per 1000 people compared to the US average of 3.2 physicians. There was $5114 spent on health expenses per capita in the state, compared to the US average of $5283. There were 26 percent of children and 13 percent of elderly living in poverty in the state, compared to 23 percent and 13 percent, respectively, doing so in the US. And, 34 percent of children were overweight or obese, compared to the US average of 32 percent.

Sports

Although no professional franchises are actually based in South Carolina, the state is represented by North Carolina professional teams. However, the Carolina Panthers do have training facilities in this state. The state does have numerous minor league teams. College teams represent their particular South Carolina institution.

Federal Lands in South Carolina

''Main Article: List of federal lands in South Carolina''

Charles Pinckney National Historic Site at Mt. Pleasant

Congaree National Park in Hopkins

Cowpens National Battlefield near Chesnee

Fort Moultrie National Monument at Sullivan's Island

Fort Sumter National Monument in Charleston Harbor

Kings Mountain National Military Park at Blacksburg

Ninety Six National Historic Site in Ninety Six

Overmountain Victory National Historic Trail

Miscellaneous topics

Famous people from South Carolina

Some of the most influential individuals in American life are from South Carolina. Please see main article: List of people from South Carolina

Alcohol laws

The alcohol laws of South Carolina are part of the states history. Voters endorsed prohibition in 1892 but instead were given the "Dispensary System" of state-owned liquor stores. Currently, certain counties may enforce time restrictions for beer and wine sales in stores, although there are no dry counties in South Carolina.

Indoor smoking laws

See Main article at: Indoor smoking laws of South Carolina No statewide smoking ban. On March 31, 2008, the South Carolina Supreme Court ruled that cities, counties, and towns may enact smoking bans which are more stringent than state law. As of May 2009, there are four South Carolina counties and 22 cities and towns with smoke-free laws. Please see main article linked above.

South Carolina singularities

Adjutant general: The head of the state's national guard, the adjutant general, is a statewide elected official. Driving Under the Influence: South Carolina is the only state in the nation with mandatory videotaping by the arresting officer of the DUI arrest and breath test. Fire Safety Regulations: South Carolina is the only state that allows fire officials to sidestep a federal regulation requiring that for every employee doing hazardous work inside a building, one must be outside. School Buses: South Carolina is the only state in the nation that owns and operates its own school bus fleet. Strokes: South Carolina has the highest rate of stroke deaths in the nation. Outdoor Sculpture: South Carolina is home to the world's largest collection of outdoor sculpture located at Brookgreen Gardens. Landscaped Gardens: South Carolina is home to the oldest landscaped gardens in the United States, at Middleton Place near Charleston. First indigo planted, 1671 by Moses Lindo, a Portuguese Jew fleeing the Inquisition First time a Jew was elected to public office in America, 1774. Francis Salvador was elected to the General Assembly

See also

Atlantic Ocean

List of National Register of Historic Places in South Carolina

List of people from South Carolina

U.S. state

References

Further reading

;Textbooks and surveys

;Scholarly secondary studies

Bass, Jack and Marilyn W. Thompson. ''Ol' Strom: An Unauthorized Biography of Strom Thurmond,''. Longstreet Press, 1998.

Busick, Sean R. ''A Sober Desire for History: William Gilmore Simms as Historian.'', 2005. ISBN 1-57003-565-2.

Clarke, Erskine. ''Our Southern Zion: A History of Calvinism in the South Carolina Low Country, 1690–1990'' (1996)

Channing, Steven. ''Crisis of Fear: Secession in South Carolina'' (1970)

Cohodas, Nadine. ''Strom Thurmond and the Politics of Southern Change,''. Simon & Schuster, 1993.

Coit, Margaret L. ''John C. Calhoun: American Portrait'' (1950)

Crane, Verner W. ''The Southern Frontier, 1670–1732'' (1956)

Ford Jr., Lacy K. ''Origins of Southern Radicalism: The South Carolina Upcountry, 1800–1860'' (1991)

Hindus, Michael S. ''Prison and Plantation: Crime, Justice, and Authority in Massachusetts and South Carolina, 1767–1878'' (1980)

Johnson Jr., George Lloyd. ''The Frontier in the Colonial South: South Carolina Backcountry, 1736–1800'' (1997)

Jordan, Jr., Frank E. ''The Primary State – A History of the Democratic Party in South Carolina, 1876–1962,'' Columbia, SC, 1967

Keyserling, Harriet. ''Against the Tide: One Woman's Political Struggle''. University of South Carolina Press, 1998.

Kantrowitz, Stephen. ''Ben Tillman & the Reconstruction of White Supremacy'' (2002)

Lau, Peter F. '' Democracy Rising: South Carolina And the Fight for Black Equality Since 1865'' (2006)

Peirce, Neal R. ''The Deep South States of America: People, Politics, and Power in the Seven Deep South States''; (1974)

Rogers, George C. ''Evolution of a Federalist: William Loughton Smith of Charleston (1758–1812)'' (1962)

Schultz Harold S. ''Nationalism and Sectionalism in South Carolina, 1852–1860'' (1950)

Simon, Bryant. ''A Fabric of Defeat: The Politics of South Carolina Millhands, 1910–1948'' (1998)

Simkins, Francis Butler. ''The Tillman Movement in South Carolina'' (1926)

Simkins, Francis Butler. ''Pitchfork Ben Tillman: South Carolinian'' (1944)

Simkins, Francis Butler, and Robert Hilliard Woody. ''South Carolina during Reconstruction'' (1932).

Sinha, Manisha. ''The Counterrevolution of Slavery: Politics and Ideology in Antebellum South Carolina'' (2000)

Smith, Warren B. ''White Servitude in Colonial South Carolina'' (1961)

Tullos, Allen ''Habits of Industry: White Culture and the Transformation of the Carolina Piedmont'' (1989)

Williamson Joel R. '' After Slavery: The Negro in South Carolina during Reconstruction, 1861–1877'' (1965)

Wood, Peter H. ''Black Majority: Negroes in Colonial South Carolina from 1670 Through the Stono Rebellion'' (1996)

;Local studies

Bass, Jack and Jack Nelson.''The Orangeburg Massacre,''. Mercer University Press, 1992.

Burton, Orville Vernon. ''In My Father's House Are Many Mansions: Family and Community in Edgefield, South Carolina'' (1985), social history

Carlton, David L. ''Mill and Town in South Carolina, 1880–1920'' (1982)

Clarke, Erskine. ''Dwelling Place: A Plantation Epic'' (2005)

Danielson, Michael N. ''Profits and Politics in Paradise: The Development of Hilton Head Island,''. University of South Carolina Press, 1995.

Doyle, Don H. ''New Men, New Cities, New South: Atlanta, Nashville, Charleston, Mobile, 1860–1910'' (1990)

Huff, Jr., Archie Vernon. ''Greenville: The History of the City and County in the South Carolina Piedmont'', University of South Carolina Press, 1995.

Moore, John Hammond. ''Columbia and Richland County: A South Carolina Community, 1740–1990'', University of South Carolina Press, 1993.

Moredock, Will. ''Banana Republic: A Year in the Heart of Myrtle Beach,''. Frontline Press, 2003.

Pease, William H. and Jane H. Pease. ''The Web of Progress: Private Values and Public Styles in Boston and Charleston, 1828–1843'' (1985),

Robertson, Ben. ''Red Hills and Cotton,''. USC Press (reprint), 1991.

Rose, Willie Lee. '' Rehearsal for Reconstruction: The Port Royal Experiment'' (1964)

;Political science

Carter, Luther F. and David Mann, eds. ''Government in the Palmetto State: Toward the 21st century,''. University of South Carolina, 1993.ISBN 0-917069-01-3

Graham, Cole Blease and William V. Moore. ''South Carolina Politics and Government''. Univ. of Nebraska Press, 1994. ISBN 0-8032-7043-7

Tyer, Charlie. ed. ''South Carolina Government: An Introduction,''. USC Institute for Public Affairs, 2002. ISBN 0-917069-12-9

;Primary documents

Salley, Alexander S. ed. ''Narratives of Early Carolina, 1650–1708'' (1911) ISBN 0-7812-6298-4

Woodmason Charles. ''The Carolina Backcountry on the Eve of the Revolution'' Edited by Richard J. Hooker. (1953), a missionary reports ISBN 0-8078-4035-1

External links

State of South Carolina government website

South Carolina Department of Parks & Tourism

Energy & Environmental Data for South Carolina

USGS real-time, geographic, and other scientific resources of South Carolina

US Census Bureau

South Carolina State Facts

Related information

Category:Article Feedback Pilot Category:States of the United States Category:States of the Confederate States of America Category:Former British colonies Category:States and territories established in 1788 Category:States of the Southern United States

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For the Louisiana Republican politician, see Algernon Sidney Badger.

Algernon Sydney Sullivan (1826–1887) was a New York lawyer. Sullivan, together with William Nelson Cromwell, founded Sullivan & Cromwell in 1879.

Sullivan was born at Madison, Indiana April 5, 1826, son of Jeremiah and Charlotte Rudesel (Cutler) Sullivan. He was named in honor of the British politician, Algernon Sidney. His father (1794–1870) was a lawyer, a major in the war of 1812, a member of the Indiana legislature in 1821, and judge of the criminal court of Jefferson County, Ind., and a judge of the supreme court (1837–46). His grandfather, Thomas Littleton Sullivan, the son of an Irish barrister, emigrated from Charleville, County Cork, Ireland, in 1791, to Augusta County, Va. Algernon S. Sullivan was educated at Hanover College, Hanover, Ind., and at Miami University, Oxford, O., where he was graduated in 1845. While a law student, about the age of twenty, he made a tour of Indiana, speaking with marked success in advocacy of taxation for the maintenance of public schools. After studying law in his father's office, he was admitted to the bar in 1848, and for eight years practiced in Cincinnati, Ohio. In 1857 he moved to New York city, and soon took a prominent position as a lawyer and public spirited citizen. He was retained to defend the officers and crew of the Confederate schooner Savannah, the first vessel to be captured during the civil war, who were on trial for their lives on the charge of piracy. Owing to some inimical reports about him, he was arrested and imprisoned, but soon released. After the trial began, public feeling ran so high that his life was threatened if he should appear in their defense. He nevertheless did so, telling his friends that, having been appealed to as a lawyer, he could consider no other course, and the ultimate result of the trial was that the men were exchanged as prisoners of war. From 1870-73 Mr. Sullivan was assistant district attorney for New York city, and upon leaving that office he formed a partnership with Hermann Kobbe and Ludlow Fowler. In 1875 he was appointed public administrator, during which he instituted many reforms, reducing the charges upon estates administered, and, in spite of pressure, retaining in his service efficient assistants of a political party different from his own. In 1878 the firm of Sullivan, Kobbe & Fowler was dissolved and he formed a partnership with William Nelson Cromwell, under the name of Sullivan & Cromwell, which firm name is still retained by the successors to his business. Mr. Sullivan was recognized as one of the strongest, readiest and most successful jury lawyers in New York, and he was admired and revered by both bench and bar. His kindness, candor and fairness, even during the heat of a trial, were always the subject of remark. Judge Bookstaver, of New York, in speaking of him, said: "He was always welcomed by the court in any case in which he appeared, because it was felt that his learning, ability and absolute truthfulness would assist the court in the trial of any question of law and fact with which it had to deal." He was noted for seeking opportunities for helping and encouraging younger lawyers. His interests were very broad, and his sympathy both deep and active. No individual ever appealed to him without receiving what was needed, either money, service, guidance or encouragement. There were few movements for public welfare, alleviation of suffering or the upholding of high ideals that did not receive his efficient aid. He was a brilliant and convincing orator, and was often chosen to speak at public gatherings because of his prominence and eloquence. One of his most famous orations was at the laying of the cornerstone of the Produce Exchange, made at an hour's notice. In all of his work there was great readiness, versatility and ease. On the platform he was peculiarly attractive and effective. He was tall, handsome in face and form, graceful in movement, impressive and most winning in manner and presence. His voice was full, penetrating, musical and sympathetic. His style was direct, simple and vividly realistic. He was a Whig in politics until 1856, when he became a Democrat, in which party he remained until his death. He was active in party work, but with great independence.

Sullivan was concerned with the affairs of charitable organizations and of the First Presbyterian Church. He was a member of the American and New York State Bar associations, many social and scientific clubs, and was the first president of the Southern Society of New York. Upon his death many of the city courts were adjourned, the last time that such an adjournment was taken for a private citizen, and the flags of the city were at half-mast in respect to his memory. Although he was a most able and brilliant man, the most prominent feature was his character, which was noble, generous and singularly pure. In 1851 he was married to Mary Slocum Groesbeck, of Cincinnati, Ohio, who died in the same year. He was married again, in 1855, to Mary Mildred, daughter of George W. Hammond, of Winchester, Va. She survived him with one son, George Hammond Sullivan, a lawyer of New York city. Sullivan died December 4, 1887.

He was the son of Jeremiah Sullivan, a justice of the Indiana Supreme Court. He was married to Mary Mildred Hammond Sullivan, who was an influential civic leader and philanthropist in New York.

In 1926 The New York Southern Society established the Algernon Sydney Sullivan Award which is presented to undergraduate seniors at colleges and universities across the eastern United States. The participating institutions present the award as determined by a vote of the faculty. The recipient is one who exhibits Sullivan's ideals of heart, mind, and conduct as evidenced by a spirit of love for and helpfulness to others, who "excels in high ideals of living, in fine spiritual qualities, and in generous and unselfish service to others.

After the New York Southern Society closed its doors, the awards were continued by the Algernon Sydney Sullivan Foundation and grew to include many institutions throughout the country, such as Campbellsville University, in Campbellsville, Kentucky, which awarded one of its first two honors to the physician Forest Shely, who was a CU trustee from 1954 until his death in 2010.

References

The National Encyclopaedia of American biography, Volume 10

Category:1826 births Category:1887 deaths Category:New York lawyers Category:Hanover College alumni Category:Miami University alumni

region	Western Philosophers
era	17th-century philosophy(Modern Philosophy)
color	#B0C4DE
name	Algernon Sidney
birth date	January 1623
birth place	Baynard's Castle, London, England
death place	Tower Hill, London, England
main interests	Political philosophy
notable ideas	}}

Algernon Sidney or Sydney (14 or 15 January 1623 – 7 December 1683) was an English politician, republican political theorist, colonel, and opponent of King Charles II of England, who became involved in a plot against the King and was executed for treason.

Early life

Sidney's father was Robert Sidney, 2nd Earl of Leicester, a direct descendant of John Dudley, 1st Duke of Northumberland and the great-nephew of Sir Philip Sidney. His mother was Dorothy Percy, daughter of Henry Percy, 9th Earl of Northumberland. Sidney was born at Baynard's Castle, London, and was raised at Penshurst Place in Kent. His mother wrote to her husband in November 1636 that she had heard her son "much comended by all that comes from you...[for] a huge deall of witt and much sweetness of nature". After spending time in Ireland after his father was appointed Lord Lieutenant of that country, Sidney returned to England in 1643.

English Civil War and Republic

Despite having earlier vowed that only "extreame necessity shall make me thinke of bearing arms in England", he served in the Army of the Eastern Association, becoming Lieutenant Colonel of the Earl of Manchester's regiment of horse (cavalry). He fought at the Battle of Marston Moor in 1644, where an observer wrote: "Colonel Sidney charged with much gallantry in the head of my Lord Manchester's regiment of horses, and came off with many wounds, the true badges of his honour". He was later appointed Colonel of the regiment when it was transferred to the New Model Army, but relinquished the appointment due to ill health.

In 1645 he was elected to the Long Parliament as Member of Parliament for Cardiff where he opposed compromising with the King, Charles I, and in 1648 opposed the purge of moderates which formed the Rump Parliament. Despite being a commissioner for the trial of Charles, Sidney also opposed the decision to have him executed due to the questionable lawfulness and wisdom of the decision. This led to the famous exchange:

First, the King could be tried by noe court; secondly, that noe man could be tried by that court. This being alleged in vaine, and Cromwell using these formall words (I tell you, wee will cut off his head with the crowne upon it) I...immediately went out of the room, and never returned.

However by 1659 Sidney had changed his opinion, declaring the king's execution as "the justest and bravest act...that ever was done in England, or anywhere".

In 1653 when Cromwell's army entered Parliament to dissolve it after a Bill was introduced that would have made elections freer, Sidney refused to leave the House until threatened with physical removal. He regarded Cromwell as a tyrant. In retirement, Sidney was bold enough to outrage the Lord Protector by allegedly putting on a performance of ''Julius Caesar'', with himself in the role of Brutus. He was for a time the lover of Lucy Walter, later the mistress of Charles, Prince of Wales. However Sidney regarded the Republic as vigorously pursuing England's national interests (in contrast to the Stuart's record of military failure), writing in his ''Discourses Concerning Government'':

...such was the power and wisdom and integrity in those that sat at the helm, and their diligence in chusing men only for their merit was blessed with such success, that in two years our fleets grew to be as famous as our land armies; the reputation and power of our nation rose to a greater height, than when we possessed the better half of France, and the kings of France and Scotland were our prisoners. All the states, kings and potentates of Europe, most respectfully, not to say submissively, sought our friendship; and Rome was more afraid of Blake and his fleet, than they had been of the great king of Sweden, when he was ready to invade Italy with a hundred thousand men.

Baltic Ambassador

After Cromwell's death in 1658, the army abolished the Protectorate in 1659 and reconvened the Rump Parliament, with Sidney taking up his seat in the Commons. During 1659–1660 he was part of a delegation to help arbitrate peace between Denmark and Sweden, as war would threaten England's naval supplies, as well as those of the Dutch. The delegation was commanded by Edward Montagu, with Sidney and Sir Robert Honeywood. The third planned plenipotentiary, Bulstrode Whitelocke, declined because: "I knew well the overruling temper and height of Colonel Sydney".

Sidney discarded conventional diplomatic norms ("a few shots of our cannon would have made this peace") in order to impose a peace favourable to England. Due to the Swedish king Charles X being unable to immediately receive them, the delegation negotiated with the Dutch on forming a joint fleet to impose peace terms. Charles X complained that the English "wish to command all, as if they were masters". Sidney in person handed Charles the treaty proposal (already accepted by Denmark), threatening military action. He recorded that Charles "in great choler... told us, that we made projects upon our fleets, and he, laying his hand upon his sword, had a project by his side". Sidney would not back down and an observer wrote: "Everyone is amazed how Sidney stood up to him". However Montague planned to go back to England with the fleet, leading Sidney to give "his opinion, [that] for sending away the whole fleet he thought he should deserve to lose his head".

Despite this curtailment of England's influence, a treaty was signed on 27 May 1660 by Denmark, Sweden, France, England and Holland. It was during this period that Sidney signed the visitor's book at the University of Copenhagen with: "PHILIPPUS SIDNEY MANUS HAEC INIMICA TYRANNIS EINSE PETIT PLACIDAM CUM LIBERTATE QUIETEM" ("This hand, enemy to tyrants, by the sword seeks peace with liberty"). This expression was incorporated into the Great Seal of Massachusetts by act of legislature in 1780.

Exile

Sidney was abroad when the monarchy was restored in 1660. His first reaction to the Restoration of the Stuart monarchy was to write:

Since the Parliament hath acknowledged a king, I knowe... I owe him duty and the service that belongs unto a subject, and will pay it. If things are carried in a legall and moderate way, I had rather be in employment, than without any.

However in light of his defence of the execution of Charles I, which was now unpopular in England, Sidney thought it wise to remain in exile in Rome. While he was prepared to submit he would not, he wrote, countenance "acknowledgement of our faults, in having bin against this king, or his father... I shall be better contented with my fortune, when I see theare was noe way of avoiding it, that is not worse than ruine". Here he was saved by a stranger from an assassination attempt. In 1663 during a trip to the Calvinist academy at the University of Geneva, Sidney wrote in the visitor's book: "SIT SANGUINIS ULTOR JUSTORUM" ("Let there be revenge for the blood of the just"). In Augsburg in April 1665 he was the target of another assassination attempt. When in Holland, Gilbert Burnet records, Sidney and other republicans:

... came to De Witt, and pressed him to think of an invasion of England and Scotland, and gave him great assurances of a strong party: and they were bringing many officers to Holland to join in the undertaking. They dealt also with some in Amsterdam, who were particularly sharpened against the king, and were for turning England again into a commonwealth. The matter was for some time in agitation at the Hague: but De Witt was against it, and got it to be laid aside. He said, their going into such a design would provoke France to turn against them: it might engage them in a long war, the consequences of which could not be forseen: and, as there was no reason to think that, while the parliament was so firm to the king, any discontents could be carried so far as to a general rising, which these men undertook for, so, he said, what would the effect be of turning England into a commonwealth, if it could possibly be brought about, but the ruin of Holland? It would naturally draw many of the Dutch to leave their country, that could not be kept and maintained but at a vast charge, and to exchange that with the plenty and security that England afforded. Therefore all that he would engage in was, to weaken the trade of England, and to destroy her fleet; in which he succeeded the following year beyond all expectation.

In mid-1666 Sidney was in Paris, where he negotiated with the king, Louis XIV. Louis subsequently wrote that Sidney "promised me to produce a great uprising...but the proposition he put to me to advance him 100,000 ecus...was more than I wished to expose on the word of a fugitive [so] I offered him [initially] only 20,000". He remained in France until 1677, when he returned to England.

''Court Maxims''

During 1665–66 Sidney wrote ''Court Maxims'', in which he argued for a reversal of the Restoration of the monarchy: "... as death is ''the greatest evil that can befall a person, monarchy is the worst evil that can befall a nation''". Sidney also claimed that an English republic would have a natural "unity of interest" with the Dutch Republic in "extirpat[ing] the two detested families of Stuart and Orange". ''Court Maxims'' was not published until 1996.

Restoration Crisis: 1677–1683

Sidney arrived in England in early September 1677. Upon his father's death Sidney inherited £5000 but had to gain the remaining £5000 through chancery courts, staying at Leicester House in London. Here he became involved in politics, with the French Ambassador Barillon writing on 6 October:

At the moment my most intimate liaison is with Mr. Algernon Sidney; he is the man in England who seems to me to have the greatest understanding of affairs; he has great relations with the rest of the Republican party; And nobody in my opinion is more capable of rendering service than him.

Due to his helping the fall of Lord Danby in December 1678, Sidney received 500 guineas from the French, getting another 500 guineas the next year. Sidney wished for an alliance of English and Dutch republicans against the Stuart-Orange alliance and told Barillon "that it is an old error to believe that it is against the interest of France to suffer England to become a republic". Sidney believed that it was a "fundamental principle that the House of Stuart and that of Orange are inseparably united".

After the dissolution of Charles II's last Parliament in 1681, Sidney, according to Burnet, helped write the answer to the king's declaration, entitled ''A Just and Modest Vindication of the Proceedings of the Two Last Parliaments'': "An answer was writ to the king's declaration with great spirit and true judgment. It was at first penned by Sidney. But a new draught was made by Somers, and corrected by Jones".

Sidney united with Lord Shaftesbury and others in plotting against the perceived royal tyranny, of a 'force without authority.' Sidney was later to be implicated in the Rye House Plot, a scheme to assassinate Charles and his brother James, who later became King James II.

Trial and execution

On 25 June 1683 Sidney's arrest warrant was issued. During his arrest his papers were confiscated, including the draft of the ''Discourses''. Lord Howard was the only witness but the law stated that two witnesses were necessary so the government used the ''Discourses'' as its second witness. Lord Chief Justice Jeffreys ruled: "Scribere est agere" ("to write is to act").

"An argument for the people", said the Solicitor General of the ''Discourses'', "to rise up in arms against the King". In response, Sidney said that it was easy to condemn him by quoting his words out of context: "If you take the scripture to pieces you will make all the penmen of the scripture blasphemous; you may accuse David of saying there is no God and of the Apostles that they were drunk." Sidney was found guilty of treason and sentenced to death on 26 November. In ''The Apology of Algernon Sydney, in the Day of his Death'', Sidney declared his life's work to:

... uphold the Common rights of mankind, the lawes of this land, and the true Protestant religion, against corrupt principles, arbitrary power and Popery... I doe now willingly lay down my life for the same; and having a sure witness within me, that God doth... uphold me... am very littell sollicitous, though man doth condemne me.

Neither denying nor affirming the charge of treason for which he had been condemned, Sidney emphasized his principles while declaring on the scaffold: "We live in an age that makes truth pass for treason."

He was beheaded on 7 December 1683 and his remains were buried at Penshurst.

''Discourses Concerning Government''

For Sidney absolute monarchy, in the form practiced by Louis XIV, was a great political evil. His ''Discourses Concerning Government'' (the text for which Sidney lost his life) was written during the Exclusion Crisis, as a response to Robert Filmer's ''Patriarcha'', a defence of divine right monarchy, first published in 1680. Sidney was quite opposed to the principles espoused by Filmer and believed that the Sovereign's subjects had the right and duty to share in the government of the Realm by giving advice and counsel. It was Filmer's business, he wrote, "to overthrow liberty and truth." Patriarchial government was not 'God's will', as Filmer and others contended, because the "Civil powers are purely human ordinances."

In countering the Hobbesian argument that the coercive power of the monarchy was necessary to prevent the return of the Civil Wars, Sidney invoked Tacitus, the Roman historian, saying that the ''pax Romana'', the Imperial peace, was the 'peace of death.' Rebellion may have dangerous consequences but

They who are already fallen into all that is odious, and shameful and miserable, cannot justify fear... Let the dangers never be so great, there is the possibility of safety while men have life, hands, arms and courage to use them but that people must surely perish who tamely suffer themselves to be oppressed.

Legacy

After his death, Sidney was revered as the "whig patriot–hero and martyr". Burnet said of Sidney:

... a man of the most extraordinary courage, a steady man, even to obstinacy, sincere, but of a rough and boisterous temper, that could not bear contradiction, but would give foul language upon it. He seemed to be a Christian, but in a particular form of his own. He thought it was to be like a divine philosophy in the mind, but he was against all public worship, and every thing that looked like church. He was stiff to all republican principles, and such an enemy to every thing that looked like monarchy, that he set himself in a high opposition against Cromwell when he was made protector. He had indeed studied the history of government in all its branches beyond any man I ever knew.

Sidney's influence on political thought in eighteenth-century Britain and Colonial America was probably second only to that of John Locke among seventeenth-century political theorists. In his study of political theory in Britain from 1689 to 1720, J. P. Kenyon said that Sidney's ''Discourses'' "were certainly much more influential than Locke's ''Two Treatises''". The poet James Thomson, in his poem ''The Seasons'', praised Sidney as "the British Cassius", the hero "warmed" by "ancient learning to the enlightened love/Of ancient freedom".

Sidney's reputation suffered a blow when Sir John Dalrymple published his ''Memoirs of Great Britain and Ireland'' in 1771, which exposed him as a pensioner of Louis XIV.

The Whig MP Charles James Fox described Sidney and Lord Russell as "two names that will, it is hoped, be ever dear to every English heart" and predicted that "when their memory shall cease to be an object of respect and veneration... English liberty will be fast approaching its final consummation".

Sidney had a significant impact on the American conception of liberty. He was a hero of John Trenchard and Thomas Gordon, "the best-read and most widely regarded pamphleteers of prerevolutionary times," whose "''Cato's Letters'' (after which the modern libertarian think tank the Cato Institute is named)" adopted Sidney's argument that "free men always have the right to resist tyrannical government." Thomas Jefferson believed Sidney and Locke to be the two primary sources for the Founding Fathers' view of liberty. John Adams wrote to Jefferson in 1823 on the subject of Sidney:

I have lately undertaken to read Algernon Sidney on government. ... As often as I have read it, and fumbled it over, it now excites fresh admiration [i.e., wonder] that this work has excited so little interest in the literary world. As splendid an edition of it as the art of printing can produce—as well for the intrinsic merit of the work, as for the proof it brings of the bitter sufferings of the advocates of liberty from that time to this, and to show the slow progress of moral, philosophical, and political illumination in the world—ought to be now published in America.

However in 1848 Macaulay wrote of the Whig opposition to Charles II:

It would be unjust to impute to them the extreme wickedness of taking bribes to injure their country. On the contrary, they meant to serve her: but it is impossible to deny that they were mean and indelicate enough to let a foreign prince pay them for serving her. Among those who cannot be acquitted of this degrading charge was one man who is popularly considered as the personification of public spirit, and who, in spite of some great moral and intellectual faults, has a just claim to be called a hero, a philosopher, and a patriot. It is impossible to see without pain such a name in the list of the pensioners of France. Yet it is some consolation to reflect that, in our time, a public man would be thought lost to all sense of duty and of shame, who should not spurn from him a temptation which conquered the virtue and the pride of Algernon Sidney.

The libertarian philosopher Friedrich Hayek quoted Sidney's ''Discourses'' on the title page of his ''The Constitution of Liberty'': "Our inquiry is not after that which is perfect, well knowing that no such thing is found among men; but we seek that human Constitution which is attended with the least, or the most pardonable inconveniences".

Algernon Sidney is one of the namesakes for Hampden-Sydney College in Virginia. The College formerly used the original spelling of Sydney. He was chosen because of the role his ideas played in molding the beliefs of the American Revolutionary thinkers.

Works

Sidney, Algernon: ''Discourses Concerning Government'' (London, 1698, and later editions);

Sidney, Algernon: ''Apology in the Day of His Death'';

Sidney, Algernon: ''The Administration and the Opposition. Addressed to the Citizens of New-Hampshire'' (Concord, Jacob B. Moore, 1826, ASIN B000IUQ14Q)

Sidney, Algernon: ''Algernon Sidneys Betrachtungen über Regierungsformen'' (Leipzig, Weygand, 1793: German translation of ''Discourses Concerning Government'')

Sidney, Algernon: ''Discourses Concerning Government'', ed. Thomas G. West (Indianapolis, 1996, ISBN 0-86597-142-0)

Sidney, Algernon: ''Court Maxims'', Cambridge University Press, in series Cambridge Texts in the History of Political Thought, 1996, ISBN 978-0-521-46175-7)

Sidney, Algernon: ''Discourses on Government. To Which is Added, An Account of the Author's Life'' (The Lawbook Exchange, New York, 2002 reprint, ISBN 1-58477-209-3)

And see Literature from and about Algernon Sidney published

Notes

References

Osmund Airy (ed.), ''Burnet's History of My Own Time. A New Edition Based on that of M. J. Routh, D.D. Part I. The Reign of Charles the Second. In Two Volumes'' (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1897, 1900).

J. P. Kenyon, ''Revolution Principles. The Politics of Party, 1689–1720'' (Cambridge University Press, 1977).

Paul Langford, ''A Polite and Commercial People: England 1727–1783'' (Oxford University Press, 1998).

Thomas Babington Macaulay, ''Critical and Historical Essays'' (London: Longmans, 1874).

Thomas Babington Macaulay, ''The History of England from the Accession of James the Second. Popular Edition in Two Volumes'' (London: Longmans, 1889).

Jonathan Scott, ''Algernon Sidney and the Restoration Crisis, 1677-1683'' (Cambridge University Press, 1991). ISBN 978-0-521-35291-8;

Jonathan Scott, ‘Sidney , Algernon (1623–1683)’, ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'', Oxford University Press, Sept 2004; online edn, Jan 2008, accessed 5 July 2009.

Thomas G. West, 'Foreword', in West (ed.), ''Discourses Concerning Government'' (Indianapolis: Liberty Fund, 1996).

Blair Worden, ''Roundhead Reputations. The English Civil Ears and the Passions of Posterity'' (Penguin, 2002).

Further reading

Blackburne, ''Algernon Sidney'' (London, 1885).

J. P. Carswell ''The Porcupine: The Life of Algernon Sidney'' (London: John Murray, 1989). ISBN 0-7195-4684-2;

James Conniff, 'Reason and History in Early Whig Thought: The Case of Algernon Sidney', ''Journal of the History of Ideas'', No. 43 (1982), pp. 397–416.

A.C. Ewald, ''Life and times of Algernon Sidney'' (London, 1872).

Alan Craig Houston, ''Algernon Sidney and the Republican Heritage in England and America'' (Princeton University Press, 1991). ISBN 0-691-07860-2

J. J. Jones, ''The First Whigs: The Politics of the Exclusion Crisis 1678–1683'' (Oxford University Press, 1961). ISBN 978-0-19-713124-4

George W. Meadley, ''Memoirs of Algernon Sidney'' (London: Cradock and Joy, 1813).

Scott A. Nelson, ''The Discourses of Algernon Sidney'' (London and Toronto: Associated University Presses, 1993). ISBN 978-0-8386-3438-7

J. G. A. Pocock, 'England's Cato: The virtues and fortunes of Algernon Sidney', ''The Historical Journal'', Vol. 37, No. 4, 1994, S. 915–935.

George van Santvord, ''Life Of Algernon Sidney: With Sketches Of Some Of His Contemporaries And Extracts From His Correspondence And Political Writings'' (Kessinger Publishing, 2007). ISBN 978-1-4304-4449-7

Blair Worden, 'The Commonwealth Kidney of Algernon Sidney', ''The Journal of British Studies/The Historical Journal'', Vol. 24, No. 1, 1985, pp. 1–40.

External links

William F. Campbell: ''Classical Republicans, Whigs, and Tories'':, Louisiana State University

Why did the Whigs fail to force exclusion on Charles II.?

PDF Sample Chapter ''Algernon Sidney and the Restoration Crisis, 1677–1683''

Colonel Sidney's Speech, Delivered to the sheriff on the scaffold, December 7th 1683

Algernon Sidney, ''Discourses Concerning Government'', Foreword of Thomas G. West

Category:Lords Warden of the Cinque Ports Category:1623 births Category:1683 deaths Category:Executed politicians Category:Political theorists Category:People executed by hanging, drawing and quartering Category:British republicans Category:Roundheads

de:Algernon Sidney fr:Algernon Sydney no:Algernon Sydney pl:Algernon Sydney sv:Algernon Sidney

name	Stephen Colbert
birth name	Stephen Tyrone Colbert
birth date	May 13, 1964
birth place	Washington, D.C., United States
medium	Theatre, television, film, books
religion	Roman Catholic
nationality	American
active	1984–present
genre	Sketch comedy, news satire, improvisational comedy, character comedy, political satire, observational comedy, blue comedy
subject	American culture, American politics, American conservatism, The Christian Right, political punditry, popular culture, current events, mass media/news media, egomania, xenophobia, anti-intellectualism, sexuality
influences	Don Novello, Bill Cosby, George Carlin, Dean Martin, Jon Stewart, Steve Martin Bill O'Reilly
influenced	Rob Corddry, Ed Helms, Aasif Mandvi
spouse	Evelyn McGee-Colbert (3 children)
notable work	Chuck Noblet in''Strangers with Candy''Stephen Colbert in''The Daily Show'' and''The Colbert Report''Writer,''I Am America (And So Can You!)''Co-writer,''America (The Book)''Phil Ken Sebben and Myron Reducto in ''Harvey Birdman, Attorney at Law''Professor Richard Impossible in ''The Venture Bros.''
signature	Stephen Colbert Signature.svg
website	ColbertNation.com

}} Stephen Tyrone Colbert ( or ; born May 13, 1964) is an American political satirist, writer, comedian, television host, and actor. He is the host of Comedy Central's ''The Colbert Report'', a satirical news show in which Colbert portrays a caricatured version of conservative political pundits.

Colbert originally studied to be an actor, but became interested in improvisational theatre when he met famed Second City director Del Close while attending Northwestern University. He first performed professionally as an understudy for Steve Carell at Second City Chicago; among his troupe mates were comedians Paul Dinello and Amy Sedaris, with whom he developed the critically acclaimed sketch comedy series ''Exit 57''.

Colbert also wrote and performed on the short-lived ''Dana Carvey Show'' before collaborating with Sedaris and Dinello again on the cult television series ''Strangers with Candy''. He gained considerable attention for his role on the latter as closeted gay history teacher Chuck Noblet. It was his work as a correspondent on Comedy Central's news-parody series ''The Daily Show'', however, that first introduced him to a wide audience.

In 2005, he left ''The Daily Show with Jon Stewart'' to host a spin-off series, ''The Colbert Report''. Following ''The Daily Show's'' news-parody concept, ''The Colbert Report'' is a parody of personality-driven political opinion shows such as ''The O'Reilly Factor''. Since its debut, the series has established itself as one of Comedy Central's highest-rated series, earning Colbert three Emmy Award nominations and an invitation to perform as featured entertainer at the White House Correspondents' Association Dinner in 2006. Colbert was named one of ''Time's'' 100 most influential people in 2006. His book ''I Am America (And So Can You!)'' was No. 1 on ''The New York Times'' Best Seller list.

Early life

Colbert was born in Washington, D.C. and grew up in Charleston, South Carolina, on James Island, the youngest of eleven children in an Irish Catholic family. Colbert and his siblings, in order from oldest to youngest, are James ("Jimmy"), Edward ("Eddie"), Mary, William ("Billy"), Margo, Thomas ("Tommy"), Jay, Elizabeth ("Lulu"), Paul, Peter, and Stephen.

Many of his ancestors immigrated to North America from Ireland in the 1800s before and during the Great Famine.

His father, James William Colbert, Jr., was the vice president for academic affairs at the Medical University of South Carolina. His mother, Lorna Colbert (née Tuck), was a homemaker. In interviews, Colbert describes his parents as devout people who also strongly value intellectualism and taught their children that it was possible to question the Church and still be Catholic. The emphasis his family placed on intelligence and his observation of negative stereotypes of Southerners led Colbert to train himself to suppress his Southern accent while he was still quite young. As a child, he observed that Southerners were often depicted as being less intelligent than other characters on scripted television; to avoid that stereotype, he taught himself to imitate the speech of American news anchors.

Colbert sometimes comedically claims his surname is French, but his family is actually of Irish and distant German descent. Originally, the name was pronounced in English; Stephen Colbert's father, James, wanted to pronounce the name , but maintained the pronunciation out of respect for his own father. However, James offered his children the option to pronounce the name whichever way they preferred. Stephen started using later in life when he transferred to Northwestern University, taking advantage of the opportunity to reinvent himself in a new place where no one knew him. Stephen's brother Ed, an intellectual property attorney, retained ; this was shown in a February 12, 2009 appearance on ''The Colbert Report'', when his youngest brother asked him, " or ?" Ed responded "", to which Stephen jokingly replied, "See you in Hell".

On September 11, 1974, when Colbert was ten years old, his father and two of his brothers, Peter and Paul, were killed in the crash of Eastern Air Lines Flight 212 while it was attempting to land in Charlotte, North Carolina. They were en route to enroll the two boys at Canterbury School in New Milford, Connecticut. Shortly thereafter, Lorna Colbert relocated the family downtown to the more urban environment of East Bay Street in Charleston. By his own account, Colbert found the transition difficult and did not easily make new friends in his new neighborhood. Colbert later described himself during this time as detached, lacking a sense of importance regarding the things with which other children concerned themselves. He developed a love of science fiction and fantasy novels, especially the works of J. R. R. Tolkien, of which he remains an avid fan. During his adolescence, he also developed an intense interest in fantasy role-playing games, especially ''Dungeons & Dragons'', a pastime which he later characterized as an early experience in acting and improvisation.

Colbert attended Charleston's Episcopal Porter-Gaud School, where he participated in several school plays and contributed to the school newspaper but, by his own assessment, was not highly motivated academically. During his time as a teenager, he also briefly fronted a Rolling Stones cover band. When he was younger, he had hoped to study marine biology, but surgery intended to repair a severely perforated eardrum caused him inner ear damage. The damage was severe enough that he was unable to pursue a career that would involve scuba diving. The damage also left him deaf in his right ear. For a while, he was uncertain whether he would attend college, but ultimately he applied and was accepted to Hampden-Sydney College in Virginia, where a friend had also enrolled. There he continued to participate in plays while studying mainly philosophy; he found the curriculum rigorous but was more focused than he had been in high school and was able to apply himself to his studies. Despite the lack of a significant theater community at Hampden-Sydney, Colbert's interest in acting escalated during this time. After two years, he transferred to Northwestern University's School of Speech (later named School of Communication) to study performance, emboldened by the realization that he loved performing even when no one was coming to shows.

Early career in comedy

While at Northwestern, Colbert studied with the intent of becoming a dramatic actor; mostly he performed in experimental plays and was uninterested in comedy. He began performing improvisation while in college, both in the campus improv team No Fun Mud Piranhas and at the Annoyance Theatre in Chicago as a part of Del Close's ImprovOlympic at a time when the project was focused on competitive, long form improvisation, rather than improvisational comedy. "I wasn't gonna do Second City", Colbert later recalled, "because those Annoyance people looked down on Second City because they thought it wasn't pure improv—there was a slightly snobby, mystical quality to the Annoyance people". After Colbert graduated in 1986, however, he was in need of a job, and a friend who was employed at Second City's box office offered him work answering phones and selling souvenirs. Colbert accepted, and discovered that Second City employees were entitled to take classes at their training center for free. Despite his earlier aversion to the comedy group, he signed up for improvisation classes, and enjoyed the experience greatly.

Shortly thereafter, he was hired to perform with Second City's touring company, initially as an understudy for Steve Carell. It was there he met Amy Sedaris and Paul Dinello, with whom he often collaborated later in his career. By their retelling, the three comedians did not get along at first—Dinello thought Colbert was uptight, pretentious and cold, while Colbert thought of Dinello as "an illiterate thug"—but the trio became close friends while touring together, discovering that they shared a similar comic sensibility.

When Sedaris and Dinello were offered the opportunity to create a television series for HBO Downtown Productions, Colbert left The Second City and relocated to New York in order to work with them on the sketch comedy show ''Exit 57''. The series debuted on Comedy Central in 1995 and aired through 1996. Despite only lasting for 12 episodes, the show received favorable reviews and was nominated for five CableACE Awards in 1995, in categories including best writing, performance, and comedy series.

Following the cancellation of ''Exit 57'', Colbert worked for six months as a cast member and writer on ''The Dana Carvey Show'', alongside former Second City cast mate Steve Carell, as well as Robert Smigel, Charlie Kaufman, Louis C.K., and Dino Stamatopoulos, among others. The series, described by one reviewer as "kamikaze satire" in "borderline-questionable taste", had sponsors pull out after its first episode aired, and was canceled after seven episodes. Colbert then worked briefly as a freelance writer for ''Saturday Night Live'' with Robert Smigel. Smigel also brought his animated sketch ''The Ambiguously Gay Duo'' to ''SNL'' from ''The Dana Carvey Show''; Colbert provided the voice of Ace on both series, opposite Steve Carell as Gary. Needing money, he also worked as a script consultant for VH1 and MTV, before taking a job filming humorous correspondent segments for ''Good Morning America''. Only two of the segments he proposed were ever produced, and only one aired, but the job led his agent to refer him to ''The Daily Show's'' then-producer, Madeline Smithberg, who hired Colbert on a trial basis in 1997.

Television career

''Strangers with Candy''

During the same time frame, Colbert worked again with Sedaris and Dinello to develop a new comedy series for Comedy Central, ''Strangers with Candy''. Comedy Central picked up the series in 1998 after Colbert had already begun working on ''The Daily Show''. As a result he accepted a reduced role, filming only around twenty ''Daily Show'' segments a year while he worked on the new series.

''Strangers with Candy'' was conceived of as a parody of after school specials, following the life of Jerri Blank, a 46-year-old dropout who returns to finish high school after 32 years of life on the street. Most noted by critics for its use of offensive humor, it concluded each episode by delivering to the audience a skewed, politically incorrect moral lesson. Colbert served as a main writer alongside Sedaris and Dinello, as well as portraying Jerri's strict but uninformed history teacher, Chuck Noblet, seen throughout the series dispensing inaccurate information to his classes. Colbert has likened this to the character he played on ''The Daily Show'' and later ''The Colbert Report'', claiming that he has a very specific niche in portraying "poorly informed, high-status idiot" characters. Another running joke throughout the series was that Noblet, a closeted homosexual, was having a "secret" affair with fellow teacher Geoffrey Jellineck despite the fact that their relationship was apparent to everyone around them. This obliviousness also appears in Colbert's ''Daily Show'' and ''Colbert Report'' character.

Thirty episodes of ''Strangers with Candy'' were made, which aired on Comedy Central in 1999 and 2000. Though its ratings were not remarkable during its initial run, it has been characterized as a cult show with a small but dedicated audience. Colbert reprised his role for a film adaptation, which premiered at the Sundance Film Festival in 2005 and had a limited release in 2006. The film received mixed reviews. Colbert also co-wrote the screenplay with Sedaris and Dinello.

''The Daily Show''

Stephen Colbert joined the cast of Comedy Central's parody-news series ''The Daily Show'' in 1997, when the show was in its second season. Originally one of four correspondents who filmed segments from remote locations in the style of network news field reporters, Colbert was referred to as "the new guy" on-air for his first two years on the show, during which time Craig Kilborn served as host. When Kilborn left the show prior to the 1999 season, Jon Stewart took over hosting duties, also serving as a writer and co-executive producer. From this point, the series gradually began to take on a more political tone and increase in popularity, particularly in the latter part of the 2000 U.S. presidential election season. The roles of the show's correspondents were expanded to include more in-studio segments, as well as international reports which were almost always done in the studio with the aid of a greenscreen.

Unlike Stewart, who essentially hosts ''The Daily Show'' as himself, Colbert developed a correspondent character for his pieces on the series. Colbert has described his correspondent character as "a fool who has spent a lot of his life playing not the fool — one who is able to cover it at least well enough to deal with the subjects that he deals with". Colbert was frequently pitted against knowledgeable interview subjects, or against Stewart in scripted exchanges, with the resultant dialogue demonstrating the character's lack of knowledge of whatever subject he is discussing. Colbert also made generous use of humorous fallacies of logic in explaining his point of view on any topic. Other ''Daily Show'' correspondents have adopted a similar style; former correspondent Rob Corddry recalls that when he and Ed Helms first joined the show's cast in 2002, they "just imitated Stephen Colbert for a year or two". Correspondent Aasif Mandvi has stated "I just decided I was going to do my best Stephen Colbert impression".

Colbert has appeared in several recurring segments for ''The Daily Show'', including "Even Stevphen" with Steve Carell, in which both characters were expected to debate a selected topic but instead would unleash their anger at one another. Colbert commonly hosted "This Week in God", a report on topics in the news pertaining to religion, presented with the help of the "God Machine". Colbert filed reports from the floor of the Democratic National Convention and the Republican National Convention as a part of ''The Daily Show's'' award-winning coverage of the 2000 and 2004 U.S. Presidential elections; many from the latter were included as part of their ''The Daily Show: Indecision 2004'' DVD release. In several episodes of ''The Daily Show'', Colbert filled in as anchor in the absence of Jon Stewart, including the full week of March 3, 2002, when Stewart was scheduled to host ''Saturday Night Live''. After Colbert left the show, Rob Corddry took over "This Week in God" segments, although a recorded sample of Colbert's voice is still used as the sound effect for the God Machine. Later episodes of ''The Daily Show'' have reused older Colbert segments under the label "Klassic Kolbert". Colbert won three Emmys as a writer of ''The Daily Show'' in 2004, 2005, and 2006.

''The Colbert Report''

Since October 17, 2005, Colbert has hosted his own television show, ''The Colbert Report'', a ''Daily Show'' spin-off which parodies the conventions of television news broadcasting, particularly cable-personality political talk shows like ''The O'Reilly Factor'' and ''Glenn Beck''. Colbert hosts the show in-character as a blustery right-wing pundit, generally considered to be an extension of his character on ''The Daily Show''. Conceived by co-creators Stewart, Colbert, and Ben Karlin in part as an opportunity to explore "the character-driven news", the series focuses less on the day-to-day news style of the ''Daily Show'', instead frequently concentrating on the foibles of the host-character himself.

The concept for ''The Report'' was first seen in a series of ''Daily Show'' segments which advertised the then-fictional series as a joke. It was later developed by Stewart's Busboy Productions and pitched to Comedy Central, which greenlighted the program; Comedy Central had already been searching for a way to extend the successful ''Daily Show'' franchise beyond a half hour. The series opened to strong ratings, averaging 1.2 million viewers nightly during its first week on the air. Comedy Central signed a long-term contract for ''The Colbert Report'' within its first month on the air, when it immediately established itself among the network's highest-rated shows.

Much of Colbert's personal life is reflected in his character on ''The Colbert Report''. With the extended exposure of the character on the show, he often references his interest in and knowledge of Catholicism, science fiction, and ''The Lord of the Rings'', as well as using real facts to create his character's history. His alternate persona was also raised in South Carolina, is the youngest of 11 siblings, and is married. The actual Colbert's career history in acting and comedy, however, is often downplayed.

Politics

2006 White House Correspondents' Association Dinner

On Saturday, April 29, 2006, Stephen Colbert was the featured entertainer for the 2006 White House Correspondents' Association Dinner. Standing a few yards from U.S. President George W. Bush—in front of an audience the Associated Press called a "Who's Who of power and celebrity"—Colbert delivered a searing routine targeting the president and the media. In his politically conservative character from ''The Colbert Report'', Colbert satirized the George W. Bush Administration and the White House press corps with such lines as:

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Colbert received a chilly response from the audience. His jokes were often met with silence and muttering, apart from the enthusiastic laughter of a few in the audience. The major media outlets paid little attention to it initially. ''Washington Post'' columnist Dan Froomkin and Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism professor Todd Gitlin claimed that this was because Colbert's routine was as critical of the media as it was of Bush. Richard Cohen, also writing for ''The Washington Post'', responded that the routine was not funny. The video of Colbert's performance became an internet and media sensation, while, in the week following the speech, ratings for ''The Colbert Report'' rose by 37% to average just under 1.5 million total viewers per episode. In ''Time'' magazine James Poniewozik called it "the political-cultural touchstone issue of 2006". Writing six months later, ''New York Times'' columnist Frank Rich referred to Colbert's speech as a "cultural primary" and called it the "defining moment" of the 2006 midterm elections. The performance earned Colbert the "Gutsiest Move" Award on Spike TV Guys' Choice Awards on June 13, 2007.

2008 Presidential bid

Under his fictional persona in ''The Colbert Report'', Colbert dropped hints of a potential presidential run throughout 2007, with speculation intensifying following the release of his book, ''I Am America (And So Can You!)'', which was rumored to be a sign that he was indeed testing the waters for a future bid for the White House. On October 16, 2007, he announced his candidacy on his show, stating his intention to run both on the Republican and Democratic platforms, but only as a "favorite son" in his native South Carolina. He later abandoned plans to run as a Republican due to the $35,000 fee required to file for the South Carolina primary, however he continued to seek a place on the Democratic ballot and on October 28, 2007, campaigned in the South Carolina state capital of Columbia, where he was presented with the key to the city by Mayor Bob Coble.

After announcing his presidential ticket, he asked his viewers to cast their votes by donating to DonorsChoose.org, an online charity connecting individuals to classrooms in need. Colbert's promotion inspired $68,000 in donations to South Carolina classrooms, which benefited over 14,000 low-income students. Colbert teamed up with DonorsChoose.org again in 2008 by asking supporters of Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton to do the same. As a lead-up to the Pennsylvania primary, he created a "straw poll that makes a difference", where people could donate to Pennsylvania classroom projects in honor of their favorite candidate. Colbert viewers donated $185,000 to projects reaching 43,000 students in Pennsylvania public schools.

On November 1, 2007, the South Carolina Democratic Party executive council voted 13–3 to refuse Colbert's application onto the ballot. "The general sense of the council was that he wasn't a serious candidate and that was why he wasn't selected to be on the ballot", stated John Werner, the party's director. In addition, he was declared "not viable", as he was only running in one state. Several days later he announced that he was dropping out of the race, saying that he did not wish to put the country through an agonizing Supreme Court battle. CNN has reported that Obama supporters pressured the South Carolina Democratic Executive Council to keep Colbert off the ballot. One anonymous member of the council told CNN that former State Superintendent of Education Inez Tenenbaum had placed pressure on them to refuse Colbert's application despite his steady rise in polls.

Though Colbert's real-life presidential campaign had ended, current Marvel Comics editor-in-chief Joe Quesada established in an interview on ''The Colbert Report'' that Colbert's campaign was still going strong in the fictional Marvel Universe, citing the cover art of a then-recent issue of ''The Amazing Spider-Man'' which featured a Colbert campaign billboard in the background. Background appearances of Colbert campaign ads continued to appear in Marvel Comics publications, as recently as August 2008's ''Secret Invasion'' #5 (which also features a cameo of an alien Skrull posing as Colbert). In October 2008, Colbert made an extended 8-page appearance webslinging with Spider-Man in ''The Amazing Spider-Man'' issue #573.

2010 Congressional testimony

On September 24, 2010, Colbert testified in character before the House Judiciary Subcommittee on Immigration, Citizenship, and Border Security. He was invited by committee chairwoman Zoe Lofgren to describe his experience participating in the United Farm Workers' "''Take Our Jobs''" program, where he spent a day working alongside migrant workers in upstate New York. At the end of his often-humorous testimony, Colbert broke character in responding to a question from Rep. Judy Chu, D-CA, and explained why he cares about the plight of migrant workers:

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Democratic committee member John Conyers questioned whether it was appropriate for the comedian to appear before Congress and asked him to leave the hearing. Though Colbert offered to depart at the direction of the committee chairwoman, Rep. Lofgren requested that he stay at least until all opening testimony had been completed, whereupon Conyers withdrew his request.

Conservative pundits took aim at his Congress testimony not long after.

"As John Conyers notes, the media and spectators turned out to see whether Colbert would address the panel seriously as an expert on immigration and make the panel a joke, or stay in character and make the panel a bigger joke," - Ed Morrissey, Hot Air.}}

2010 Washington D.C. rallies

In September 2010, following Glenn Beck's ''Restoring Honor rally'', a campaign developed that called for Colbert to hold his own rally at the Lincoln Memorial. On the September 10, 2010 episode of the ''Daily Show'' and the ''Colbert Report'' Stewart and Colbert made preannouncements of a future event. On September 16, 2010, Stewart and Colbert announced competing rallies on the Washington, DC Mall on October 30, 2010, Stewart's "''Rally to Restore Sanity''", and Colbert's "''March to Keep Fear Alive''". Both were eventually merged into the Rally to Restore Sanity and/or Fear.

Super PAC

In May 2011, Colbert filed a request with the Federal Election Commission (FEC) asking for a media exemption for coverage of his political action committee, ColbertPAC, on ''The Colbert Report''.

In June 2011, during a public meeting, the FEC voted 5-1 to grant ''The Colbert Report'' a limited media exemption. The exemption allows unlimited donations of airtime and show resources to promote the Colbert Super PAC without requiring disclosure to the FEC, but only for ads appearing on ''The Colbert Report''. Following the hearing, Colbert formally filed paperwork for the creation of his Super PAC with the FEC secretary.

Other work

Stephen Colbert is co-author of the satirical text-and-picture novel ''Wigfield: The Can Do Town That Just May Not'', which was published in 2003 by Hyperion Books. The novel was a collaboration between Colbert, Amy Sedaris, and Paul Dinello, and tells the story of a small town threatened by the impending destruction of a massive dam. The narrative is presented as a series of fictional interviews with the town's residents, accompanied by photos. The three authors toured performing an adaptation of ''Wigfield'' on stage the same year the book was released. Colbert appeared in a small supporting role in the 2005 film adaptation of ''Bewitched''. He has made guest appearances on the television series ''Curb Your Enthusiasm'', ''Spin City'', and ''Law & Order: Criminal Intent'', and on the improvisational comedy show ''Whose Line Is It Anyway?''. He voiced the characters of Reducto and Phil Ken Sebben in the Adult Swim's ''Harvey Birdman, Attorney at Law'' but left the show in 2005 to work on The Colbert Report. His characters were both killed, though he returned to voice Phil for the series finale. Colbert also has provided voices for Cartoon Network's ''The Venture Bros.'', Comedy Central's ''Crank Yankers'', and ''American Dad!'', as well as for Canadian animated comedy series ''The Wrong Coast''. He appeared as Homer Simpson's life coach, Colby Krause, in the ''Simpsons'' episode "He Loves to Fly and He D'ohs". Colbert filled in for Sam Seder on the second episode of ''The Majority Report'' on Air America Radio, and has also done reports for ''The Al Franken Show''. He appeared on a track on ''Wig in a Box'', a tribute album for ''Hedwig and the Angry Inch''. Colbert read the part of Leopold Bloom in ''Bloomsday on Broadway XXIV: Love Literature Language Lust: Leopold's Women Bloom'' on June 16, 2005 at Symphony Space in New York City. He appeared in a series of TV commercials for General Motors, as a not-too-bright investigator searching for the elusive (and non-existent in real life) "Mr. Goodwrench". He also portrayed the letter Z in ''Sesame Street: All-Star Alphabet'', a 2005 video release.

Colbert is a producer of ''The 1 Second Film'', the world's largest nonprofit collaborative art film. His video request that IMDb list his credit for ''The 1 Second Film'' ("it is as valid as most of my credits") enabled thousands of the film's producers to be listed in the massive movie database until they were removed in early 2007.

Colbert has released one book associated with ''The Colbert Report'', ''I Am America (And So Can You!)''. It was released on October 7, 2007 by Grand Central Publishing. Grand Central Publishing is the successor to Warner Books, which published ''America (The Book)'', written by ''The Daily Show'' staff. The book contains similar political satire, but was written primarily by Colbert himself rather than as a collaboration with his ''Colbert Report'' writing staff.

On November 23, 2008, his Christmas special, ''A Colbert Christmas: The Greatest Gift of All!'', aired on Comedy Central. It was released on DVD in November 2008.

In January 2010, Colbert was named the assistant sports psychologist for the US Olympic speed skating team at the 2010 Winter Olympics. He was also invited to be part of NBC's 2010 Winter Olympics coverage team by Dick Ebersol, chairman of NBC Universal Sports. In April, Colbert performed as Harry in the revival of Stephen Sondheim's musical ''Company'', presented by the New York Philharmonic at the Lincoln Center. The show, featuring Neil Patrick Harris in the starring role, ran for four nights and was filmed for later showings in movie theaters, which began June 15. In May 2011, Colbert joined Charleston to Bermuda Race yachting race, as the captain of ship "the Spirit of Juno". He finished second, five miles behind leaders "Tucana".

Personal life

Although, by his own account, he was not particularly political before joining the cast of ''The Daily Show'', Colbert has described himself as a Democrat according to a 2004 interview. In an interview at the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard Institute of Politics, he stated that he has "no problems with Republicans, just Republican policies". He is also a practicing Roman Catholic and Sunday school teacher.

Colbert lives in Montclair, New Jersey with his wife, Evelyn McGee-Colbert, who appeared with him in an episode of ''Strangers with Candy'' as his mother. She also had an uncredited cameo as a nurse in the series pilot and a credited one (as his wife, Clair) in the film. McGee-Colbert actually met Jon Stewart, later a good friend of Colbert, before she met her husband in 1990. She is the daughter of prominent Charleston civil litigator Joseph McGee, of the firm Buist Moore Smythe McGee. The couple has three children: Madeleine, Peter, and John, all of whom have appeared on ''The Daily Show''. Colbert prefers, however, that his children not watch his show, ''The Colbert Report'', saying that "kids can't understand irony or sarcasm, and I don't want them to perceive me as insincere".

Awards and honors

In 2000 Colbert and the other Daily Show writers were the recipients of three Emmy Awards as writers for ''The Daily Show'' and again in 2005 and 2006. In 2005 he was nominated for a Satellite Award for his performance on ''The Colbert Report'' and again in 2006.

He was also nominated for three Emmys for ''The Colbert Report'' in 2006, including Best Performance in a Variety, Musical Program or Special, which he lost to Barry Manilow. Manilow and Colbert would go on to jokingly sign and notarize a revolving biannual custody agreement for the Emmy on the ''Colbert Report'' episode aired on October 30, 2006. He lost the same category to Tony Bennett in 2007 and Don Rickles in 2008.

In January 2006, the American Dialect Society named ''truthiness'', which Colbert coined on the premiere episode of ''The Colbert Report'', as its 2005 Word of the Year. Colbert devoted time on five successive episodes to bemoaning the failure of the Associated Press to mention his role in popularizing the word ''truthiness'' in its news coverage of the Word of the Year. On December 9, 2006, Merriam-Webster also announced that it selected ''truthiness'' as its Word of the Year for 2006. Votes were accepted on their website, and according to poll results, truthiness won by a five-to-one margin.

In June 2006, after speaking at the school's commencement ceremony, Colbert received an honorary Doctorate of Fine Arts degree from Knox College. ''Time'' named Stephen Colbert as one of the 100 most influential people in 2006 and in May 2006, ''New York'' magazine listed Colbert (and Jon Stewart) as one of its top dozen influential persons in media. Colbert was named Person of the Year by the U.S. Comedy Arts Festival in Aspen, Colorado on March 3, 2007 and was also given the Speaker of the Year Award by The Cross Examination Debate Association (CEDA) on March 24, 2007 for his "drive to expose the rhetorical shortcomings of contemporary political discourse".

Colbert was named the 2nd Sexiest TV News Anchor in September 2006 by Maxim Online, next to Mélissa Theuriau of France and was the only man featured on the list. In November 2006, he was named a "sexy surprise" by ''People'' in the Sexiest Man Alive honors and in the December 2006 issue of ''GQ'' he was named one of ''GQ's'' "Men of the Year".

He was nominated for a TCA Award for ''The Colbert Report'' by the Television Critics Association in 2006 and also received two Peabody Awards for his work on ''The Daily Show: Indecision 2000'' and ''Indecision 2004''. In February 2007, Ben & Jerry's unveiled a new ice cream flavor in honor of Colbert, named Stephen Colbert's AmeriCone Dream. Colbert waited until Easter to sample the ice cream because he "gave up sweets for Lent". Colbert will donate all proceeds to charity through the new Stephen Colbert AmeriCone Dream Fund, which will distribute the money to various causes.

After the Saginaw Spirit defeated the Oshawa Generals in Ontario Junior League Hockey, Oshawa Mayor John Gray declared March 20, 2007 (the mayor's own birthday) Stephen Colbert Day, honoring a previous bet with Stephen. At the event, Mayor Gray referred to the publicity the bet brought the city, remarking, "This is the way to lose a bet".

Colbert was honored for the Gutsiest Move on the Spike TV Guys' Choice Awards on June 13, 2007 for his performance at the 2006 White House Correspondents' Association Dinner. In August 2007, Virgin America named an airplane. "Air Colbert", in his honor. On October 28, 2007, Colbert received the key to the city of Columbia, South Carolina from Mayor Bob Coble.

On December 20, 2007 Colbert was named Celebrity of the Year by The Associated Press. On April 2, 2008 he received a Peabody Award for The Colbert Report, saying in response, "I proudly accept this award and begrudgingly forgive the Peabody Committee for taking three years to recognize greatness".

In 2008 Colbert won the Emmy award for writing again, this time as a writer for the ''Colbert Report''. Colbert delivered the Class Day address to the graduating class of Princeton University on June 2, 2008, and accepted the ''Class of 2008 Understandable Vanity Award'', consisting of a sketch of Colbert and a mirror. He also has been announced as the Person of the Year for the 12th annual Webby Awards.

In 2008, East Carolina University associate professor Jason Bond named a species of trapdoor spider ''Aptostichus stephencolberti'' in honor of Stephen Colbert. In January 2010, Colbert received the Grammy Award for Best Comedy Album for his album ''A Colbert Christmas: The Greatest Gift of All!''. He also announced the nominees for Song of the Year while toting a pre-released Apple iPad. Colbert will be the 2011 commencement speaker for Northwestern University, and receive an honorary degree.

COLBERT Treadmill

In 2009 NASA engineered a new treadmill for the International Space Station. It was brought to the ISS by the Space Shuttle ''Discovery'' during the STS-128 mission in August of 2009. The complex machine is now used eight hours daily by Astronauts and Cosmonauts living aboard the space station in order to maintain their muscle mass and bone density while spending long periods of time in a zero gravity environment. While engineers at NASA where constructing this treadmill it was simply called T-2 for more than two years. However, on April 14, 2009 the treadmill became the most famous piece of exercise equipment in the world when NASA renamed it to the "Combined Operational Load-Bearing External Resistance Treadmill", or COLBERT. NASA named the treadmill after Colbert, who took an interest during the Node 3 naming census for the ISS module, ''Tranquility''.

Colbert urged his followers to post the name "Colbert", which upon completion of the census received the most entries totaling 230,539, 40,000 votes more than the second place choice of Serenity. The COLBERT is expected to last the life of the ISS and will have seen about 38,000 miles when the Space Station is retired in 2020 but was also built with 150,000 mile lifespan if needed till 2028 or longer. Colbert realized he was the recipient of an extremely rare honor when astronaut Suni Williams came on ''The Colbert Report'' to announce that NASA had named the treadmill after him. Despite being an acronym, the COLBERT is the only piece of NASA engineered equipment in space that is named after a living human being.

Filmography

! Year!!Title!!Role!!Notes
1993		Chet Davies	First role
1995	''Exit 57''	Various
1996	''The Dana Carvey Show''	Various
	''Shock Asylum''	Dr. Dewalt
''The Daily Show''		1997–2005 (regular)2005 – present (recurring)
		Happy Successful Guy	Also known as ''Snow Days''
'' Whose Line is it Anyway''	Stephen Colbert
''Strangers with Candy''	Chuck Noblet	1999–2000
2000	''Harvey Birdman, Attorney at Law	Myron Reducto / Phil Ken Sebben / The Eagle of Truth	2000–2007
2003	''Nobody Knows Anything''	TV Newsman
2003	''Chalkzone	Himself (paring-up w/ Kurtwood Smith)
	''Curb Your Enthusiasm''	Tourist Man
''Law and Order: Criminal Intent''	James Bennett
''The Venture Bros.''	Professor Richard Impossible	2004–2006
	''The Great New Wonderful''	Mr. Peersall
	Stu Robison
''Outlaw Tennis''	Announcer	Video game
''The Colbert Report''		2005 – present
2006		Chuck Noblet	Feature film based on TV show
	''The Love Guru''	Jay Kell (Hockey Announcer)
''A Colbert Christmas: The Greatest Gift of All!''	Santa Claus, Stephen Colbert
	''Monsters vs. Aliens''	The President (voice)
''The 1 Second Film''	Self/Producer

Bibliography

Colbert, Dinello, Sedaris. ''Wigfield: The Can-Do Town That Just May Not'' (Hyperion, May 19, 2004) ISBN 0-7868-8696-X

''America (The Book): A Citizen's Guide to Democracy Inaction'' (Warner Books, September 2004) ISBN 0-446-53268-1

''I Am America (And So Can You!)'' (Grand Central Publishing, October 9, 2007) ISBN 0-446-58050-3

Discography

''A Colbert Christmas: The Greatest Gift of All!'' in 2008

''Stephen Colbert with the Black Belles — Charlene II (I'm Over You)'' in 2011

References

External links

; General

The Colbert Report Official Site

Stephen Colbert Producer Profile for The 1 Second Film

Wikiality.com, a wiki dedicated to Stephen Colbert and ''The Colbert Report''

Collected news and commentary at ''The New York Times''

Stephen Colbert: His Many Faces - slideshow by ''Life magazine''

; Audio/Video in 2008 in 2005 in 2006

Colbert interview transcript, ''60 Minutes''. (April 30, 2006)

Colbert in an open, hour-long interview and Q & A session arranged by Harvard's Institute of Politics. He speaks about the nature of his TV-show character and the interplay between wearing the mask and using it to make political points.

, (April 30, 1441/59811 Transcript). (April 29, 2006)

A 2007 appearance at the Glamour magazine Women of the Year Awards to honor Nancy Pelosi.

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Birthname	Randal Howard Paul
Jr/sr	United States Senator
State	Kentucky
Term start	January 3, 2011
Preceded	Jim Bunning
Alongside	Mitch McConnell
Birth date	January 07, 1963
Birth place	Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Occupation	Ophthalmologist (Physician), Politician
Alma mater	Baylor University(1981–1984) Duke University (M.D., 1988)
Religion	Presbyterian(baptized Episcopalian)
Website	Senator Rand PaulRand Paul 2010
Residence	Bowling Green, Kentucky
Party	Republican
Spouse	Kelley Ashby Paul(m. 1990)
Relations	Ron PaulCarol Wells Paul(parents)
Children	William, Robert, and Duncan }}

Randal Howard "Rand" Paul (born January 7, 1963) is the junior United States Senator for Kentucky. He is a member of the Republican Party. A member of the Tea Party movement, he describes himself as a "constitutional conservative" and a libertarian. He is the son of Republican Congressman and 2012 Republican presidential candidate Ron Paul of Texas and had never previously held political office. Paul first received national attention in 2008 when making political speeches on behalf of his father. Rand Paul is the first United States Senator in history to serve alongside a parent in the United States House of Representatives.

A graduate of the Duke University School of Medicine, Paul has been a practicing ophthalmologist in Bowling Green, Kentucky, since 1993, and established his own clinic in December 2007. In 1994, he founded Kentucky Taxpayers United, of which he is still the chairman.

In 2010, Paul ran as the Republican candidate for the United States Senate seat being vacated by retiring Senator Jim Bunning of Kentucky and defeated Kentucky Attorney General Jack Conway. As a supporter of the Tea Party movement, Paul has been vocal in advocating for term limits, a balanced budget amendment, and the Read the Bills Act, in addition to the widespread reduction of federal spending and taxation. He has gained prominence for his independent positions on many political issues, often clashing with both Republicans and Democrats.

Early life and education

Randal Howard Paul was born on January 7, 1963, in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, to Carol Wells Paul and Ron Paul. Paul's father is a physician and U.S. Representative of Texas's 14th congressional district. The middle child of five, his siblings are Ronald "Ronnie" Paul Jr., Lori Paul Pyeatt, Robert Paul and Joy Paul-LeBlanc. Paul was baptized in the Episcopal Church and identified as a practicing Christian as a teenager. Despite his father's libertarian views and strong support for individual rights, the novelist Ayn Rand was not the inspiration for Paul's first name; he went by "Randy" while growing up. His wife shortened his name to "Rand".

The Paul family moved to Lake Jackson, Texas, in 1968, where Rand was raised and his father began his medical practice and for an extent of time was the only obstetrician in Brazoria County. When Paul was 13, his father was elected to the United States House of Representatives. In his teenage years, Paul studied the Austrian economists that his father respected, as well as Ayn Rand. Paul went to Brazoswood High School and was on the swimming team and played defensive back on the football team. Paul attended Baylor University from fall 1981 to summer 1984. Paul was enrolled in the honors program at Baylor, and had scored approximately in the 90th percentile on the Medical College Admission Test. During Paul's time at Baylor, he was involved in the swim team and Young Conservatives of Texas and was a member of a secret organization known as the NoZe Brotherhood. Paul left Baylor early when he was accepted into the Duke University School of Medicine, where he earned his Doctor of Medicine (M.D.) degree in 1988 and completed his residency in 1993.

Personal life

In Atlanta, Paul met Kelley Ashby, a Rhodes College English major. Paul and Ashby were married on October 20, 1990, and moved to Bowling Green, Kentucky, less than from her hometown of Russellville, Kentucky, in 1993.

Kelley Paul is a freelance writer, and she manages payroll and marketing communications for Paul's surgical practice. The couple have three sons: William, Duncan and Robert.

Medical career

Paul has held a state-issued medical license since moving to Bowling Green in 1993. He received his first job from Dr. John Downing of Downing McPeak Vision Centers, which brought him to Bowling Green after completing his residency. Paul worked for Downing for about five years before parting ways. Afterwards, he went to work at the Graves-Gilbert Clinic, a private medical group in Bowling Green, for 10 years before creating his own practice in a converted one-story house across the street from Downing's office. After his election to the U.S. Senate, Paul merged his practice with Downing's medical practice. Paul has had two malpractice lawsuits filed against him since 1993. Paul was cleared in one case and the other was settled for $50,000. Regardless, his medical work has been praised by Downing and Paul has medical privileges at two Bowling Green hospitals. Paul specializes in cataract and glaucoma surgeries, LASIK procedures, and corneal transplants.

As a member of the Bowling Green Noon Lions Club, Paul founded the Southern Kentucky Lions Eye Clinic to help provide eye surgery and exams for those who cannot afford to pay. He is a regular presenter at the annual Men's Health and Safety Day conference held by The Medical Center of Bowling Green since 1998. In 1999 Paul founded the Non-profit organization National Board of Ophthalmology (NBO).

Board certification

In 2010 the ''Louisville Courier-Journal'' reported that Paul, who described himself as a "board-certified" ophthalmologist, was not certified by the American Board of Ophthalmology (ABO). In 1995, Paul passed the American Board of Ophthalmology boards earning his certification under the ABO for a term of one decade. In 1997, after a dispute with the American Board of Ophthalmology over recertification requirements, Paul, along with 200 ophthalmologists formed the National Board of Ophthalmology (NBO). A spokesperson for the American Board of Medical Specialties stated: "He [Paul] is not board-certified."

Paul's ABO certification lapsed on December 31, 2005, and Paul has since been certified by the NBO. ABO administrator Beth Ann Slembarski says that over 95 percent of the nation’s practicing ophthalmologists have American Board of Ophthalmology certification. Regardless of his additional certifications, Paul has been licensed by the state to practice medicine in Kentucky since 1993, and his license is in good standing with no history of disciplinary action. The Courier-Journal reported: "There is no indication that Paul isn't qualified to practice ophthalmology."

Political activism

As founder and chairman of the anti-tax organization Kentucky Taxpayers United (KTU) since 1994, Paul regularly presents "taxpayers' friend" awards to state legislators. KTU, which regards itself as nonpartisan, but is criticized for being ideologically conservative, examines legislator records on taxation and spending to inform voters where their own lawmakers stand on the issues. Paul's editorial commentary on behalf of KTU has been published and recognized in the ''Kentucky Post''.

KTU sponsors the Taxpayer's Pledge of Americans for Tax Reform, encouraging politicians to pledge publicly to vote uniformly against tax raises. Nine of fifteen Northern Kentucky legislators signed the pledge, such as Senator Dick Roeding and Representative Royce Adams in 1996. In 2000, these legislators considered a hotel room tax hike (favored by Governor Paul Patton for helping expand the Dr. Albert B. Sabin Convention Center in nearby Cincinnati), even though the increase might "incur the wrath of Paul's group," as two newspapers put it.

Paul stated that Patton's argument for "revenue recovery" was merely a euphemism for taxes and said that KTU would fight reelection of any pledge-breakers; Adams requested in writing that Paul's group release him from his pledge, stating that it only applied to his first term. By the close of session in April, the tax increase had failed, although Patton had achieved most of his intended budget; Paul stated legislators were pressured to finalize the budget by deadline rather than to "face accusations of shutting down government."

Paul often speaks on his father's behalf, and he and his son William attended the third Republican presidential debate of 2007 in New Hampshire, as well as campaigned door-to-door in the state for his father. At a New Hampshire rally with 250 in attendance (plus 30 members of his own family), Paul repeated a campaign meme by pretending to take a call from Rudy Giuliani during his remarks, and joking that Giuliani needed campaigners and wanted to borrow the Paul family.

On December 16, 2007, the 234th anniversary of the Boston Tea Party, Paul spoke at Faneuil Hall in favor of small government principles, calling for what CNN termed a "modern day revolution." He continued campaigning across the country for his father in 2008, traveling as far as Montana.

Paul has co-authored a book entitled ''The Tea Party Goes to Washington'' with Jack Hunter, released on February 22, 2011. It defends the Tea Party movement.

Electoral history

Primary campaign

In the beginning of 2009, Paul was the focus of an online grassroots movement to draft him in a bid to replace beleaguered Republican Kentucky senator Jim Bunning. The news of his potential candidacy became a topic of national interest and was discussed in the ''Los Angeles Times'' and locally in the Kentucky press. Commenting on Paul's possible candidacy, Congressman Ron Paul noted that "Should Senator Bunning decide not to run, I think Rand would make a great U.S. Senator."

On May 1, 2009, Paul officially confirmed that if Bunning, whose fundraising in 2009 has matched his poor numbers in opinion polling for the 2010 election, declined to seek a third term, he would almost certainly run in the Republican Party primary to succeed him, and formed an exploratory committee soon after, while still promising to stay out of the race if Bunning had ultimately decided to run for re-election. Paul made this announcement on MSNBC's ''The Rachel Maddow Show'', though the news was first broken by a local Kentucky news site.

On July 28, 2009, Bunning announced that he would not run for re-election, after facing insufficient fundraising. This announcement left only Paul and Secretary of State Trey Grayson as the remaining candidates for the Republican nomination, with Paul announcing on August 5, 2009 that he would officially run for the U.S. Senate as a Republican. The announcement was made through a series of national TV events, radio, and other programs, as well as through newspapers in Kentucky.

Early fundraising success

On August 20, 2009, Paul's grassroots planned a moneybomb to kick off his campaign for United States Senate. The official campaign took in $433,509 in 24 hours. According to Paul, This set a new record in Kentucky's political fundraising history in a 24-hour period.

A second "moneybomb" was held on September 23, 2009, to counter a D.C. fundraiser being held for primary opponent Trey Grayson, by 23 Republican United States Senators, 17 of whom voted for the bank bailout. The theme was a UFC "fight" between Paul and "We the People" vs. Trey Grayson and the "D.C. Insiders." The money bomb ended up raising $186,276 for Paul in 24 hours on September 23; bringing Paul's Senate campaign's total raised to over one million. Later in the campaign, Paul claimed his pledge to not take money from lobbyist and Senators who voted for the bailout was only a "primary pledge" and Paul later held a DC fundraiser with the same Senators who were the target of the September 23, 2009 "moneybomb." Paul ended up raising some $3 million during the primary period.

Primary victory

Although Grayson was considered the frontrunner in July 2009, Paul found success characterizing Grayson as a "career politician" and challenging Grayson's conservatism. Paul ran an ad in February that made an issue out of Grayson's September 2008 admission that he voted for Bill Clinton when he was 20 years old. Although the Paul campaign later removed the video from YouTube, Paul's Democratic general election competitor put it back up on October 20 after Paul had taken exception to the Democrat making an issue out of Paul's own college-age actions. James Dobson, a Christian evangelical figure, endorsed Grayson on April 26 based on the advice of what Dobson described as "senior members of the GOP", but on May 3 the Paul campaign announced that Dobson had changed his endorsement to Paul after Paul and some Paul supporters had lobbied Dobson insisting on Paul's social conservative bona fides.

On May 18 Paul won the Republican Senatorial primary by a 23.4% margin, meaning he would face the Kentucky Attorney General Jack Conway, in the November 2 general election.

General campaign

On June 28, 2010, Rand Paul supporters held their first post-primary online fundraising drive, this time promoted as a "money blast."

BP oil spill comments

On May 21, 2010, Paul generated some controversy by characterizing statements made by Obama administration officials regarding the BP oil spill cleanup as sounding "un-American". Paul said: }}Paul may have been referring to a statement by Interior Secretary Ken Salazar, who said "our job is basically to keep the boot on the neck of British Petroleum to carry out the responsibilities that they have, both under the law and contractually to move forward and to stop this spill." Salazar's remark was later slightly misquoted as "boot on the throat" by Press Secretary Robert Gibbs. Gibbs clarified at the same press conference, when asked if this metaphor did not imply hostility to BP, "I think the President accurately conveyed in his remarks yesterday that we are going to do everything humanly possible, and ensure that BP is doing everything humanly possible, to deal with this as comprehensively and as quickly as they can."

Private property and civil rights

Paul criticized the ''Bowling Green Daily News'' on May 30, 2002 for supporting the Fair Housing Act. He explained that "a free society will abide unofficial, private discrimination, even when that means allowing hate-filled groups to exclude people based on the color of their skin." On May 19, 2010, Paul stated that he favors 9 out of 10 titles of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, but had he been a senator during 1960s, he would have raised some questions on the constitutionality of Title II of the Act, which prohibits private businesses who provide public accommodations from discriminating on the basis of race, religion, or national origin against their customers, arguing that it infringes upon constitutional freedoms. Paul stated on National Public Radio, "I'm in favor of everything with regards to ending institutional racism". Paul favors community and neighborhood pressure to persuade private businesses, rather than federal laws that he argued might violate the constitution. Paul said he abhors racism, and he would have marched with Martin Luther King Jr. to repeal Jim Crow Laws. Paul's comments on Title II of Civil Rights Act of 1964 stirred controversy and brought concern among Republican party insiders about his viability in the general election. Paul later released a statement declaring that he would have voted for the Act and stated "unequivocally ... that I will not support any efforts to repeal the Civil Rights Act of 1964". Paul stating that while he "abhors racism," he doesn't like the idea of the federal government determining who a business may serve. Amid a flurry of controversy, Paul became the first American politician to cancel an appearance on ''Meet the Press'' in their 64-year history. Additionally, RNC Chairman Michael Steele, publicly denounced him, saying that Paul's opposition to the Civil Rights Act is a "misplaced" philosophy for the 21st Century.

Paul addressed his feelings about intentions of the legislation relating to public offices, stating that he "overwhelmingly agrees with the intent of the [Civil Rights Act] which was to stop discrimination in the public sphere and halt the abhorrent practice of segregation and Jim Crow laws," and that Constitutional challenges to the law have been settled by the courts.

Endorsements

Paul has secured endorsements from several public figures and political organizations. They include the Downsize DC Foundation, Concerned Women for America, Gun Owners of America, Steve Forbes, FreedomWorks, Club for Growth, James Dobson, Sarah Palin, Jim DeMint, Cathy Bailey, Jim Bunning, Erick Erickson, National Federation of Independent Business, Council for Citizens Against Government Waste, National Right to Life, US Chamber of Commerce, National Vietnam and Gulf War Veterans Coalition, Mike Huckabee, and Tony Perkins/FRC Action PAC.

U.S. Senate career

Tenure

Paul was sworn in on January 5, 2011 along with his father, marking the first time in congressional history that a child served in the Senate while the parent simultaneously served in the House of Representatives. He was assigned to serve on the Energy and Natural Resources, Health, Education, Labor and Pensions, Homeland Security and Government Affairs, and Small Business committees. Paul also formed the Senate Tea Party Caucus with Jim DeMint and Mike Lee as its inaugural members. Paul’s first legislative proposal was to cut $500 billion from federal spending in one year. This proposal includes cutting the Department of Education by 83 percent and the Department of Homeland Security by 43 percent, as well as folding the Department of Energy into the Department of Defense and eliminating the Department of Housing and Urban Development. Seven independent agencies would be eliminated and food stamps would be cut by 30 percent. Under Paul’s proposal, defense spending would be reduced by 6.5 percent and international aid would be eliminated. He later proposed a five-year budget plan that he believed would balance the budget.

In February, Paul was one of two Republicans to vote against extending three key provisions of the USA PATRIOT Act (roving wiretaps, searches of business records, and conducting surveillance of "lone wolves" — individuals not linked to terrorist groups). In May, he remained the last senator opposing the PATRIOT Act, and was ultimately defeated on May 26.

On March 2, Paul was one of nine senators to vote against a stopgap bill that cut $4 billion from the budget and temporarily prevent a government shutdown, citing that it did not cut enough from the budget. One week later, Paul voted against the Democratic and Republican budget proposals to keep funding the federal government, citing that both bills did not cut enough spending. Both bills failed to pass the senate. He later voted against stopgap measures on March 17 and April 8, both of which passed the senate. On April 14, Paul was one of 19 senators to vote against a budget that cut $38.5 billion from the budget and fund the government for the remainder of the fiscal year. Paul voiced opposition to U.S. intervention in the Libyan civil war and has criticized President Obama for not gaining congressional consent for Operation Odyssey Dawn. During the debt ceiling crisis, Paul stated that he would only support raising the debt ceiling if a balanced budget amendment was enacted. Paul was a supporter of the Cut, Cap and Balance Act, which was tabled by the Democrats. On August 3, Paul voted against a bill that would raise the debt ceiling.

On September 7, Paul called for a vote of no confidence in Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner. Later that month, Paul blocked legislation that would strengthen safety rules for oil and gas pipelines because he felt the bill was not strong enough. In October, Paul blocked a bill that would provide $36 million in benefits for elderly and disabled refugees, saying that he was concerned that it could be used to aid domestic terrorists. This was in response to two alleged terrorists, who came to the United States through a refugee program and were receiving welfare benefits, were arrested in 2011 in Paul’s hometown of Bowling Green. Paul lifted his hold on the bill after Democratic leaders promised to hold a congressional hearing into how individuals are selected for refugee status and request an investigation on how the two suspects were admitted in the country through a refugee program.

Committee assignments

Committee on Energy and Natural Resources

*Subcommittee on Energy

Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions

*Subcommittee on Primary Health and Aging

Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs

*Ad Hoc Subcommittee on Contracting Oversight

*Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations

*Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations

Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship

Political positions

Paul supports term limits, a balanced budget amendment, and the Read the Bills Act, in addition to the widespread reduction of federal spending and taxation. He has gained prominence for his independent positions on many political issues, often clashing with both Republicans and Democrats.

Abortion and bioethics

Paul is opposed to abortion and supports a Human Life Amendment and a Life at Conception Act. He also opposes abortion in cases of rape and incest, but supports use of the morning-after pill. He opposes federal funding for abortion. He takes a states' rights position, favoring the overturn of ''Roe v. Wade'' and allowing states to decide on the legality of abortions without federal involvement.

According to the Paul campaign, Paul received a 100% pro-life score on a Kentucky Right to Life survey and indicated on the survey that he opposed human cloning. This was disputed by Kentucky Right to Life, however, who endorsed Paul's primary opponent instead and claimed that Paul did not, in fact, answer the cloning question.

Campaign finance reform

Paul opposes the Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act of 2002 and has called it a "dangerous piece of legislation". Instead, he supports regulating the contracts given out by Congress and placing limits on corporations receiving government contracts. Paul opposes legislation limiting the amount of money individuals, corporations, and organizations can give to candidates. Additionally, Paul has proposed "mandating a clause in all federal contracts over $1 million that requires the recipient to pledge not to lobby government or contribute to campaigns during the terms of the contract."

Civil liberties

Paul opposes the USA PATRIOT Act, including warrantless searches and breach of individual privacy.

Economics and tax cuts

Paul has been a longtime opponent of the bank and auto industry bailouts.

He also opposes the Federal Reserve Act of 1913 and the Federal Reserve's control of the money supply and interest rates. He has advocated allowing the free market to regulate interest rates, and supports Congress' constitutional role in controlling the money supply. Paul endorses H.R. 1207, the Federal Reserve Transparency Act, a bill, introduced by his father, mandating an audit of the Federal Reserve. Although Paul would abolish the Federal Reserve, he supports transparency and accountability of the semi-private institution. Additionally, Paul opposes inflation and supports "restoring the value of the dollar that has devalued by approximately 95% since the Federal Reserve's inception in 1913".

Paul supports tax cuts and a Balanced Budget Amendment, and has criticized both Republicans and Democrats on deficit spending.

Education

Paul supports returning control of education to local communities and parents and thus eliminating the federal Department of Education, but he says that some functions of the Department of Education, such as disbursing student loans and Pell Grants, should be transferred to other departments instead of being eliminated. Paul opposes federal regulation of homeschooling.

Energy

Paul supports allowing the free market to compete and dictate which forms of energy to use. He opposes subsidizing energy companies, and would support allowing tax breaks for companies that produce alternative energy such as wind, solar, or geothermal. He has said that subsidizing the energy industry will only add incentive for companies to lobby the federal government.

Health care

Paul opposes federal government involvement in health care. He has stated that he would repeal the HMO Act of 1973 that "drives a wedge between the patient and [one's] doctor". He believes that government has driven up the cost of health care and causes the quality and coverage to decrease. Paul would support a free market approach to health care, including tax deductions for medical expenses. He opposes federal regulations discouraging businesses from providing coverage. He supports Health Savings Accounts (HSAs). On Medicare, Paul has suggested higher deductibles as well as changes to premiums or eligibility rules as ways to address what he sees as the program's looming financial problems, saying "You want to have more participation by the person who's receiving the entitlement... by that I mean that they need to be more involved with some sort of economic transaction every time they use their entitlement, and that means they have to bear more of the burden." Paul also stated that he does not support such changes for current retirees or people nearing retirement.

Illegal immigration

Paul has proposed adding security to the border by installing an electronic fence and helicopter stations to respond to breaches. He opposes birthright citizenship for children of illegal immigrants. Paul has said that courts should review the 14th Amendment, which guarantees citizenship to "all persons born or naturalized in the United States," to conclude whether or not it should apply to the children of illegal immigrants. If court challenges fail, Paul would support a constitutional amendment that would deny citizenship to children of illegal immigrants who are born in the United States.

Medical marijuana

Paul believes the issue of medical marijuana is a states' rights issue and that the federal government should not interfere. In August, the Associated Press reported that Paul said he was opposed to the legalization of marijuana for medicinal purposes, but the Paul campaign says he was misquoted. Though Paul describes himself as a "social conservative," he was nonetheless described by the AP reporter as holding "libertarian leanings on drugs" and believing some drug sentences were too harsh.

Foreign policy and national defense

Paul holds that the primary Constitutional function of the federal government is national defense, and that the greatest national security threat is the lack of border security. He supports eliminating issuance of visas to people from “about ten rogue nations.” He supports trying terrorists caught on the battlefield in military tribunals at Guantanamo Bay detention camp. Paul believes that when the United States goes to war, Congress must declare war as mandated by the United States Constitution.

During his 2010 Senate campaign Paul questioned the idea that U.S. Middle East policy is "killing more terrorists than it creates." He supported the war in Afghanistan and opposed rapid withdrawal from Iraq. He says he would have voted against the invasion of Iraq and questioned whether the intelligence was manipulated."

He also spoke against U.S. overseas military bases.

Same-sex marriage

Paul opposes same-sex marriage, but believes the issue should be left to the States to decide.

Second Amendment

Paul would oppose all gun control legislation, a position he says is supported by the Second Amendment to the United States Constitution.

References

External links

Senator Rand Paul ''official U.S. Senate website''

Official Campaign Website

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