By Andy Brack
For a state of its size, South Carolina has a continuing history of leading on the national stage. From founding fathers and early leaders who shaped the direction of the nation in good and not-so-good ways to modern politicians guiding debate, they’ve shared thoughts that illuminate today. Here are a few, in chronological order:
Charles Pinckney (1757-1824): A founding father whose draft of a federal constitution called for a single chief executive and elimination of religious testing as a qualification for public office, once reportedly said, “We have already taught some of the oldest and wisest nations to explore their rights as men.”
John Rutledge Jr. (1766-1819): A Charleston congressman from 1797 to 1803 and son of Founding Father John Rutledge: “So long as we may have an independent Judiciary, the great interests of the people will be safe.”
John C. Calhoun (1782-1850): The nation’s seventh vice president and thinker behind the theory of nullification that framed Southern nationalism, noted in an 1848 speech about war with Mexico: “It is harder to preserve than to obtain liberty. After years of prosperity, the tenure by which it is held, is but too often forgotten; and I fear, Senators, that such is the case with us. There is no solicitude now about liberty.”
James L. Pettigru (1789-1863): A South Carolina lawyer who opposed nullification, surprised many in December 1860 by saying: “South Carolina is too small for a republic, but too large for an insane asylum.”
J. Waites Waring (1880-1968): A federal judge from Charleston who was the first to write in a school desegregation case that separate was not equal: “Segregation is per se inequality,” he wrote in an eloquent 1952 dissent to Briggs v. Elliott, a test case that formed the legal foundation of the U.S. Supreme Court’s landmark 1954 Brown v. Board of Education decision banning segregation.
Strom Thurmond (1902-2003): The long-serving U.S. senator who ran for president in 1948 as a Dixiecrat, opposed integration in 1956: “The white people of the South are the greatest minority in this nation. They deserve consideration and understanding instead of the persecution of twisted propaganda.” As years passed, he softened his stance.
Esau Jenkins (1910-1972): A Johns Island civil rights leader, painted this saying on the back of a Volkswagen van: “Love is progress; hate is expensive.” It is now part of the Smithsonian Museum collection in Washington, D.C.
Fritz Hollings (1922-2019): The dynamic U.S. senator had a colorful way with language, noting in budget debates that “the ox is in the ditch” or observing that something that didn’t make sense was like “the fireplug wetting the dog.” But he believed in making government work for people, as outlined in a 2008 book: “The country is in serious trouble, and we don’t have the luxury of anti-government politicking. It is our duty to make the government work.”
Carroll A. Campbell Jr. (1940-2005): The Republican governor who pushed restructuring in his 1990 reelection campaign: “State government today is run by a bunch of unelected, unaccountable bureaucrats, most of whom the taxpayers have never heard of. The only way to make them accountable to you is to put the governor, who is elected by the people, in charge of agencies that spend billions in tax dollars.”
Nikki Haley (1972- ): Former S.C. governor and presidential candidate on GOP presidential candidate Donald Trump earlier this year, “The truth is, rightly or wrongly, chaos follows him. We have too much division in this country, and too many threats around the world to be sitting in chaos once again.”
Finally, one more that’s not political.
James Brown (1933-2006): Soul singer. “I feel good.”
Andy Brack is editor and publisher of Statehouse Report and the Charleston City Paper. Have a comment? Send to feedback@statehousereport.com.
