The South Carolina Archives and History Foundation will present an exhibit titled South Carolina’s Reconstruction: Restoration, Revolution, Reaction which will offer a concise overview of the period of Reconstruction following the American Civil War. The exhibit will open on April 25, 2018 and will be on display through the end of December. SC Humanities supported this program with a Major Grant.
South Carolina’s Reconstruction: Restoration, Revolution, Reaction will use the holdings of the South Carolina Department of Archives and History to provide visitors insight into this often misunderstood era. Original copies of three of the state’s constitutions – those written in 1865, 1868, and 1895 – will serve as anchor points for the exhibit. Together, these documents, along with others drawn from the Archive’s collections, will trace the broad arc of Reconstruction. From the Black Codes of 1865, which sought to deny African Americans any of the tangible benefits of citizenship, to the Constitution of 1868, which was drafted by a majority Black delegation, to the Constitution of 1895, which stripped Black men of their right to vote, the exhibit explores both the fleeting experiment in biracial democracy during Reconstruction and the unfulfilled promise of that vision for American Society.
The exhibit opening will take place on Wednesday, April 25 from 6 – 8 pm and is open to the public.
For more information about the exhibit, contact South Carolina Department of Archives and History at 803-896-6203.
The mission of SC Humanities is to enrich the cultural and intellectual lives of all South Carolinians. Established in 1973, this 501(c) 3 organization is governed by a volunteer 20-member Board of Directors comprised of community leaders from throughout the state. It presents and/or supports literary initiatives, lectures, exhibits, festivals, publications, oral history projects, videos and other humanities-based experiences that directly or indirectly reach more than 250,000 citizens annually.
Image: 1868 General Assembly, from the collection of the SC Dept. of Archives and History
