As we moved from one stairwell to the other, we were able to view up close another beautiful feature of the twin stairwells, the yellow jessamine border that trims the staircase. The yellow jessamine is the state flower of South Carolina. Each spring, South Carolinians are treated to the return of the yellow flowers emerging on the climbing vine. The trumpet shaped flowers produce an unmistakable spicy scent. It was chosen as the state flower by our legislature in 1924 because, as it was noted, it is "indigenous to every part of our state. BUT, don't eat it because it is poisonous!
Here is the video from the rededication of the tablet to the Signers of the Constitution from South Carolina. Below the video is the script in the event you are unable to hear any portion. After the script, you will find a brief history of the South Carolina signers.
Don't forget to turn up the volume on your computer. The video isn't perfect, but I hope you enjoy it anyway.
Script
for the Re-dedication Ceremony Monuments, Tablets, and Medallions Placed by the
SCDAR at the SC State House
South
Carolina State House Grounds
June
13, 2018
Written
by Penny Renwick
DIANNE:
On the twin stairwell opposite the tablet to
the Signers of the Declaration of Independence is the tablet to the Signers of
The Constitution of the United States. This tablet was placed during the
Sesquicentennial of the founding of the capital city of South Carolina. The project was started during the
administration of Della Coulter and was completed in the final year of the
administration of Frances Mauldin.
PENNY:
As stated by Frances Mauldin, State
Regent 1933-1936, she considered the placing of this tablet the outstanding
achievement of her administration. Grand
dedicatory exercises were held on March 25, 1936 in the Hall of the House of
Representatives which were marked by great ceremony and dignity. The date of this
occasion was part of the Sesquicentennial of the founding of the Capital City
of South Carolina. Judge Bonham of the
Supreme Court made the chief address that day.
The Chief Justice, the Associate Justices, the Judiciary both Federal
and State, the Governor, and scores of others were in attendance. The Washington Light Infantry of Charleston
carried the historic Eutaw Battle Flag.
It is worth noting that the
delegates from South Carolina to the Constitutional Convention arrived early
and remained to the end. All of them
signed the draft which is an honor shared with only three other states. These men stood out in the Convention as
leaders and would be considered among the state’s most distinguished sons in
their later years.
DIANNE:
We the People of the United
States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure
domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defence, promote the general
Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do
ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America. These are the words of the Preamble of the
Constitution. This living document was
written as a complement to the Declaration of Independence. While the Declaration provided for the philosophical
basis for a new government that exercised its power from the consent of the
governed of a free people, the Constitution provided the framework by which
that government would operate that would act in accord with the principles of
liberty delineated in the Declaration.
We celebrate the efforts of the
SCDAR Daughters to provide a constant and beautiful reminder to those who visit
the State House as well as those who serve our state in the legislature of the
complete dedication to the creation of our country by our signers.
The companion tablets located in the
twin stairwells are a profound demonstration by our former daughters of how our
state representatives must ever be mindful that the operation of our government
must always be attentive to the philosophical basis for our government, that
our Constitution must be a reflection of our Declaration.
PLACE FLORAL ARRANGEMENT.
Pause.
DIANNE: Thank
you.
The Signers of the Constitution from South Carolina
Pierce Butler (1744-1822)
Butler was elected to the assembly in 1778 and the next year
served as adjutant general in the South Carolina militia. The War for Independence cost him much of
his property, and his finances were so precarious for a time that he was forced
to travel to Amsterdam to seek a personal loan. In 1786 the assembly appointed
him to a commission charged with settling a state boundary dispute.
He was appointed one of the state’s
first two senators (1789) and served until he resigned in 1796. He was
appointed a seat in the United States Senate in 1803 but resigned (again)
before the end of his appointment in 1804.
During the Constitutional Convention, he was an outspoken
nationalist who attended practically every session and was a key spokesman for
the Madison-Wilson caucus. On his return to South Carolina Butler defended the
Constitution but did not participate in the ratifying convention. Service in the
U.S. Senate followed. But, for the most part, his later career was
spent as a wealthy planter. In his last years, he moved to Philadelphia,
apparently to be near a daughter who had married a local physician. Butler died
there in 1822 at the age of 77 and was buried in the yard of Christ Church.
Charles Pinckney (1757-1824)
As a young man, Pinckney enlisted in the militia. He became a lieutenant, and served at the
siege of Savannah. When Charleston fell to the British the next year, he was captured and remained a prisoner until June 1781.
Pinckney had also begun a political career, serving in
the Continental Congress and in the state legislature.
His role in the Constitutional Convention is
controversial. Although one of the youngest delegates, he later claimed to have
been the most influential one and contended he had submitted a draft that was
the basis of the final Constitution. Most historians have rejected this
assertion. They do, however, recognize that he ranked among the leaders. He
attended full time, spoke often and effectively, and contributed immensely to
the final draft and to the resolution of problems that arose during the
debates. He also worked for ratification in South Carolina.
Subsequently, Pinckney's career blossomed. He was elected governor of South Carolina for three
different terms, and also served as a United States Senator. He resigned his
senate seat to become minister to Spain from 1801-1809, served in the South
Carolina state legislature (1810-1814), and then became a member of the House
of Representatives from 1819-1821 where he adamantly opposed the Missouri
Compromise.
In 1821, Pinckney's health beginning to fail, he retired
for the last time from politics. He died in 1824, just 3 days after his 67th
birthday. He was laid to rest in Charleston at St. Philip's Episcopal
Churchyard.
Charles Cotesworth Pinckney
(1746-1825)
When South Carolina organized its forces in 1775, he
joined the First South Carolina Regiment as a captain. He soon rose to the rank
of colonel and fought in the South in defense of Charleston and in the North at
the Battles of Brandywine, PA, and Germantown, PA. He commanded a regiment in
the campaign against the British in the Floridas in 1778 and at the siege of
Savannah. When Charleston fell in 1780, he was taken prisoner and held until
1782. The following year, he was discharged as a brevet brigadier general.
Pinckney was one
of the leaders at the Constitutional Convention. After the convention, he
defended the Constitution in South Carolina.served
as the United States Minister to France during the administration of George
Washington and was part of the mission to France during the so-called “XYZ
Affair.” It was Pinckney who said at the time, “Millions for defense, sir, but
not one cent for tribute!,” which is inscribed on the rear side of the plateau
of the battleship silver and upon his return to the United States he began to
prepare for a war with France with former President Washington and Alexander
Hamilton. However, the situation was resolved before it could come to that. He
ran unsuccessfully for the vice presidency as the Federalist candidate along
with John Adams in 1800 and also lost his bid for the presidency against Thomas
Jefferson in 1804 and James Madison in 1808.
John Rutledge (1739-1800)
In 1778 the conservative Rutledge, disapproving of
democratic revisions in the state constitution, resigned his position. In 1779, Rutledge was elected as governor. When Charleston fell, the American army was
captured, and the British confiscated Rutledge's property. He ultimately
escaped to North Carolina and set about attempting to rally forces to recover
South Carolina. In 1781, aided by Gen. Nathanael Greene and a new Continental
Army force, he reestablished the government. In January 1782 he resigned the
governorship and took a seat in the lower house of the legislature. He never
recouped the financial losses he suffered during the war.
Rutledge was a delegate to the Continental Congress with
his younger brother. He was one of the most influential delegates at the
Constitutional Convention, where he attended all the sessions, spoke often and
effectively, and served on five committees.
Rutledge was appointed an Associate
Justice of the Supreme Court (1789-1791). He was then appointed Chief Justice
of the Supreme Court in 1795, but was not confirmed because of his negative
feelings toward the Jay Treaty.
He suffered intermittent mental illness following and since the death
of his wife in 1792 and died in 1800 at the age of 60. He was interred at St. Michael's Episcopal
Church in Charleston.
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