South Carolina Government: An Introduction offers a compelling and comprehensive overview of the responsibilities and powers of government at the local, municipal, county, and state levels in South Carolina. Paying particular attention to fiscal policy, tax issues, and governmental planning, the contributors explain duties and connections between various state institutions and discuss key components of contemporary government from human resource management and budgeting to special interest groups, political parties, and elections.

Like several other southern states, South Carolina's political tradition has pri-marily been that of its Democratic party: between 1920 and 1950 no Republican candidate for governor, the U.S. Senate, or U.S. House of Representatives received more than 5 percent of the popular vote. In discussing the state's history, Blease Graham Jr. and William V. Moore show how internal politics have traditionally been determined by race, class, and region, with an unusually wide acceptance of aristocratic rule. The uncompromising John C. Calhoun, one of South Carolina's most famous congressmen, warning of the dire consequences of giving way to democracy, led the state as the first to secede from the union in 1860. After the war, with a new constitution, South Carolina's government became more democratic; however, "Pitchfork" Ben Tillman, through his agrarian Reform Party, appealed to white Democrats and small farmers in an effort to eliminate all but whites from the state's politics. The Civil Rights movement, industrial renovation, and shifts in South Carolina’s economy have gradually altered the state's political culture. The racist politics of the post-Civil War era have slowly been chipped away by federal and state initiatives. Long dominated by its legislature (itself often dominated by alumni in Congress), state government has gradually accorded more power to the governor. No less significant, South Carolina has gradually relinquished its antipathy toward the federal government, recognizing the need for cooperation. Despite changes, the direction of state policy continues to be primarily in the hands of the business elite. South Carolina Politics and Government outlines the ways that South Carolinians and their long-standing traditionalistic political culture will continue to be challenged by economic and social changes in the future. Besides providing the historical background of South Carolina's society and government, Graham and Moore review recent elections and party competition; the state's legislative, executive, and judicial branches; and policies in areas relating to local government, education, and public safety.

Building on the foundation of South Carolina Government: An Introduction, this follow-up volumes offers an edifying and instructive collection of material on South Carolina at the outset of the twenty-first century. Articulating the state's change from an agrarian-based society to an industrial and tourist economy, this volume explores the changing intergovernmental, demographic, and global contexts for the state and delves into the educational, environmental, and health issues facing policymakers. The contributors also provide an extensive analysis of women and minorities in politics, racial and religious influences in the rise of republicanism, and the current effects of the information age on government.