This 1974 Sandlapper's Corner walks us through history leading up to the War Between the States. The Northern and Southern states had vastly different world views and while the North consisted of cities and industries, the South had large plantations made possible by slavery. Tensions mounted with the election of Abraham Lincoln to the United States Presidency. South Carolina was the first state to secede, and the rest of the Southern states also seceded thereafter. The South created the Confederacy of Southern States with Jefferson Davis as its president, and Robert E. Lee, commander of its armies.
After the firing on Fort Sumter and the Federal troops, the Civil War began in earnest. Key battles and Sherman's march through the South and the destruction of Columbia are highlighted. After the war was over, the issues in the South were compounded during Reconstruction.
The camera follows tourists as they visit the historic sites, and we follow in particular a young boy named Ashley whose experiences include a demonstration of firing a 12 pounder cannon, as well as a period rifle of the time.
Visitors are encouraged to visit Fort Sumter as well as Fort Moultrie and to visit the restored Hunley submarine which had been cobbled together using half of a boiler.
Sandlapper’s Corner was a children's educational program that began airing on SCETV in the 1970s. Produced by Dr. Sandra G. Thomas, the show was about South Carolina—its people and places, its present and past.
