The Shaping of South Carolina: A Story of Adventure, Politics, and Boundary
Making
Lesson Plan
Prepared by Elizabeth Blake
Objectives
1. Students will have a better understanding of how the boundaries of South Carolina
were formed not only geographically but also historically. Students are encouraged to
have prior knowledge about Colonial America. The exhibit can be used to
demonstrate South Carolina’s struggle for power, as well as the colonies’ fight for
independence from Great Britain.
2. Students will be given a worksheet to complete while touring the exhibit. After a visit
to the Upcountry History Museum, when they have visually explored the exhibit,
students will have a greater intellectual and visceral comprehension of South
Carolina’s boundaries.
Lesson Plan
For early Junior High and late Elementary School students.
A. Prior to coming to museum
1.
Have a discussion about the definition of boundaries. Perhaps play a game or
have students draw what a boundary means to them.
2.
Discuss what students will see at the exhibit.
3.
Make a vocabulary/ID list that includes:
Proprietary
Boundary
Royal Colony
Survey
Commission
William Moultrie
Catawba
B. At the museum:
1. Have students ask questions and remind them to pay particular attention to the
inserts on the display
2. Tour exhibit
3. Complete the worksheet/interactive question guide
C. After visiting the exhibit:
1. Discuss South Carolina’s current boundaries how they came to be. Also, ask why
there are continued disagreements over the lines.
The Shaping of South Carolina: A Story of Adventure, Politics, and Boundary
Making
Exhibit Worksheet
1. What is South Carolina’s State Motto? What does it mean?
2. Who were the first people to live in the Carolinas? To which tribe did they belong?
3. The King of England, _______________, gave a stretch of land called ___________
to Sir Robert ____________.
4. The Charter of _____________ was established in the year ________, with new
territories added in __________.
5. ______________________ became Carolina’s capital city in 1670.
6. What was the proprietary period? In what year did it end?
7. Briefly describe, in your own words, the science behind setting a boundary.
8. In ________, North and South Carolina became two separate royal colonies.
9. Locating the _____ degree parallel creating many problems in defining South
Carolina’s borders.
10. The ____________ River provides a natural border between South Carolina and
Georgia.
11. In 1787, what did the Treaty of Beaufort establish?
12. Which area became the most highly disputed boundary line?
Bonus:
1. What are the two main lines called that divide the world into hemispheres?
2. Around how many years ago did the boundary issues start in South Carolina?
3. Who sponsored the exhibit you are seeing today at the Upcountry History Museum?
The South Carolina Historical Society, 100 Meeting Street, Charleston, SC 29401
www.southcarolinahistoricalsociety.org 843-723-3225
Currently in its 158th year of collecting, preserving, and publishing the history of the Palmetto
State, the South Carolina Historical Society, headquartered at the Robert Mills Fireproof
Building in Charleston, is the state’s oldest historical society and one of its largest private
manuscript archives. Since its founding in 1855, the Society has been the guardian of South
Carolina’s written past, and without its safekeeping, countless vital historic documents would
have been lost. The Historical Society’s manuscript collection, which grows constantly with the
addition of materials from 200 years ago to two weeks ago, has shaped the work of thousands of
authors interested in South Carolina history. The Society’s research library serves thousands of
patrons annually.
School groups should call to make an appointment.