Settling Carolina
Historical Background
“In order to encourage immigration, huge tracts of land were given to settlers in the
colony through the headright system. In the headright system every person who paid their
passage to the New World received land. Wealthy individuals who paid the passage of others
received their tracts of land. This led to the establishment of the plantation system that required
an abundance of laborers. Slaves were critical because they provided a cheap and dependable
source of labor. Slavery made the large plantations successful and thus made the plantation
owners very wealthy. A well-developed slave system came from the British West Indies with the
original English settlers. The colony of South Carolina had rich natural resources that also
contributed to the development of the plantation system. South Carolina had an abundance of
fertile land, a mild climate, and many waterways. Waterways were an excellent means for
transporting cash crops to market. The fertile land made growing various cash crops profitable.”
James Oglethorpe was the founder of the colony of Georgia. Oglethorpe was a
philanthropist who worked in Parliament for the rights of debtors and the poor. Oglethorpe
intended Georgia to be both a refuge for Britain’s growing debtor population, as well as a buffer
between hostile Spanish Florida and South Carolina. In this selection Oglethorpe offers his view
of South Carolina’s climate and natural resources. Oglethorpe was writing in hopes of
encouraging British support of settlement in Georgia.
Oglethorpe invested heavily in the founding of Georgia, and his ability to attract settlers
and investments determined the success of his venture. Oglethorpe saw Georgia as an
opportunity to relieve pressure on the British government, who at the time was dealing with
overcrowded prisons. Oglethorpe also hoped to develop a profitable colony where debtors could
be given a second chance and a better future. Oglethorpe believed that Georgia was suited
perfectly for the “sorts” of inhabitants he was appealing to, and that under the proper conditions
their plight could be reversed. He sought to ban the importation of alcohol, so as to provide a
more socially responsible society, and also hoped to ban slavery to avoid conflicts resulting from
revolts he believed would be encouraged by the nearby Spanish in Florida. He also billed
Georgia as a perfect buffer between South Carolinians and inhospitable native tribes in the
interior. In the end, market forces driven by a burgeoning rice trade made his social experiment
unsuccessful.
South Carolina Social Studies Support Document, Grade 8, 2008 http://ed.sc.gov/agency/Standards-and-Learning/AcademicStandards/old/cso/social_studies/social.html
South Carolina Standards
8-1.3 Summarize the history of European settlement in Carolina from the first attempts to settle
at San Miguel de Gualdape, Charlesfort, San Felipe, and Albemarle Point to the time of South
Carolina’s establishment as an economically important British colony, including the diverse
origins of the settlers, the early government, the importance of the plantation system and slavery,
and the impact of the natural environment on the development of the colony. (H, G, P, E)
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Settling Carolina
Objectives


Students will work in pairs to read Oglethorpe’s descriptions
Students will respond by writing their own modern day description of South Carolina’s
climate, wildlife and resources
Time Required
Recommended Grade Level
1-2 class periods
Middle/High
Lesson Materials

Excerpt from A New and Accurate Account of the Provinces of South-Carolina and
Georgia: With Many Curious and Useful Observations on the Trade, Navigation and
Plantations of Great-Britain, Compared with Her Most Powerful Maritime Neighbours in
Antient and Modern Times written by James Edward Oglethorpe, 1732. (See excerpt
below) The full document can be found at
http://docsouth.unc.edu/southlit/oglethorpe/oglethorpe.html
Lesson Preparation
1. Download and print Oglethorpe excerpt for student use
2. Download and print grading rubric for assessment
3. Prepare a presentation of the facts to be explained along with the activity.
Lesson Procedure
1. Students should imagine that they are charged with encouraging modern-day settlement
of South Carolina. The goal is to reach understanding by placing students in the same
situation that Oglethorpe was in.
2. Break Students into pairs and distribute a copy of the excerpt of James Oglethorpe
Description of Climate and Resources, 1732.
3. Ask students to read the selection quietly. Students should read critically to determine if
they think Oglethorpe was being honest in his report.
4. Once students finish reading the selection, ask each pair to create their description of
South Carolina. This should be a 1-2 page written description intended for distribution to
people who have never been to, nor have prior knowledge of South Carolina and its
natural resources. Remind them that, like Oglethorpe, they are “selling” their state to
outsiders. Their goal is encourage settlement, it is up to them to decide how much to
embellish the facts.
5. After students finish their description, ask several groups to share highlights from their
report. During this time the teacher should lead a class discussion about the
responsibility of someone in Oglethorpe’s position to be 100% honest in his description.
Were the students 100% honest? Remind them that settlers in the 18th century often had
to give up everything to leave their homeland for America. How was Oglethorpe
different from any modern-day salesman? How was the settlement of Georgia different
from that of South Carolina? How was it similar?
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Settling Carolina
Assessment
During the reading, the teacher should check for progress and understanding. During the class
discussion, the teacher should check for understanding. The teacher should use the attached
grading rubric to grade student’s written responses.
Lesson Extension Options
 Have students create a broadside (flyer) that encourages people to come to South
Carolina.
Digital Collections Information
This lesson plan can be found in the Primary Sources for K-12 Pilot Project collection available
from the University of South Carolina’s Digital Collections Library. To see more from this
collection please visit the following link. http://www.sc.edu/library/digital/collections/K-12.html
To see other collections that may be helpful to your search, visit the Digital Collections
homepage by clicking here http://sc.edu/library/digital/index.php or visit SCDL’s collections by
clicking here http://www.scmemory.org/index.php .
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Settling Carolina
James Oglethorpe Description of Climate and Resources 1732
“THE Air is Healthy, being always serene, pleasant and temperate, never subject to excessive
Heat or Cold, nor to sudden Changes; the Winter is regular and short, and the Summer cool'd with
refreshing Breezes; and tho' this Country is within Three Hundred Miles of Virginia, it never feels the
cutting North-West-Wind in that uneasy and dangerous Degree that the Virginians complain of.
This Wind is generally attributed to those great Seas of fresh Water which lie to the Northwest
beyond the Apalachean Mountains. It seems a Journey of an Hundred Leagues in that warm Climate,
blunts the Edge which the Wind gets in its Passage over those prodigious Lakes. Nor on the other Hand
doth this Country ever feel the intense Heats of Spain, Barbary, Italy, and Ægypt; probably because,
instead of the scorching Sands of Africk and Arabia, it has to the Southward, the spacious Bay of Mexico,
which is much more temperate in its effect upon the Winds, than are those burning sandy Desarts.
The Soil of this Country is generally Sandy, especially near the Sea; but 'tis impregnated with
such a fertile Mixture that they use no Manure, even in their most antient Settlements, which have been
under till age these Sixty Years. It will produce almost every Thing in wonderful Quantities with very
little Culture. Farther up the Country the Land is more mixed with a blackish Mould, and its Foundation
generally Clay good for Bricks. They make their Lime of Oyster shells, of which there are great
Quantities on Banks near the Shore. All Things will undoubtedly thrive in this Country that are to be
found in the happiest Places under the same Latitude. Their Rice, the only considerable Staple which
requires many of their Hands at present, is known to be incomparably better than that of the East Indies;
their Pitch, Tar and Turpentine (of which they export great Quantities) are the Rewards of their Industry
in clearing the Land of superfluous Timber.* Mulberries both Black and White, are Natives of this Soil,
and are found in the Woods as are many other Sorts of Fruit-Trees of excellent Kinds, and the Growth of
them is surprizingly swift; for a Peach, Apricot, or Nectarine, will, from the Stone, grow to be a bearing
Tree in four or five Years Time. All Sorts of Corn yield an amazing Increase, an Hundred Fold is the
common Estimate, tho' their Husbandry is so slight, that they can only be said to scratch the Earth and
meerly to cover the Seed.
All the best Sorts of Cattle and Fowls are multiplied without Number, and therefore almost
without a Price; you may see there more than a Thousand Calves in the same Inclosure belonging to one
Person.
The Vine is also a wild Native here, Five or Six Sorts grow wild in the Woods; it has been said
that the Stone of the Grape is too large, and the Skin too thick, but several who have tried, find all
imaginable Encouragement to propagate the different Kinds from Europe; nor is it doubted that by proper
Culture this wild Grape may be meliorated, so as well to reward the Care of the Planter.
The wild Beasts are Deer, Elks, Bears, Wolves, Buffaloes, Wild-Boars, and abundance of Hares
and Rabbits: They have also the Cata-mountain, or small Leopard; but this is not the dangerous Species of
the East Indies. Their Fowls are no less various; they have all the Sorts that we have in England, both
wild and tame, and many others either useful or beautiful. It would be endless to enumerate their Fishes,
the River Savannah is plentifully stock'd with them of many excellent Kinds: No Part in the World affords
more Variety or greater Plenty. They have Oak, Cedar, Cypress, Fir, Walnut and Ash, besides the
Sassafras. They have Oranges, Lemons, Apples and Pears, besides the Peach and Apricot mention'd
before; some of* these are so delicious, that whoever tastes them will despise the insipid watry Taste of
those we have in England; and yet such is the Plenty of them, that they are given to the Hogs in great
Quantities.
Sarsaparilla, Cassia, and other Sorts of Trees grow in the Woods, yielding Gums and Rosin, and
also some Oyl excellent for curing Wounds.”
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Settling Carolina
Grading Rubric
CATEGORY 4 - Above Standards
3 - Meets Standards
2 - Approaching Standards
1 - Below Standards
Support for Includes 3 or more
pieces of evidence
Position
(facts, statistics,
examples, real-life
experiences) that
support the position
statement. The writer
anticipates the reader's
concerns, biases or
arguments and has
provided at least 1
counter-argument.
Includes 3 or more
pieces of evidence
(facts, statistics,
examples, real-life
experiences) that
support the position
statement.
Includes 2 pieces of evidence
(facts, statistics, examples, reallife experiences) that support the
position statement.
Includes 1 or fewer
pieces of evidence
(facts, statistics,
examples, real-life
experiences).
Audience
Demonstrates a clear
understanding of the
potential reader and
uses appropriate
vocabulary and
arguments. Anticipates
reader's questions and
provides thorough
answers appropriate for
that audience.
Demonstrates a general
understanding of the
potential reader and
uses vocabulary and
arguments appropriate
for that audience.
Demonstrates some
understanding of the potential
reader and uses arguments
appropriate for that audience.
It is not clear who the
author is writing for.
Evidence
and
Examples
All of the evidence
and examples are
specific, relevant and
explanations are given
that show how each
piece of evidence
supports the author's
position.
Most of the evidence
and examples are
specific, relevant and
explanations are
given that show how
each piece of
evidence supports the
author's position.
At least one of the pieces of
evidence and examples is
relevant and has an
explanation that shows how
that piece of evidence
supports the author's position.
Evidence and
examples are NOT
relevant AND/OR are
not explained.
Author makes 1-2
errors in grammar or
spelling that distract
the reader from the
content.
Author makes 3-4 errors in
grammar or spelling that
distract the reader from the
content.
Author makes more
than 4 errors in
grammar or spelling
that distracts the
reader from the
content.
Grammar Author makes no
& Spelling errors in grammar or
spelling that distracts
the reader from the
content.
5
Score