NEH Lesson Plan
By
Idell Koury
[email protected]
Title: Revolutionary War Origins of South Carolina State Seal
Overview: This lesson will enable students to identify, analyze, and
summarize The Battle of Fort Moultrie and the creation of the state seal;
trace political changes in SC and the nation; and identify the role South
Carolina played in the early stages of the Revolutionary War.
Time Period: 1776 – 1777
Grades: 8-12
Time needed: two fifty-minute class periods
NCSS Standards:
VI: Power, Authority, and Governance:
Social studies programs should include experiences that provide for the
study of how people create and change structures of power, authority, and
governance.
SC Social Studies Academic Standards:
USHC-2: The student will demonstrate an understanding of the
establishment of the United States as a new nation.
USHC-2.2: Explain the impact of the Declaration of Independence and the
American Revolution on the American colonies and on the world at large. (H,
P, E).
USHC-2.4: Summarize the creation of the new national government,
including the new state constitutions, the country’s economic crisis the
Founding Fathers and their debates at the Constitutional Convention, the
impact of the Federalist Papers, and the subsequent ratification of the
Constitution. (H, P).
Origin of State Seal:
The arms and reverse of the official state seal symbolize the battle fought on
June 28, 1776 between the patriots fighting in the incomplete and unnamed
fort on Sullivan’s Island and the British fleet. The fort was named Fort
Moultrie named after a hero of the battle.
State Seal Timeline:
March 26, 1776: SC Provincial Congress elected John Rutledge as President.
April 2, 1776: SC General Assembly passed resolution authorizing President Rutledge and
the Privy Council "to design and cause to be made a Great Seal of South Carolina."
Shortly after July 4, 1776: Privy Council Member William Henry Drayton designed an
official great seal (ARMS). Arthur Middleton submitted a design for the great seal
(REVERSE). The SC official seal was formed in a circle, four inches in diameter and four
tenths inches thick.
May 22, 1777: President Rutledge used the seal for the first time.
History of Battle:
In early 1776, Patriot leaders learned that the British would attempt to capture Charles
Town by sea. On Sullivan’s Island, Colonel William Moultrie started to build a fort using
logs from South Carolina native palmetto trees. On June 28, 1776 the British fleet arrived
and anchored near the unfinished fort. Colonel Moultrie had designed a blue flag with a
silver crescent in the corner and flew this flag over the unfinished fort at the onset of the
bombardment. British shells fired repeatedly on the fort, but the shells sank deep into the
soft palmetto legs. The Patriot cannons, however, severely damaged the ships and the
British eventually gave up the fight. The silver palmetto tree on the state flag was added in
memory of the victory at the unfinished palmetto log fort on Sullivan’s Island.
Method:
(1) Ask students leading questions:
•
•
•
•
•
How does political power change?
How did SC play a key role in the Revolutionary War?
Where were the first battles of the Revolutionary War fought?
Name any significant SC battles.
What lasting memories have we created in memory of key battles?
(2) Distribute copies of the arms and reverse of the state seal
(attached). Tell students they will learn about a key early patriot
victory that took place before the Declaration of Independence was
signed. Briefly review earlier battles in the war.
(3) Using the history above, tell students the dramatic story of one of
the first patriot victories in the Revolutionary War.
(4) Have students complete blanks below seal as teacher reads and
describes them.
SOUTH CAROLINA STATE SEAL
1.
2.
3.
4.
March 26, _______:_________________________________________
April 2, _______: _________________________________________
Design: _______: _________________________________________
May 22: _______: _________________________________________
ARMS:
1. Palmetto Tree: ____________________________________________
2. Base (Oak Tree):____________________________________________
3. Shields (below branches): ____________________________________
Dexter (left):_____________________________________________
Sinister (right):___________________________________________
4. Twelve spears: _____________________________________________
5. Band around spears:________________________________________
6. Inscription below log: ______________________________________
7. 1776: _____________________________________________________
8. Summit: __________________________________________________
9. Bottom: __________________________________________________
REVERSE:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
Woman walking: ___________________________________________
Laurel branch: _____________________________________________
Sun rising: ________________________________________________
Azure sky: ________________________________________________
Summit of exergue:__________________________________________
Below seashore:_____________________________________________
SOUTH CAROLINA STATE SEAL
1.
2.
3.
4.
March 26, 1776: Provincial Congress established independent government.
April 2, 1776: President Rutledge authorized to design a state seal.
Design: William Henry Drayton (ARMS); Arthur Middleton (REVERSE)
May 22, 1777: President Rutledge used seal first time
ARMS:
1. Palmetto Tree: unfinished fort on Sullivan’s Island; June 28, 1776
2. Base (Oak Tree): British fleet constructed of strong oak trees
3. Shields (below branches)
Dexter (left): March 26, 1776- ratification of SC Constitution
Sinister (right): July 4, 1776 – Declaration of Independence
4. Twelve spears: first twelve states acceding to Union
5. Band around spears: Quis Separabit (Who shall separate?)
6. Inscription below log: Meliorem Lapsa Locavit (“having fallen it is set up
better”)
7. 1776: Sullivan’s Island; Declaration; SC Constitution passed
8. Summit: South Carolina
9. Bottom: Animus Opibusque Parati (“prepared in mind and resources”)
REVERSE:
1. Woman walking: on seashore over swords/daggers – Hope overcoming
danger
2. Laurel branch: (dexter) – honor won on Sullivan’s Island
3. Sun rising: good fortune; hope; a new day
4. Azure sky: battle fought on a fine day
5. Summit of exergue: Dum Spiro Spero (“While I breath I hope”)
6. Below seashore: SPES (Hope)
Evaluation:
(1) Reproduce seal and allow students to fill in the blanks.
Resources and links:
http://www.myscgov.com/Portal/Category/HISTORY
http://www.netstate.com/states/symb/seals/sc_seal.htm
http://www.socialstudies.org/standards
http://www.sctlc.com/ss/soc