Rethinking South Carolina's name

[Cityplanner]

South Carolina was named after King Charles I, who attempted to be an absolute monarch and seems to have been a total disaster as king of England, as his reign led to civil war and the abolition of the British monarchy.

Given current re-thinking of many current names that are attributed to people in the past who are viewed now as being horrible people (here's looking at you, Wade Hampton and John C. Calhoun), why doesn't South Carolina re-think its name?

Perhaps it could keep the name but re-name itself after King Charles II, who was a very popular king of England?  It would be kind of neat to have a current commemoration of King Charles II, showing how old and historic South Carolina is.

Thoughts?

 

[distortedlogic]

I just don't see that as either doable or necessary. This whole renaming everything ("cancel culture") is pretty pointless in my view. Every person who has ever lived (thus, every place named after someone) was flawed. Naming places for only perfect people is going to leave a pretty short list of people to name places after. Perhaps we should just learn from our history, make the best decisions we can today, and avoid getting offended by, and renaming, everything from generation to generation. 

[GvilleSC]

9 minutes ago, distortedlogic said:

I just don't see that as either doable or necessary. This whole renaming everything ("cancel culture") is pretty pointless in my view. Every person who has ever lived (thus, every place named after someone) was flawed. Naming places for only perfect people is going to leave a pretty short list of people to name places after. Perhaps we should just learn from our history, make the best decisions we can today, and avoid getting offended by, and renaming, everything from generation to generation. 

Agreed -- the name of the state is a reflection of a time and place. Understanding that context helps explain the name and is a window to the history of the United States and that of Britain. 

[Cityplanner]

Sure, I’m no fan of cancel culture either, but why not have SC re-named after Charles II? I think it would be kind of neat to acknowledge that link to pre-1776 times, perhaps with a resolution of the state legislature and a plaque or statue.

Or maybe SC could re-name itself after Prince Charles (to keep Meghan Markle away)?  

[Spartan]

I support removing names / likeness / statues, etc. of people who actively fought for causes relating to the subjugation of people based on race (ie: the Civil War and Jim Crow) because we are still living with the legacies of those eras today (especially Jim Crow). I don't think its my place to tell people who or what should be offensive to them, so if enough people support the idea of taking down a statue, renaming a street, etc., then so be it. I think, however, when it comes to the name of South Carolina itself, you have to acknowledge that it is a place with an identity, culture, and history, people. For all our flaws, these things are ours and can be collectively molded to be whatever we want. I think the name represents the history, good and bad, and IMO you could argue that the association with the British monarchy, while technically present, is not a contributing factor in the larger challenges and issues surrounding race that we have today. So, rename Calhoun County and Lee County (etc.), but leave South Carolina as is.

IMO if we're changing anything, we should change it back to "Carolina," which is more historically accurate.

[Richhamleigh, DC]

2 hours ago, Spartan said:

I support removing names / likeness / statues, etc. of people who actively fought for causes relating to the subjugation of people based on race (ie: the Civil War and Jim Crow) because we are still living with the legacies of those eras today (especially Jim Crow). I don't think its my place to tell people who or what should be offensive to them, so if enough people support the idea of taking down a statue, renaming a street, etc., then so be it. I think, however, when it comes to the name of South Carolina itself, you have to acknowledge that it is a place with an identity, culture, and history, people. For all our flaws, these things are ours and can be collectively molded to be whatever we want. I think the name represents the history, good and bad, and IMO you could argue that the association with the British monarchy, while technically present, is not a contributing factor in the larger challenges and issues surrounding race that we have today. So, rename Calhoun County and Lee County (etc.), but leave South Carolina as is.

IMO if we're changing anything, we should change it back to "Carolina," which is more historically accurate.

We'd lose two Senators but otherwise, "Carolina" reunited -- with Charlotte the capital -- would be an economic behemoth.  4th largest state in the US by population and fifth by GDP.   Most people away from here already think it's "Carolina".  Oh, and while we're at it, build bullet trains from Asheville to Charlotte to Charleston and from Asheville to Raleigh to Wilmington and Raleigh to Charlotte to Columbia and Greenville and Spartanburg.  

Just for fun -- here're some flags of a united Carolina I created and might look like:

Edited April 14, 2021 by Phillydog

[GvilleSC]

5 minutes ago, Phillydog said:

We'd lose two Senators but otherwise, "Carolina" reunited -- with Charlotte the capital -- would be an economic behemoth.  4th largest state in the US by population and fifth by GDP.   Most people away from here already think it's "Carolina".  Oh, and while we're at it, build bullet trains from Asheville to Charlotte to Charleston and from Asheville to Raleigh to Wilmington and Raleigh to Charlotte to Columbia and Greenville and Spartanburg.  

Just for fun -- how about seeing what the flag of a united Carolina might look like:

Interesting thought. I think the preference would be for it to be "Carolina" and "North Carolina".

[Richhamleigh, DC]

And.....here's where this falls apart.  Two separate states but Carolina was started in what became "North" Carolina.  If there's a "Carolina", it's would be North Carolina.   Like Virginia and "West Virginia".  Maybe South Carolina can call itself North Georgia or Southeast Tennessee?   

How about Clarendon?

Edited April 14, 2021 by Phillydog

[GvilleSC]

26 minutes ago, Phillydog said:

And.....here's where this falls apart.  Two separate states but Carolina was started in what became "North" Carolina.  If there's a "Carolina", it's would be North Carolina.   Like Virginia and "West Virginia".  Maybe South Carolina can call itself North Georgia or Southeast Tennessee?   

How about Clarendon?

 I knew that would get a rise.  One would argue that with the Carolina capital at Charleston, the colony was centered in what would become South Carolina, and thus North Carolina was carved out of Carolina to become its own entity.

Edited April 14, 2021 by GvilleSC

[carolina1792]

On 4/14/2021 at 3:12 PM, Phillydog said:

We'd lose two Senators but otherwise, "Carolina" reunited -- with Charlotte the capital -- would be an economic behemoth.  4th largest state in the US by population and fifth by GDP.   Most people away from here already think it's "Carolina".  Oh, and while we're at it, build bullet trains from Asheville to Charlotte to Charleston and from Asheville to Raleigh to Wilmington and Raleigh to Charlotte to Columbia and Greenville and Spartanburg.  

Just for fun -- here're some flags of a united Carolina I created and might look like:

Eww no thanks. Charlotte folks might have an affinity for South Carolina but it's culturally and politically alien to the Triangle area. SC is just another state south of NC just like Virginia is another state north of NC.

"Vale of Humility between Two Mountains of Conceit"

https://www.ncpedia.org/vale-humility-between-two-mountains

 

 

Edited April 15, 2021 by carolina1792

[Spartan]

On 4/14/2021 at 3:27 PM, Phillydog said:

And.....here's where this falls apart.  Two separate states but Carolina was started in what became "North" Carolina.  If there's a "Carolina", it's would be North Carolina.   Like Virginia and "West Virginia".  Maybe South Carolina can call itself North Georgia or Southeast Tennessee?   

How about Clarendon?

You mean that failed colony where everyone died? Maybe NC should rename itself Roanoke or South Virginia. My vote would be to change the whole state name to Mecklenburg, but I'm admittedly biased lol 

 

On 4/14/2021 at 3:33 PM, GvilleSC said:

 I knew that would get a rise.  One would argue that with the Carolina capital at Charleston, the colony was centered in what would become South Carolina, and thus North Carolina was carved out of Carolina to become its own entity.

Historically speaking, this is accurate. Most people referred to the colonies as Carolina and North Carolina after the split, though that obviously changed over time. 

[krazeeboi]

On 4/15/2021 at 3:43 PM, carolina1792 said:

Eww no thanks. Charlotte folks might have an affinity for South Carolina but it's culturally and politically alien to the Triangle area. SC is just another state south of NC just like Virginia is another state north of NC.

"Vale of Humility between Two Mountains of Conceit"

https://www.ncpedia.org/vale-humility-between-two-mountains

 

 

Y'all surely love our beaches though.