"A New Map of South Carolina..." by S. Augustus Mitchell (outlining major roads, canals, and rail lines across the state), 1849
Document Description:
This map, printed in 1849, demonstrates the increase in the state’s transportation routes in the first half of the nineteenth century. The map outlines the railroad route of the South Carolina Railroad & Canal Company from Charleston to Hamburg, and its offshoot from Branchville to Columbia. It also lists canals from the lowcountry to the upstate up the Savannah, Edisto, Santee, and Pee Dee Rivers; steamboat routes from Charleston to Savannah and Savannah to Augusta; and major roads throughout the state. The railroads and canals were especially important for planters to transport their cotton and other goods quickly from the plantation to the market.
Citation:
“A New Map of South Carolina: With Its Canals, Roads & Distances, From Place to Place Along the Stage & Steam Boat Routes.” Philadelphia: S. Augustus Mitchell, 1849. MB-12-9. Map Collection. South Carolina Department of Archives and History, Columbia, South Carolina.
Correlating SC Social Studies Academic Standards:
Standard 3-1: The student will demonstrate an understanding of places and regions and the role of human systems in South Carolina.
Indicator 3-1.2 Interpret thematic maps of South Carolina places and regions that show how and where people live, work, and use land and transportation. (G,P,E)
Standard 8-3: The student will demonstrate an understanding of the American Civil War—its causes and effects and the major events that occurred during that time.
Indicator 8-3.1 Explain the importance of agriculture in antebellum South Carolina, including plantation life, slavery, and the impact of the cotton gin. (H, G, E)
Standard USHC-3: The student will demonstrate an understanding of the westward movement and the resulting regional conflicts that took place in America in the nineteenth century.
Indicator USHC-3.1 Explain the impact and challenges of westward movement, including the major land acquisitions, people’s motivations for moving west, railroad construction, the displacement of Native Americans, and the its impact on the developing American character. (H, G, E)