South Carolina is Wonderful! :-P

South Carolina is a wonderful place to grow up, and there is no other place that I would rather raise me children. Period!

We have ALOT of firsts:

• First European settlement in South Carolina in 1526 near Georgetown settled by Spanish explorer Lucas Vasquez de Ayllon named San Miguel de Gualdape
• First permanent English settlement in South Carolina established at Albemarle Point in Charleston in 1670
• First indigo planted, 1671 by Moses Lindo, a Portugese Jew fleeing the Inquisition
• First free library established - Charleston, 1698
• First mutual fire insurance company - Friendly Society for the Mutual Insurance of Houses against Fire, 1735
• First opera performed in America - Charleston, February 18, 1735
• First building to be used solely as a theatre - Dock Street Theatre in Charleston, constructed in 1736
• First slave insurrection - Stono area near Charleston, 1739
• First Jewish synagogue in South Carolina (Kahal Kadosh Beth Elohim) - Charleston, 1750
• First cotton exported to England, 1764
• First Black Baptist Church established, Silver Bluff, 1773
• The Charleston Chamber of Commerce was the first city Chamber of Commerce in this country - 1773
• First public museum - Charleston Museum, organized January 12, 1773
• First business publication - South Carolina Price Current in Charleston, 1774
• First time a Jew was elected to public office in America, 1774. Francis Salvador was elected to the General Assembly
• The first time a British flag was taken down and replaced by an American flag was in Charleston in 1775
• First independent government formed among American colonies, March 1776
• Golf was first played in the city limits of Charleston. The South Carolina Golf Club was formed in 1786 - this was the first golf club.
• First Roman Catholic Church (St. Mary's August 24, 1789, Charleston
• First cotton mill built - James Island, 1789
• First tea planted - Middleton Barony, 1802
• First Roman Catholic Bishop of Charleston, Most Rev. John England - 1820, Charleston
• First fireproof building built - Charleston, 1822
• First steam locomotive built in the United States to be used for regular railroad service - "Best Friend of Charleston," 1830.
• First municipal college - College of Charleston, opened April 1, 1838
• First Roman Catholic cathedral in South Carolina Cathedral of Saint John and Saint Finbar - Charleston, April 1845
• First state to secede from the Union, December 20, 1860.
• First shot fired in Civil War on Fort Sumter in Charleston Harbor, April 12, 1861.
• First Medal of Honor awarded to a Black recipient - W. H.Carney (Army), July 18, 1863.
• The first submarine ever to sink an enemy ship was the H.L. Hunley used by the Confederates on February 17, 1864 in Charleston Harbor against the U.S.S. Housatonic.
• First Black Associate Justice of a state supreme court - J. J. Wright, February 2, 1870
• The first state intercollegiate football game took place on December 14, 1889 with Wofford defeating Furman
• First commercial tea farm - Summerville, 1890
• First black woman to practice medicine in the state was Dr. Matilda Arabelle Evans in 1897
• First textile school established in a college - Clemson, 1899
• The first car was manufactured in Rock Hill by John Gary Anderson in January 1916
• First woman lawyer in South Carolina - Miss James M. Perry of Greenville was admitted to practice on May 4, 1918
• First national historic preservation ordinance passed by Charleston city council on October 13, 1931
• First television station WCSC broadcast from Charleston June 13, 1953
• First U.S. Senator elected by a write-in vote - Strom Thurmond, November 2, 1954
• First nuclear power plant dedicated at Parr Shoals on October 24, 1963
• First Spoleto Festival held in Charleston May 1977
• First black federal judge in South Carolina's history - Matthew J. Perry - appointed September 22, 1979
• First governor Richard Riley elected November 6, 1984 to serve two consecutive four-year terms
• Jean Toal - the first woman elected to state supreme court in 1988 and later elected chief justice in 2000
• First State to have a Nuclear Bomb dropped By the US Air Force - Due East of Florence - Nuclear part was unarmed 1950's or 1960's

We also are the birthplace of:

• Rudolf Anderson, Jr. (1927-1962), born in Greenville, U.S. Air Force major and U-2 pilot shot down during the Cuban Missile Crisis, was awarded the first Air Force Cross, posthumously.
• Andie MacDowell (born April 21, 1958) is an American model and actress, from Gaffney, winner of two Golden Globe Awards.
• Mary McLeod Bethune (born July 10, 1875 in Maysville, South Carolina, died May 18, 1955), African American educator and civil rights leader.
• James Butler Bonham (born February 20, 1807 in Saluda, South Carolina, died March 6, 1836), 19th century American lawyer and soldier, defender at the Alamo.
• James Brown (born May 4, 1933 in Barnwell, died December 25, 2006), "Godfather of Soul", legendary singer and member of the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame.
• John C. Calhoun (1782-1850), born near Abbeville, statesman and political philosopher, who from 1811 until his death served in the federal government successively as congressman, secretary of war, vice president, senator, secretary of state and again as senator.
• Chubby Checker, singer, born Ernest Evans in Spring Gulley, on October 3, 1941.
• Stephen Colbert, host of The Colbert Report on Comedy Central since 2005; previously correspondent for Comedy Central's The Daily Show. A native of Charleston, he attended Porter Gaud School. Colbert also ran as a favorite son candidate for the 2008 presidential election in his native South Carolina.
• Danny!, recording artist for Definitive Jux Records, grew up in Columbia and graduated Richland Northeast High School in 2001.
• John Edwards, former N.C. Senator & 2004 Democratic Vice Presidential candidate, born in Seneca in 1953.
• Joe Frazier, 1964 Olympic heavyweight champion and the world heavyweight champ 1970-73; fought Muhammad Ali for the heavyweight title three times. He is most remembered for the fight at Madison Square Garden in March 1971, where he defeated Ali to become the undisputed heavyweight champ. Frazier was born in Beaufort on January 12, 1944.
• David du Bose Gaillard, (1859-1913) U.S. Army engineer instrumental in the construction of the Panama Canal, born in Manning.
• Althea Gibson (1927-2003), first black female player to win the Wimbledon singles tennis title, born in Silver.
• Dizzy Gillespie (1917-1993), John Birks 'Dizzy' Gillespie, considered by some to be the greatest jazz trumpeter of all time, was born in Cheraw.
• Thomas Heyward, Jr. (1746-1809) Signer of the Declaration of Independence, born In St. Luke's Parish.
• Andrew Jackson (1767-1845), President of the United States, born near Lancaster but emigrated to Tennessee as an adult. He was the hero of the Battle of New Orleans and 7th President, from 1829 to 1837.
• Jesse Jackson, famous political and social figure, originally from Greenville, South Carolina, born on October 8, 1941.
• 'Shoeless' Joe Jackson (1887–1951), considered one of the most outstanding hitters in the history of baseball, his career .356 batting average is the third highest in history, after Ty Cobb and Rogers Hornsby; born in Brandon Mills.
• Jasper Johns, considered one of the greatest post-World War II American artists, was raised in Allendale and attended the University of South Carolina before moving to New York City.
• Eartha Kitt (1927–2008), from North, South Carolina, American actress, singer, and cabaret star. She was perhaps best known for her role as Catwoman in the 1960s TV series Batman.
• Thomas Lynch, Jr. (born August 4, 1749 in South Carolina, died 1779) Signer of the Declaration of Independence.
• Barton MacLane (1902-1969) born in Columbia, SC. Actor in The Maltese Falcon and The Treasure of the Sierra Madre.
• Arthur Middleton (1742-1787) born in Charleston, signer of the Declaration of Independence, later Governor (1810-1812), Representative (1815-1819) and Minister to Russia (1820-1830).
• Kary Mullis (1944-), 1993 Nobel laureate in Chemistry, grew up Columbia and graduated from high school there.
• Bill Pinkney (1925-2007) born in Dalzell, was a pitcher in the Negro League, served in World War II, but remembered most for singing role in The Drifters, influencing many artists in blues and soul music.
• William C. Westmoreland, (March 26, 1914 – July 18, 2005) born in Spartanburg County, commanded American military operations in the Vietnam War at its peak from 1964 to 1968 and served as U.S. Army Chief of Staff from 1968 to 1972.
• Melvin Purvis (1903-1960), born in Timmonsville, FBI agent responsible for ending the criminal careers of Baby Face Nelson, Pretty Boy Floyd, and John Dillinger; died in Florence, South Carolina.
• Edward Rutledge (1749-1800), youngest signer of the Declaration of Independence, later governor of South Carolina.
• William Barret Travis (1809-1836), born in Saluda County, lawyer and soldier, at 26 Lieutenant Colonel in the Texian Army, defender at the Alamo.

So, anyone with anything bad to say about South Carolina can go suck a cock!