Unification of a Slave State: The Rise of the Planter Class in the South Carolina Backcountry, 1760-1808

This book describes the turbulent transformation of South Carolina from a colony rent by sectional conflict into a state dominated by the South’s most unified and politically powerful planter leadership. Rachel Klein unravels the sources of conflict and growing unity, showing how a deep commitment to slavery enabled leaders from both low– and backcountry to define the terms of political and ideological compromise.

The spread of cotton into the backcountry, often invoked as the reason for Sou...