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The Regulator Movement

The Regulator Movement. Lowcountry. Mostly of British descent Large cash-crop plantations Wanted protection from Native Americans and pirates Controlled the government . Upcountry. German, Swiss, and Scotch-Irish ancestry Smaller farms (subsistence farmers)

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The Regulator Movement

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  1. The Regulator Movement

  2. Lowcountry • Mostly of British descent • Large cash-crop plantations • Wanted protection from Native Americans and pirates • Controlled the government

  3. Upcountry • German, Swiss, and Scotch-Irish ancestry • Smaller farms (subsistence farmers) • Upcountry settlers began to outnumber Lowcountry in white population. • Needed good roads, courts, and protection/defense against the Native Americans • Little law enforcement – no police or court system

  4. Upcountry Crimewave • Citizens were tortured with hot coals or pokers into telling where their money was hidden. • People were threatened into remaining silent or assisting the gangs of outlaws • They would burn the buildings of those who “snitched,” often with the owner still inside. • Of the few sent to Charleston for trial – 6 were convicted, 5 of them were released by the new governor

  5. Vigilante Justice (Regulator Movement) • Lowcountry refused to help the Upcountry farmers • Farmers joined together to police the region and held their own courts (as many as 3,000-6,000 men participated as members of the movement) • Burned hideouts and whipped the bandits they caught • Guilty were hung or beaten without trial • Grew out of control…many innocent people were hurt

  6. “Assuming the powers of government, the Regulators intervened in family life, disciplined wayward husbands, and enforced debt collection.” • “The Country was purged of all Villains. The Whores were whipped & drove off. The Magistrates & Constables associated with the Rogues, Silenc’d & inhibited. Tranquility reigned. Industry was restor’d.”

  7. Law and Order • Circuit Court Act of 1769 • Authorized the spending of $83,500 for land, courthouses, and jails, in Beaufort, Camden, Cheraw, Georgetown, Orangeburg, and Ninety Six. • South Carolina government set up seven circuit courts around the state to provide law and order • Circuit – “a regular tour”, judges would have a specific route they would travel to hold trials

  8. A Story of Interest… • One leader of the Regulator Movement was Gideon Gibson. Gibson was a free black man who moved to South Carolina from Virginia. He owned seven slaves and had a white wife. He was not made to submit to the “Negro Law” because he had a light-colored complexion.

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