Happy July 9?

 

On this day 150 years ago, the Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution was ratified, having been passed by Congress two years before.

Among other things, it established the right to vote for every (male) person over age 21 and promised to all equal protection of the law.

Not only is July 9, 1868 an important date in American history, but it also is significant to South Carolina.

 

On that day, 150 years ago, the state’s newly elected General Assembly ratified the Fourteenth Amendment as one of the requirements for South Carolina to be readmitted to the Union. It was South Carolina’s approval that made the Fourteenth Amendment officially a part of the U.S. Constitution.

On this 150th anniversary of the ratification of the Fourteenth Amendment, let us celebrate American freedom together, especially in South Carolina.

The characters who lived through
the turbulent first two years of freedom during the Civil War
in the historical fiction, Swift Currents,
will take you through the Reconstruction years and beyond,
in the stirring sequel,
Still A Rising Tide,
to be published in summer 2018.