South Carolina Public Radio replays World War I programs
In July, South Carolina Public Radio replays three programs about World War I and South Carolina, hosted by Dr. Walter Edgar. The replays can be listened to online.
"Fighting on Two Fronts: Black South Carolinians in World War I" features Dr. Janet Hudson from the University of South Carolina joining Dr. Edgar for a public Conversation on Black South Carolinian in World War I. Upon the United States' entrance into World War I, President Woodrow Wilson told the nation that the war was being fought to "make the world safe for democracy." For many African-American South Carolinians, the chance to fight in this war was a way to prove their citizenship, in hopes of changing things for the better at home. Click here to read more, and listen to the replay.
"South Carolina in WWI: The Military" Dr. Andrew Myers from the University of South Carolina Upstate joining Dr. Edgar for a public Conversation on South Carolina History, World War I. With the United States’ entrance into World War I, three Army training bases were set up in South Carolina. The social and economic impact on a state still suffering from the devastation of the Civil War was dramatic. Three infantry divisions, including support personnel, swelled the Upstate and Midlands population by 90,000. On the coast, recruits flocked to Charleston’s Navy base. And some of those trainees were African Americans, which caused political turmoil and civil strife in a Jim Crow state. Click here to read more, and listen to the replay.
"Conversations on S.C. History: Women and World War I" features Dr. Amy McCandless, professor emerita of history at the College of Charleston, joining Dr. Edgar for a public conversation on S.C. Women during the war. Prior to that World War I, South Carolina was a predominantly rural state, with a Black majority populaltion. The typical S.C. woman in 1916 was Black, and, if she was employed, she was likely an agricultural worker or a domestic worker. If she was White, a working woman was likely on the farm or in a textile mill. There was a quite small middle class where working women might be employed as teachers or a nurses; a few were clerical workers. The United States' entry into World War I offered women, White and Black, new opportunities. Click here to read more, and listen to the replay.
Dr. Edgar has two programs on South Carolina Public Radio. He received his A.B. degree from Davidson College in 1965 and his Ph.D. from the University of South Carolina in 1969. After two years in the Army (including a tour of duty in Vietnam), he returned to USC as a post-doctoral fellow of the National Archives, assigned to the Papers of Henry Laurens. In 1972 he joined the faculty of the History Department and in 1980 was named director of the Institute for Southern Studies. Dr. Edgar is the Claude Henry Neuffer Professor of Southern Studies and the George Washington Distinguished Professor of History. He retired from USC in 2012. He has written or edited numerous books about South Carolina and the American South.
