"B" is for Blease, Coleman Livingston [1868-1942]. Governor. US Senator. After graduating from Georgetown University, Blease was admitted to the bar in 1889. The following year he was elected to represent Newberry County in the South Carolina House and in 1905 he was elected to the South Carolina Senate. He ran unsuccessfully for governor in 1906 and 1908, but won in 1910 and was re-elected in 1912. The core of his support came from white mill workers. As governor he emphasized individual freedom and racism. Blease's relationship with the General Assembly was tumultuous and his numerous vetoes were frequently overridden by the legislature. In 1924, he won election to the US Senate. The controversy surrounding Coleman Livingston Blease brought supporters and opponents to the polls in staggering numbers, with voter participation topping eighty percent in the 1912 gubernatorial campaign.
Dr. Walter Edgar has two programs on South Carolina Public Radio: Walter Edgar's Journal, and South Carolina from A to Z. Dr. Edgar received his B.A. 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.