The so-called "Barnwell Ring" was a grouping of influential Democratic

South Carolina South Carolina ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders North Carolina to the north and northeast, the Atlantic Ocean to the southeast, and Georgia (U.S. state), Georg ...

political leaders from Barnwell County. The group included

state Senator A state senator is a member of a State legislature (United States), state's senate in the bicameral legislature of 49 U.S. states, or a member of the unicameral Nebraska Legislature. History There are typically fewer state senators than there ...

Edgar A. Brown,

state Representative A state legislature is a legislative branch or body of a political subdivision in a federal system. Two federations literally use the term "state legislature": * The legislative branches of each of the fifty state governments of the United St ...

Solomon Blatt, Sr.,

Governor A governor is an politician, administrative leader and head of a polity or Region#Political regions, political region, in some cases, such as governor-general, governors-general, as the head of a state's official representative. Depending on the ...

Joseph Emile Harley, and state Representative Winchester Smith, Jr. Together, the four occupied the most powerful positions of South Carolina government in 1941.

Origins

Strom Thurmond James Strom Thurmond Sr. (December 5, 1902 – June 26, 2003) was an American politician who represented South Carolina in the United States Senate from 1954 to 2003. Before his 49 years as a senator, he served as the 103rd governor of South ...

coined the term "Barnwell Ring" during his bid for governor in 1946. He campaigned on a progressive platform, which put him squarely at odds with the conservative legislators of the Barnwell Ring. They threw their support to James C. McLeod of

Florence Florence ( ; ) is the capital city of the Italy, Italian region of Tuscany. It is also the most populated city in Tuscany, with 362,353 inhabitants, and 989,460 in Metropolitan City of Florence, its metropolitan province as of 2025. Florence ...

and they used every device at their disposal to prevent a victory by Thurmond in the Democratic

primary election Primary elections or primaries are elections held to determine which candidates will run in an upcoming general election. In a partisan primary, a political party selects a candidate. Depending on the state and/or party, there may be an "open pr ...

. For instance, when the gubernatorial candidates stumped at Barnwell, Winchester Smith paid candidate Roger Scott $50 to raise Cain about the "Barnwell Ring" in order to lessen the impact of Thurmond's speech against the ring. The ring arose in the late 1930s and lasted into the 1970s. State Senator Edgar A. Brown and state Representative Solomon Blatt were the chief principals of the ring. Brown was the president pro tempore and chairman of the Senate Finance Committee from 1942 to 1972. Blatt was the

speaker of the house The speaker of a deliberative assembly, especially a legislative body, is its presiding officer, or the chair. The title was first used in 1377 in England. Usage The title was first recorded in 1377 to describe the role of Thomas de Hung ...

from 1937 to 1946 and 1951 to 1973. Both men denied the existence of the ring until 1963 when Brown exclaimed "Long live the Barnwell Ring" at a dinner to honor Blatt.

References

* *{{cite news , first= Paul , last= Wachter , title= Ceremony honors 'Barnwell ring' , work= The State , date= 2003-10-06 , page= B8

External links

SCETV program on the Barnwell Ring''The State'' article on the Barnwell Ring
1930s establishments in South Carolina 1970s disestablishments in South Carolina Strom Thurmond Political history of South Carolina Politics of South Carolina Barnwell County, South Carolina