Lunch and Learn: "Home Front in World War I South Carolina"
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USC-Lancaster Native American Studies Center 119 South Main Street, Lancaster, South Carolina 29720
This presentation by Fritz Hamer of the S.C. Confederate Relic Room and Military Museum will look at how South Carolina joined in the war to support our troops in the Great War. One crucial part of building war support was the S.C. Council of Defense, an organization the federal government encouraged all states to establish. Like most state councils, the S.C. Council soon became involved in identifying anti-war citizens. This led to First Amendment rights infringements for many, often on vague accusations and slim evidence. In Lancaster, Chalmers Wessinger, a respected educator, became the focus of the Council’s investigations. The main part of the presentation will focus on this investigation and its outcome.