- Carolina-Clemson rivalry
It was less than ninety days when Tillman reemerged on the scene upon the death of Thomas Green Clemson in April 1888. [cite book | first = Francis Butler | last = Simkins | title = The Tillman movement in South Carolina | year = 1964 | publisher = Duke University Press | page = p. 84] Tillman advocated that the state accept the gift by Clemson, but the Conservatives in power opposed the move and an all out war for power in the state commenced. The opening salvo was fired by Gideon Lee, the father of Clemson's granddaughter and
John C. Calhoun 's great granddaughter Floride Isabella Lee, who wrote a letter on her behalf to the "News and Courier" in May that she was being denied as Calhoun's rightful heir.cite book | last = Cooper | first = William | title = The Conservative Regime: South Carolina, 1877-1890 | year = 2005 | publisher = University of South Carolina Press | id = ISBN 1-57003-597-0 | page = p. 164] Furthermore, he stated that Clemson was egotistical and "only wanted to erect a monument to his own name." In November, Lee filed a lawsuit in Federal Court to contest the will which ultimately ruled against him in May of 1889.The election of 1888 afforded Tillman an opportunity to convince the politicians to accept the Clemson bequest or face the possibility of being voted out of office. He demanded that the Democratic party nominate its candidates by the primary system, which was denied, but they did accept his request that the candidates for statewide office canvass the state.Citation | first = Daniel Walker | last = Hollis | title = University of South Carolina | year = 1956 | publisher = University of South Carolina Press | volume = II | page = 151] Tillman proved excellent on the stump, by far superior than his Conservative opponents, and as the Democratic convention neared there was a clear groundswell of support for the acceptance of Clemson's estate. [cite book | last = Cooper | first = William | title = The Conservative Regime: South Carolina, 1877-1890 | year = 2005 | publisher = University of South Carolina Press | id = ISBN 1-57003-597-0 | page = p. 163] He was so effective because of his "ability to awaken popular passion and prejudice" when the populace by and large mistook "prejudice for truth, passion for reason, and invective for documentation." Tillman pitted "the poor against the rich, tenant against landowner, hireling against employer, country against town, all of South Carolina against Charleston and Columbia, upcountry against lowcountry, white against black, do-somethings against do-nothings, and outs against those in power" so that "he could rile them up and then appear as their champion." [cite book | first = Walter B. | last = Edgar | title = South Carolina: A History | year = 1998 | publisher = University of South Carolina Press | pages = p. 438] In addition, the Conservative leadership was aging and its appeal to the past glories of South Carolina during the antebellum period meant little to the emerging younger generation. [cite book | last = Cooper | first = William | title = The Conservative Regime: South Carolina, 1877-1890 | year = 2005 | publisher = University of South Carolina Press | id = ISBN 1-57003-597-0 | page = p. 205]
Bequest barely wins support
Tillman explained his justification for an independently controlled agriculture college by pointing to the mismanagement and political interference of the University of South Carolina as had occurred during Reconstruction. The agriculture college, as specified in Clemson's will, was to be privately controlled and thus would be able to prevent any "possible invasion by the negroes". [cite book | last = Ball | first = William Watts | title = The State That Forgot; South Carolina's Surrender to Democracy | year = 1932 | publisher = The Bobbs-Merrill Company | page = p. 215] With declining cotton prices, Tillman preyed upon the farmer's desperation by stating that the salaries of the college professors were exorbitant and it must be a sign of corruption. [cite book | last = Ball | first = William Watts | title = The State That Forgot; South Carolina's Surrender to Democracy | year = 1932 | publisher = The Bobbs-Merrill Company | page = p. 209] Consequently, the legislature was compelled to pass the bill to accept Clemson's bequest in December of 1888, albeit with the tie-breaking vote in the state Senate from Lieutenant Governor
William L. Mauldin . [cite book | last = Cooper | first = William | title = The Conservative Regime: South Carolina, 1877-1890 | year = 2005 | publisher = University of South Carolina Press | id = ISBN 1-57003-597-0 | page = p. 164] Thus was reborn the antagonistic feelings of regional bitterness and class division that would plague the state for decades. [cite book | last = Cooper | first = William | title = The Conservative Regime: South Carolina, 1877-1890 | year = 2005 | publisher = University of South Carolina Press | id = ISBN 1-57003-597-0 | page = p. 167]Having achieved his agriculture college, Tillman was not content to sit idly by because what he really desired was power and political office. [cite book | first = Walter B. | last = Edgar | title = South Carolina: A History | year = 1998 | publisher = University of South Carolina Press | pages = p. 437] After winning the 1890 election and becoming Governor, Tillman renewed the attacks on the Conservatives and those who had thwarted his agriculture college. He saved the coup de grâce for Senator
Wade Hampton III , a South Carolina College graduate and Confederate General during the Civil War, who "invoked Confederate service and honor as a barrier to Tillmanism."cite book | last = Cooper | first = William | title = The Conservative Regime: South Carolina, 1877-1890 | year = 2005 | publisher = University of South Carolina Press | id = ISBN 1-57003-597-0 | page = p. 206] Tillman directed the legislature to defeat Hampton's renomination for another term in December of 1890, thereby finishing what Sherman had left undone in 1865. [Citation | first = Daniel Walker | last = Hollis | title = University of South Carolina | year = 1956 | publisher = University of South Carolina Press | volume = II | page = 157]While campaigning for Governor in 1890, Tillman leveled his harshest criticism towards the University of South Carolina and threatened to close it along with The Citadel, which he called a "dude factory." [cite book | first = Walter B. | last = Edgar | title = South Carolina: A History | year = 1998 | publisher = University of South Carolina Press | pages = pp. 437, 439] Despite the rhetoric, Tillman only succeeded in reorganizing the University of South Carolina into a liberal arts college while in office. [cite book | first = Walter B. | last = Edgar | title = South Carolina: A History | year = 1998 | publisher = University of South Carolina Press | pages = p. 439] It would eventually be rechartered for the last time in 1906 as the University of South Carolina. However, Clemson Agricultural College held sway over the state legislature for decades and was generally the more popular college during the first half of the 20th century in South Carolina. [cite book | first = Henry H. | last = Lesesne | title = A History of the University of South Carolina, 1940-2000 | year = 2001 | publisher = University of South Carolina Press | pages = p. 3]
Role reversal
After
World War II , the long held perceptions of the two schools switched. Whereas South Carolina was viewed as an elitist institution for much of its existence, it opened its doors to every qualified veteran. Clemson on the other hand, claimed to have been founded for the common man, sought to restrict entrance to veterans returning from the war. Thus the University of South Carolina was able to achieve exponential growth as a result and reclaim the status as the most popular institution of higher education in South Carolina, a status it retains to this day. [cite book | first = Henry H. | last = Lesesne | title = A History of the University of South Carolina, 1940-2000 | year = 2001 | publisher = University of South Carolina Press | pages = p. 41]In the 1950s, the University of South Carolina expanded its reach across the state by establishing branch campuses under the auspices of the
University of South Carolina System . [cite book | first = Henry H. | last = Lesesne | title = A History of the University of South Carolina, 1940-2000 | year = 2001 | publisher = University of South Carolina Press | pages = p. 109] Clemson, having obtained university status in 1964, tried to compete with this network in the 1960s by establishing branch campuses in Greenville and Sumter. House Speaker Sol Blatt was alarmed by the spread of Clemson and declared that USC "should build as many two year colleges over the state as rapidly as possible to prevent the expansion of Clemson schools for the Clemson people." [cite book | first = Henry H. | last = Lesesne | title = A History of the University of South Carolina, 1940-2000 | year = 2001 | publisher = University of South Carolina Press | pages = p. 178] Accordingly, the University of South Carolina began a new wave of expansion across the state and was aided by the fact that the Clemson extensions never proved popular. In 1973, USC acquired the Clemson campus at Sumter due to disappointing enrollment numbers [Continued hostilities
Respective achievements are never acknowledged in this family feud. The turf issues are overlapping and complicated. Competitions on the ballfields become cathartic experiences, as many of these rivals carry the virulence of yesteryear. "There’s a history of bad blood between these institutions," says Jay McCormick, a doctoral candidate at USC. "So when athletics came to Carolina and to Clemson, it was natural that they should be a rivalry. The rivalry extends back to political and social origins. It’s not just an athletic rivalry. It’s a manifestation of these things." [ [http://metrobeat.net/gbase/Expedite/Content?oid=oid%3A1647 Metrobeat.Net ] ]
Football
*Carolina does not sponsor Women's Rowing.
*Clemson does not sponsor Women's Equestrian, Women's Golf, Women's Lacrosse, or Softball. (Carolina won the only meeting of the Softball teams.)
*Women's Cross Country and Women's Track and Field teams do not compete head-to-head.ee also
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Clemson Tigers
*Clemson Tigers baseball
*Clemson Tigers men's basketball
*South Carolina Gamecocks
*South Carolina Gamecocks baseball
*South Carolina Gamecocks men's basketball Footnotes
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