The Confederate Flag in South Carolina: A Timeline

The Confederate flag's history in South Carolina

March 5, 1861: Letitia Christian Tyler, granddaughter of former President John Tyler, raises the Confederate flag for the first time in South Carolina, under direction from Confederate President Jefferson Davis. The event was recorded by Mary Chestnut, the wife of Confederate Secretary of the Navy James Chestnut, in her diary. President Abraham Lincoln was sworn into office the day before.

1938: The Confederate flag is raised inside the South Carolina Statehouse in the House of Representatives' chambers. The Senate would follow suit in 1956.

1961: The Confederate flag is hoisted atop the Statehouse in what was claimed to be a celebration of the 100th anniversary of the Civil War. Others claim it was as a response of opposition to the Civil Rights movement, which was gaining traction nationally, and the Civil Rights Act, which was in the process of being drafted at the time.

Starting in the mid-60s, white supremacy groups, such as the Ku Klux Klan began to adopt the Confederate flag as a symbol of hatred against minorities, which contributed to the stigmatizing image the flag holds today.

1988: The last visual presence of the Ku Klux Klan in Columbia, South Carolina, until the flag rally in July 2015.

1996: Governor David Beasley suggests moving the flag to a Statehouse monument, rather than have it sit atop the Statehouse itself.

1997: The General Assembly effectively kill any progress made by Beasley's proposal by letting the bill expire in the Senate.

1998: Beasley pledge's to never attempt to remove the flag again. The NAACP holds protests outside the Statehouse later that year.

2000: The NAACP begins its boycott on New Year's Day. Charleston Mayor Joseph Riley, Jr. walks 120 miles in an anti-flag march to Columbia later that year in April. By July, the flag is removed from the dome, but the Confederate battle flag is raised at a Confederate soldier memorial minutes after. The flag now sits in front of the Statehouse, directly on Gervais Street.

2000: Presidential candidate George W. Bush wins the Republican primary in South Carolina over John McCain, partially by defending the Confederate flag on the premise of states' rights.

2001: The NCAA effectively bars South Carolina from hosting any tournaments as long as the flag remains flying.

2010: Two of the six candidates for governor say the flag should be removed.

June 17, 2015: Dylann Roof, a 21-year-old self-proclaimed white supremecist enters Mother Emmanuel AME Church in Charleston, South Carolina, and leaves after murdering nine black-churchgoers who were attending a Bible study. Among the victims was South Carolina Sen. Clementa Pinckney.

June 18, 2015: As Gov. Nikki Haley calls for the lowering of the U.S. and South Carolina flags to half-staff in honor the shooting victims, the Confederate flag flies high due to a compromise in the 2000 bill that removed it from atop the Statehouse.

June 20, 2015: An anti-flag rally attracts a crowd of over 2,000 in protest to its continued flying in the wake of the Charleston church shooting.

June 22, 2015: Contradicting her earlier "pro-flag" positioning during her election, Nikki Haley calls for the general assembly to remove the flag from Statehouse grounds in a statement that receives support from leaders both inside and out of the state. Wal-Mart and Amazon.com pull Confederate flags from their stock.

July 10, 2015: After passing a measure through both the House and Senate in an emergency session, the flag is finally removed from Statehouse grounds in a ceremony. Chants of "U.S.A.! U.S.A.!" as well as various forms of celebration are heard from the crowd of over 1,000 present that day.

July 18, 2015: The Ku Klux Klan and NSM hold a rally in protest of the removal of the Confederate flag. During the rally, the groups tear up an Israeli flag and greet protesters with Nazi salutes while screaming "White power!"