“C” is for Commons House of Assembly (1670 to 1776)

“C” is for Commons House of Assembly (1670 to 1776) The dominant political institution in colonial South Carolina was the Commons House of Assembly. It served as the lower house of the provincial legislature and was the only popularly elected branch of government and the colony. Over time it evolved from an impotent institution to an imperious political body that jealously guarded its immense authority. By the mid-1700s the Assembly had assumed ironclad control over all aspects of government: initiating laws, appointing revenue officers, establishing courts, supervising the Indian trade, selecting the colonial agent in London, auditing and reviewing all accounts of public officers, overseeing elections and administering all government procedures. The Assembly’s wide use of commissions and its strict control of the expenditures of local government helped to make it the hardest working legislative body in the American colonies.