 Writing of South Carolina's Declaration of Secession, Loewen writes that

The state adopted the palmetto flag as its banner, a slightly modified version of which is used as its current state flag.South Carolina after secession was frequently called the "Palmetto Republic".After South Carolina declared its secession, former congressman James L. Petigru famously remarked, "South Carolina is too small for a republic and too large for an insane asylum."