1. South Carolina was the first state to secede from the Union on December 20, 1860. On March 31, 1865, the Confederate Congress held its last meeting in South Carolina, officially dissolving the Confederate government.

2. On March 31, 1905, the state of South Carolina enacted a compulsory school attendance law, requiring all children between the ages of 7 and 14 to attend school for at least 12 weeks per year.

3. In 1965, civil rights activists began the historic Selma to Montgomery march in Alabama, which was a pivotal moment in the struggle for voting rights. On March 31 of that year, a group of South Carolina civil rights leaders traveled to Selma to show their support for the marchers.

4. March 31, 1929, marked the birth of legendary South Carolina native and civil rights activist Septima Poinsette Clark. Clark was a teacher and community organizer who played a key role in the civil rights movement, including the development of the Citizenship Schools that taught African Americans how to read and write so they could pass the voter registration tests.

5. On March 31, 1961, the U.S. Atomic Energy Commission granted a license to the Carolina Power and Light Company to build a nuclear power plant near Jenkinsville, South Carolina. The plant, known as the V.C. Summer Nuclear Station, began operations in 1982 and was one of the largest nuclear power plants in the country until it was shut down in 2017.