william j. whipper, a native of pennsylvania who had studied law in detroit, first practiced. his first recorded case was in the summer of 1866. on july 20, the charleston daily news reported that whipper was trying casing in -- cases in that court. the next month, whipper was before that court suing the local charleston merchant for violation of the federal civil rights laws. for refusing service to a black soldier. now, whipper was unsuccessful in that lawsuit, but it was probably the first public accommodation suit -- lawsuit in south carolina history. and maybe one of the first in the united states. in 1868 the state constitutional convention adopted the state's first modern constitution, the majority of the delegates there were black. among these were three lawyers. wright, whipper and robert brown eliott. and six other men who would ultimately become lawyers. the new constitution, as we know, is a revolutionary document. establishing the first public schools, granting civil rights, granting the vo