South Carolina, nicknamed "The Palmetto State," is a state in the Deep South that borders Georgia to the south and North Carolina to the north. South Carolina was the first state to vote to secede from the Union and was the founding state of the Confederate States of America. Its capital is Columbia; other major cities are Charleston, North Charleston, Rock Hill, Mount Pleasant, Greenville, Sumter, Spartanburg, Summerville, and Hilton Head Island. Entered the Union on May 23, 1788 is the 8th state of the U.S.