Final answer:
The Supreme Court ruled in favor of the protestors in Edwards v. South Carolina due to a violation of First Amendment rights by the state. The Free Petition Clause applies to states through the Fourteenth Amendment's Due Process Clause.
Step-by-step explanation:
In Edwards v. South Carolina, the Supreme Court decided in favor of the protestors because they viewed South Carolina's actions as a violation of the protestors' First Amendment rights, particularly their right to peaceably assemble and their freedom to petition. The court held that the Free Petition Clause extends to the states through the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment. Thus, the state's efforts to disperse the protest and arrest the protestors lacked a constitutional basis and were seen as an infringement of the demonstrators' constitutional rights.