Charles Pinckney: Soldier-Statesman
Charles Pinckney (1757-1824) of South Carolina was a veteran of the Southern Theater of the Revolution, a delegate to the Second Continental Congress, a delegate to the Constitutional Convention, a congressman, governor and U.S. senator.
Charles Pinckney: Soldier-Statesman
Charles Pinckney (1757-1824) of South Carolina was a veteran of the Southern Theater of the Revolution, a delegate to the Second Continental Congress, a delegate to the Constitutional Convention, a congressman, governor and U.S. senator.
Born into one of South Carolina's most prominent families, Pinckney attended Princeton and was admitted to the bar at age 21. He was elected to the provincial state government but joined the militia as a lieutenant and fought at the siege of Savannah in September-October 1779, where he was part of a hopeless charge on the enemy earthworks. When Charleston fell on May 12 the following year, Pinckney was captured but paroled by the British in the hopes that Pinckney's family's stature would convince him to renounce his Patriot loyalties. He refused to abandon the Patriot cause so Pinckney's parole was revoked, and he remained a prisoner until 1781 when he was released in an exchange.
He returned to the state legislature and was selected to the Continental Congress in 1784. Serving in Philadelphia, Pinckney recognized the weakness of the federal government under the Articles of Confederation, and he pushed for a stronger central government, especially concerning finances.
As the second-youngest delegate at the Constitutional Convention, he submitted draft constitutions, hammered out several compromises, spoke frequently and was an active participant in committee meetings. Over 30 provisions of the Constitution were Pinckney's proposals. His most passionate cause was for a standing army but for the president -- a civilian -- to be commander-in-chief and for Congress -- the representation of the people -- to have the power to declare war and ratify treaties. South Carolinians were weary of a standing army but Pinckney defended his position and said about the president being commander-in-chief, "He can neither raise nor support forces by his own authority." Pinckney unsuccessfully promoted a series of civil rights protections in the Constitution, which later became enshrined in the Bill of Rights. After being the driving force in South Carolina for ratification, he was elected governor and chaired the state constitutional convention in 1790.
In 1798, he abandoned the Federalist Party and was elected to the U.S. Senate as a Democratic-Republican. Pinckney served as Minister to Spain from 1801-1805, trying unsuccessfully to have Spain cede Florida to the United States and facilitated Spanish consent for the Louisiana Purchase in 1803. When he returned to America, he served in the state legislature and was again elected governor. He last served public office when Pinckney was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives in 1818, where he argued against the Missouri Compromise two years later.
Pinckney once told his fellow-citizens, "We have already taught some of the oldest and wisest nations to explore their rights as men."
Pinckney's estate is now the Charles Pinckney National Historic Site in Mount Pleasant, South Carolina.
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