Biography of Charles Pinckney to 1800
A Biography of Charles Pinckney 1757-1800
Charles Pinckney was born at Charleston, SC, in 1757. His father, Col. Charles
Pinckney, was a rich lawyer and planter, who on his death in 1782 were to bequeath
Snee Farm, a country estate outside the city, to his son Charles. The latter apparently received all his education in the city of his birth, and he started to practice law there
1779.
About that time, well after the War for Independence had begun, young Pinckney enlisted in the militia, though his father demonstrated ambivalence about the
Revolution. He became a lieutenant, and served at the siege of Savannah
(SeptemberOctober 1779). When Charleston fell to the British the next year, the youth was captured and remained a prisoner until June 1781. Pinckney had also begun a political career, serving in the Continental Congress. A nationalist, he worked hard in Congress to ensure that the United States would receive navigation rights to the Mississippi and to strengthen congressional power. Pinckney's role in the Constitutional Convention is controversial. Although one of the youngest delegates, he later claimed to have been the most influential one and contended he had submitted a draft that was the basis of the final Constitution. Most historians have rejected this assertion. They do, however, recognize that he ranked among the leaders. He attended full time, spoke often and effectively, and contributed immensely to the final draft and to the resolution of problems that arose during the debates. He also worked for ratification in South Carolina (1788). That same year, he married Mary Eleanor Laurens, daughter of a wealthy and politically powerful South
Carolina merchant; she was to bear at least three children. Subsequently, Pinckney's career blossomed. From 1789 to 1792 he held the governorship of South Carolina and in 1790 chaired the state constitutional convention.
During this period, he became associated with the Federalist
Charles Pinckney was born at Charleston, SC, in 1757. His father, Col. Charles
Pinckney, was a rich lawyer and planter, who on his death in 1782 were to bequeath
Snee Farm, a country estate outside the city, to his son Charles. The latter apparently received all his education in the city of his birth, and he started to practice law there
1779.
About that time, well after the War for Independence had begun, young Pinckney enlisted in the militia, though his father demonstrated ambivalence about the
Revolution. He became a lieutenant, and served at the siege of Savannah
(SeptemberOctober 1779). When Charleston fell to the British the next year, the youth was captured and remained a prisoner until June 1781. Pinckney had also begun a political career, serving in the Continental Congress. A nationalist, he worked hard in Congress to ensure that the United States would receive navigation rights to the Mississippi and to strengthen congressional power. Pinckney's role in the Constitutional Convention is controversial. Although one of the youngest delegates, he later claimed to have been the most influential one and contended he had submitted a draft that was the basis of the final Constitution. Most historians have rejected this assertion. They do, however, recognize that he ranked among the leaders. He attended full time, spoke often and effectively, and contributed immensely to the final draft and to the resolution of problems that arose during the debates. He also worked for ratification in South Carolina (1788). That same year, he married Mary Eleanor Laurens, daughter of a wealthy and politically powerful South
Carolina merchant; she was to bear at least three children. Subsequently, Pinckney's career blossomed. From 1789 to 1792 he held the governorship of South Carolina and in 1790 chaired the state constitutional convention.
During this period, he became associated with the Federalist