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Charles Cotesworth Pinckney
Facts and Events
- the text in this section is copied from an article in Wikipedia
Charles Cotesworth Pinckney (February 25, 1746 – August 16, 1825) was an American Founding Father, statesman of South Carolina, Revolutionary War veteran, and delegate to the Constitutional Convention where he signed the United States Constitution. He was twice nominated by the Federalist Party as its presidential candidate in 1804 and 1808, losing both elections.
Pinckney was born into a powerful family of Southern planters. He practiced law for several years and was elected to the colonial legislature. A supporter of independence from Great Britain, Pinckney served in the Revolutionary War, rising to the rank of brigadier-general. After the war, he won election to the South Carolina legislature, where he and his brother Thomas Pinckney represented the landed elite of the South Carolina Lowcountry. An advocate of a stronger federal government, Pinckney served as a delegate to the 1787 Philadelphia Convention, which wrote a new federal constitution. Pinckney's influence helped ensure that South Carolina would ratify the United States Constitution.
Pinckney declined George Washington's first offer to serve in his administration, but in 1796 Pinckney accepted the position of minister to France. In what became known as the XYZ Affair, the French demanded a bribe before they would agree to meet with the U.S. delegation. Pinckney returned to the United States, accepting an appointment as a general during the Quasi-War with France. Though he had resisted joining either major party for much of the 1790s, Pinckney began to identify with the Federalist Party following his return from France. The Federalists chose him as their vice presidential nominee in the 1800 election, hoping that his presence on the ticket could win support for the party in the South. Though Alexander Hamilton schemed to elect Pinckney president under the electoral rules then in place, both Pinckney and incumbent Federalist President John Adams were defeated by the Democratic-Republican candidates.
Seeing little hope of defeating popular incumbent president Thomas Jefferson, the Federalists chose Pinckney as their presidential nominee for the 1804 election. Neither Pinckney nor the party pursued an active campaign, and Jefferson won in a landslide. The Federalists nominated Pinckney again in 1808, in the hope that Pinckney's military experience and Jefferson's economic policies would give the party a chance of winning. Though the 1808 presidential election was closer than the 1804 election had been, Democratic-Republican nominee James Madison nonetheless prevailed.
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References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Charles Cotesworth Pinckney, in Wikipedia: The Free Encyclopedia.
- Find A Grave.
Charles Cotesworth Pinckney
Birth 25 Feb 1746
Charleston, Charleston County, South Carolina, USA
Death 16 Aug 1825 (aged 79)
Charleston, Charleston County, South Carolina, USA
Burial: Saint Michaels Church Cemetery
Charleston, Charleston County, South Carolina, USA
US Signer of Constitution, Brigadier General. Born into a South Carolina aristocratic family with strong Loyalist ties he forsook those allegiances and risked lost much of his wealth to side with the American colonists that were seeking independence from Britain. Although educated in England, he returned to South Carolina as a young adult where his success as a lawyer and planter led to him being elected to the legislature. After the war began in 1775 he held a seat in the provincial Congress where he led the way in developing a strong militia for his native South Carolina. His zeal for freedom though led him to become a full time soldier in the Continental Army. He acquired the rank of Colonel and saw action at the defense of Charleston before heading north to participate in battles at Brandywine and Germantown. In 1778 he returned to the south to help thwart the advances of the British forces and Loyalists left to occupy captured territories. He led a brigade on brave but unsuccessful military operations in Savannah Georgia (1779) and Charleston, South Carolina (1780). In Charleston he was captured as a prisoner of war. Two years later he was set free and was brevetted to brigadier general because of his faithful service to America's fight for independence. After the war he returned to his state's legislature. Afraid of the threat of another invasion, Pinckney became an early vocal crusader for a strong national government. In 1787 South Carolina sent him to Philadelphia as a delegate to the Constitutional Convention. There he continued his campaign for a central government but also was a leader in the fight for a strong system of checks and balances to protect the new nation from the threat of tyranny. He returned to South Carolina to seek ratification for the nation's new constitution before attempting to retire from politics. However, in 1796 he agreed to return to public service when asked to be the American ambassador to France. His trip to France sparked an international incident (known as the XYZ Affair) when the French government refused to accept his credentials and leaders of the French Revolution attempted to bribe him before agreeing to open up negotiations about French interference with US ships. Pinckney was abhorred by the bribe offer and in protest broke off all discussions and returned home where he was placed in charge of the southern half of the Provisional Army in preparation for war with France. However, in 1800, a peaceful solution was reached and with his military career again ended, he returned to South Carolina hoping to once again retire. His popularity, though, would not allow him to leave the public scene quietly. He served two terms in the state senate and ran unsuccessfully as a Federalist for Vice –President in 1800 and for President in the elections of 1804 and 1808. After his last presidential run he once again retired returning to Charleston to live out his days with the respect and admiration of his state and country for his sacrifice and service.
https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/816
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