Pinckney, Charles, 1757-1824

Charles Pinckney (October 26, 1757 – October 29, 1824) was an American Founding Father, planter, and politician who was a signer of the United States Constitution. He was elected and served as the 37th Governor of South Carolina, later serving two more non-consecutive terms. He also served as a U.S. Senator and a member of the House of Representatives. He was first cousin once removed of fellow signer Charles Cotesworth Pinckney.

Born and educated in Charles Town (now Charleston) in the Province of South Carolina, Pinckney pursued classical studies. Admitted to the bar in 1779, he commenced practice in Charleston that year and was elected to the South Carolina House of Representatives for the first time, serving until 1780. About that time, well after the War for Independence had begun, Pinckney enlisted in the South Carolina militia. He became a lieutenant and served at the siege of Savannah. When Charleston fell to the British the next year, Pinckney was captured; he was held as a prisoner until June 1781 and sent north for a potential exchange. He did not return to Charleston until 1783. Pinckney was elected to the Continental Congress in 1783, serving from 1784 until 1787. 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, known as the Pinckney Plan, that was the basis of the final Constitution, a claim disputed by other framers including James Madison. Pinckney submitted an elaborate form of the Virginia Plan, proposed first by Edmund Randolph, but it was disregarded by the other delegates. He was also re-elected to the South Carolina House, serving from 1786 to 1789.

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