Summary Of Forgotten Founder The Life And Times Of Charles Pinkney

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Forgotten Founder: The Life and Times of Charles Pinckney, written by Marty Matthews, tells the seldom shared story of the live of Founding Father and native South Carolinian Charles Pinckney. Charles Pinckney spent the majority of his life dedicated to public service in both South Carolina and the greater United States. During his 67 years of life, he served in the South Carolina Senate, the South Carolina House of Representatives, the Confederation Congress, the United States Senate, and the United States House of Representatives. Additionally, he served four terms as the governor of South Carolina, filled the position of the American Foreign Minister to Spain, and attended the Constitutional Convention as one of four delegates from South Carolina. During his time in office, he sought to unite the lowcountry …show more content…

However, his time there was brief as he was elected from the body to serve as a representative in the Confederation Congress. The letter he wrote to Colonel Balfour advocating for the rights of his fellow prisoners on the Pack Horse was a major factor in his successful election. While in the Confederation Congress, he served on a committee that drafted instructions for the United States' diplomatic relationship with Spain, foreshadowing his future role as Foreign Minister to Spain. He also befriended James Monroe, who would become one of his closest lifelong friends. Pinckney's time in the Confederation Congress opened his eyes to many of the Articles of Confederation's weaknesses, such as Congress' inability to regulate foreign trade and commerce and act on a national level. His opinions formed during this time would shape his desire for a strong centralized government in the future. Pinckney was also one of the first to publically call for a constitutional convention during a speech to the New Jersey Assembly in March 1786 encouraging the state to provide supplies to