Charles Cotesworth Pinckney At The Constitutional Essay, Research Paper

Charles Cotesworth Pinckney at the Constitutional ConventionWhat were the objectives of Charles Cotesworth Pinckney? How did hecontribute to the “Miracle in Philadelphia”? This prosperous delegate from South Carolina took the floor early and showed how important his statewould be. Backed up by his fellow delegates, he displayed determination infighting for a government which would help South Carolina. Pinckney wantedhigher representation for the southern states so that plantation ownerscould continue to maintain the society that was important to them.Slavery was an issue of great significance to him. His speeches andquestions helped shape the government then and now. Charles CotesworthPinckney was an influential delegate at the Constitutional Convention of1787. The first subjects of debate at the convention were of the Articles ofConfederation. Many delegates came with the intention to revise andimprove them, but Virginia proposed a new form of government, one thatwould unify the states, based on principles different from those of theArticles of Confederation. Mr. Charles Cotesworth Pinckney doubted whetherthe delegates were permitted to discuss a form of government differentfrom that of the Articles of Confederation. The South Carolinians feared agovernment which may injure their society. They warned that they couldstrengthen a new government, if it were not a threat to their society. (MeeJr. pg. 97)General Pinckney recognized the weakness of the old Articles. Becausethey did not do what they were established to do, Pinckney agreed thatthe Articles of Confederation should be replaced. He “Resolved that inorder . . . to accomplish the objectives proposed by the Confederation amore effective government consisting of a Legislature, Executive andJudiciary ought to be established.”(Mr. Wagner handout) South Carolinadecided to try to support, but better, this new government. (Mr. WagnerHandout) When a vote was taken for the Articles of Confederation to be abolished,it passed. The delegates now had to revise the government system proposedby Virginia. Three branches of government were under the Virginia Plan. The Legislative Branch would consist of two houses, the lower House ofDelegates and the upper Senate. The Executive Branch would be headed byone person, the president. The last branch was the Judiciary Branch, witha Supreme Court and as many courts beneath it as Congress thoughtnecessary. There were important discussions concerning the Branches butthe most discussion arose about the Legislative Branch. The first issue to be resolved was how many representatives each statewould receive. Some delegates, especially those in the smaller states,believed that each state should have the same number of delegates. Theother delegates thought that this would be foolish. They thought that thenumber of representatives each state would receive should be based onpopulation. Mr. Charles Cotesworth Pinckney thought the larger house,the House of Delegates, should be based on population. The smaller house,the Senate, should have one vote per state. After many days of debate,the delegates realized that the issue had come to a complete impasse.Neither side was willing to give. Finally the delegates compromised,agreeing that the number of representatives in the House would be based onrepresentation and every state would have one vote (changed to two voteslater) in the Senate. The Compromise on representation in the LegislativeBranch was the first of a long line of compromises. (Mr. Wagner Handout)With the issue decided on the House being elected by population, thedelegates had to define population. The southern states naturally wantedto include their slaves in the count. The Northern states believed thatslavery was immoral and refused to count the slaves in the census. Slaverywas a heated issue throughout the convention. The southern needed it tothrive. The Northern states did not want a government with slaves.Several delegates suggested that the slaves may be counted as three-fifthsof a person. South Carolina disagreed. Pinckney and the other delegatesinsisted that their blacks be included equally in the census. (Madisonpg. 268)Northern delegates argued that the slaves of the South were ‘property’. As the Southern states pushed to have the slaves counted, they realizedthat if the slaves were property then they should not count them any morethan other products. Mr. James Wilson of Pennsylvania proposed that taxesshould calculate representation. Charles Cotesworth Pinckney agreed. Hesaid that the South would be willing to pay higher taxes to receive morerepresentation. Then he included that they should specifically writeslaves in the Constitution so the Legislature would not eliminate them in arepresentation formula. This angered Wilson. South Carolina may havebeen pushing it too far, but slaves were the basis of their society. (MeeJr. 223 – 224)Without slaves the southern society would perish. Many plantation ownerscould not maintain their land without their slaves. South Carolina andGeorgia clearly could not do without slaves. They argued that slavery wasin the best interest of the union. It brought in large profits. SouthCarolina could not and would not stop the slave trade. Mr. CotesworthPinckney argued “South Carolina can never receive ‘the plan’ if itprohibits the slave trade. South Carolina and Georgia cannot do withouttheir slaves. As to Virginia, she will gain by stopping the slave trade.Her slaves will rise in value, and she has more than she wants already.” Hemotioned that the date of slave importation to be changed from 1800 to1808. This would allow them twenty years to reestablish their way oflife. Mr. Madison, the unofficial secretary of the convention, opposed themotion, but it passed. The slaves were there to stay. (Mee Jr. 252 -

254) Mr. Charles Cotesworth Pinckney, always thinking in the best interest ofhis state, was opposed to regulations and restraints of commercial goods.This would cause prices to be raised and, most likely, sales to drop. Ifthere were regulations, he believed that they should be universal, the samethroughout the U.S.. Charles Cotesworth Pinckney said that theSoutherners did not want regulations on imports and exports, but they wouldaccept them to unite the South and the East. (Madison pgs 533, 548)Commercial goods and wealth were not the only things important to CharlesCotesworth, He also cared about who represented his state. He wanted tobe sure that the people who represented South Carolina were well educated,but upheld the values of the state. To insure the best interests of hisstate, Pinckney saw that the elite members of Congress should be the menwho would vote on whom the representatives would be. He understood theimportance of the people in this type of government, but he did not see adifference between the representatives being chosen by a state congress andrepresentatives being chosen by the people. (Bradford, pg. 196) To uphold the important values of his state, Charles Cotesworth Pinckneybelieved it best for the more educated state legislatures should elect therepresentatives of both houses. He thought it impractical to have thepeople vote for the representatives. The citizens were scattered in manystates, gathering them for an election would be difficult. It would beuseless to have the people, who were often poorly educated, vote for therepresentatives of the states. He did not see much difference in a mediateelection from an immediate one. To eliminate a representative staying toolong in the capital, the terms of representatives should not be very long. The representatives in the House should serve two year terms and therepresentatives in the Senate should serve four year terms. Therepresentatives could serve more than one term. (Madison pg. 78)Mr. Charles Cotesworth Pinckney had very decided views concerning theexecutive branch. He believed it best to have one executive who would havethe power over all matters concerning war. He wanted the president to havethe power to declare war, make treaties, and command troops. With oneperson in charge of these things they would run smoother. Mr. CotesworthPinckney was a general in the Revolutionary War. His nickname”The General” came from this experience. His training and experiences in the war mostlikely influenced him. His expertise in this field influenced otherdelegates. (Mr. Wagner Handout)Mr. Cotesworth Pinckney believed that electing the president would be bestfor the national legislature. He did not trust the judgment of the peopleand thought of them as ignorant. He also believed that the most populousstates could join to carry every election. Mr. Pinckney also disagreedwith the electoral system of electing an executive, which gave power tothe states. He believed that the State Senate would have too muchinfluence on the election. He did not want a person or a group of peopleto be in control of the powerful executive branch for too long. Thereforehe thought that not receiving a salary would be best for the president. Healso thought that presidents should serve only one year terms, but theycould serve more than one term. This would eliminate the threat of one manor group being in office for to long. (Mr. Wagner Handout)The Judicial Branch was the other important branch of government. GeneralPinckney believed that it would be good to have a Supreme Court. Congresscould create any other inferior courts. He thought that the Senate shouldchoose the Supreme Judge. Mr. Charles Cotesworth Pinckney believed thatthe judge should serve an eight-year term. They could serve more than oneterm. To get the best judge possible, Charles Cotesworth Pinckneybelieved that the Judge should receive a large salary. This salary shouldnot change. (Madison pg. 374, 538)Many other issues need to be discussed besides the three branches ofgovernment. One issue greatly interested General Pinckney, since itconcerned his background. This issue was the issue of Military Force. Mr. Gerry of Massachusetts proposed that two to three thousand troops shouldbe kept during peaceful times. General Pinckney questioned Mr. Gerry ifthey would raise no troops until an attack. Mr. Dayton from New Jerseysupported Pinckney saying that they must make war preparations during thetime of peace. The delegates were worried that a powerful army wouldoverthrow the government, so they decided to limit the money that themilitary would receive. General Pinckney believed that the army shouldhave uniformity. He believed that having part of the army controlled bythe general government and part to be controlled by the states would bebad. He thought that the general government should control all of themilitary. It was decided that money for the cause of raising andsupporting troops would not continue for more than two years. (Mee Jr. 257)Mr. Charles Cotesworth Pinckney was involved in an event on Monday, July16 for which he was remembered. Mr. Randolph of Virginia motioned for anadjournment. Confusion swept through the convention. Everyone wonderedwhether Mr. Randolph meant an adjournment “Sine die,” for a long period, orjust for the day. Mr. Charles Cotesworth Pinckney questioned him as to ifhe meant an adjournment for a length of time or only an adjournment for theday. Mr. Randolph quickly answered that he had only meant an adjournmentfor the day and apologized for the confusion. (Mee Jr. pg. 226) General Charles Cotesworth Pinckney fought for what he believedright. He wanted a strong national government. He earnestly supported thethree branch government. He believed it would be beneficial to SouthCarolina and the other states in the union. The issue that bothered him,slavery, was discussed and agreed upon. By the end of the conventionCharles Cotesworth felt he could eagerly support and promote theConstitution. With the pen he declared this, signing his name to thegreatest government document in the world.

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