Charles Pinckney

Statesman Charles Pinckney's beliefs helped forge the United States Constitution. Fluent in five languages, yet educated and reared entirely on South Carolina soil, this man was elected four times to serve as Governor of South Carolina. He was a South Carolina state representative, a United States Congressman, a delegate to the 1787 Constitutional Convention and ambassador to Spain. As an advocate for a strong central government, his voice in those crucial days during the formation of our nation helped directly to guarantee such basic doctrines as religious freedom, trial by a jury, freedom of the press, and the subordination of the military to civil authority. He presided over the move of South Carolina's state capital from Charleston to Columbia and secured Spain's approval of the Louisiana Purchase. Seven South Carolina governors claim lineage to Charles Pinckney.

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