PINCKNEY, CHARLES (1757-1824), American states man, was born on Oct. 26, 1757 at Charleston, S.C. ; he was the son of Charles Pinckney (1731-84), first president of the first South Carolina provincial congress (1775), and a cousin of Charles Cotesworth Pinckney and Thomas Pinckney. He was studying law at the outbreak of the Revolutionary War, served in the early campaigns in the South, and in 1779 was elected to the South Carolina house of representatives. He was captured by the British at the fall of Charleston (1780), and remained a prisoner until the close of hostilities. In 1787 he was a delegate to the Federal constitutional convention, and on the same day (May 29) on which Edmund Randolph (q.v.) presented what is known as the Virginia plan, Pinckney presented a draft of a constitution which is known as the Pinckney plan. Although the Randolph resolutions were made the basis on which the new constitution was framed, Pinckney's plan seems to have been much drawn upon. Furthermore, Pinckney appears to have made valuable suggestions regarding phrasing and matters of detail. On Aug. 18, he introduced a series of resolutions, and to him should probably be accredited the authorship of the sub stance of some 32 or more provisions of the constitution. Pinck
ney was president of the State convention of 1790 that framed a new constitution for South Carolina, was governor of the State 1789-92, a member of the State house of representatives in 1792 1796, and again governor in 1796-98. From 1799 to 18or he was a member of the United States Senate. He entered public life as a Federalist, but later became the leader in organizing the Demo cratic-Republican party in his State, and contributed largely to the success of Thomas Jefferson in the presidential election of i800. By Jefferson's appointment he was American minister to Spain from 1801 to 1805. In general his mission was a distinct failure, his arrogance and indiscretions finally causing the Spanish govern ment to request his recall. He was again governor of South Caro lina in 1806-08, and from 1819 to 1821 was a member of the National House of Representatives, in which he opposed the Missouri Compromise in a brilliant speech. He died at Charleston, S.C., on Oct. 29, 1824.