SOUTH CAROLINA HALL OF FAME
Teacher Guide
Charles Pinckney
South Carolina Social Studies Standards
Charles Pinckney
The American Revolution-The War for Independence
The New Nation-A New Nation and State
The Civil War-Forces of Unity and Division
Topics include: Thomas Pinckney, Charles Cotesworth Pinckney, Snead Farm, SC Assembly, SC
Militia, Revolutionary War, Siege of Savannah, POW/British prison ship, British parole,
Constitutional Convention, Pinckney Draft, Virginia Plan, SC constitutional convention, Moving
of SC capital, US Senate, US House of Representatives, backcountry, George Washington,
Thomas Jefferson, Democratic-Republican, Minister to Spain, Missouri Compromise
3-3: The student will demonstrate an understanding of the American Revolution and South
Carolina's role in the development of the new American nation.
3-3.3 - Summarize the course of the American Revolution in South Carolina, including the role
of William Jasper and Fort Moultrie, the occupation of Charles Town by the British, the partisan
warfare of Thomas Sumter, Andrew Pickens, and Francis Marion, and the battles of Cowpens,
Kings Mountain, and Eutaw Springs.
3-3.4 - Summarize the effects of the American Revolution, including the establishment of state
and national governments.
3-3.5 - Outline the structure of state government, including the branches of government
(legislative, executive, and judicial), the representative bodies of each branch (general
assembly, governor, and supreme court), and the basic powers of each branch.
Standard 4-4: The student will demonstrate an understanding of the beginnings of America as
a nation and the establishment of the new government.
4-4.1 - Compare the ideas in the Articles of Confederation with those in the United States
Constitution, including how powers are now shared between state and national government
and how individuals and states are represented in Congress.
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4-4.2 - Explain the structure and function of the legislative, executive, and judicial branches of
the federal government.
4-4.4 - Compare the roles and accomplishments of early leaders in the development of the new
nation, including George Washington, John Adams, Thomas Jefferson, Alexander Hamilton,
John Marshall, and James Madison.
4-4.5 - Compare the social and economic policies of the two political parties that were formed
in America in the 1790s.
Standard 8-2:. The student will demonstrate an understanding of the causes of the American
Revolution and the beginnings of the new nation, with an emphasis on South Carolina's role
in the development of that nation.
8-2.4 - Compare the
perspectives of different groups of South Carolinians during the American Revolution, including
Patriots, Tories/Loyalists, women, enslaved and free Africans, and Native Americans.
8-2.5 - Summarize the role of South Carolinians in the course of the American Revolution,
including the use of partisan warfare and the battles of Charleston, Camden, Cowpens, Kings
Mountain, and Eutaw Springs.
8-2.6 - Explain the role of South Carolinians in the establishment of their new state government
and the national government after the American Revolution.
Standard 8-4: The student will demonstrate an understanding of the multiple events that led
to the Civil War.
8-4.2 - Analyze how sectionalism arose from racial tension, including the Denmark Vesey plot,
slave codes and the growth of the abolitionist movement.
8-4.3 - Analyze key issues that led to South Carolina's secession from the Union, including the
nullification controversy and John C. Calhoun, the extension of slavery and the compromises
over westward expansion, the Kansas-Nebraska Act, the Dred Scott decision, and the election
of 1860.
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Biography
Charles Pinckney
Charles Cotesworth Pinckney was born on Feb. 14, 1745, in Charleston, S.C.
At age 8 he traveled abroad to England and was educated at Westminster
School and Oxford. Pursuing a career as a lawyer, he attended Middle
Temple from 1764 to1769 and was admitted to practice. Despite living and
studying in England, Pinckney still considered his home to be the City of
Charleston. Upon his return to South Carolina he served as attorney general
for three South Carolina districts. After marrying Sally Middleton his wellestablished connections to the colony's leading families were strengthened.
Once the Colonies declared their independence from England, he became active on his colony's
Committee of Intelligence. He served as militia captain and was chairman of the committee that
drafted South Carolina's 1776 constitution. When the British attacked Charleston in May of
1780, his bad advice led to a disastrous American defeat and Pinckney himself was captured for
the duration of the conflict.
After the American Revolution, Pinckney’s ideology leaned
toward a more nationalistic view in that he supported a
broadening of powers for the Continental Congress. He returned
to practicing law, and in 1784 he suffered the loss of his wife,
which left him with three young daughters to care for.
He was chosen, along with his cousin Charles Pinckney, as a
delegate to the Federal Convention in 1787. He was an
outspoken supporter of a stronger centralized government and an
adamant defender of slavery. He signed the Constitution and
worked successfully for its ratification in his home state.
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After turning down several offers for various different cabinet posts, he was eventually
persuaded to become the American minister in Paris, taking on the job of appeasing the French
government's anger over Jay's Treaty in 1796. Pinckney's mission of reconciliation was early
discredited by French diplomats, and he was expelled in 1797. Later, under the new
president, John Adams, Pinckney, John Marshall, and Elbridge Gerry were appointed special
envoys to heal the Franco-American breach. The discussions that took place, with demands for
bribes and Pinckney's famous reply, "No, no, not a sixpence", were a diplomatic fiasco exposed
to the world in the "XYZ" correspondence.
Pinckney's political outlook eventually turned more Federalist; in 1800 he was advanced as the
party's vice-presidential candidate. He was the Federalist candidate for president in 1804 and
1808. All 3 campaigns ended in defeat along with any further national ambitions. From then
on, Pinckney was strictly a devotee of South Carolina's interests, and became very active in his
support of education and philanthropy. He died on Aug. 16, 1825. In his eulogy the "not a
sixpence" remark was transfigured into "Millions for defense, not a cent for tribute" and
became one of the great slogans of American history.
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Credits
South Carolina Social Studies Standard Correlations were provided by Lisa Ray
The purpose of the South Carolina Hall of Fame is to recognize and honor both contemporary
and past citizens who have made outstanding contributions to South Carolina's heritage and
progress.
Funding for Knowitall.org was provided by the S. C. General Assembly through the K-12
Technology Initiative.
Visit scetv.org/education for more educational resources.
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