An Analysis of Charles Pinckney's Contributions at the Constitutional Convention of 1787 (APPENDIX)

Abstract

History has turned Charles Pinckney into an enigma — both overstating and understating his role in the Constitutional Convention of 1787. Charles Pinckney’s own role overstating his contribution helps explain why he has been relegated to a “Forgotten Founder.” Pinckney would claim that “he — not Madison — was the ‘author’ of the Constitution.” Yet history remembers the Constitution as Madison’s document, and Pinckney’s impact is, at best, debatable. As one commentator put it, “While some have contended he practically wrote the Constitution others have been constrained to show that he made virtually no contribution.” Through this paper I will attempt to illuminate Pinckney’s actual impact on the Convention, and will argue that he played a pivotal role in shaping the Constitution and the United States by examining: (1) a brief account of Pinckney’s background, stated beliefs in 1787, and efforts in the Continental Congress to modify the Articles of Confederation; (2) a discussion of the Pinckney Plan; (3) an analysis of South Carolina’s impact on the Constitutional convention vis-a-vis the state’s voting record; and (4) a look at Charles Pinckney’s legacy. Through these angles, I will postulate what the Constitution may have looked like if not for Pinckney’s contribution, and conclude that the young South Carolinian’s impact on the United States may have been as large as he believed it to be — albeit for slightly different reasons.The appendix to this paper may be found at http://ssrn.com/abstract=2740103.