Two Founding Fathers

Charles Pinckney

Who Was He?•Representative in the SC General Assembly

•Fought in the American Revolution

•Delegate to the Constitutional Convention

•Founding Father

•Main author of the Constitution (31 ideas were his)

•Governor of SC four times

•Served as Ambassador to Spain under Jefferson

Details of Pinckney’s Life:• Born in 1757• Active lawyer in Charleston from 1779-1780• Lieutenant in the Continental Army 1780• Prisoner of War of the British until 1781• Delegate from South Carolina at Second

Continental Congress from 1775 to 1776• Senator and Representative from SC • Died in 1824

What Did He Do?• Author of the Pinckney Draft 1787 which was the basis for

the Constitution of the United States.• As a leader in SC, he helped write a constitution for the

state including a law for religious freedom.• Became a supporter of Thomas Jefferson and supported

Jefferson for President. This made his family angry because Jefferson ran against Charles Pinckney’s cousin Charles Cotesworth Pinckney.

• Moved the capital from Charleston to Columbia so the common man could have the same access as the gentry.

• Helped with the Louisiana Purchase for the United States• Ambassador to Spain under Thomas Jefferson.

What Were His Views?• Government should have 3 parts: President,

Congress and the Supreme Court.• President should only serve 2 terms• Favored individual religious freedom and

protection from government authorities.• Favored states' rights and a limited federal

government• The Federal Government should coin the

money, establish the Post Office and the army and the navy.

What He thought about Slavery:

• He believed that every state should be able to write their own laws about slavery. (States Rights)• He depended on his own slaves to

support his households and plantations.

Thomas Jefferson

Who Was He?• 3rd president of the United States• Vice president under John Adams • A Founding Father• Main author of the Declaration of Independence• Governor of Virginia• Co-founder and leader of the Democratic-

Republican Party, which dominated American politics for 25 years

Details of Jefferson’s Life:• Born in 1743• Active lawyer in Virginia from 1768 to 1773.• Delegate from Virginia at Second Continental

Congress from 1775 to 1776• United States Secretary of State under George

Washington from 1790 to 1793• President of the United States from 1801 to

1809• Died in 1826

What Did He Do?• Author of the Declaration of Independence (1776)• Author of the Virginia Statute for Religious Freedom (1779, 1786)• As president he negotiated the Louisiana Purchase (1803), and

sent the Lewis and Clark Expedition (1804–1806) to explore the vast new territory and lands further west.

• Created the Jeffersonian Democracy, a political idea supporting a national government, but with greatly restricted powers. He advocated for a strict interpretation of the U.S. Constitution so the national government couldn’t get too powerful. He wanted the states to be able to decide for their own people, not the federal government in Washington.

What Were His Views?• Idealized Republican Virtues- all men have rights to

the pursuit of happiness• Saw America as an “Empire of Liberty” to spread

freedom throughout the world• Favored individual religious freedom and protection

from government authorities.• Favored states' rights and a limited federal

government• Supported the separation of church and state

What He thought about Slavery:• Opposed slavery… • However, he depended on his own

slaves to support his households and plantations• Opposition to slavery was still known

in the Declaration of Independence• Leader in the abolition of the slave

trade• Lack of action, though, to end slavery

after he finished his term

PINCKNEY JEFFERSON

Lawyer in South Carolina Lawyer in Virginia

Delegate from SC to the Second Continental Congress.

Delegate to the Second Continental Congress.

Wrote a large part of the Constitution. Signed the Constitution.

Wrote the Declaration of Independence.Signed the Declaration of Independence.

Helped to write the Constitution of SC which included Religious Freedom.

Wrote the Virginia Statute for Religious Freedom.

Helped negotiate the Louisiana Purchase. Negotiated the Louisiana Purchase.

Governor of SC – 4 times Governor of Virginia

Served in the House of Representatives and the Senate

President of the United States

PINCKNEY JEFFERSON

Fought in the American Revolution and was a prisoner of war.

Fought in the American Revolution

Had slaves. Opposed to slavery

Had slaves. Opposed Slavery

Limited Federal Government Limited Federal Government

Founding Father Founding Father

Democratic/Republican Party Democratic/ Republican Party

Ambassador to Spain under Jefferson

Secretary of State under George Washington.

Believed in State’s Rights Believed in State’s Rights