Chapter Eight: The Pinckney Presidency
Chapter Eight: The Pinckney Presidency
In 1795, the Southern American Confederation paid close attention to its Northern neighbor. Southerners watched as the USA dismembered its historical alliance with France. To the people of the SAC, it was as if the Union forgot that if it weren’t for French interference, the North and South alike would still be dominated by British tyranny. Previously, Citizen Genet was expelled from Philadelphia and welcomed into Charleston by 1795. On the other hand, the thwarting of French-influenced Democratic Societies was seen as unconstitutional in the South. This move angered the North as they accused its neighbor of aiding a dangerous enemy. On July 16, 1795, Rutledge gave a controversial speech denouncing the United States’ Jay Treaty. He reportedly said in the speech "that he had rather the President should die than sign that puerile instrument" and that war was still on the table if the Confederacy felt provoked. He showed partial sympathy to the Southern Union states of Kentucky, Maryland, and Virginia.
Meanwhile, Rutledge’s presidency was viewed as in a mixed but positive-leaning light. He was not the most ideologically aligned person for the job (on some issues more than others) but was able to get the country functioning and rolling properly. His vice president Charles Pinckney of South Carolina had been floated as a possible candidate. Instead, he used much of his free time to campaign for his brother, Thomas Pinckney. During the Convention, he unanimously received the Nationalist nomination. He chose James Iredell of North Carolina as his vice-presidential running mate. For the Democrats, Edward Telfair of Georgia received the nominee once again with Johnston as his vice president. Ideological blocs already existed but they only officially became parties before the 1795 election. Since Tennessee was admitted as a state on June 1, 1795 and set up a legislature, it could participate in the election on November 4 and the tally of the votes a month later. Georgia and Tennessee electors predictably voted for Telfair while South Carolina chose Pinckney. North Carolina once again was a swing state, but due to James Iredell's campaigning efforts, all but two North Carolina's electoral votes were swayed to Pinckney. Due to the rules, Johnston did not become vice president but rather Telfair, creating a somewhat awkward situation.
On February 22, 1796, he stepped down as president and saw the swearing in of Thomas Pinckney. In his inaugural speech in Charleston, he covertly attacked the Jay Treaty, and called the Citizen Genet affair a major crackdown on liberty. On one hand, that’s what the Democrats from the Carolina back-country (who were a significant portion of white South Carolinians by 1796) wanted to hear from him. On the other hand, he sympathized to a degree with the Southerners (Maryland and Virginia) who stayed the Constitutional Convention thanks to George Washington and James Madison and felt their rights were being attacked. Nevertheless, he acknowledged in his speech that the US needed to do what it thought was in its best interest. Deep down, he wanted stable relations with Britain but acknowledged that the British could be a threat if the wrong button was poked as its influence in the North continued to grow. Great Britain's reputation among the Democrat majority had fallen apart, whereas his Nationalist self was personally not a big Francophile and even held mild British sympathies. Later in his speech, he cited the successful invention of the cotton gin in revitalizing the "Atlantic Cargo trade" which in turn contributed to significant cotton growth and boosts in cotton sales. As his speech ended, he received roaring applause.
His most famous act on a domestic policy level was the approval of the Bank of the Southern American Confederation. Unlike the Bank of the United States, which sought to create a common currency, establish credit, pay off war debts, and raise funds for the government, the primary function of the Bank of the SAC was to act as a facilitator of interstate and intrastate transactions between state-level banks. The bank, though, did take on responsibility for debts that were common to more than one state. All the states had their own currencies that were designed exclusively for in-state financial transactions. For interstate or national commerce, the people used Confederate Dollars. His new cabinet consisted of his former running mate, James Iredell, as Secretary of State, Samuel Johnston of North Carolina as Secretary of the Treasury, and his brother, Charles Pinckney, as Attorney General. On April 25, 1796, Spain ceded the northern half of Spanish West Florida to the SAC. That territory was transferred to Georgia and eventually to the Mississippi Territory in 1798.
After the American Revolution, Georgia was in too weak of a state to defend its vast western "Yazoo" land claims, named after the river flowing through its westernmost portions. Due to Georgia's weakness, the state legislature supported two unsuccessful speculation projects in the 1780s to try to establish counties in the western portions of the state. In 1789, the legislature sold approximately 25 million acres at 1 cent per acre to The South Carolina Yazoo Company, The Confederate Virginia Yazoo Company, and the Tennessee Company. The sale worth $250,000 was torpedoed after only six months from the initial sale date. The form of payment demanded was changed to gold and silver rather than paper currency, which there was an abundant lack of. By mid-November 1794, a majority favored the sale of the western Yazoo lands. On January 7, 1795, George Matthews, the governor of Georgia, signed the Yazoo Act, transferring the ownership of 35 million acres in present-day Mississippi and Yazoo to the Georgia, Georgia-Mississippi, Tennessee, and Upper Mississippi Companies for a total of $500,000. To achieve this, Georgia senator James Gunn made monetary and land arrangements with newspaper editors, state politicians, and other influential Georgians. This caused public outcry against bribery and corruption, with opposition swelling so that petitions were started and protestors took to the streets. completing their purchases. The purchases were still completed.
Learning of the Yazoo Act's passage, Georgian senator James Jackson returned home and was determined to overturn the sale. Once his party gained control of the state legislature, he dictated the terms of the Rescinding Act, signed by Governor Jared Irwin on February 13, 1796, nullifying the Yazoo sale. In 1798, the Georgia state constitution was revised to include the substance of the Rescinding Act. On April 7, 1798, the passage of a separate act authorized President Pinckney to appoint commissioners to negotiate land cessions with Georgia and for the creation of Mississippi Territory from former Spanish West Florida. Then, on April 26, 1802, the remaining northern half of the former Georgia territory was transferred to the Confederate government for $1.25 million and became an unorganized western territory (eventually Yazoo Territory).
With much of the domestic problems in the SAC tentatively solved, Pinckney and the rest of his administration turned their heads to the United States. Just as the American Theater of the War of the Second Coalition broke out in July 1798, the regional split in USA politics became even more obvious. The Southern and Western states, Republican Strongholds, opposed the war while Federalist-held New England and urban centers like New York and Philadelphia supported it. The SAC sympathized with their brethren in Kentucky and Virginia, particularly with slaveholders who had pro-SAC thoughts and used secession as a prominent political discussion topic. All it needed was a push. That push would perhaps come from the Thomas Pinckney administration. Vice president Edward Telfair had a potential plan in his mind. The president himself secretly feared for the worst but visibly appeared supportive when Telfair announced his plan to the Pinckney cabinet.
In 1795, the Southern American Confederation paid close attention to its Northern neighbor. Southerners watched as the USA dismembered its historical alliance with France. To the people of the SAC, it was as if the Union forgot that if it weren’t for French interference, the North and South alike would still be dominated by British tyranny. Previously, Citizen Genet was expelled from Philadelphia and welcomed into Charleston by 1795. On the other hand, the thwarting of French-influenced Democratic Societies was seen as unconstitutional in the South. This move angered the North as they accused its neighbor of aiding a dangerous enemy. On July 16, 1795, Rutledge gave a controversial speech denouncing the United States’ Jay Treaty. He reportedly said in the speech "that he had rather the President should die than sign that puerile instrument" and that war was still on the table if the Confederacy felt provoked. He showed partial sympathy to the Southern Union states of Kentucky, Maryland, and Virginia.
Meanwhile, Rutledge’s presidency was viewed as in a mixed but positive-leaning light. He was not the most ideologically aligned person for the job (on some issues more than others) but was able to get the country functioning and rolling properly. His vice president Charles Pinckney of South Carolina had been floated as a possible candidate. Instead, he used much of his free time to campaign for his brother, Thomas Pinckney. During the Convention, he unanimously received the Nationalist nomination. He chose James Iredell of North Carolina as his vice-presidential running mate. For the Democrats, Edward Telfair of Georgia received the nominee once again with Johnston as his vice president. Ideological blocs already existed but they only officially became parties before the 1795 election. Since Tennessee was admitted as a state on June 1, 1795 and set up a legislature, it could participate in the election on November 4 and the tally of the votes a month later. Georgia and Tennessee electors predictably voted for Telfair while South Carolina chose Pinckney. North Carolina once again was a swing state, but due to James Iredell's campaigning efforts, all but two North Carolina's electoral votes were swayed to Pinckney. Due to the rules, Johnston did not become vice president but rather Telfair, creating a somewhat awkward situation.
On February 22, 1796, he stepped down as president and saw the swearing in of Thomas Pinckney. In his inaugural speech in Charleston, he covertly attacked the Jay Treaty, and called the Citizen Genet affair a major crackdown on liberty. On one hand, that’s what the Democrats from the Carolina back-country (who were a significant portion of white South Carolinians by 1796) wanted to hear from him. On the other hand, he sympathized to a degree with the Southerners (Maryland and Virginia) who stayed the Constitutional Convention thanks to George Washington and James Madison and felt their rights were being attacked. Nevertheless, he acknowledged in his speech that the US needed to do what it thought was in its best interest. Deep down, he wanted stable relations with Britain but acknowledged that the British could be a threat if the wrong button was poked as its influence in the North continued to grow. Great Britain's reputation among the Democrat majority had fallen apart, whereas his Nationalist self was personally not a big Francophile and even held mild British sympathies. Later in his speech, he cited the successful invention of the cotton gin in revitalizing the "Atlantic Cargo trade" which in turn contributed to significant cotton growth and boosts in cotton sales. As his speech ended, he received roaring applause.
His most famous act on a domestic policy level was the approval of the Bank of the Southern American Confederation. Unlike the Bank of the United States, which sought to create a common currency, establish credit, pay off war debts, and raise funds for the government, the primary function of the Bank of the SAC was to act as a facilitator of interstate and intrastate transactions between state-level banks. The bank, though, did take on responsibility for debts that were common to more than one state. All the states had their own currencies that were designed exclusively for in-state financial transactions. For interstate or national commerce, the people used Confederate Dollars. His new cabinet consisted of his former running mate, James Iredell, as Secretary of State, Samuel Johnston of North Carolina as Secretary of the Treasury, and his brother, Charles Pinckney, as Attorney General. On April 25, 1796, Spain ceded the northern half of Spanish West Florida to the SAC. That territory was transferred to Georgia and eventually to the Mississippi Territory in 1798.
After the American Revolution, Georgia was in too weak of a state to defend its vast western "Yazoo" land claims, named after the river flowing through its westernmost portions. Due to Georgia's weakness, the state legislature supported two unsuccessful speculation projects in the 1780s to try to establish counties in the western portions of the state. In 1789, the legislature sold approximately 25 million acres at 1 cent per acre to The South Carolina Yazoo Company, The Confederate Virginia Yazoo Company, and the Tennessee Company. The sale worth $250,000 was torpedoed after only six months from the initial sale date. The form of payment demanded was changed to gold and silver rather than paper currency, which there was an abundant lack of. By mid-November 1794, a majority favored the sale of the western Yazoo lands. On January 7, 1795, George Matthews, the governor of Georgia, signed the Yazoo Act, transferring the ownership of 35 million acres in present-day Mississippi and Yazoo to the Georgia, Georgia-Mississippi, Tennessee, and Upper Mississippi Companies for a total of $500,000. To achieve this, Georgia senator James Gunn made monetary and land arrangements with newspaper editors, state politicians, and other influential Georgians. This caused public outcry against bribery and corruption, with opposition swelling so that petitions were started and protestors took to the streets. completing their purchases. The purchases were still completed.
Learning of the Yazoo Act's passage, Georgian senator James Jackson returned home and was determined to overturn the sale. Once his party gained control of the state legislature, he dictated the terms of the Rescinding Act, signed by Governor Jared Irwin on February 13, 1796, nullifying the Yazoo sale. In 1798, the Georgia state constitution was revised to include the substance of the Rescinding Act. On April 7, 1798, the passage of a separate act authorized President Pinckney to appoint commissioners to negotiate land cessions with Georgia and for the creation of Mississippi Territory from former Spanish West Florida. Then, on April 26, 1802, the remaining northern half of the former Georgia territory was transferred to the Confederate government for $1.25 million and became an unorganized western territory (eventually Yazoo Territory).
With much of the domestic problems in the SAC tentatively solved, Pinckney and the rest of his administration turned their heads to the United States. Just as the American Theater of the War of the Second Coalition broke out in July 1798, the regional split in USA politics became even more obvious. The Southern and Western states, Republican Strongholds, opposed the war while Federalist-held New England and urban centers like New York and Philadelphia supported it. The SAC sympathized with their brethren in Kentucky and Virginia, particularly with slaveholders who had pro-SAC thoughts and used secession as a prominent political discussion topic. All it needed was a push. That push would perhaps come from the Thomas Pinckney administration. Vice president Edward Telfair had a potential plan in his mind. The president himself secretly feared for the worst but visibly appeared supportive when Telfair announced his plan to the Pinckney cabinet.
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