William Pinkney

William Pinkney (March 17, 1764 – February 25, 1822) was an American statesman and diplomat, and was appointed the seventh U.S. Attorney General by President James Madison.

This article is about the former U.S. Attorney General. For the first Episcopal Bishop of Maryland, see William Pinkney (bishop).

William Pinkney
United States senator from Maryland
In office December 21, 1819 – February 25, 1822
Preceded by	Alexander Hanson
Succeeded by	Samuel Smith
United States Envoy to Russia
In office January 13, 1817 – February 14, 1818
President	James Madison James Monroe
Preceded by	John Quincy Adams
Succeeded by	George W. Campbell
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Maryland's 5th district
In office March 4, 1815 – April 18, 1816
Preceded by	Alexander McKim
Succeeded by	Peter Little
7th United States Attorney General
In office December 11, 1811 – February 9, 1814
President	James Madison
Preceded by	Caesar Rodney
Succeeded by	Richard Rush
United States Minister to the United Kingdom
In office April 27, 1808 – May 7, 1811
President	Thomas Jefferson James Madison
Preceded by	James Monroe
Succeeded by	Jonathan Russell (Acting)
3rd Attorney General of Maryland
In office 1805–1806
Governor	Robert Bowie
Preceded by	Luther Martin
Succeeded by	John Thomson Mason
Mayor of Annapolis
In office 1794–1795
Preceded by	James Williams
Succeeded by	Allen Quynn
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Maryland's 3rd district
In office March 4, 1791 – November 1, 1791
Preceded by	Benjamin Contee
Succeeded by	John Mercer
Personal details
Born	(1764-03-17)March 17, 1764 Annapolis, Province of Maryland, British America
Died	February 25, 1822(1822-02-25) (aged 57) Washington, D.C., U.S.
Political party	Democratic-Republican
Spouse(s)	Ann Rodgers
Signature

Biography

William Pinkney was born in Annapolis in the Province of Maryland. His home was on the banks of the Severn River, in view of the Chesapeake Bay.[1]

Pinkney attended King William school. His teacher was a Mr. Brefhard. At age thirteen he left school but his teacher, aware of the young Pinkney's intelligence, gave him private lessons at home.[2]

He studied medicine (which he did not practice) and law, becoming a lawyer upon admission to the bar in 1786. After practicing law in Harford County, Maryland, he participated in Maryland's state constitutional convention.

Pinkney was an excellent orator who possessing a command of language, and was said to possess a pleasing and articulate manner in his speaking.[3]

Political career

In April 1788, Pinkney was elected a delegate to the convention of the State of Maryland, which ratified the United States Constitution, marking the beginning of his political career.[4]

Pinkney served in the Maryland House of Delegates from 1788 to 1792 and then again in 1795, and served as a U.S. Congressman from the third district of Maryland in 1791 and from the fifth district from 1815 until 1816. He was mayor of Annapolis from 1795 to 1800. In 1801 he was appointed Attorney general for the District of Pennsylvania, by President Thomas Jefferson[5] and Attorney General of Maryland from 1805 to 1806.

Pinkney was co-US Minister to the Court of St. James (i.e. Great Britain) (with James Monroe) from 1806 to 1807;

They were asked by President Jefferson to negotiate with Great Britain to end the harassment of American shipping, though Britain showed no signs of improving relations. They negotiated the Monroe–Pinkney Treaty, but it lacked provisions to end impressment and was subsequently rejected by President Jefferson and never went into effect.[6]

Pinkney was Minister Plenipotentiary from 1808 until 1811. He then returned to Maryland, serving in the Maryland State Senate in 1811. In 1811 he joined President James Madison's cabinet as Attorney General. He was a major in the U.S. Army during the War of 1812 and was wounded at the Battle of Bladensburg, Maryland in August 1814. After the War, he served as congressman from the fifth district of Maryland from 1815 to 1816. After serving in Congress he became the U.S. Minister Plenipotentiary to Russia from 1816 until 1818, along with a special mission to the Kingdom of Naples.

Pinkney successfully argued many important cases before the Supreme Court, including the landmark case of McCulloch v. Maryland (1819), where the right of the US Congress to charter the Bank of the United States was upheld.[7]

Pinkney served as a US senator from Maryland from 1819 until his death in 1822. He is buried at the Congressional Cemetery in Washington, D.C..[8]

His son, Edward Coote Pinkney, became an accomplished poet.

See also

• List of United States Congress members who died in office (1790–1899)

References

1. Pinkney, 1853, p. 11
2. Pinkney, 1853, p. 14
3. Pinkney, 1853, p. 81
4. Pinkney, 1853, p. 17
5. Wheaton, 1826, p.128
6. Hayes, 2008, pp. 504–05
7. Encyclopædia Britannica, William Pinkney
8. Pinkney, William, Biographical Directory of the U.S. Congress

Bibliography

• Hayes, Kevin J. (2008). The Road to Monticello: The Life and Mind of Thomas Jefferson. Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-530758-0.
• Ireland, Robert M. (1986). The legal career of William Pinkney, 1764-1822. Garland, 333 pages.  Book
• Pinkney, Reverend William (nephew) (1853). The life of William Pinkney. D. Appleton and Company, New York.  e'Book
• Wheaton, Henry (1826). Some account of the life, writings, and speeches of William Pinkney. J. W. Palmer & co.  e'Book
• "PINKNEY, William, (1764 - 1822)". Biographical Directory of the U.S. Congress. Retrieved March 14, 2016.
• "William Pinkney, United States statesman". Encyclopædia Britannica. Retrieved March 14, 2016.

External links

• Media related to William Pinkney at Wikimedia Commons

• United States Congress. "William Pinkney (id: P000362)". Biographical Directory of the United States Congress.
• William Pinkney, Seventh Attorney General 1811-1814; U.S. Dept. of Justice
• Works by William Pinkney at Open Library
• The Editors of Encyclopædia Britannica, William Pinkney at the Encyclopædia Britannica

U.S. House of Representatives
Preceded by Benjamin Contee	Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Maryland's 3rd congressional district 1791	Succeeded by John Francis Mercer
Preceded by Alexander McKim	Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Maryland's 5th congressional district 1815–1816	Succeeded by Peter Little
Political offices
Preceded by James Williams	Mayor of Annapolis 1794–1795	Succeeded by Allen Quynn
Legal offices
Preceded by Luther Martin	Attorney General of Maryland 1805–1806	Succeeded by John Thomson Mason
Preceded by Caesar A. Rodney	U.S. Attorney General Served under: James Madison 1811–1814	Succeeded by Richard Rush
Diplomatic posts
Preceded by James Monroe	U.S. Minister to Great Britain 1807–1811	Succeeded by John Quincy Adams
Preceded by John Quincy Adams	U.S. Minister to Russia 1816–1818	Succeeded by George W. Campbell
U.S. Senate
Preceded by Alexander C. Hanson	U.S. senator (Class 1) from Maryland 1819–1822 Served alongside: Edward Lloyd	Succeeded by Samuel Smith