PIERCE BUTLER

CHILDHOOD/EDUCATION:

• Born in 1744 in county Carlow, Ireland
• His father, sir Richard Butler, was a member of Parliament

ROLE PLAYED REVOLUTION/ORIGINS OF THE UNITED STATES:

• Pursued a military career- took up the Whig cause
• In 1779, he served as adjundant general in the South Carolina militia, a position that carried the rank of
• Bridager general
• He won election to both the continental congress and the constitutional convention from 1787-1788

MOST IMPACT ON THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA:

• Butler defended American slavery
• He introduces the Fugitive Slave Clause of the U.S constitution
• During the Constitutional convention
• Later, he was elected by the Georgia state legislature to three separate terms
• In the United States Senate

(CONTINUED:)

• Due to his growing political interest, the South Carolina legislature
• Asked Butler to represent the state at the Constitutional convention
• That met in Philadelphia in 1787

CONCLUDING QUOTE:

• Butler agreed with Alexander Hamilton's political statements in
• Wanting to maintain a strong central government, but a government that could
• Never take advantages of the rights of a private citizen
• "Our System is little better than [a] matter of experiment... Much must
• Depend on the morals and manners of the people at large." -Pierce Butler