Charles C. Pinckney:
In order to create the video advertisement for the Charles C. Pinckney campaign, there were a few things that I set out to capture. I wanted the advertisement to give some background information about Pinckney, given his successes in politics throughout his adulthood. I felt as though part of the reason he did so poorly in the election of 1804 (and again in 1808) was because he was largely misunderstood. He never experienced the same national recognition as his political opponents, although his track record was often equally impressive. With the idea of providing background in mind, I open up my video with a rather stoic picture of Pinckney, followed by an except from a primary document that reads “Who is this CHARLES COTESWORTH PINCKNEY?”. This is supposed to set the tone for the audience going forward. This is then followed by a picture of Pinckney in uniform, symbolic of his status as a war veteran and showing his commitment to his country. Next, an image of the South Carolina seal comes into view, with a caption underneath that alludes to Pinckney being both the governor and commander-in-chief of the state of South Carolina. This is providing more background on Pinckney, who served as South Carolina’s governor four separate times. After this is another picture of Pinckney, this time in a vividly colored blue and red uniform, howing that he served in the Revolutionary War. The following slide was taken from a primary source (a toast), that lists some of Pinckney’s greater accomplishments, including serving directly under commander George Washington in several Revolutionary battles. I put this in to be consistent with many Federalists ties to George Washington during the late 18th / early 19th century. The quote about Pinckney declining a seat on the Supreme Court may have originally been a derogatory one, but I put a positive spin on it. In the following slide I say that “he had bigger plans” than the Supreme Court (i.e Presidency). The next portion of the video focuses on his previous election and declares that this time around he will not lose. I wanted to convey that somehow losing in 1804 was advantageous for Pinckney in that it allowed him to grow wiser and learn from his previous mistakes. The declaration is also an indication of confidence, a quality that is essential for a President of this time. The final segment of the film addresses concerns about Pinckney’s loyalty. He went to university in England and had shown a fascination with the British constitution. However, the quote I use at the end shows that although he is fond of the British Constitution, he would not see it feasible to implement in a country like the United States. This should put to rest any worries of potential monarchy being established in the U.S. I thought this was a proper end the video, since government policy was arguably the most talked about political topic of this time period. My hope is that by then end of the video, the audience is more informed about Pinckney and can at least be more educated about the lesser known candidate in the election.