Transcripts For CSPAN3 Snee Farm Plantation And Charles Pinckney 20160825

In philadelphia in 1787. Charles was four times governor of south carolina. He was an ambassador to spain. In the legislation in south carolina. He was in congress up in washington. He spent his entire life in public service. But the key, the National Significance of charles were his contributions at the Constitutional Convention. He presented a complete plan of government. Its called the pinckney draft. Which you have to get through kind of a backwards way because they were no surviving copies. He presented this complete plan of government on the third day of the convention. Its through other peoples notes at the Constitutional Convention that you find the details in that plan. Now, whats interesting is that james madison, who we think of as the father of the constitution, who had copious notes, he doesnt meanings the pinckney draft. Which is one of the reasons that pinckney is a forgotten founder. He was a brash young man from south carolina. Very bright, but only 29 years old. And in presenting his ideas and not being afraid of doing that. Of maybe respecting his elders enough. He obviously rubbed some people wrong way. His draft included a lot of the elements. The one that we pull on, is no religious qualifications for holding office. That was major. The having one executive, having a president , a chief executive in three branches of government, which we do have. He called for a post office. He called for the president to make a report to the Congress Every year. A state of the union report. Were standing where when Charles Pinckney was before he was born, his father bought snee farm. This was used as a retreat. His father owned a number of plantations, but their main house was always in charleston and when charles inherited this property, following the american revolution, it was again used as a retreat. Based on archaeology, the house was sitting where we are today. This house built in 1828 by a later owner, who must have torn down the old house, perhaps used some of the pieces from the old house in reconstructing this, but the nails used in the house are from the 1820s. It was called the Charles Pinckney house, old snee farm, but in fact this house was not from the 1750s. This site is archaeology based because there are no standing structures from pinckneys time. So the Parks Service has had extensive investigations done, many paid for my the snee farm. They raised the money to buy it and initiated these studies to find evidence of the pinckney time. One of the biggest finds was the finding of the foundation of the house right under the standing structure. Here we have the folks working up underneath the house and in september, its really hot here. But they did find under this fourroom house, the foundation of the house that was built by Charles Pinckneys father. There were four rooms and a central hall similar to what we have today. Four rooms on the first floor and a central hall. Theyre assuming that the structure had an upstairs, a dormored upstairs like this cottage does. This was a modest place. A retreat. Not a place it was a working plantation. It was not built to impress. But it was built to function. Nice big windows. And then over here, you have a good image of one of the foundation, the Brick Foundation that was found underneath both the north and the south porch. As well as what was very exciting, they didnt go into a privy here, but they did find the well. Two wells. And in this wells, they found a lot of materials. A lot of artifacts. In thinking about charles as a forgotten founder, if we have this archaeology and if we have some of his books, if we have his papers to look at, the books he owned that he turned the pages of, it brings him back. It makes us able to relate to him as a human being, as a founder of this country and thats one of the privileges and responsibilities of working in this particular historic site, is to keep that memory of Charles Pinckney and his contributions alive. American history tv is marking the centennial of the national Parks Service. We asked members of congress about which National Park Service Sites in their states have the most significance for them. Congressman, what National Parks can be found in your state of massachusetts . We have many. They tend to be mostly historical National Parks. So they commemorate all the contributions weve made to the history of this country. Minutemen National Historic park. Lowells National Historic part. It was the first planned industrial city, changed the economy of this country. But we also have the National Seashore in cape cod, a beautiful, beautiful site. Like no other. And then we have the sites that commemorate the adams family. We have the freedom trail in boston that takes you from all the various landmarks, again, of the beginnings of this country. Were home to a lot of history, but some beautiful natural sites as well. As we know famously its been called the National Park system which will celebrate its 100th year has been called americas best idea because it protects for future generations these things that are uniquely ours. Whether its our history, our cultural, the great beauty of this country, the diverse beauty of this country. Without it, in absent the federal support for it, i think much of it would be in a fragile state. My first exposure to a National Park was yellowstone. My family was traveling across this country in 1960. I can remember waking up and seeing a wolf out in the woods. So a beautiful, beautiful landscape. Ive been to yosemite in california. More than anything, the scale is just so different. But each park is so unique. I dont think one is like another. And so its the tapestry of them all that is really a remarkable contribution to this country. Join American History tv tonight live at 7 00 p. M. Eastern time to commemorate the National Park service centennial. Sunday night on q a theres an average of one racial lynching a week in the south. And it was a brilliant psychological device to hold down a race. If you were black, you were afraid this could happen to you. Author lawrence talked about his literary career, including his latest book, the lynching about the trial following the 1981 killing of Michael Donald by the kkk in mobile, alabama. Michael is this teenager. Hes trained to become a brick layer. Hes the youngest of seven children. Hes home with his mother in their house. His aunt wants to ask him to go out and buy a pack of cigarettes. Goes out, this old buick pulls up behind him. James Tiger Knowles pulls out his pistol and orders him to the backseat of the car. He knows whats going to happen. Black man in alabama, you know. Sunday night at 8 00 eastern on cspans q a. 100 years ago, president wilson signed the bill creating the National Park service. Today, we look back on the past century of these caretakers of americas natural and historic treasures. At 7 00 p. M. Eastern were live from the National Park services most visited historic home, arlington house, the robert e. Lee memorial. Join us with your phone calls as we talk with robert stanton, former National Park Service Director and the former arlington house site manager who will oversee the upcoming yearlong restoration of the mansion, slave quarters, and grounds. Today, the 100th anniversary of the National Park service live from arlington house at 7 00 p. M. Eastern on American History tv on cspan3. The 1600 acre Monocacy National battlefield is about 45 miles northwest of the u. S. Capital. The National Park Service Property includes the best family farm, built in the 1790s by a family of french caribbean immigrants who owned about 90 slaves. Cspan met joy beasley, the Cultural Resources Program Manager at the National Park to learn how remnants of the 200yearold slave quarters were discovered in 2003 and partially excavated in the summer of 2010. We are at the best farm, which is named the best farm after the tenant that occupied this farm during the civil war