Butler, Pierce (1744–1822)

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BUTLER, PIERCE (1744–1822)

Irish-born Pierce Butler represented South Carolina at the constitutional convention of 1787 and signed the Constitution. It was Butler who first proposed the Convention's secrecy rule. A frequent speaker, he favored a weak central government and championed the interests of slaveholders. He was later a United States senator.

Dennis J. Mahoney
(1986)

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