Butler, Pierce (1744-1822), a planter and statesman, was a South Carolina signer of the Constitution of the United States. During the Constitutional Convention of 1787, Butler favored a strong central government as long as it was limited by checks and balances among its branches. He was not entirely satisfied with the Constitution, but he believed it would create the kind of government needed to strengthen the nation.
Butler was born in County Carlow, Ireland. His father, Richard Butler, was a member of the Irish Parliament. Pierce Butler first came to South Carolina during the 1760’s as a major in the British Army. In 1771, he married Mary Middleton, a member of a wealthy South Carolina family. Soon afterward, he resigned from the army to become a planter.
Butler served several terms in the South Carolina legislature from 1776 to 1779. He was a member of the Congress of the Confederation in 1787. Butler served in the U.S. Senate from 1789 to 1796 and in 1803 and 1804. He also served briefly as director of the Bank of the United States.
