U.S. senator and statesman William Pinkney (1764-1822) was notable for his support of the Missouri Compromise, a piece of legislation designed to restrict the advance of slavery that was passed by Congress in 1820.

William Pinkney began his career as an attorney but quickly entered the realm of politics as a congressman in his home state of Maryland. His talent for public speaking attracted the attention of presidents from Washington to Madison, gaining Pinkney promotion to U.S. diplomat and his ultimate election as a U.S. senator. Among his most noteworthy accomplishments in the political arena was his skill in negotiating the Missouri Compromise of 1819, although this was eclipsed in the mind of legal scholars by his defense of such landmark cases as McCulloch vs. Maryland. He appeared before the U.S. Supreme Court over seventy times before his death in 1822 and was the acknowledged leader of...