The Framers

55 delegates representing 12

states attended the Constitutional Convention;

39 men signed the document

George Washington (1732 – 1799)

• No formal schooling; privately taught • One of the wealthiest men in the Colonies• One of the best horsemen in the colonies• A workaholic who enjoyed fishing• One of 12 Framers who owned slaves• Supported firearms. “Firearms stand next in importance to the Constitution itself. They are the American people’s liberty teeth”• Married late in life to Martha Dandridge Custis. Raised her two children• Commander of the Continental Army• Our first president

Gouverneur Morris (1752 – 1816)

• Born into a wealthy New York family• Attended Columbia University• Originator of the phrase, “We the People of the United States”• One of 5 men who signed both the Articles of Confederation

and the Constitution• Had a wooden leg due to a carriage accident• Was something of a ladies man, but did marry late in life at

age 57. One son• Considered one of the most brilliant members of the

Constitutional Convention. Spoke often and humorously• Came up with the idea of using the dollar bill as a basis for

our currency• Suffered severe hardship as a consequence of his

revolutionary involvement

Benjamin Franklin (1706 – 1790)

• Noted author, printer, political theorist, politician, postmaster, scientist, inventor, statesman, and diplomat

• Invented the lightning rod, bifocals, Franklin stove, glass armonica

• Founded the first lending library in America and the first fire department in Pennsylvania

• Largely self-taught• Permanently estranged with his only son over the

Revolution (he was a Patriot; son William was a Loyalist)• Part of the committee that drafted the Declaration of

Independence• 20,000 people attended his funeral

Edmund Randolph ( 1753 – 1813)

• Born into a wealthy, influential Virginia family• Attended William & Mary• Was an aide-de-camp to General Washington during the

Revolution• Married to Elizabeth Nicholas. Six children• Introduced the “Virginia Plan,” which favored the large

states• Refused to sign the Constitution because it he believed it

had insufficient checks and balances; later supported the Constitution’s ratification

• Later served as the 7th Governor of Virginia; the 2nd Secretary of State; and the 1st U.S. Attorney General

Roger Sherman (1721 – 1793)

• Born in Massachusetts• Largely self-taught• Was a cobbler (liked to keep books open on his

workbench)• Twice married. Seven children with his first wife; Eight

more with his second. All but one lived to maturity• Made 128 speeches at the Constitutional Convention• Proposed the “Grand Compromise”• Sherman was the ONLY man to sign all four main

documents: The Articles of Association, 1774; the Declaration of Independence, 1776; the Articles of Confederation, 1777; and the Constitution, 1787.

• Suffered financial hardship as a consequence of his revolutionary involvement

Alexander Hamilton (1754 – 1804)

• Born in the West Indies; orphaned at a young age; difficult childhood

• Self-taught; brilliant; came to America to attend Columbia University (sent by his employer)

• One of Washington’s most trusted advisors• War interrupted education• Married into a wealthy and politically powerful

family• Set-up the Treasury Department; established the

financial footing of the new American government• Killed in a duel with Aaron Burr

James Wilson (1742 – 1798)

• Born in Scotland and emigrated to America in 1765; fine Scottish education

• Signed both the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution, along with five other men (Clymer, Franklin, Robert Morris, Read, and Sherman)

• Spoke very frequently at the Constitutional Convention

• Two wives; six children• Suffered financial reverses as a consequence• Of his revolutionary activities. Almost went to

debtor’s prison

George Mason (1725 – 1792)

A Virginia planter, he was active in Virginia politics and a noted lawyer

• Largely self-taught• Created drafts of the first declaration or rights and state

constitution in the Colonies• Refused to sign the Constitution and worked against its

Ratification because it did not contain a Bill of Rights• A strong anti-federalist who wanted a weak central

government• Known as the Father of the Bill of Rights (along with

Madison)• Two wives; eighteen children

James Madison (1751 – 1836)

• Born into a planter aristocracy. Slave owner• Attended Princeton University• Short and small in stature; married to popular Dolly Payne

Todd• One of the most influential members of the Constitutional

Convention. Called the “Father of the Constitution”• We know what happened during the Convention because he

took notes• Collaborated with John Jay and Hamilton in defending the

Constitution and working for its Ratification.• Helped defend the Constitution against Patrick Henry, Richard

Henry Lee, and George Mason• Part of a group who wanted to send slaves back to Africa, the

“American Colonization Society”• Our 4th president

William Paterson (1745 – 1806)

• Born in Ireland and emigrated to America at age two

• Attended Princeton University• Proposed the “New Jersey Plan” at the

Constitutional Convention which favored the small states

• A strong federalist• Helped draft the Judiciary Act of 1789 which

established the federal judiciary (court system)• 2nd governor of New Jersey; Associate Justice

of the Supreme Court