The Founding Fathers
| Gouverneur Morris,
Pennsylvania |
Of
French and English descent, Morris was born at Morrisania estate, in
Westchester (present Bronx) County, NY, in 1752. His family was
wealthy and enjoyed a long record of public service. His elder
half-brother, Lewis, signed the Declaration
of Independence.
Gouverneur was educated by private tutors and
at a Huguenot school in New Rochelle. In early life, he lost a leg in
a carriage accident. He attended King's College (later Columbia
College and University) in New York City, graduating in 1768 at the
age of 16. Three years later, after reading law in the city, he gained
admission to the bar.
When the Revolution loomed on the horizon,
Morris became interested in political affairs. Because of his
conservatism, however, he at first feared the movement, which he
believed would bring mob rule. Furthermore, some of his family and
many of his friends were Loyalists. But, beginning in 1775, for some
reason he sided with the Whigs. That same year, representing
Westchester County, he took a seat in New York's Revolutionary
provincial congress (1775-77). In 1776, when he also served in the
militia, along with John Jay and Robert
R. Livingston he drafted the first constitution of the state.
Subsequently he joined its council of safety (1777).
In 1777-78 Morris sat in the legislature and
in 1778-79 in the Continental
Congress, where he numbered among the youngest and most brilliant
members. During this period, he signed the Articles
of Confederation and drafted instructions for Benjamin
Franklin, in Paris, as well as those that provided a partial basis
for the treaty ending the War for Independence. Morris was also a
close friend of Washington and one
of his strongest congressional supporters.
Defeated in his bid for reelection to
Congress in 1779 because of the opposition of Gov. George Clinton's
faction, Morris relocated to Philadelphia and resumed the practice of
law. This temporarily removed him from the political scene, but in
1781 he resumed his public career when he became the principal
assistant to Robert Morris,
Superintendent of Finance for the United States, to whom he was
unrelated. Gouverneur held this position for 4 years.
Morris emerged as one of the leading figures
at the Constitutional
Convention. His speeches, more frequent than those by anyone else,
numbered 173. Although sometimes presented in a light vein, they were
usually substantive. A strong advocate of nationalism and aristocratic
rule, he served on many committees, including those on postponed
matters and style, and stood in the thick of the decision-making
process. Above all, it was apparently he who actually drafted the Constitution.
Morris subsequently left public life for a time to devote his
attention to business. Having purchased the family home from his
half-brother, Lewis, he moved back to New York. Afterward, in 1789,
Gouverneur joined in a business venture with Robert Morris, and
traveled to France, where he witnessed the beginnings of the French
Revolution.
Morris was to remain in Europe for about a
decade. In 1790-91 he undertook a diplomatic mission to London to try
to negotiate some of the outstanding problems between the United
States and Great Britain. The mission failed, but in 1792 Washington
appointed him as Minister to France, to replace Thomas
Jefferson. Morris was recalled 2 years later but did not come
home. Instead, he traveled extensively in Europe for more than 4
years, during which time he handled his complicated business affairs
and contemplated the complex political situation.
Morris returned to the United States in 1799.
The next year, he was elected to finish an unexpired term in the U.S.
Senate. An ardent Federalist, he was defeated in his bid for
reelection in 1802 and left office the following year.
Morris retired to a glittering life at
Morrisania, where he had built a new residence. In 1809 he married
Anne Cary (Carey) Randolph of Virginia, and they had one son. During
his last years, he continued to speak out against the
Democratic-Republicans and violently opposed the War of 1812. In the
years 1810-13 he served as chairman of the Erie Canal Commission.
Morris died at Morrisania in 1816 at the age
of 64 and was buried at St. Anne's Episcopal Churchyard, in the Bronx,
New York City.
Image: Courtesy
of National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institution
