CHAPTER VIII.

SKETCHES OF THE PENNSYLVANIA MEMBERS OF THE

FEDERAL CONVENTION.

PENNSYLVANIA was represented in the federal convention by a larger delegation than any of the other states. This was no doubt owing to the fact that Philadelphia had been chosen as the place where the sessions of the convention were to be held, and it imposed no hardship or expense on her citizens to attend. Travelling in those days on horseback or by stage wagon was attended by fatigue and expense, and so closely were expenses watched that when the Pennsylvania Assembly declined to provide compensation for its delegates, representatives from the rural districts declined to serve.

Not only was the delegation the largest in the convention, but it was one of the most distinguished. Of the fifty-six men who signed the Declaration of Independence but six signed the constitution, and of these four were from Pennsylvania. Gouverneur Morris and James Wilson led the debate in the convention. The former spoke one hundred and seventythree times, the latter one hundred and sixty-eight times. But Wilson must be regarded as the father of the constitution in Pennsylvania. His advocacy of it before the people, his clear and forcible explanation of its meaning in the state convention, clearly entitle him to this. The attacks made upon him in the public press show how he was recognized as its chief advocate by those who opposed it. For months his time was entirely devoted to the work, and it is doubtful if without his earnest effort, the constitution would have been ratified by Pennsylvania.

We print the sketches of the Pennsylvania members in the order in which they signed the constitution.

BENJAMIN FRANKLIN was the oldest member of vention, being at that time eighty-one years of age.

the conA phil

osopher whose wisdom was world-renowned, he exceeded in practical knowledge every one of his associates. With no pretensions as a speaker, he disposed of every question with extraordinary brevity, sometimes by a happy allegory, sometimes by a single sentence. No man in the convention, save Washington, was more revered. No man could boast of such a remarkable career. To give more than a bare outline of this here would be the work of supererogation.

He was the son of Josiah Franklin and Mary Folger; was born at Boston, Mass., January 17, 1706. Apprenticed to his brother James as a printer, after a few years, owing to a disagreement, he left home and established himself in Philadelphia. He worked as a journeyman printer in London in 1725, but returned the next year to Pennsylvania, subsequently becoming editor and proprietor of the Pennsylvania Gazette, and publisher of Poor Richard's Almanac. In 1731 he assisted in founding the Philadelphia Library; became clerk to the Assembly in 1736; postmaster of Philadelphia in 1737; and in 1753 was deputy postmaster-general of the British Colonies. On October 4, 1748, he was chosen one of the Common Councilmen of the city of Philadelphia; and on October 1, 1751, alderman. In 1752 he made the discovery of the identity of lightning with the electric fluid. In 1754, as a commissioner from Pennsylvania to the Albany Congress, he prepared the plan of union for the common defence adopted by that body. During the French and Indian wars he was commissioned a Colonel in the provincial service, and in 1755 superintended the furnishing of transportation for the supplies of Braddock's army. He served as a member of the Assembly from 1751 to 1763, the latter year being speaker; from 1757 to 1762, and again from 1765 to 1775, he was the agent of the province to Great Britain, spending most of his time in England, and while there aided in securing the repeal of the obnoxious stamp act. In 1762 the Universities of Oxford and Edinburgh conferred on him for his scientific discoveries the degree of LL. D., he having been previously honored with a membership in the Royal Society, and by being the recipient of the Copley gold medal. From 1773 to

1775 he was again elected to the Assembly. Returning to Philadelphia in the spring of 1775, he was chosen a member of the continental Congress. He was a member of the provincial conference at Carpenters' Hall, June 18, 1775, and of the Committee of Safety from June 30, 1775, to July 22, 1776. While in Congress he was one of the committee to prepare, as he was also a signer of the Declaration of Independence. He was a member of the constitutional convention of July 15, 1776, and chosen its President. From the close of 1776 to September, 1785, he was the American Ambassador to France, and secured the treaty of alliance with that country, signed February 6, 1778, which greatly assisted in securing the independence of the colonies. He took a prominent part in negotiating the preliminary treaty of peace. with England, which was signed at Paris, November 30, 1782, and with Adams and Jay signed that at Ghent, September 3, 1783. He was President of Pennsylvania from October 17, 1785, to November 5, 1788, declining on account of his advanced years to continue in office. In May, 1787, he was a delegate to the convention which framed the constitution of the United States. He died in the city of Philadelphia; April 17, 1790.

THOMAS MIFFLIN was born in Philadelphia in 1744. It was the intention of his father that he should be a merchant, and after he had graduated at the College of Philadelphia he was placed in the counting-house of William Coleman. When he was 21 years of age he visited Europe to improve his knowledge of commercial affairs and after his return home entered into business with his brother, the connection continuing until after the commencement of the Revolution. His interest in public affairs began while he was quite a young man, and in 1765 he signed the famous non-importation agreement, opposing the stamp act. In 1772 he was chosen one of the two representatives of Philadelphia in the Assembly, and was so continued until 1776. He was a delegate to the Congress of 1774, that met in Carpenters' Hall. In 1775 he was Colonel and Adjutant-General of the continental army, Brigadier General in 1776, Major General in

1777. In the latter part of that year he resigned his position and was chosen a member of the Board of War. In 1780 he was again engaged in mercantile pursuits. He was a member of the continental Congress in 1782 and 1783, serving as President during the latter year. He was Speaker of the Assembly in 1785-88; member of the Federal Convention 1787; President of the Supreme Executive Council 1788-90; President of the constitutional Convention of Pennsylvania in 1790; Governor of Pennsylvania from 1790-9; member of the Legislature 1799-1800, dying in January of the latter

year.

Mifflin was a fluent speaker, and used his powers to the utmost in organizing an opposition to the Boston Port Bill and similar measures. In the darkest days of the Revolution, when Washington's army reduced to a handful was retreating through Jersey, Mifflin, at the request of Congress, went through the State, addressing the people at all the principal points, urging them to join Washington with as little delay as possible. So successful was he that some of the militia reached the army before it had crossed the Delaware, and the thousands that soon poured into camp, made the advance that resulted in the victory at Princeton a necessity. Unfortunately for the reputation of Mifflin, he afterwards associated with Gates and Conway, and his name has come down in history as one who sought to remove Washington from command of the army. While he left on record a solemn protest that his action was dictated by the purest patriotism, it is impossible not to believe that his judgment was warped by jealousy excited by the preference Washington showed for others. While Mifflin was President of Congress the war closed and Washington resigned his commission. It was tendered personally to Mifflin, whose reply to the few words uttered by Washington were dignified and eloquent. "We join you," he said, "in commending the interests of our dearest country to the protection of Almighty God, beseeching Him to dispose the hearts and minds of its citizens to improve the opportunity afforded them to become a happy and respectable nation. And for you we address to

Him our earnest prayers that a life so beloved may be fostered with all His care; that your days may be as happy as they have been illustrious; and that He will finally give you that reward which this world cannot give."

Whatever Mifflin's sentiments were at one time regarding Washington, the latter harbored no ill feelings in return, and on several subsequent occasions was Mifflin's guest. Although a warm advocate of the adoption of the constitution, Mifflin subsequently belonged to the republican or anti-federal party, but this did not prevent him from supporting the general government in the suppression of the Whisky Insurrection. The elder Rawle, who knew him personally, says: "In person he was remarkably handsome, though his stature did not exceed five feet eight inches. His frame was athletic, and seemed capable of bearing much fatigue."

ROBERT MORRIS, the financier of the American Revolution, was born in Liverpool on the 31st of January, 1734. Prior to 1740 he came with his father, also Robert Morris, to America, and settled in Oxford county, Maryland. While quite young, Robert, the son, was sent to Philadelphia, and entered the counting house of Charles Willing, and in 1754 formed a partnership with his son, Thomas Willing, which lasted until 1793. In 1765 he vigorously opposed the Stamp Act, and signed the non-importation agreement. Upon the formation of the Committee of Safety in 1775, he was made its Vice-President, and continued in that office until its dissolution in 1776. He was a member of the second continental Congress that met in Philadelphia in 1775, and served on committees for furnishing the colonies with a naval armament and for procuring money for Congress. When the question of Independence came up for final action on July 2, 1776, Morris voted against it, and on the FOURTH, when the Declaration was submitted for approval, absented himself from Congress, as in his opinion it was "an improper time" for such a measure. He subsequently, however, signed the engrossed Declaration.

In December, 1776, when the Congress retired to Baltimore, he was one of the committee left behind to attend to