The Framers
55 delegates representing 12
states attended the Constitutional Convention;
39 men signed the document
George Washington (1732 – 1799)
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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)
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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