George Clymer
Born: March 16, 1739
Died: January 23, 1813
Colony/State: Pennsylvania
Occupation / Public Role: Merchant, legislator, delegate to the Continental Congress, Congressman
Contribution to the Founding Era: Delegate to the Continental Congress, signer of the Declaration of Independence, framer of the Constitution, and one of the few men to sign both the Declaration of Independence and the United States Constitution.
George Clymer was born in Philadelphia and was orphaned while still a child. He was raised by his wealthy uncle William Coleman, who brought him into the mercantile world. Clymer grew into a successful Philadelphia merchant and became one of the early Pennsylvanians to back resistance to British policy.
Before independence, Clymer was active in Philadelphia politics and Revolutionary organizing. The U.S. House records that he served in the Revolutionary War as a captain of a volunteer company at the outbreak of hostilities and was also a member of the committee of safety. He was then chosen as a delegate to the Second Continental Congress, where he signed the Declaration of Independence as one of Pennsylvania’s delegates.
Clymer’s public service did not end with the Declaration. He served in the Confederation Congress, sat in the Pennsylvania state house of representatives, attended the Federal Constitutional Convention of 1787, and signed the United States Constitution. That makes him one of only six men to sign both founding documents, which is not exactly casual résumé filler.
After the Constitution was adopted, Clymer served as a Representative in the First Congress of the United States. Later, he held federal office as a collector of excise taxes and also helped negotiate with Native nations in the 1790s. His career stretched from the revolutionary break with Britain into the early functioning years of the new federal government.
George Clymer died in 1813. He is not as famous today as Franklin or Jefferson, but he was one of Pennsylvania’s real load-bearing founders: merchant, revolutionary organizer, signer, framer, and congressman. He helped build the break from Britain and then helped build the government that followed it.
Related Links
- Signers of the Declaration of Independence
- Declaration of Independence
- Benjamin Franklin
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