Robert Morris
Born: January 20, 1734
Died: May 8, 1806
Colony/State: Pennsylvania
Occupation / Public Role: Merchant, financier, legislator, delegate to the Continental Congress, U.S. Senator
Contribution to the Founding Era: Delegate to the Continental Congress, signer of the Declaration of Independence, Superintendent of Finance during the Revolution, framer of the Constitution, and one of the few men to sign the Declaration of Independence, the Articles of Confederation, and the United States Constitution.
Robert Morris was born in Liverpool, England, and came to America as a teenager to join his father in Maryland. After brief schooling in Philadelphia, he entered the mercantile world and eventually became a partner in the Philadelphia firm of Willing, Morris & Company. Over time he became one of the most important merchants in Pennsylvania and one of the most financially influential men in Revolutionary America.
Before independence, Morris was active in resistance to British policy, including signing the non-importation agreement of 1765. He later served on the Pennsylvania Council of Safety in 1775 and was elected to the Second Continental Congress, where he served from 1775 to 1778. Although Morris initially thought independence came at “an improper time,” he ultimately signed the Declaration of Independence as one of Pennsylvania’s delegates after it was adopted.
Morris’s greatest importance to the Revolutionary cause came through finance. Britannica notes that he became known as the “financier of the American Revolution,” and the National Archives highlights his service as Superintendent of Finance from 1781 to 1784. In that role, he worked to stabilize the nation’s war finances and helped establish the Bank of North America, an important early financial institution in the United States.
His public career extended beyond the Revolution. Morris served in the Pennsylvania state assembly, was a delegate to the Federal Constitutional Convention of 1787, and signed the United States Constitution. He later served as a United States Senator from Pennsylvania in the new federal government. That is a pretty serious second act for a man who had already helped bankroll a revolution.
Robert Morris died in Philadelphia in 1806. He is not as broadly remembered today as Franklin or Jefferson, but he was one of the central working figures of the founding era. Without writers, you do not get principles. Without soldiers, you do not get victory. Without financiers, you often do not get either. Morris was one of the men making sure the Revolution could actually function.
Related Links
- Signers of the Declaration of Independence
- Declaration of Independence
- George Clymer
- Benjamin Franklin
- James Wilson