The Critical Period of American History Part 12

Rufus King.

_Caleb Strong._ Connecticut William Samuel Johnson.

Roger Sherman.

_Oliver Ellsworth._ New York _Robert Yates._ Alexander Hamilton.

_John Lansing._ New Jersey William Livingston.

David Brearley.

_William Churchill Houston._ William Paterson.

Jonathan Dayton.

Pennsylvania Benjamin Franklin.

Thomas Mifflin.

Robert Morris.

George Clymer.

Thomas Fitzsimmons.

Jared Ingersoll.

James Wilson.

Gouverneur Morris.

Delaware George Read.

Gunning Bedford.

John d.i.c.kinson.

Richard Ba.s.sett.

Jacob Broom.

Maryland James McHenry.

Daniel of St. Thomas Jenifer.

Daniel Carroll.

_John Francis Mercer._ _Luther Martin._ Virginia George Was.h.i.+ngton.

EDMUND RANDOLPH.

John Blair.

James Madison.

GEORGE MASON.

_George Wythe._ _James McClurg._ North Carolina _Alexander Martin._ _William Richardson Davie._ William Blount.

Richard Dobbs Spaight.

Hugh Williamson.

South Carolina John Rutledge.

Charles Cotesworth Pinckney.

Charles Pinckney.

Pierce Butler.

Georgia William Few.

Abraham Baldwin.

_William Pierce._ _William Houstoun._

Of those who signed their names to the Federal Const.i.tution, the six following were signers of the Declaration of Independence:--

Roger Sherman, Benjamin Franklin, Robert Morris, George Clymer, James Wilson, George Read.

The ten following were appointed as delegates to the Federal Convention, but never took their seats:--

New Hamps.h.i.+re John Pickering.

Benjamin West.

Ma.s.sachusetts Francis Dana.

New Jersey John Nelson.

Abraham Clark.

Virginia Patrick Henry (declined).

North Carolina Richard Caswell (resigned).

Willie Jones (declined).

Georgia George Walton.

Nathaniel Pendleton.

No delegates were appointed by Rhode Island. In a letter addressed to "the Honourable the Chairman of the General Convention," and dated "Providence, May 11, 1787," several leading citizens of Rhode Island expressed their regret that their state should not be represented on so momentous an occasion. At the same time, says the letter, "the result of your deliberations ... we still hope may finally be approved and adopted by this state, for which we pledge our influence and best exertions."

The letter was signed by John Brown, Joseph Nightingale, Levi Hall, Philip Allen, Paul Allen, Jabez Bowen, Nicholas Brown, John Jinkes, Welcome Arnold, William Russell, Jeremiah Olney, William Barton, and Thomas Lloyd Halsey. The letter was presented to the Convention on May 28th by Gouverneur Morris, and, "being read, was ordered to lie on the table for further consideration." See Elliot's _Debates_, v. 125.

The Const.i.tution was ratified by the thirteen states, as follows:--

1. Delaware Dec. 6, 1787.

2. Pennsylvania Dec. 12, 1787.

3. New Jersey Dec. 18, 1787.

4. Georgia Jan. 2, 1788.

5. Connecticut Jan. 9, 1788.

6. Ma.s.sachusetts Feb. 6, 1788.

7. Maryland April 28, 1788.

8. South Carolina May 23, 1788.

9. New Hamps.h.i.+re June 21, 1788.

10. Virginia June 25, 1788.

11. New York July 26, 1788.

12. North Carolina Nov. 21, 1789.

13. Rhode Island May 29, 1790.

PRESIDENTS OF THE CONTINENTAL CONGRESS.

1. Peyton Randolph of Virginia Sept. 5, 1774.

2. Henry Middleton of South Carolina Oct. 22, 1774.

Peyton Randolph May 10, 1775.

3. John Hanc.o.c.k of Ma.s.sachusetts May 24, 1775.

4. Henry Laurens of South Carolina Nov. 1, 1777.

5. John Jay of New York Dec. 10, 1778.

6. Samuel Huntington of Connecticut Sept. 28, 1779.

7. Thomas McKean of Delaware July 10, 1781.

8. John Hanson of Maryland Nov. 5, 1781.

9. Elias Boudinot of New Jersey Nov. 4, 1782.

10. Thomas Mifflin of Pennsylvania Nov. 3, 1783.

11. Richard Henry Lee of Virginia Nov. 30, 1784.

12. Nathaniel Gorham of Ma.s.sachusetts June 6, 1786.

13. Arthur St. Clair of Pennsylvania Feb. 2, 1787.

14. Cyrus Griffin of Virginia Jan. 22, 1788.