We continue our review of Pennsylvania’s signers of the Declaration of Independence. First, let’s ask a couple of questions like which would be the better city to be called the “cradle of liberty” – Boston or Philadelphia?
A better question is what the heck happened to Philadelphia over the nearly 250 years since that point? The “city of brotherly love” has been anything but that for a very long time. However, in the development of our nation leading up to and immediately after the Revolutionary War, it really could be considered a cradle of liberty as well as the city of brotherly love. However, that is not the focus of this section.
To lead off today’s part I am giving my top five things I find interesting about Philly in no certain order.
Obviously in a series like this one we go first with Philly’s iconic symbol for freedom – the Liberty Bell.
The following link gives the history,
https://www.ushistory.org/LibertyBell/index.html
Second, there another famous, important center and museum; the National Constitution Center.
The Declaration and Constitution are why we are here in this great country. The center is complete with a theater that shows Freedom Rising, life size statues of its signers, all sorts of multimedia exhibits as well as period artifacts. Cool place. Below is info about the center,
https://constitutioncenter.org
Third we have the home of famous trans swimmer, Lia Thomas. The University of Pennsylvania of Ivy League fame had origins as the College of Philadelphia during the incubation of the Independence movement as we know from past stories about other signers. Its founder and first president was B. Franklin, Printer. B had a new building completed for the Philadelphia Academy, the precursor school that eventually became Penn. He also put it to use for evangelical preacher George Whitefield to conduct revivals, focusing on the young people and students in the area.
Now, it is known internationally for encouraging women sports to be infested with sexual deviants and perverts. In the attempt they had their azzes handed to them by POTUS Trump; one of the school’s most famous alums as a 1968 graduate of their Wharton School with a B. S. in Economics, along with other members of his immediate family. Going woke has consequences. The patriot founding fathers that attended the school are probably trying to dig out of their graves and handle the restoration of Penn the same way they handled the Brits.
Could not resist using the mug shot.
😂
Fourth, we watch the most iconic modern day Philly scene ever!
For what it is worth, the building in the background is the Philadelphia Museum of Art. Below is a good primer if you ever decide to visit.
https://www.thegeographicalcure.com/post/guide-to-the-philadelphia-museum-of-art
Finally, the most important culinary gift Philly has given to America is shown below.
B approves…
Enough with the preliminaries, it is on with the show. We focus on one of the “big dogs” (like B) of the patriot founding fathers.
Robert Morris
We need to spend some time digging into the life of the founding father who is referenced as the “Financier of the American Revolution”, Robert Morris. He is one of the few who signed the Declaration, Articles of Confederation, and the Constitution. However, this story will be like a roller coaster ride at times and I am only hitting some of the primary information and events. Readers may want to look at any number of articles on the web that provide more detail as he was involved in so many activities that it would take too long to summarize them all here.
Morris was born in 1734 and raised for his first thirteen years in Liverpool, England. He was the child of Robert Morris, Sr. and mother, Elizabeth. Elizabeth died when he was two years old. He was raised by his maternal grandmother and his father immigrated to America in 1738 to work as a tobacco sales agent. At age fourteen, young Robert left to join his father in America in Oxford, MD. Morris, Sr. became very successful and was the author of a tobacco inspection law to reduce fraud that passed against strong opposition. He was known to be the first to keep his accounts in money as compared to the usual gallons, pounds, etc.
Upon young Morris’ arrival in 1748, he was tutored for a year by local minister, William Gordon. He soon left to live with a friend of his father’s in Philadelphia where he apprenticed in the merchant shipping business of wealthy Charles Willing as a clerk. When his father died in 1750, he was alone with no family in America at the age of sixteen. The death of his father was bizarre as described below from the Descendants site:
“In 1750 Robert Morris, Sr. gave a dinner party on board one of the ships of the company. As he left the ship in a small boat, a farewell salute was fired from the ship and wadding from the shot burst through the side of the boat and severely injured him. As a result of the accident, he died of blood poisoning on July 12, 1750.“
Young Robert continued his work there and was promoted up the ranks until becoming a full partner in 1757 with Charles Willing’s son, Thomas. Through the years Morris became wealthy and one of the most respected citizens in Philly. In 1769 at age 35 he married 20 year old Mary White, the daughter of a wealthy lawyer and land owner. They soon had the first of seven children together, which included future Congressman Thomas Morris. They worshipped at Anglican Christ Church in Philly with Benjamin Franklin. However, that did not prevent Robert from fathering a daughter, Polly, out of wedlock in 1763. However, he provided for her well into adulthood as he did a young son of his father’s, a half brother.
He served with Benjamin Franklin in the Pennsylvania State Assembly in 1775. He was then chosen to be a representative to the Continental Congress and as a member in the Secret Committee, which was assigned to procure weapons and munitions. He also served on the Committee of Secret Correspondence, which attempted to secure alliances with foreign nations. His shipping company was used frequently by the Congress. It is interesting to note that Morris was not in favor of independence until forced to making a decision AFTER its approval to sign the document. He did not vote at all. He feared the result may be anarchy and preferred reconciliation with Great Britain if they would back down from their oppressive tax acts. After Declaration approval he chose to sign and from that point on gave all of his support to the cause for independence.
He left public service in 1779 after accusations of misconduct only to return at the request of Congress to be the nation’s Superintendent of Finance, a role he held from 1781 to 1784. After the non-founded accusations, he had two demands that needed to be met for him to return and take the role. The first was he was to be given unilateral authority to dismiss any treasury employee. The second was he would be able to maintain his merchant relationships while in service to the country. His value was affirmed when Congress agreed to both conditions. In the same time frame he was made Agent of Marine, which gave him control of the Continental Navy.
He then set sights on doing what needed to be done to improve the finances of the developing nation that was hamstrung by debts of war. He informed Washington that he would do all he could to make sure the funding was available. His optimism was met by reluctant state governments. He was able to get all but Rhode Island to agree to taxation. Under the rules of the Articles of Confederation he needed all states to agree to his request, so the effort died.
As a result he focused his efforts on creating a national bank to help address the lack of funds. He was able to get Congress to agree in 1781 and he opened it in 1782. It was a privately owned bank, funded by subscribers, and regulated by investors. It provided a means to use the invested capital to improve access to funding government debt. He sought a national mint for a central currency, but that was postponed by Congress.
It was Robert Morris who recommended to Washington that Alexander Hamilton take the role over the treasury when he was ready to leave. It was Hamilton who went on to establish the national bank and mint that Morris promoted years before. The respect between the two was awesome, but even that was not more than the incredible intelligence and analytical abilities with regards to the Treasury and the situation with the young nation. Below is a letter written from Hamilton to Morris in 1781. It is long, detailed, and covers a myriad of subjects that interrelate with the Treasury role from the period. If you really want to understand the depth of intelligence and commitment within these founding fathers as well as many others, read it.
https://founders.archives.gov/documents/Hamilton/01-02-02-1167
The valediction of the letter describes the mentoring and advising relationship well in my opinion.
“I have spun out this letter to a much greater lenght than I intended. To develope the whole connection of my ideas on the subject and place my plan in the clearest light I have indulged myself in many observations which might have been omitted. I shall not longer intrude upon you[r] patience than to assure you of the sincere sentiments of esteem with which I have the honor to be Sir Your most Obedient and humble servant
Alx Hamilton
April 30th. 81″
In his time Morris totally reorganized the treasury. He appointed tax collectors for each state who would prepare monthly financial reports and publish them in the newspapers for the public to see and keep pressure on the state governments. All of his work also helped build trust with foreign allies and those who provided products and services to the government during the war period.
Despite all of his good works for America, however, he began to make unwise decisions with his personal investment choices. While still in his treasury role in 1782 he began speculating on land purchases with John Nicholson, the comptroller of the state along with James Greenleaf, the former American consul to the Dutch Republic. They purchased millions of acres without any buyers or plans to repay loans. Over the years the debts increased while Morris also chose to build an opulent mansion for he and his family in Philly in the 1790’s. It was never completed and the cost contributed to his insolvency. The locals called it “Morris’s folly” as a representation of his downfall. His businesses and excessive land deals all began failing at the same time. It was like dominoes falling for years.
By 1798 patriot Declaration signer, Robert Morris, was sentenced to debtor’s prison. A fall from grace brought on primarily by pride, greed, and extravagance. Two years later a modified bankruptcy law was passed through the efforts of Thomas Jefferson and supporters. Morris was released and tried to return to business ventures without success as his reputation had been ruined.
In 1806 he passed away, a shell of his former self and in poverty. He is buried in the Christ Church cemetery. His wife lived until 1827 and survived on an annuity that had been provided to her through the efforts of Gouverneur Morris from a land sale.
Conclusion
Robert never went to school and was only tutored for one year, but his devotion to the education of citizens earned him the honor of having three elementary schools, a college, and a university named after him. His statue is located not only in DC at the mall, but near the Second National Bank in Philly. He and Mary’s friendship was so important to George and Martha Washington that they were frequently honored guests of theirs through the years. John Adams had the following to say about Robert’s time in the Continental Congress,
“I think he has a masterly understanding, an open temper, and an honest heart…He has vast designs in the mercantile way. And no doubt pursues mercantile ends, which are always gain, but he is an excellent member of the body.”
Again, the Robert Morris story goes far beyond what is provided here and there are many life lessons for all of us. There was his ownership of slaves for a time that led to his opposition to slavery as he aged; his contribution of ships to the Naval efforts and the named ships in his honor over the years that followed; how his enemies helped cause his debt downfall after he left public office that traced back to his work for the patriot cause in the Secret Committee; and so on.
It is a story of the highest highs and lowest lows. Of being feted by the first couple Washingtons to being drug through the muck by personal enemies and into poverty. He was praised and honored and then later in life labeled a fool by some of the very people who partially owed their independence to his personal efforts. He adhered to Christianity, yet fell to temptation outside the bounds of marriage. When faced with the result he did the honorable thing as well as when he took care of his much younger half brother when his father died. He held great position, status in society for a time, and was very successful in business; but it was not enough as he foolishly sought even more riches using huge sums of debt well beyond his capacity to repay. This caused great hardship and damaged his reputation as well as the futures of his wife and children.
None of the negative events and challenges he faced changes the truth that Robert Morris was a faithful patriot that provided great things to the Independence and establishment of our nation. Today, we proudly celebrate him as a founding father of America.
Please remember Wolf’s rules for our community. In general that means to be respectful to each other and to pull no shenanigans that your mom might find offensive or otherwise cause jail time. That said, free speech is honored here.
Be blessed and go make something good happen!
