Gouverneur+Morris

​Peter Holland Gouverneur Morris

**Gouverneur Morris**

**Morris: An enthusiastic and strong leader at the Constitutional Convention**

Intro​duction: ** Our country could not function if we did not have a Constitution. In 1787, 55 delegates met in order to fix the existing constitution. They decided to create a new one that would guard against tyranny. The Constitution states the laws and the rules for the people and the ​government to follow.
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** Role at Constitutional Convention **** : ** Gouverneur Morris played a large role at the Constitutional Convention. He emerged as a leader and it was apparently he who actually drafted the Constitution. He spoke more than anyone else during the convention, and was a fierce decision maker. He is known as the chief architect of the Constitution.
 * Background Info **: Gouverneur Morris was born in what is now New York City in 1752. He graduated at King's College in 1768. He served in the New York Provincial Congress from 1776 to1777. He was the leading advocate in the body of the declaration of independence. He served in the Continental Congress from 1777 to 1779, and was a major supporter of George Washington.

__//**DBQ**//__ **Morris and 54 other delegates at the Convention**

**Federalism:** Morris defended a strong centralized government and a powerful executive branch, but he did disagree with people on some parts of federalism. He believed in more of a oligarchy government which is a form government in which all power is invested into few people. He wanted to have only "free holders" be able to vote and attain elective office. He once said, "Give the votes to the people who have no property and they will sell them to the rich." **Checks and Balances:** Morris believed in checks and balances. He thought that the branches of government should be able to check on each other so that one branch doesn't get too powerful. But he disagreed some what with how each branch was valued. **Big States vs Small States:** Morris believed in the idea that big states and small states should be considered equal such as each having 2 senators. He made sure that big states could not get to powerful over small states.
 * Separations of Powers: ** Morris had some different ideas for separation of powers than most people. He believed that presidents should be elected for life, and have the power to select senators for lifetime terms. But for the most part Morris favored the idea of separating power so that one person could not have complete control.

**Attendance Record** The attendance record tell us a lot about Governeur Morris's involvement at the Constitutional Convention. It tells us that he did a lot and worked very hard when he was present. According to the record he was present 65% of the time. This means that even though he was not there a lot of the time, he was still valued as an important leader when he was there. It shows he was real detected in the final two acts because he was not absent one day unlike the first two acts in which he was absent 18 times. In conclusion, Morris put a good amount of effort into showing up to these meetings. As to the rest of the delegates he was probably in the middle of the pack in attending.


 * =  ||= //** Present **// ||= //** Absent **// ||= //** Do Not Know **// ||= //** Probably Present **// ||= //** Probably Absent **// ||
 * = //** Act 1 **// ||= ** 7 ** ||= ** 8 ** ||= ** 7 ** ||= ** 0 ** ||= ** 0 ** ||
 * = //** Act 2 **// ||= ** 18 ** ||= ** 10 ** ||= ** 0 ** ||= ** 2 ** ||= ** 0 ** ||
 * = //** Act 3 **// ||= ** 21 ** ||= ** 0 ** ||= ** 0 ** ||= ** 2 ** ||= ** 0 ** ||
 * = //** Act 4 **// ||= ** 12 ** ||= ** 0 ** ||= ** 1 ** ||= ** 1 ** ||= ** 0 ** ||
 * = //** Totals **// ||= ** 58 ** ||= ** 18 ** ||= ** 8 ** ||= ** 5 ** ||= ** 0 ** ||
 * = //** % **// ||= ** 65% ** ||= ** 20% ** ||= ** 8% ** ||= ** 5% ** ||= **0% ** ||

**Primary Sources:**

**Constitutional Connection:** One part of the Constitution that Gouverneur Morris would agree with would definitely be in section 9 clause 1 because it states that Congress helped the outlaw of slave trade in 1808. Morris would stronly agree with this clause due to the fact that he had strong views on slavery. He said he never would concur in upholding domestic slavery.

**Bill of Rights:** Gouverneur Morris felt pleased with the 12th amendment. The 12th amendment is the election of president and vice president. Morris believed that the people of the United States had the right to vote for their leaders.


 * Morris passed away in 1816 at Morrisania, New York **

**New York: The state where he was born and where he died

Works Cited **

"GOUVERNEUR MORRIS." //U.S. Army Center Of Military History//. Web. 05 May 2010. .

"Gouverneur Morris." //NNDB: Tracking the Entire World//. Web. 04 May 2010. .

//Anomalistic History//. Web. 05 May 2010. .