US statesman and diplomat, born in Morrisania (now part of New York City), New York, USA. Fundamentally conservative, he nevertheless served as a New York delegate to the Continental Congress (17779) and supported the move for independence. Failing to be re-elected, he moved to Philadelphia where he became assistant superintendent of finances under Robert Morris (no relation) and helped plan the decimal coinage system (17815). He was a delegate to the Constitutional Convention (1787), but he advocated almost absolute powers for the president. Returning to his family home in New York (1788), he went to Europe and served as US ambassador to France during the period of the French Revolutionary terror (17924). Back in America, he served as senator from New York (18003). As a Federalist, he constantly found himself opposed to the direction taken by the fledgling democracy.
Gouverneur Morris (January 31, 1752 – November 6, 1816) was an American statesman who represented Pennsylvania in the Constitutional Convention of 1787 and was author of large sections of the Constitution of the United States.
Morris is regarded as a visionary of the idea of being "American". In an era when most Americans thought of themselves as citizens of their respective states, Morris expounded the idea of being a citizen of a single union of states..
Political career
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In 1775, he was elected to represent his family estate in the Provincial Congress of New York, an extralegal assembly dedicated to achieving independence.
Despite an automatic exemption from military duty because of his handicap and his service in the legislature, he joined a special militia for the protection of New York City, a forerunner of the modern New York Guard.
As a member of the Provincial Congress of New York, he concentrated on turning the colony into an independent state. He was largely responsible for the 1777 constitution of the new state of New York.
Although he held no military commission, he was considered to be a brilliant military strategist. In May 1777, he was chosen by the state to coordinate the defense of General George Washington's Continental Army and the Continental Congress.
After the Battle of Long Island in August 1776, the British seized New York City and his family's estate. Because his estate was now in the possession of the enemy, he was no longer eligible for election to the New York state legislature and was instead appointed as a delegate to the Continental Congress.
He took his seat in Congress on January 28, 1778 and was immediately selected to a committee in charge of coordinating reforms in the military with General Washington.
In 1779, he was defeated for re-election to Congress, largely because his advocacy of a strong central government was at odds with the decentralist views in New York.
In Philadelphia, he was appointed assistant superintendent of finance 1781-1785, and was a Pennsylvania delegate to the Constitutional Convention in 1787, and returned to live in New York in 1788.
He went to Europe on business in 1789 and served as Minister Plenipotentiary to France from 1792-1794. He returned to the United States in 1798 and was elected in 1800 as a Federalist to the United States Senate to fill the vacancy caused by the resignation of James Watson, serving from April 3, 1800, to March 3, 1803.
Personal life and legacy
Morris, unhampered by his wooden leg, led a lively life with both married and unmarried women. He died at the family estate of Morrisania, and is buried at St. Anne's Episcopal Church in the Bronx borough of New York City.
Morris's half brother Lewis Morris (1726-1798), was a signer of the Declaration of Independence.
In 1943, a United States Liberty ship named the SS Gouverneur Morris was launched.
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