Gouverneur Morris

the long version

"A fierce Florid nationalist, Gouverneur Morris was the most colorful of America's Founding Fathers. He financed and fought for American independence, witnessed firsthand the French Revolution that followed, and brought his indomitable and outspoken presence to the table at the Constitutional Convention. There, he penned some of the most important and poetic sections of the Constitution, in the process creating the foundation of what Americans think of as democracy today." "An ever-present figure in the early days of the nation, Gouverneur Morris left an indelible mark on the country's future development. While in the New York State legislature, he was part of the committee that wrote the state's constitution. He went on to write some of the most critical documents of the Second Continental Congress, gaining the enduring admiration of George Washington, who later appointed him minister to France. At the Office of Finance he helped to develop the basic plan for the coinage system that remains in use today, and in private business he was instrumental in the planning and establishment of the Bank of North America." "A decade in the making, this biography uses extensive eighteenth-century primary sources and recent scholarship to shed new light on Gouverneur Morris. In doing so, it places Morris's impressive achievements more fully in the context of his times and reveals how his independent spirit triumphed over accidents and reversals that would have crushed a lesser soul. It also examines Morris's writings and speeches and explores the major lines of influence that led him to give the Preamble and the Constitution of the United States the shape and content that govern and inspire us today."--Jacket.