Category Archives: Framer Profiles

David Brearley: Quiet and Supportive Delegate from New Jersey

David Brearley was a delegate from New Jersey. He attended the constitutional convention with other New Jersey delegates including the outspoken William Patterson. Brearley was a fairly quiet man, not overly important compared to the other more famous delegates at … Continue reading

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George Read

When first describing George Read, a delegate from Delaware, in Plain, Honest Men (2009) Richard Beeman notes that the delegate gave a “clear signal of serious trouble down the the road” just as the Convention began (71). This “trouble” pertained … Continue reading

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Charles Pinckney: The Original Creator of the Constitution?

Richard Beeman’s initial description of Charles Pinckney conveys a negative tone not typically seen with the remainder of the other framers. Charles Pinckney, one of the four delegates from South Carolina, was one of the few delegates who advocated the … Continue reading

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Gouverneur Morris: The Charming Nationalist

Gouverneur Morris was a delegate from Pennyslvania who participated in the Second Constitutional Convention. Richard Beeman introduces Morris in his book, Plain, Honest Men: The Making of The American Consitution, as an intelligent and oratorically gifted man. Born into wealth … Continue reading

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Benjamin Franklin: America’s Renaissance Man

The eldest and arguably wisest of the delegates at the Constitutional Convention in 1787 was Benjamin Franklin, one of America’s greatest and most successful citizens.  His ventures into newspaper publishing, science, and diplomacy overseas, among others, prove that there was very little … Continue reading

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Alexander Hamilton: Ideas on Human Nature

Alexander Hamilton played a slight, yet important, role in the Constitutional Convention in 1787. He was best known for his career as a financial role in the early American government. With a strong background in law, Hamilton approached the Constitutional … Continue reading

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Elbridge Gerry: The Trusted Skeptic of the Constitutional Convention

Elbridge Gerry was an important figure in the Constitutional Convention, best known for his undying skepticism of centralized government power.  It was this skepticism that ultimately led him to not sign the Constitution on September 17, 1787. Gerry’s biographer even … Continue reading

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William Paterson: Guiding Voice of the Small States

One of the biggest advocates for the “small states” during the Constitutional Convention, William Paterson is most remembered for his stern opposition of Edmund Randolph’s proposed Virginia Plan which called for proportional representation in the “national” legislature. Born in Ireland, … Continue reading

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James Wilson: Father of the American Presidency

In Plain, Honest Men (2009), Richard Beeman claims that “Only one member of the Convention envisioned an American government, and a president, much like those we have today” (129).  That man, according to Beeman, was James Wilson.  Though he remains … Continue reading

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