The Signers of the Articles of Confederation

The Articles of Confederation: About the Signers (Continued)

On September 17, 1787, the Constitutional Convention came to a close in the Assembly Room of IndepenAll of

the states were represented in Congress when the signing of the Articles of Confederation took place, although

never present at the same time. Sixteen of the individuals who signed the Articles of Confederation also signed

the Declaration of Independence. Congress approved the Articles of Confederation in 1777, and a copy was

sent to each of the thirteen states for ratiﬁcation. The ﬁrst signing began on July 9, 1778 with delegates from

New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut, New York, Pennsylvania, Virginia and South Carolina

involved in the process. The delegates from New Jersey, Delaware, and Maryland could not sign because their

respective states had not yet ratiﬁed the Articles, and the delegates from North Carolina and Georgia were not

present on that day. Additional signings occurred when more delegates were in attendance. John Penn was the

ﬁrst of the North Carolina delegation to sign the document on July 10, and the rest of his delegation signed on

July 21, 1778. John Wentworth of New Hampshire signed on August 8, 1778. Georgia signed on July 24, New

Jersey on November 26, and Delaware on February 12, 1779. It wasn’t until Maryland signed that the Articles of

Confederation (our ﬁrst constitution) became the law of the land. Due to a conﬂict over the control of western

lands, Maryland was the last state to ratify on March 1, 1781.

By the time the Articles became ofﬁcial many of the individuals who were involved in its original creation were no

longer delegates, and some of the delegates who signed were not involved in the initial debates. The following

information includes short biographies of each of the signers of the Articles of Confederation.

Connecticut

Samuel Huntington (1731-1796)—Samuel Huntington was a self-made man who distinguished himself

in government on the state and national levels. He served in Congress from 1779-1781 and presided over the

adoption of the Articles of Confederation in 1781. He returned to Connecticut and was the Chief Justice of the

Superior Court in 1784, Lieutenant Governor in 1785 and Governor from 1786-1796. He was one of the ﬁrst

seven presidential electors from Connecticut.

Roger Sherman (1723-1793)—Roger Sherman was a member of the Committee of Five that was chosen to

write the Declaration of Independence. He and Robert Morris were the only individuals to sign the Declaration of

Independence, the Articles of Confederation and the Constitution. He was the Judge of the Superior Court of

Connecticut from 1766-1789, a member of the Continental Congress from 1774-81; 1783-84 and a delegate to

the Constitutional Convention in 1787. Sherman proposed the famed “Connecticut Compromise” at the convention

and represented Connecticut in the United States Senate from 1791-93.

Oliver Wolcott (1726-1797)—Oliver Wolcott was as much a soldier as he was a politician and served as a

Brigadier General in the New York campaigns from 1776-1777. As a Major General, he was involved in defending

the Connecticut coast from attacks by the Royal Governor of New York. He was Commissioner of Indian Affairs in

1775 and from 1784-89, a delegate to the Continental Congress from 1775-76 and 1778-84, Lieutenant Governor

of Connecticut from 1786-96 and Governor from 1796-97.

Titus Hosmer (1736-1780)—Titus Hosmer’s grandfather, Colonel Thomas Titus, of Hawkhurst, England, was

a member of Oliver Cromwell’s army and settled in Boston, Massachusetts in the latter half of the seventeenth

century. Hosmer graduated from Yale in 1757 and practiced law in Middletown, Connecticut. He was a member

of the Connecticut State House of Representatives from 1773-1778 and was elected to Congress in 1778. After

leaving Congress, he became a judge of the maritime court of appeals and resumed his law practice.

The Articles of Confederation: About the Signers (Continued)

Connecticut (Continued)

Andrew Adams (1736-1797)—Andrew Adams graduated from Yale College and began a law practice in

Litchﬁeld, Connecticut. He was elected to Congress in 1776, and was highly respected for being a statesman and

a patriot. He was appointed Judge of the Supreme Court of Massachusetts in 1789 and Chief Justice of the State

of Connecticut in 1793. He served in that position until his death in 1797.

Delaware

Thomas McKean (1734-1817)—Thomas McKean was the last member of the Second Continental Congress

to sign the Declaration of Independence. He was a delegate to the Continental Congress from 1774-81 and served

as a delegate to the Congress of the Confederation from 1781-1783. After 1783, McKean became involved in the

politics of Pennsylvania and became the Chief Justice of Pennsylvania and the Governor of Pennsylvania from

1799-1812. He retired from politics in 1812 and died at the age of 83 in 1817.

John Dickinson (1732-1808)—John Dickinson was born in Maryland in 1732 and was educated in Delaware.

He served the colonies of Pennsylvania and Delaware during his distinguished career. Dickinson represented

Pennsylvania in Congress from 1774-1776 and began representing Delaware in 1779. He served as a Brigadier

General of the Pennsylvania militia and was the President of the State of Delaware in 1781. Upon his return to

Philadelphia, Dickinson served as President of Pennsylvania from 1782-1785. He was a member of the delegation

to the Constitutional Convention in 1787 that met originally to revise or change the Articles of Confederation.

Nicholas Van Dyke (1738-1789)—Nicholas Van Dyke studied law in Philadelphia, was admitted to the bar

in 1765 and practiced law in New Castle, Pennsylvania. He was active in both the military and political affairs of

the colonies. He reached the rank of Major in the militia and was a member of the Continental Congress from

1777-1781. Van Dyke also served as President of Delaware from 1783-1786.

Georgia

John Walton (1738-1783)—John Walton was born in Virginia and became a planter in Augusta, Georgia. He

was initially involved in Georgia state politics and was eventually elected to the Continental Congress in 1778. He

then became the ofﬁcial surveyor of Richmond County. John Walton was the brother of George Walton, a signer

of the Declaration of Independence.

Edward Telfair (1735-1807)—Edward Telfair was born in Scotland and became a successful politician and

businessman in Virginia, North Carolina and eventually Georgia. He became one of the earliest supporters of the

Revolutionary War, and was a member of the “sons of liberty” in Savannah, Georgia. He was elected to Congress

in 1780, 1781 and 1782 and elected Governor of Georgia in 1786 and 1790.

Edward Langworthy (1738-1802)—Edward Langworthy was a well-known teacher, politician and writer.

Early in his career Langworthy was an instructor at the Bethesda Orphan House and became involved in state

politics in 1775. He served as a member of the Continental Congress from 1777-1779 and was later involved in

the newspaper business. Langworthy moved to Baltimore where he taught the classics at the Baltimore Academy

from 1787-1791. He also worked in the customs house until his death in 1802.

The Articles of Confederation: About the Signers (Continued)

Maryland

John Hanson (1715-1783)—John Hanson was a member of the Maryland State House for nine terms and

a member of the Continental Congress from 1780-1782. While in Congress he helped to settle the western

land issue, which facilitated the ratiﬁcation of the Articles of Confederation. John Hanson was the ﬁrst president

appointed by Congress under the Articles of Confederation and served from November 5, 1781 to November 4,

1782. During Hanson’s one year in ofﬁce, he approved the Great Seal of the United States that is still used today,

gave orders to the military forces toward the end of the American Revolution, ofﬁcially “received” General George

Washington after the American victory at Yorktown, helped establish the ﬁrst U.S. Treasury Department, the ﬁrst

Secretary of War, and the ﬁrst Foreign Affairs Department. While in ofﬁce he also signed all laws, regulations,

ofﬁcial papers, and letters associated with his position.

Daniel Carroll (1730-1796)—Daniel Carroll was a member of the Continental Congress from 1781-1783 and

was appointed as a delegate to represent Maryland at the Constitutional Convention in 1787. He was later elected

to the state senate of Maryland and served in the ﬁrst United States Congress from 1789-1791. He was appointed

by President George Washington to serve on a council to locate the District of Columbia and the Federal City.

Massachusetts

John Hancock (1737-1793)—John Hancock was the President of the Second Continental Congress when

the Declaration of Independence was adopted. He, along with Samuel Adams, was on of the two most wanted men

in the colonies by King George III. He served as a major general during the Revolutionary War. Hancock was el

ected Governor of Massachusetts from 1780-1785 and 1787 until his death in 1793. He was the seventh President

of the United States in Congress assembled, from November 23, 1785 to June 6, 1786. John Hancock was one of

the original “fathers” of U.S. independence.

Samuel Adams (1722-1803)—Samuel Adams was known as the “Firebrand of the Revolution” for his role

as an agitator between the colonists and the British prior to the outbreak of hostilities in April 1775. He served in

the Continental Congress until 1781, and was a member of the Massachusetts State Senate from 1781-1788.

Because he was opposed to a stronger national government, Adams refused to attend the Federal Constitutional

Convention in 1787. He served as Lieutenant Governor of Massachusetts from 1789-1793 and Governor from

1794-1797.

Elbridge Gerry (1744-1814)—Elbridge Gerry served for a time as a member of the state legislature of

Massachusetts. Although he attended the meetings in Philadelphia to write a new Constitution, he was opposed

to it because it lacked a bill of rights. However, after a “change of heart,” he was a member of the House of

Representatives for the ﬁrst two Congresses from 1789-1793. He was Governor of Massachusetts in 1810 and

1811 and died in ofﬁce as Vice-President under James Madison in 1814.

Francis Dana (1743-1811)—Francis Dana graduated from Harvard College in 1762, and upon being admitted

to the bar spent a year in England. He was elected to the Continental Congress in 1776 and served until 1779.

He was appointed minister to Prussia in 1780 and held that position until 1784. He was then reelected to

Congress. Dana was appointed chief justice of Massachusetts in 1791 until he resigned in 1806. He was a found-

er of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. He died in Cambridge, Middlesex County, Massachusetts on

April 25, 1811 and is buried in Old Cambridge Cemetery.

The Articles of Confederation: About the Signers (Continued)

Massachusetts (Continued)

James Lovell (1737-1814)—James Lovell was a member of the Continental Congress from 1777-1782,

receiver of continental taxes 1784-1788, collector of customs in Boston, Massachusetts from 1788-1789 and

was appointed naval ofﬁcer of the port of Boston and Charlestown from 1789 until his death in 1814. During the

Revolutionary War, he was a fervent Whig as opposed to his father, John, who was a Loyalist. He was put in prison

during the war because of his beliefs but was released via a prisoner exchange.

Samuel Holten (1738-1816)—Samuel Holten was born in Danvers, Massachusetts in 1738 and was the

town’s physician for many years. He was a delegate to Congress in 1777 and served until 1783. He was a

delegate to the Massachusetts Constitutional Convention, served in the Congress of the United States from

1793-1796 and was a judge of probate from 1796-1815.

New Hampshire

Josiah Bartlett (1729-1795)—Josiah Bartlett served in Congress until 1779 and then refused reelection

because of fatigue. On the state level he served as the ﬁrst Chief Justice of the Common Pleas (1779-1782),

Associate (1782-1788) and Chief justice of the Superior Court (1788-1790). Bartlett founded the New Hampshire

Medical Society in 1791 and was the Governor of New Hampshire (1793-1794).

John Wentworth, Jr. (1745-1787)—John Wentworth, Jr. graduated from Harvard College in 1768 and

began practicing law in Dover, New Hampshire in 1771. He was a member of the Continental Congress in 1778, a

member of the State council from 1780-1784 and served in the State Senate from 1784-1786. He died in Dover,

New Hampshire on January 10, 1787 and is buried in Pine Hill Cemetery at Dover.

New Jersey

John Witherspoon (1723-1794)—John Witherspoon was the only active clergyman among the signers of

the Declaration of Independence. He served in the Continental Congress from 1776-1782, was elected to the state

legislature in New Jersey from 1783-1789 and was the President of the College of New Jersey from 1768-1792.

In his later years he spent a great deal of time trying to rebuild the College of New Jersey (Princeton).

Nathaniel Scudder (1733-1781)—Nathaniel Scudder was a militia ofﬁcer and physician who served in the

Continental Congress from 1777-1779 and was a trustee of Princeton College from 1778-1779. He was part of the

resistance to a British raiding party near Shrewsbury, New Jersey, and was killed in an attack on October 17, 1781.

He is buried in the old graveyard at the Tennant Church and was the only congressman to be killed in battle during

the Revolutionary War.

New York

James Duane (1733-1797)—James Duane was heavily involved in New York State politics prior to his

election to Congress in 1774. He was a lawyer, Clerk of the Chancery Court, Attorney General of New York,

Boundary Commissioner and State Indian Commissioner. Duane served in the state Senate from 1782-1785 and

1788-1790, was Mayor of New York City from 1784-1789, appointed as a delegate to the Constitutional Conven-

tion to discuss the ratiﬁcation of the Federal Constitution and was a United States district judge from 1789-1794.

The Articles of Confederation: About the Signers (Continued)

New York (Continued)

Francis Lewis (1713-1802)—Francis Lewis was one who truly felt the tragedy of the Revolutionary War. His

wife died as an indirect result of being imprisoned by the British, and he lost all of his property on Long Island, New

York during the war. When his wife died, Lewis left Congress and completely abandoned politics.

William Duer (1747-1799)—William Duer was born in England, came to America in 1768 and settled in Fort

Miller, New York. He was a member of the Continental Congress from 1777-1778. Duer moved to new York City in

1783, became a member of the New York Assembly in 1786 and Assistant Secretary of the United States Treasury

Department from 1789-1790. In 1792 he was sued by the federal government for ﬁnancial irregularities while

serving in the Treasury Department, and was thrown into debtor’s prison.

Gouverneur Morris (1752-1816)—Gouverneur Morris was a skilled writer, politician and diplomat. He

graduated from King’s College (now Columbia University) in 1768 and began practicing law in New York City in

1771. Morris served in the Continental Congress from 1778-1779, moved to Philadelphia and was appointed

assistant superintendent from 1781-1785. He was a member of the Pennsylvania delegation at the Constitutional

Convention of 1787. Morris was appointed by President George Washington as the United States Commissioner

to England (1790-1791) and the United States Minister to France (1792-1794). He became a United States

Senator (1800-1803), and was the chairman of the Erie Canal Commission (1810-1813). His last elected position

was that of president of the New York Historical Society (1816).

North Carolina

John Penn (1740-1788)—John Penn was one of sixteen signers of the Declaration of Independence who also

signed the Articles of Confederation. He was a member of the Continental Congress from 1775-77; 1779-80 and

a member of the Board of War in 1780 which shared responsibility for military affairs with the governor. In 1784 he

became a state tax receiver under the Articles of Confederation. After retiring from politics, he practiced law until

his death in 1788.

Cornelius Harnett (1723-1781)—Cornelius Harnett was a merchant, farmer and politician and served in

the Continental Congress from 1777-1779. He was involved in Revolutionary War politics and was a member of

the North Carolina “sons of liberty.” When the British invaded Wilmington, North Carolina in 1781, Harnett was

captured and imprisoned. Although he was paroled shortly thereafter, his health declined, and he died on April

28, 1781

John Williams (1731-1799)—John Williams practiced law in Williamsboro, North Carolina. He was one of

the founders of the University of North Carolina and served in the Continental Congress from 1778-1779. He then

served as a judge on the North Carolina Supreme Court until his death in 1799.

The Articles of Confederation: About the Signers (Continued)

Pennsylvania

Robert Morris (1734-1806)—Robert Morris has been considered the “Financier of the Revolution,” and con-

tributed his own money to help such causes as the support of troops at Valley Forge and the battles of Trenton and

Princeton. In 1781 he suggested a plan that became the Bank of North America and was the Superintendent of

Finance under the Articles of Confederation. Morris was a delegate to the Constitutional Convention, and was later

offered the position of Secretary of the Treasry under the administration of George Washington. He declined the

position and suggested Alexander Hamilton, who became our ﬁrst Secretary of the Treasury. He served as a United

States Senator from Pennsylvania from 1789-1795.

Daniel Roberdeau (1727-1795)—Daniel Roberdeau was a distinguished statesman and soldier who was

greatly inﬂuenced by the Reverend George Whiteﬁeld during the Great Awakening of the 1740s. Before getting

involved in politics, Roberdeau was a successful merchant in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. During the Revolutionary

War, he was a ﬁrst Brigadier General of Pennsylvania troops and was a member of Congress from 1777-1779. Fort

Roberdeau, named in his honor, was built in 1778 to protect lead mining operations in the Sinking Stream Valley.

Jonathan Bayard Smith (1742-1812)—Jonathan Bayard Smith fought in the Battle of Brandywine in 1777

and served in Congress from 1777-1778. He was appointed Justice of the Court of Common Pleas in 1778 and

was one of the founders of the University of the State of Pennsylvania. He served as a trustee of the University

of Pennsylvania until his death in 1812. Smith was also a trustee of Princeton College from 1779-1808, and was

a Vice-President of the Sons of Washington. He was a member of the American Philosophical Society for over

forty years.

William Clingan (1721-1790)—William Clingan served as a justice of the peace for nearly thirty years from

1757-1786. He served in Congress from 1777-1779 and was the president of the Chester County, Pennsylvania

courts from 1780-1786. He was one of the ﬁrst signers of the Articles of Confederation, and was a Protestant

Christian along with 98% of the signers.

Joseph Reed (1741-1785)—Joseph Reed was an important military and political ﬁgure during the Revolution-

ary War. He was a graduate of the College of New Jersey (Princeton University) and began practicing law in 1770.

Reed served as an aid-de-camp to General George Washington and was an Adjunct General of the Army from

1776-1777. He served in Congress for one term beginning in 1778 and then became the head of the Pennsylvania

Supreme Eecutive Council from 1779-1781. Reed served as a trustee of the University of Pennsylvania from 1782

until his death in 1785.

South Carolina

Henry Laurens (1724-1792)—Henry Laurens was a wealthy merchant, planter and politician who was

opposed to the mercantile policy of the British but was not in support of some of the radical economic actions taken

prior to the American Revolution. He served in the Continental Congress from 1777-1780. Laurens was captured by

the British in 1780 on his way to Holland and was imprisoned in the Tower of London. He was later set free in 1782

in exchange for British General Cornwallis. Laurens was chosen to help negotiate the Treaty of Paris that

ofﬁcially ended the Revolutionary War (1783).

William Henry Drayton (1742-1779)—William Henry Drayton was educated in the ﬁeld of law in England

at Westminister School and Balliol College. Before the American Revolutionary War he was one of King George’s

counselors in South Carolina and one of the assistant judges for the province. Because of his revolutionary lean-

ings, he was both dismissed and resigned from those ofﬁces. He served in Congress from 1778 until his untimely

death in 1779.

The Articles of Confederation: About the Signers (Continued)

South Carolina (Continued)

John Mathews (1744-1802)—John Mathews was born in South Carolina and was educated in the ﬁeld of law

at the Middle Temple. He returned to South Carolina in 1766 to set up a law practice. He was actively involved in

state and local politics and served as a Captain in the Colleton County regiment during the Revolutionary War. After

serving in the Continental Congress from 1777-1778, Mathews was elected Governor of South Carolina in 1782

and 1783. He was later elected judge of the court of Chancery (1784), the state House of Representatives (1784)

and judge of the Court of Equity (1791-1797).

Richard Hutson (1748-1795)—Richard Hutson graduated from Princeton College in 1765 and became a

well-known judge, lawyer and politician. He was actively involved in state politics and served in the Continental

Congress from 1778-1779. During the American Revolutionary War, he was captured by the British during the “fall”

of Charleston, and was imprisoned in St. Augustine, Florida from 1780-1782. He served as Lieutenant Governor

of South Carolina from 1782-1783. Hutson was a member of the state constitutional convention of 1788, which

adopted the Federal Constitution.

Thomas Heyward, Jr. (1746-1809)—Thomas Heyward was a planter and lawyer and was one of three

signers from South Carolina captured and imprisoned by the British. He was a member of the Continental

Congress from 1777-1778. After his involvement in national politics, he returned to South Carolina and became a

judge and a member of the state legislature. The British destroyed Heyward’s home at White Hall during the war,

and he was held prisoner until 1781. After the war, he served two terms in the state legislature from 1782-1784.

Thomas Heyward became the ﬁrst President of the Agricultural Society of South Carolina.

Rhode Island

William Ellery (1727-1820)—William Ellery served with distinction in the Congress of the Confederation until

1786 when he accepted the post of Commissioner of the Continental Loan Ofﬁce of Rhode Island. He served in

that position until 1790 when he was appointed Customs Collector in Newport. Although the British destroyed his

home during the American Revolution, Ellery was later able to rebuild his fortune.

Henry Marchant (1741-1796)—Henry Marchant was a lawyer who graduated from the University of

Pennsylvania. He was the Attorney General of Rhode Island from 1771-1777 and a member of the Assembly before

being elected to Congress from 1777-1779. Marchant was also a member of the Constitutional Convention in

Rhode Island that ratiﬁed the Federal Constitution. He served as United States district judge for Rhode Island from

1790-1796.

John Collins (1717-1795)—John Collins was a member of the Continental Congress from 1778-1780 and

1782-1783 and Governor of Rhode Island from 1786-1790. While serving as Governor, Collins cast the deciding

vote in the Rhode Island Senate to form a convention to vote upon the adoption or rejection of the Federal

Constitution. He was then elected to the ﬁrst Congress of the United States but refused to take his seat.

The Articles of Confederation: About the Signers (Continued)

Virginia

Thomas Adams (1730-1788)—Richard Henry Lee introduced the resolution for independence to the Second

Continental Congress in June 1776. He was a Virginia state legislator from 1780-1784 and served in the national

Congress again from 1784-1789. He supported the Constitution after the decision was made to include a bill of

rights. He was elected Senator from Virginia from 1789-1792. However, Lee was forced to resign in 1792 due to

poor health.

Thomas Adams (1730-1788)—John Banister was born in Virginia, educated in England and began a law

practice in Petersburg, Virginia. He was a member of the Virginia House of Burgesses and was elected to the

Continental Congress in 1778. Banister was a Major and Lieutenant Colonel in the Virginia militia during the Revolu-

tionary War and fought during the British invasion of Virginia in 1781.

Thomas Adams (1730-1788)—Thomas Adams was a legislator and businessman from Kent County, Virginia.

He was a member of the Virginia House of Burgesses and a member of Congress from 1778-1779. After his term

was completed in the Congress, Adams served in the Virginia State Senate from 1783-1786. Adams died on his

estate, “Cowpasture”, in August of 1788.

John Harvie (1742-1807)—John Harvie was a boyhood friend of Thomas Jefferson and his father (also named

John Harvie) became Jefferson’s legal guardian after the death of Peter Jefferson (Jefferson’s father) in 1757. Harvie

was an American lawyer, builder and politician who served in the Continental Congress from 1777-1778. After

1778, Harvie worked as a purchasing agent and helped supply the Virginia militia and Continental Army. He died in

1807 after falling off a ladder while inspecting one of his building projects.

Francis Lightfoot Lee (1734-1797)—Francis Lightfoot Lee was the younger brother of Richard Henry Lee.

He signed both the Declaration of Independence and the Articles of Confederation as well as serving on both the

military and marine committees during his time in Congress. He left Congress in 1779 and served a few years in the

Virginia state legislature.

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