The Author Of The Constitution

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Term Paper Title	The Author Of The Constitution
# of Words	1127
# of Pages (250 words per page double spaced)	4.51

"The Author of the Constitution"

     "We the People of the United States, in order to form a more perfect Union . . . " is the beginning of our United States Constitution.  The Nobel phrases of this Preamble came from the brilliant mind of Gouverneur Morris.  He represented Pennsylvania at the Convention in Philadelphia in 1787 and was the author of much of the Constitution.  The Preamble and the finely wrote clauses that followed clearly mirrored his personal political philosophy.  Morris was considered perhaps the most outspoken nationalist among the Founding Fathers. Although born into a world of wealth and aristocratic values, he had come to champion the concept of a free citizenry united in an independent nation (Wright and Gregor).
     Gouverneur Morris was born on January 31, 1752 in the Morrisania house in Manhattan (Britannica). The Morris family of New York, descended from Welsh soldiers, represented the closest thing to an aristocracy that could be found in colonial America (Wright and Gregor).  Morris' father had inherited a large manor in Westchester County, and he raised two families.  Gouverneur, the only son of the second marriage, knew that he would inherit only a small share of the estate and would have to work to retain the comforts and privileges of his forbearers.
     Morris attended local preparatory school, and then enrolled at Kings College in New York City at the age of twelve.  Here the young scholar, showing academic brilliance, along with a little laziness, graduated in 1768.  He was only 16 when he graduated from college.  He was admitted to the bar after three years of study with William Smith, one of New York's leading legal minds and a strong opponent of British policies toward the colonies.
     Morris' political career began in 1775 when he was elected to represent the family manor in New York's Provincial Congress, an extralegal assembly organized by the Patriots to direct the transition to independence.  Class identity and family ties should have inclined him away from revolution.  Morris' half-brother was a senior officer in the British Army, his mother remained a staunch Loyalist, and his mentor, Smith, now with almost a fathers influence, had abandoned the Patriot cause when he saw it heading toward independence.  However, Morris adhered to the principle that, as he put it, "in every society the members have the right to the utmost liberty that can be enjoyed consistent with the general safety."
     Morris could have avoided mili...

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