Less than five years after his first landing in the American colonies, James McHenry, a well-education Scots-Irish immigrant, was serving with the Continental Army outside Boston (Massachusetts), and his military experience led him into a lengthy career of public service where he forcefully and consistently upheld the ideal of a strong central…

William Blount's journey from the drawing rooms of North Carolina where he led the fight for ratification of the U.S. Constitution to the rude frontier of Tennessee where he served as chairman for that state's constitutional convention illustrates the various political and economic promises of independence. This booklet on Blount is one in a…

Charles Cotesworth Pinckney was a wealthy South Carolinian whose profound sense of public duty obliged him to risk everything to assume a mantle of political and military leadership during the period of rebellion. This booklet on Pinckney is one in a series on Revolutionary War soldiers who later signed the U.S. Constitution. The booklet reviews…

An Irish nobleman with an officer's commission in the British army, Pierce Butler came to North America during the French and Indian War, sold his commission to become a resident in the colonies, and when the Revolutionary War broke out, offered his military talents to the South Carolina governor. This booklet on Butler is one in a series on…

As one of the authors of the U.S. Constitutions, Gouverneur Morris wrote the preamble's opening phrase "We the People of the United States, in order to form a more perfect Union," and his other clauses within the document clearly mirrored his political philosophy. This booklet about Morris is one in a series on Revolutionary War soldiers…

An accomplished man of letters, linguist, agronomist, and lawyer, William Livingston was also a notable man of action, and the many facets of his personality combined to form a complex public figure who stood at the forefront of those fighting for independence and the creation of a strong national government. This booklet on Livingston is one in a…

The preservation of liberty was Richard Dobbs Spaight's political lodestar while he firmly supported an effective central government and fought for the Bill of Rights. This booklet on Spaight is one in a series on Revolutionary War soldiers who later signed the U.S. Constitution. The booklet reviews covers his youth in Ireland, his military…

Exhibiting the characteristic of self-reliance vital for survival on the American frontier, William Few, a self-educated man and lawyer, had natural abilities that included leadership and organization, and these abilities led him into a long political career. This booklet on Few is one in a series on Revolutionary War soldiers who later signed the…

A Quaker who set aside his strong pacifist beliefs, Thomas Mifflin helped to organize Pennsylvania's military forces at the outset of the Revolutionary War and rose to the rank of major general in the Continental Army. This booklet on Mifflin is one in a series on Revolutionary War soldiers who also signed the U.S. Constitution, and it covers his…

Like many immigrants to the American colonies, Thomas Fitzsimons demonstrated his devotion to his adopted land by helping to defend it during the Revolutionary War. This booklet on Fitzsimons is one in a series on Revolutionary War soldiers who signed the U.S. Constitution, and it covers his political involvement in Philadelphia's (Pennsylvania)…

An officer in the Continental Army, Nicholas Gilman served on George Washington's staff through the dark days of Valley Forge to the final victory at Yorktown, and this experience made him a strong supporter of the U.S. Constitution. This booklet on Gilman is one in a series on veterans of the Revolutionary War who were also signers of the U.S.…

Throughout a lengthy public career, Rufus King employed his considerable diplomatic and oratorical skills to promote the twin causes of nationalism and civil liberty, fighting in the last decade of his life to extend those liberties to the nation's enslaved black minority. This booklet on King is one in a series on veterans of the Revolutionary…

Jonathan Dayton's practical approach to government evolved out of his military experiences during the Revolutionary War, and he became a supporter for the equal representation of the small states. This booklet on Dayton is one in a series on Revolutionary War soldiers who signed the United States Constitution. It covers his early life, his…

All 39 delegates to the Constitutional Convention signed the U.S. Constitution in September 1787, but the 40th signature, that of William Jackson, the Secretary of the Convention, authenticated the results of the session in Philadelphia. This booklet on Jackson is one in a series on Revolutionary War soldiers who signed the U.S. Constitution, and…

Alexander Hamilton was among the most intellectually gifted of the Founding Fathers and a brilliant political theorist, but he lacked practical political experience, and his major political contributions occurred only when his specific policies were adopted and carried forward by others with broader vision. This booklet on Hamilton is one in a…