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…

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)…

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…

As a scholar of international renown, Hugh Williamson came into contact with some of the leading intellectuals of the patriot cause and their political ideas transformed him into an adroit politician and leader. This booklet on Williamson is one in a series on Revolutionary War soldiers who later signed the U.S. Constitution. The booklet reviews…

Although the second youngest person of those who would sign the U.S. Constitution, Charles Pinckney stood out as one of the most active members of the Constitutional Convention, and over 30 of the U.S. Constitution's provisions can be traced to his pen. This booklet on Pinckney is one in a series on Revolutionary War soldiers who later signed the…

Although his father was an illiterate blacksmith, Abraham Baldwin demonstrated how academic achievement opened opportunities in colonial society, and he later became a fervent missionary of public education. This booklet on Baldwin is one in a series on Revolutionary War soldiers who signed the U.S. Constitution. The booklet reviews his education,…

Like most colonial American leaders, John Dickinson considered himself an Englishman with all the ancient rights and privileges such citizenship conferred, and when those rights were abridged by the British Parliament and George III, he was among the first to don a uniform to defend the new nation. This booklet on Dickinson is one in a series on…

Richard Bassett's experiences as a politician and soldier during the Revolutionary War broadened his political horizons for the War had demonstrated to him the need for greater regional and national cooperation if the political and economic promises of independence for the United States were to be realized. This booklet on Bassett is one in a…