Jonah Patel
The US Constitution was signed by 39 delegates from 12 of the 13 original states (Rhode Island did not send any delegates) in 1787. Two of these delegates were from Georgia: Abraham Baldwin and William Few. Both men remained through all the debates and signed the Constitution. Baldwin, who was born in Connecticut in 1754, moved to Georgia in 1776 and won legislative approval to practice law. He sat on the Committee on Postponed Matters and helped resolve the large-small state representation crisis. Few, a former lieutenant colonel, moved to Georgia in the mid-1770s and served as a delegate to the Constitutional Convention, where he lobbied his fellow congressmen to vote in favour of the new US Constitution.
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What You'll Learn
- Abraham Baldwin and William Few were the two men from Georgia who signed the Constitution
- Archibald Bulloch was Georgia's first governor
- William Few Jr. had a military career before signing the Constitution
- George Walton was the only one of Georgia's signers who did not own slaves
- William Pierce was a delegate at the Constitutional Convention
Abraham Baldwin and William Few were the two men from Georgia who signed the Constitution
Baldwin was born in 1754 in Connecticut and moved to Georgia a year later. He sat in the assembly and the Continental Congress in 1785 and attended the Constitutional Convention in 1787. He was a delegate at the convention and played a significant role in crafting the Great Compromise, which resolved the large-small state representation crisis. Despite being from a larger state, Baldwin sided with the smaller states, favouring equal representation for all states. This compromise resulted in a bicameral legislature, with the Senate providing equal representation for each state and the House of Representatives allocating delegates based on population.
Baldwin's wisdom and leadership were instrumental in providing a platform for discussion and negotiation, which ultimately secured his legacy as a Founding Father. He also served on the committee that oversaw the transition from the Articles of Confederation to the new government under the Constitution. Baldwin's working copy of the Constitution, complete with his handwritten notes, is preserved in the collections of the Georgia Historical Society.
William Few Jr. arrived in Georgia in the mid-1770s, leaving behind a drought-stricken tobacco farm in Maryland and political troubles in North Carolina. During the Revolutionary War, he joined the Richmond County regiment and served as a lieutenant colonel. Few's military achievements paved the way for his political career. In 1786, he was elected to represent Georgia at the 1787 Constitutional Convention. Few actively lobbied his fellow congressmen to support the new U.S. Constitution.
After signing the Constitution, Few continued his political career, serving as one of Georgia's first senators in the newly formed legislature. He also contributed to the establishment of educational institutions, serving as a founding trustee of the University of Georgia in 1785. Few's dedication to both the nation's founding and its intellectual development exemplifies his commitment to the ideals of the new country.
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Archibald Bulloch was Georgia's first governor
Archibald Bulloch was an American lawyer, military officer, and politician who served as Georgia's first governor. Born in Charleston, South Carolina, in 1730, Bulloch fought in the Georgia Militia during the American Revolution. He established his legal career in his native state before moving to Savannah, Georgia, in 1764, where he entered politics. Bulloch was a member of Georgia's Liberty Party and was elected to the Commons House of Assembly in 1768. He served as speaker of the Georgia Royal Assembly in 1772 and was elected to the Continental Congress in 1775.
On June 20, 1776, Bulloch was chosen to be the first president and commander-in-chief of Georgia under the state's temporary republican government. He participated in the Battle of the Rice Boats and commanded an expedition against the British and Tories on Tybee Island. Bulloch served as governor from June 1776 until his sudden and mysterious death on February 22, 1777. He was buried in the Colonial Cemetery in Savannah, Georgia.
Bulloch would have been a signer of the Declaration of Independence, but he chose to return to Georgia to aid the revolution. He wrote to John Adams, expressing his trust in Providence and his hopes for preserving their liberties. Adams expressed disappointment that Bulloch would not be signing the Declaration.
Bulloch was the great-grandfather of Martha Bulloch Roosevelt and the great-great-grandfather of Theodore Roosevelt, the 26th President of the United States. Bulloch County in eastern Georgia was named in his honor in 1796.
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William Few Jr. had a military career before signing the Constitution
William Few Jr. was a Founding Father from the state of Georgia. He was born on June 8, 1748, in Baltimore, Maryland, and grew up in a poor farming family. Few arrived in Georgia in the mid-1770s after abandoning a drought-stricken tobacco farm in Maryland and fleeing political trouble in North Carolina. During the Revolutionary War, Few joined the Richmond County Regiment, which was commanded by his older brother, Benjamin. He served as a lieutenant colonel and distinguished himself as a respected military commander. Few's natural leadership and organisational abilities, as well as his dedication to the common good, quickly caught the attention of Patriot cause leaders.
Few's military duties during this time included attending military assemblies, where he instructed his friends and neighbours in the skills he had acquired in the North Carolina militia. He was called to active duty in 1778 when Georgia faced the threat of invasion by British and Loyalist troops based in Florida. Few's regiment played a crucial role in frustrating the British "southern strategy", preventing them from consolidating their position in the state. He also demonstrated his expertise in logistics and emerged as a bold, innovative partisan commander.
Few's military success opened the door to political service. After the war, he settled his family's affairs in North Carolina and moved to Georgia, where he opened a law office and began his political career. In the late 1770s, he joined the House of Representatives and was appointed as the representative of Georgia in the Continental Congress in 1780. In 1786, Few was elected to represent Georgia at the 1787 Constitutional Convention, where he lobbied his fellow congressmen to vote in favour of the new U.S. Constitution. He supported the effort to create a strong national government and played a role in crafting the Great Compromise, which addressed the concerns of smaller states regarding representation in Congress.
In addition to his military and political careers, Few was also an advocate for education and a founding trustee of the University of Georgia in 1785. After signing the Constitution, Few continued his political career, serving as one of Georgia's first senators from 1789 to 1793. He then returned to Georgia and served as a federal judge for the Georgia circuit. Few's military career and dedication to the common good laid the foundation for his successful political career and his role in shaping the future of the nation.
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George Walton was the only one of Georgia's signers who did not own slaves
The US Constitution was signed by delegates from each of the 13 colonies, including Georgia. The two Georgia delegates who signed the Constitution were Abraham Baldwin and William Few.
George Walton, on the other hand, was one of the Georgia delegates who signed the Declaration of Independence. He was the only one of Georgia's signers who did not own slaves. Walton was orphaned as a child and was apprenticed as a carpenter. He moved to Savannah, Georgia, in 1769 to study law and was admitted to the bar in 1774. He became an advocate of the Patriot cause and was elected secretary of the Georgia Provincial Congress, becoming president of the Council of Safety. In 1776, he was elected to the Continental Congress, where he voted in favour of the Declaration of Independence for Georgia, along with Button Gwinnett and Lyman Hall. Walton also served as the second chief executive of Georgia in 1779 and was again named governor in 1789–1790. In 1795, he was appointed to the US Senate to complete the unexpired term of a senator who had resigned.
Walton's home in Augusta, Georgia, was called Meadow Gardens and was built on 200 acres of land. Today, the house is a museum owned and operated by the Georgia Society. There are several schools in Georgia that bear his name, including George Walton Comprehensive High School in Marietta and George Walton Academy in Monroe.
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William Pierce was a delegate at the Constitutional Convention
In mid-1783, Pierce and two fellow officers established a business in Savannah, Georgia. That same year, he married Charlotte Fenwick, the daughter of a wealthy South Carolina planter. The couple moved to Savannah and had four sons, only one of whom, William Leigh, survived to adulthood. Pierce sold his share of the business and, the following year, he started a new business under the name William Pierce and Company.
Pierce was elected in 1786 to represent Chatham County in the Georgia House of Representatives. He was then elected to the Continental Congress and became a delegate to the Constitutional Convention. However, despite agreeing with the outcome, Pierce did not sign the U.S. Constitution. He left the convention at the end of June to attend to a personal matter—a duel with merchant John Auldjo, after a disagreement over "mercantile dealings". The duel did not take place, as Alexander Hamilton intervened.
Pierce's notes from the Constitutional Convention have been preserved. In them, he records Governor Randolph's proposal for a federal government consisting of three branches, with a two-branch legislature. A debate arose, with some arguing that the state legislatures were better qualified to elect members than the people, while others believed that representation should come from the people to make it actual rather than virtual.
William Pierce is not to be confused with any of the several other notable Americans with the same name, including an Oregon politician, a baseball player, a serial killer, a missionary, a mortuarist, a surgeon, and a robber.
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Frequently asked questions
Abraham Baldwin and William Few were the two men from Georgia who signed the US Constitution.
Abraham Baldwin was born in 1754 in Guilford, Connecticut, and moved to Georgia in 1785. He was a delegate at the 1787 Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and played a crucial role in crafting The Great Compromise, which addressed the issue of state representation in Congress.
William Few Jr. arrived in Georgia in the mid-1770s after facing political trouble in North Carolina. During the Revolutionary War, he served as a lieutenant colonel in the Richmond County regiment. In 1786, Few was elected to represent Georgia at the Constitutional Convention, where he advocated for the adoption of the new US Constitution. After signing the Constitution, he became one of Georgia's first senators.
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