Eleanor Finch
The US Constitution has always been a contentious document, and the road to its creation was fraught with difficulty. The Founding Fathers of Georgia played a crucial role in supporting and ratifying the document, impacting both national and state history. Georgia elected six delegates to the Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia in 1787, but only four attended, and only two signed the final document: Abraham Baldwin and William Few. Both men had played important roles in the Revolutionary War, and their signatures on the Constitution were the culmination of a long road to a new system of government.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Number of delegates from Georgia | 6 |
| Number of delegates who attended | 4 |
| Number of delegates who signed | 2 |
| Names of the delegates who signed | Abraham Baldwin and William Few |
| Names of other delegates | William Houston, William Leigh Pierce, George Walton, and Lyman Hall |
| Abraham Baldwin's contribution | Played a pivotal role in the Constitutional Convention in 1787. Helped create the compromise that led to the method of representation in the proposed Congress. |
| William Few's contribution | Served as a lieutenant colonel during the Revolutionary War. Was a founding trustee of the University of Georgia. |
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What You'll Learn
The role of Abraham Baldwin
Abraham Baldwin was a Yale graduate, lawyer, army chaplain, state legislator, and university founder and president. He moved to Georgia after the Revolutionary War, where he quickly became a recognized leader. He was a delegate to the Congress of the Confederation and then to the Constitutional Convention. He was one of Georgia's two signatories to the U.S. Constitution in 1787.
Baldwin played a pivotal role in the Constitutional Convention, helping to create the compromise that led to the method of representation in the proposed Congress. This compromise was necessary because delegates were divided on whether representation should be equal among all states or proportional to a state's population. The smaller states were concerned that their interests would be overshadowed by those with larger populations. Baldwin's last-minute change split the vote evenly, resulting in a bicameral legislature—the House of Representatives and the Senate. This legislature included both proportional representation in the House and equal representation in the Senate.
Baldwin also served on the committee that worked out the details of the transfer of government from the Articles of Confederation to the new government under the Constitution. His working copy of the Constitution, with handwritten notes, is in the collections of the Georgia Historical Society.
In addition to his role in shaping the U.S. Constitution, Baldwin was also a founding father of the University of Georgia. He was named the university's first president and worked to build support for the institution. He remained president during its initial development phase until 1800 and worked with the legislature on the college charter. Franklin College, the University of Georgia's initial college, opened to students in 1801.
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William Few's military success
William Few Jr. was an American Founding Father, lawyer, politician, jurist, and farmer. He was born on June 8, 1748, into a poor yeoman farming family and later achieved social prominence and political power. Few represented the U.S. state of Georgia at the Constitutional Convention and signed the U.S. Constitution. He also served as one of Georgia's first senators.
Few's military career began when he joined the Richmond County Regiment, commanded by his older brother Benjamin. For the next two years, he attended military assemblies and instructed his friends and neighbours in the skills he had acquired in the North Carolina militia. In 1778, Few was called to active duty when Georgia faced the threat of invasion by British and Loyalist troops based in Florida. The Georgians' first military campaign ended in disaster, with Few, in command of a company of Georgia Militia, witnessing the collapse of logistical support and the disintegration of the American invaders due to disease and infighting among senior officers.
Few's military service in the later years of the war proved critical in frustrating the British "southern strategy" and enhancing his credentials as a state leader. Few emerged as a gifted administrator and logistics expert, displaying innate common sense and bold, innovative partisan command. He demonstrated patience and the ability to preserve his forces for key attacks, picking his time and place to engage small enemy parties without unduly risking the safety of his men. Few also possessed the raw physical stamina required to survive the serious hardships of guerrilla warfare.
Few's regiment played a prominent role in keeping the British from consolidating their position in the west. This prevented the area from becoming a secure Loyalist base and forced the diversion of British troops needed for operations in the Carolinas and Virginia. Few's militiamen also participated in a successful rear-guard action that shielded the retreat of American units following a bloody defeat in a full-frontal attack against the British. Few's military successes opened the door to his subsequent political career, which included serving as a representative of Georgia in the Continental Congress and playing a role in the reassembly of Georgia's dispersed government.
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Button Gwinnett's signature
Button Gwinnett was a delegate to the Continental Congress and a signatory of the Declaration of Independence. He is often described as the most notorious of Georgia's declaration signers. Born in Gloucestershire, England, Gwinnett moved to Savannah in 1765 to escape financial hardship. He tried and failed at becoming a merchant before pivoting to planting, purchasing St. Catherine's Island and enslaved people. When this venture also failed, he shifted his focus to politics. Gwinnett played a notable role in organizing and rallying backcountry and coastal Whigs in revolutionary efforts. In 1776, he was elected as a representative of Georgia at the Second Continental Congress, where he joined George Walton and Lyman Hall in signing the Declaration of Independence.
Gwinnett's signature is extremely valuable due to its rarity, with only around fifty known examples. A letter containing his signature sold for a record $51,000 in 1927, and in 1979, a receipt signed by him sold for $100,000. Gwinnett County, Georgia, a suburban county outside Atlanta, is named after him, and he is one of three Georgia signers of the Declaration of Independence honoured with the Signers Monument in Augusta.
Gwinnett's signature is also the rarest and most valuable of the signers of the Declaration, and the most often forged. Despite several of his personal papers being uncovered on his former Cumberland Island estate, his signature remains highly sought-after. Historian Harvey Jackson wrote of Gwinnett, "self-interest cannot be divorced from his motives."
Gwinnett briefly served as Speaker of the Georgia Assembly and as governor of Georgia from March to May 1777. He died in 1777 at the age of 42, three days after being wounded in a duel with Lachlan McIntosh, with whom he had a political rivalry.
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George Walton's political career
George Walton was a Founding Father of the United States and one of three Georgians to sign the Declaration of Independence. He was born in the county of Prince Edward, Virginia, in 1749, although some sources place his birth year as early as 1740. Orphaned as an infant, Walton was adopted by an uncle, who apprenticed him to a carpenter. However, Walton was studious and continued his studies, moving to Savannah, Georgia, in 1769 to study law. He was admitted to the bar in 1774 and, by the eve of the American Revolution, had become one of the most successful lawyers in Georgia.
Walton's political career began in 1775 when he was elected to the Provincial Congress and became president of the Council of Safety. In 1776, he served as a delegate to the Second Continental Congress in Philadelphia, where he voted in favor of the Declaration of Independence. During the American Revolutionary War, Walton fought in the battalion of General Robert Howe and was captured during the 1778 British assault on Savannah, led by Archibald Campbell. He was wounded and crippled for life.
After his release, Walton returned to Georgia and was elected governor in 1779. He switched allegiances from the conservative to the radical faction and was a political ally of Scottish General Lachlan McIntosh and a foe of Button Gwinnett. Walton's political battles with Gwinnett resulted in his expulsion from office and indictment for various criminal activities. He served as governor for only two months.
Between gubernatorial terms, Walton served as chief justice of Georgia from 1783 to 1789 and as a member of the Augusta Board of Commissioners from 1784 to 1785. He was also a commissioner to negotiate a treaty with the Cherokee in 1783 and to settle the border dispute between South Carolina and Georgia in 1786. In 1789, Walton was elected to a second term as governor, during which a new state constitution was adopted, and the state capital was moved to Augusta.
In 1795, Walton was appointed to the U.S. Senate to fill the vacancy caused by the resignation of James Jackson. He served in that position from November 16, 1795, to February 20, 1796. Walton was a founder and trustee of the Academy of Richmond County in Augusta and of Franklin College (now the University of Georgia) in Athens. He retired from political life in 1798 and died in 1804.
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Lyman Hall's legacy
Lyman Hall was a signer of the Declaration of Independence and a representative of Georgia to the second Continental Congress. He was one of three Georgians and one of four doctors to sign the document. Hall's legacy is that of a man who was instrumental in the founding of the United States and the state of Georgia.
Born in Connecticut in 1724, Hall graduated from Yale College in 1747 and began a career as a preacher. After a few years as a clergyman, he became a physician and migrated to South Carolina, eventually settling in Georgia. Hall became a leading citizen of the town of Sunbury and played a key role in persuading the parish to send a delegate to the Second Continental Congress.
In 1775, Hall was admitted to a seat in Congress. He was a strong supporter of independence and is memorialized in Georgia for his contributions. Hall County and several schools in the state bear his name. In addition to signing the Declaration of Independence, Hall served as the governor of Georgia from 1783 to 1784. During his term, he advocated for the chartering of a state university, believing that education was essential for a virtuous citizenry. His efforts led to the establishment of the University of Georgia in 1785.
After his term as governor, Hall resumed his medical practice and moved to a plantation in Burke County, Georgia, where he died in 1790. Hall's legacy is that of a dedicated public servant who played a crucial role in the founding of the United States and made significant contributions to the state of Georgia, particularly in the field of education.
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Frequently asked questions
Abraham Baldwin and William Few were the two Georgians who signed the US Constitution.
Abraham Baldwin was a recognised leader in Georgia, having moved to the state around three years before the Constitutional Convention. He was wise, kind, educated, and intelligent and played a pivotal role in the convention, helping to arrange a compromise that led to the method of representation in the proposed Congress. He also founded the University of Georgia. William Few, a former lieutenant colonel, arrived in Georgia in the mid-1770s and quickly became involved in the revolutionary movement. He was a founding trustee of the University of Georgia.
Yes, Georgia initially chose six representatives to the Philadelphia Convention of 1787: Nathaniel Pendleton, George Walton, William Few, Abraham Baldwin, William Pierce, and William Houstoun. However, only four of them attended, and only Baldwin and Few signed the final document.
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