Jonah Patel
The US Constitution is one of the most important documents in American history. It is often assumed that founding father James Madison wrote the Constitution, but the duty of physically writing out the clauses went to a clerk, Jacob Shallus. Shallus was paid $30 for his work, which was a considerable amount at the time. Shallus completed the work in his exceptional handwriting in just a single day on 16 September 1787.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Name | Jacob Shallus |
| Occupation | Assistant Clerk to the Pennsylvania General Assembly |
| Payment | $30 |
| Time taken | One day |
| Date | 16th September 1787 |
| Number of words | 4,000-4,400 |
| Number of pages | 4-5 |
| Writing instrument | Quill, likely goose |
| Ink | Iron gall |
| Lighting | Oil lamp |
| Writing style | Roundhand |
| Additional notes | Names of the states in front of the signatures were handwritten by Alexander Hamilton |
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What You'll Learn
James Madison is often credited as the writer
James Madison is often referred to as the Founding Father of the United States Constitution. He is known to have drafted the document, and his notes on the Constitutional Convention were later published. Madison, however, refused to take sole credit for writing the Constitution, insisting that it was a compilation of several ideas and beliefs on democracy.
The physical act of transcribing the Constitution onto parchment is believed to have been completed by Jacob Shallus, Assistant Clerk to the Pennsylvania General Assembly. Shallus was paid $30 for his work, which was a considerable amount at the time. It is estimated that Shallus wrote around 25,000 letters or 4,400 words in a single day, using a goose quill and iron gall ink.
The original US Constitution was handwritten on five pages of parchment. The first permanent constitution, it has been amended 27 times since it became operational in 1789. The first ten amendments, known as the Bill of Rights, place restrictions on government powers and protect individual liberty and justice. The majority of the 17 later amendments expand on civil rights protections.
The Constitution is considered one of the most important documents in American history, allowing for the creation of the United States and the freedoms of its people. It is still available to view in the National Archives in the Rotunda for the Charters of Freedom.
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Jacob Shallus was the scribe
The United States Constitution is one of the most important documents in American history. It is the first permanent constitution and has influenced the constitutions of other nations. The original US Constitution was handwritten, and it is widely believed that Jacob Shallus was the scribe. Shallus was an Assistant Clerk to the Pennsylvania General Assembly.
The words of the Constitution were chosen by a combination of important delegates, and most of the credit falls on James Madison, who is often referred to as the 'Father of the Constitution'. However, it was Shallus who put the ink to parchment. Shallus received the notes on the evening of Saturday, 15 September 1787, and was instructed to return the finished document by Monday morning, when the delegates would gather to sign the Constitution. Shallus worked through the night, transcribing around 4,000 words onto four sheets of animal skin vellum parchment, each sheet measuring about 2 feet square. He was paid $30 for his work, which was a considerable amount for the time.
Shallus' handwriting was in the "Roundhand" style, written with a goose quill using iron gall ink. The document was engrossed, meaning it was written in large letters. Shallus' exceptional penmanship is evident in the final document, which can be viewed in the National Archives in the Rotunda.
Shallus' story may have been lost to history if it were not for the curiosity of a librarian and amateur historian named Arthur Plotnik. Plotnik spent four years researching Shallus, exploring old records, comparing handwriting styles, and discovering the receipt for Shallus' payment.
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Shallus was paid $30 for his work
The United States Constitution was handwritten by Jacob Shallus, Assistant Clerk to the Pennsylvania General Assembly. Shallus was paid $30 for his work, which was a considerable sum at the time. To put this into perspective, a messenger earned $25 per month, a doorman received $33 per month, and the Secretary to the Continental Congress earned $217 per month. Shallus is believed to have completed the Constitution in a single day on 16 September 1787, an impressive feat given the length of the document and the fact that he used a goose quill to write approximately 4,000 words on four sheets of parchment, each sheet measuring 28 by 23 inches.
The reason Shallus was paid relatively well for his work may be due to the urgency of the task. Shallus received the notes on the evening of 15 September 1787 and was instructed to return the finished document by the following morning, when the delegates were due to gather and sign the Constitution. Shallus worked through the night, transcribing around 25,000 individual letters. The slow pace required for such careful work would have been 160 words per hour, leaving little room for error or embellishment.
Shallus's payment for engrossing the Constitution was a one-time fee from the government. Shortly after the Constitutional Convention, Shallus sought work as an official scribe with the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. However, this position did not provide enough income to support his large family, and he continued to be plagued by financial troubles. Shallus was even arrested for debt just five months after engrossing the Constitution, with the debt amount roughly equalling the fee he had received for his work. Benjamin Franklin approved a small fee to help Shallus, and he was spared from debtors' prison. Shallus went on to serve on the Pennsylvania General Assembly for the next two years and enjoyed a brief period of financial security before the onset of the Yellow Fever Plague in 1793.
The fact that Shallus was paid $30 for his work is significant, as it provides evidence that he was the scribe of the Constitution. Little official documentation remains from the period, and Shallus did not sign or initial his work. However, a receipt for the $30 payment was discovered, providing proof that Shallus was indeed the penman behind the historic document. This discovery was made by librarian and amateur historian Arthur Plotnik, who spent four years researching the topic, exploring old records, and comparing handwriting styles.
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Shallus completed the work in a single day
Jacob Shallus, the man behind the quill, completed the task of writing the US Constitution in his own handwriting in just a single day. Shallus was an Assistant Clerk to the Pennsylvania General Assembly. He was paid $30 for his work, which was a considerable amount at the time, equivalent to around $900 in today's money.
Shallus received the notes on the evening of Saturday, 15 September 1787, and was instructed to return the finished document by Monday morning, when the delegates would gather to sign the Constitution. Shallus worked through the night, engrossing around 25,000 letters or 4,400 words onto four sheets of animal skin vellum parchment, each measuring about two feet square. He used a goose quill and iron gall ink, and the document was written in "Roundhand".
Shallus's achievement is even more impressive when we consider the short timeframe in which he completed the work. To put it into perspective, the slowest possible writing pace under the circumstances would have been 160 words per hour, leaving little room for embellishments. Shallus's handwriting was exceptional, and he even wrote an "errata statement" at the end of the document, detailing any errors he had made.
While James Madison is often credited as the writer of the Constitution, it was Shallus who put the ink to parchment. Madison himself refused to take sole credit, acknowledging that the document was a compilation of various ideas and beliefs on democracy. Madison can be seen as the "Father of the Constitution", having drafted the document and played a pivotal role in its creation. However, it was Shallus who performed the physical task of transcribing the clauses onto parchment.
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Madison refused to take credit for the Constitution
James Madison is often credited with writing the Constitution of the United States. He was a prominent figure in the drafting of the Constitution, and his notes from the Constitutional Convention in 1787 have been published. Madison's Virginia Plan formed the basis for the convention's discussions, and he was one of the leaders in the movement to ratify the Constitution. He also co-authored The Federalist Papers, a series of pro-ratification essays.
However, Madison himself refused to take sole credit for the Constitution. He believed that his subjective, personal understanding of the Constitution was not important or relevant to its interpretation. Instead, he emphasised that the Constitution's meaning is objective and stands on its own, independent of the views of individuals, including himself. This principle helped to mitigate the problem of Madison's own inconsistencies over time, as his views on specific topics and interpretive methods changed.
Despite Madison's refusal to take credit, his role in the creation of the Constitution was significant. He is considered the "Father of the Constitution" for his pivotal role in drafting and promoting the document, as well as the Bill of Rights. Madison's work on the Virginia Declaration of Rights, which he amended to state that "all men are equally entitled to the full and free exercise" of religion, was a crucial step towards the Constitution and the protection of individual liberties.
While Madison played a key role in the intellectual development of the Constitution, the physical act of writing out the clauses fell to a clerk named Jacob Shallus. Shallus completed the impressive feat of transcribing around 4,000 words onto four sheets of parchment in a single day, using a goose quill. Shallus was paid $30 for his work, which was a considerable amount at the time.
In conclusion, while Madison made significant contributions to the creation of the Constitution, he refused to take credit for it, believing that the objective meaning of the document was more important than any individual's subjective interpretation. The physical transcription of the Constitution was done by Shallus, whose impressive penmanship ensured that the document was ready in time for its signing.
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Frequently asked questions
Jacob Shallus, Assistant Clerk to the Pennsylvania General Assembly, wrote most of the US Constitution in his own handwriting.
Shallus completed the Constitution in a single day, on September 16, 1787.
Shallus was paid $30 for his work, which was a considerable amount for that time.
The Constitution was written on four pieces of animal skin or parchment.
Shallus likely used a goose quill to write the Constitution.
