Morris, Gouverneur, << `guhv` uhr NEER >> (1752-1816), was an American statesman and diplomat. He headed the committee that wrote the final draft of the Constitution of the United States. Much of the credit for the wording in the Constitution belongs to him.
Morris was suspected of sympathies for Great Britain at the outbreak of the Revolutionary War in America in 1775. But he soon proved himself to be one of the most active American patriots. He served as a leading member of the New York constitutional convention in 1776. He was a member of the Second Continental Congress from 1778 to 1779. The brilliant and energetic Morris headed several committees of Congress and acted as draftsman of important documents. He was one of General George Washington’s most able supporters in Congress during the Revolutionary War. Morris attracted the attention of Robert Morris, financial agent of Congress, and served as assistant superintendent of finance from 1781 to 1785.
Morris was elected a Pennsylvania delegate to the Constitutional Convention of 1787. He spoke 173 times–more often than any other delegate–and favored a strong, centralized government controlled by the wealthy. In 1789, Morris went to Paris as a financial agent. From 1792 to 1794, he was minister to France. From 1800 to 1803, he was a U.S. senator from New York. Morris was also a key figure in promoting the construction of the Erie Canal. He was born on Jan. 31, 1752, in Morrisania (now part of New York City). Morris died on Nov. 6, 1816.
