Morris, Gouverneur (gəvərnēr`,–n

r`), 1752–1816, American political leader and diplomat, b. Morrisania, N.Y. (now part of the Bronx); a grandson of Lewis Morris Morris, Lewis, 1671–1746, American colonial official, first lord of the manor of Morrisania in New York. The son of Richard Morris (d. 1672; see Morris , family), he was born in that part of Westchester co. that is now part of the Bronx, New York City.
..... Click the link for more information. (1671–1746), he was born to wealth and influence. He studied law and was admitted (1771) to the bar. At the outbreak of the American Revolution he adopted the colonial cause (although several members of his family were Loyalists). A superb orator, eloquent writer, and fine literary stylist, he was a member (1775–77) of the provincial congress of New York, helped to draft the first state constitution, and served on the Council of Safety. Morris sat (1778–79) in the Continental Congress, where he was prominent in financial, military, and diplomatic affairs. In 1779 his book Observations on the American Revolution was published.

After failing to win reelection to the Congress Morris moved to Philadelphia and resumed his law practice. A series of newspaper articles on finance secured him the post of assistant to Robert Morris Morris, Robert, 1734–1806, American merchant, known as the "financier of the American Revolution," and signer of the Declaration of Independence, b. Liverpool, England.
..... Click the link for more information. (no relative) in handling the finances of the new government (1781–85). In this position he planned the U.S. decimal coinage system. As a member of the U.S. Constitutional Convention Constitutional Convention, in U.S. history, the 1787 meeting in which the Constitution of the United States was drawn up.

The Road to the Convention

..... Click the link for more information. of 1787 Morris played an active role, defending a strong centralized government and a powerful executive, opposing concessions on slavery, and putting the Constitution into its final literary form. He remained, however, a champion of aristocracy who distrusted democratic rule.

In 1789 Moris went to France as a private business agent, remained in Europe, and was appointed (1792) U.S. minister to France. During the French Revolution his sympathies lay with the royalists; he even helped plan a scheme to rescue Louis XVI. His recall was requested in 1794, but he traveled for several years before returning to America in 1798. From 1800 to 1803, Morris, a Federalist, was a U.S. senator from New York. He then retired to his estate. He condemned the War of 1812, going so far as to recommend the severance of the federal union. Morris was a strong advocate of the Erie Canal Erie Canal, artificial waterway, c.360 mi (580 km) long; connecting New York City with the Great Lakes via the Hudson River. Locks were built to overcome the 571-ft (174-m) difference between the level of the river and that of Lake Erie.
..... Click the link for more information. and served as chairman (1810–13) of the canal commission.

Bibliography

See his Diary of the French Revolution (1939), edited by his great-granddaughter, Beatrix Cary Davenport; biographies by T. Roosevelt (1888, repr. 1972), D. Walther (tr. 1934), and R. Brookhiser (2003); M. M. Mintz, Gouverneur Morris and the American Revolution (1970).

Morris, Gouverneur

(born , Jan. 31, 1752, Morrisania house, Manhattan—died Nov. 6, 1816, Morrisania house) American statesman and financial expert. He was admitted to the bar (1771) and served in the New York Provincial Congress (1775–77) and the Continental Congress (1778–79). He distrusted the democratic tendencies of colonists who wanted to break with England, but his belief in independence led him to join their ranks. As assistant superintendent of finance (1781–85), he proposed the decimal coinage system that became the basis for U.S. currency. A delegate to the Constitutional Convention, he helped write the final draft of the Constitution of the United States. He served as minister to France (1792–94) and as a U.S. Senator (1800–03), and he was the first chairman of the Erie Canal commission (1810–16).

Morris, Gouverneur (1752–1816) statesman, diplomat; born in Morrisania (now part of New York City), N.Y. Fundamentally conservative, he nevertheless served as a N.Y. delegate to the Continental Congress (1777–79) and supported the move for independence; failing to be reelected, he moved to Philadelphia. There he became assistant superintendent of finances under Robert Morris (no relation) and helped plan the decimal coinage system (1781–85). He was a delegate to the Constitutional Convention in 1787, but he advocated almost absolute powers for the president. Returning to his family home in New York in 1788, he went to Europe and served as U.S. ambassador to France during the period of the French Revolutionary terror (1792–94). Back in the States, he served as senator from New York (1800–03). As a Federalist, he constantly found himself opposed to the direction taken by the fledgling democracy.