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Senate Years of Service: 1789-1795 Party: Pro-Administration
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Library of Congress |
MORRIS, Robert, (father of Thomas Morris [1771-1849]),
a Delegate and a Senator from Pennsylvania; born in Liverpool, England, January
20, 1734; immigrated to the United States in 1747 and settled in Oxford, Md.; attended school in
Philadelphia; became a merchant in Philadelphia in 1748; signed the non-importation agreement of
1765; member of the Pennsylvania Council of Safety 1775; Member of the Continental Congress
1775-1778; signer of the Declaration of Independence; settled upon the Manheim estate; member,
State assembly 1778-1781; national superintendent of finance 1781-1784; established the Bank of
North America; member, State assembly 1785-1787; delegate to the Constitutional Convention of
1787; elected to the United States Senate and served from March 4, 1789, to March 3, 1795;
declined to be a candidate for renomination; declined the position of Secretary of the Treasury in the
Cabinet of President George Washington; known as the financier of the American Revolution and
one of the richest men in America, Morris became involved in unsuccessful land speculations, which
caused him to be imprisoned for debt from 1798 to 1801; died in Philadelphia, Pa., May 8, 1806;
interment in the family vault of William White in the churchyard of Christ Church.
BibliographyDictionary of American Biography;
Morris, Robert. Papers. Edited by E. James Ferguson, John Catanzariti, Elizabeth M.
Nuxoll, Mary A.Y. Gallagher, et al. 9 vols. to date. Pittsburgh: University of Pittsburgh, 1973-; Ver
Steeg, Clarence. Robert Morris: Revolutionary Financier. New York: Octagon
Books, 1972.
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