Lawyer; born in
Morrisania, N. Y., Jan. 31, 1752; graduated at King's College (now Columbia University) in 1768; admitted to the bar in 1771, and soon acquired great reputation as a lawyer.
One of the committee that drafted the constitution of the
State of New York, a member of Congress from 1777 to 1780, and one of the most useful of committeemen in that body, he gained much political influence.
In 1779 he published a pamphlet containing
Observations on the American Revolution.
In 1781 he was the assistant of
Robert Morris, the superintendent of finance.
After living in
Philadelphia six years, he purchased (1786) the estate of
Morrisania from his brother, and made it his residence afterwards.
Prominent in the convention that framed the national Constitution, he put that instrument into the literary shape in which it was adopted.
In 1791 he was sent to
London as private agent of the
United States, and from 1792 to 1794 was American minister to
France.
He had seen many of the phases of the
French Revolution, and with a tantalizing coolness had pursued
Washington's policy of neutrality towards
France and
England.
This course offended the ardent French republicans, and when making out the letters recalling
Genet, the committee of public safety, in which Robespierre and his associates were predominant, solicited the recall of
Morris.
For reasons of policy the
President complied,
but accompanied the letter of recall with a private one, expressing his satisfaction with
Morris's diplomatic conduct.
This letter, sent by a British vessel, fell into the hands of the
French government, and greatly increased the suspicion with which the
American administration was regarded.
To allay that suspicion,
Washington sent
Monroe, an avowed friend of the
French Revolutionists, as
Morris's successor.
Mr. Morris afterwards travelled in
Europe, and in 1798 returned to the
United States.
In 1800 he was chosen
United States Senator.
He was one of the early advocates of the construction of the
Erie Canal, and chairman of the canal commission from 1810 until his death in
Morrisania, N. Y., Nov. 6, 1816.
