When the words “American Revolution” come to mind, so do the names of the major heroes of the time—George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, John Adams, Thomas Paine, and so on. But there are many other participants who played very significant roles in the revolution who history has nearly forgotten. One such revolutionary was Robert Morris Jr., the war’s chief financier. He was a self-made millionaire whose savvy deal making helped finance the American Revolution at a time when it was nearly out of money and on the verge of collapse.
Shipping business: Morris’s wealth began with the untimely death of his father who left him his entire estate at age sixteen. He worked as an apprentice with a shipping firm in Philadelphia; and after the death of the owner, became a partner of the firm at age twenty-three with the owner’s eldest son in 1757. Morris had the uncanny ability to make a buck in the shipping business by developing trading channels to India, the Middle East, the West Indies, Cuba, Spain, Italy, and eventually China. As a result, the firm became one of the largest and richest shippers in Philadelphia.
Revolution on the horizon: Like many others of his time, Morris became angry with the series of taxes that Parliament levied on the American colonies in the 1760’s. However, he believed that the problems could still be worked out with London to end the brewing crisis. After the passage of the Stamp Act, Morris led the protests in Philadelphia that forced the removal of the British tax collector. He persuaded a ship carrying tea not to come to port in Philadelphia thereby preventing what may have been Philadelphia’s own “tea party.”
Early stages of revolt: During the early stages of the American Revolution, Morris remained in the shadows and let his partner, Thomas Willing, represent the firm publicly. After Britain passed the Intolerable Acts designed to punish the North American colonies for the Boston Tea Party, Willing and two others pressed for the formation of a congress of representatives from all of Britain’s North American colonies. Morris was not a delegate to the Continental Congress; however, he often met with the delegates and made good friends with an important one—George Washington.
Independence: Morris was elected as a delegate to the Second Continental Congress that convened in Philadelphia after hostilities began in Massachusetts in 1775. Morris was still opposed to independence, but recused himself from the independence vote, permitting the vote to pass on July 4th, 1776. In August when the majority of members of Congress signed the Declaration of Independence, Morris also signed explaining that it was “the duty of every individual to act his part in whatever station his country may call him to in hours of difficulty, danger and distress.”
Early service: Not a radical, Morris became a member of the Secret Committee of Trade. He helped develop the “Model Treaty” that served as a template for the newly formed country to establish bilateral relations with other foreign countries with an emphasis on free trade. He also served on the Marine Committee that oversaw the fledgling Continental Navy. He became chairman of the Secret Committee of Trade and established a network of agents responsible for procuring supplies from foreign ports for the Continental Army.
The war progresses: As the war progressed, Morris became a major smuggler of gunpowder for the Continental Army as a ranking member of the Committee of Safety that supervised defenses. He also became the de facto commander of the navy by organizing a privateering fleet in foreign as well as North American ports to attack and confiscate British shipping. He continued to supply the continental army from Philadelphia until the Second Continental Congress evacuated the city following the army’s defeat at the Battle of Brandywine in September, 1777. He remained a leading member of Congress until he resigned in 1778, to attempt to refocus on his merchant business. It wasn’t long after leaving Congress when Morris was elected to the Philadelphia Assembly that was formed in 1779 to implement reforms to the Pennsylvania Constitution. As for the reforms themselves, Morris’s party favored a bicameral legislature, a state executive with veto power, and an independent judiciary. This model contrasted with the Articles of Confederation passed by Congress in 1777, that formed the first national constitution. It further shed light on the solution to the stalemate for the United States Constitutional Convention in 1789.
Nearing fiscal collapse: As the war continued, Congress had an increasingly difficult time paying for the military effort since it lacked authority under the Articles of Confederation to levy its own taxes and tariffs, relying on the states to furnish funds. Congress then established the position of Superintendent of Finance to oversee the situation, and appointed Morris to the position giving him unchecked powers to keep the war effort from collapsing. At one point in 1781, the country’s fiscal situation was so desperate that Morris, acting as Superintendent of Finance, issued his own notes to pay the military, redeemable in six months and backed by his personal fortune. Morris also persuaded Congress to make him the sole supplier for the Continental Army, with the states furnishing the funding.
First Central Bank: Morris instituted an array of reforms to boost the economy and strengthen the national government. He issued the “Report on Public Credit” that became the plan he wanted to implement for the economic recovery. To accomplish the plan’s goals, Morris wanted a series of taxes to be levied to provide revenues to make the plan work. This became a sticking point, as it required an amendment to the Articles of Confederation. That in turn required a unanimous vote in Congress, that fell short by one state’s veto. Morris engineered the creation of the Bank of North America that served as the country’s first central bank. In spite of the bank’s contributions toward dealing with the national debt, the State of Pennsylvania took it over and rechartered it under Pennsylvania law thereby turning it into a state bank.
Conclusions: In 1788 Morris and William Maclay became Pennsylvania’s first U.S. Senators. In later life he was accused of unjustly enriching himself during the war, but was exonerated by a vote in Congress. He speculated greatly in real estate in the new country by buying hundreds of thousands of acres of land in the southern states. He found himself deeply overextended, unable to pay his debts, and sent to debtor’s prison. He was released only when bankruptcy laws were passed by Congress enabling him to discharge the debt. He lived the remaining years of his life in a rented house in Philadelphia on a small pension his wife had achieved through a land sale. He was one of only two revolutionary figures to sign all three major documents: The Declaration of Independence, The Articles of Confederation, and the United States Constitution.
Sources: Wikipedia, Robert Morris (financier).
History.com/robert-morris-financier-revolutionary-war
Thanks David