IT WON'T DO TO SAY THE SLAVERS WERE MERELY MEN OF THEIR TIME:

His impressive accomplishments are a mere shadow of the statesmanship Morris displayed in the Constitutional Convention of 1787. While Madison recorded the proceedings of the Convention, it was Morris who seized the opportunity to become the dominating voice in Philadelphia. By the end of the Convention, he had given more speeches than any other delegate with a total of 173. Based on Madison's detailed account of the proceedings, one quickly discerns that Morris has had a much greater impact on American political institutions than what Americans give him credit for.

For instance, consider the concept of national union. In the Convention, Morris was the leading advocate for what he called a "national, supreme government." He rightly asserted that the loose confederation established by the Articles of Confederation could not successfully accomplish the very objectives proposed by the document (i.e., common defense, security of liberty, and general welfare). His solution, as a passionate nationalist, was a strong central government. As early as May 1787, he and Edmond Randolph took steps to propose the basic outline for a whole new polis which reflected his belief in a unifying federal power with constitutionally granted powers. "That a national government ought to be established, consisting of a supreme Legislative, Executive, and Judiciary."[2]

Morris believed that the best way to secure human liberty and prosperity is to bestow certain limited powers into a strong central government. Not only this, but he contended that the Americans were one people, not thirteen separate and independent peoples. As the author of the Preamble, Morris's most famous contribution to the final draft demonstrates his belief in a unified nation: We, the People of the United States of America.

Indeed, Morris's rhetoric and underlying philosophy was a powerful weapon in future political fights. When the Nullification Crisis of 1828-1832 came, two-thirds of the Great Triumvirate channeled Morris. As Daniel Webster declared in 1830, "Liberty and Union, now and forever, one and inseparable!" And again, twenty years later, when Henry Clay reiterated the points made at the height of the crisis. "This Union is my country. The thirty states is my country.... But even if it were my own state--if my own state, contrary to her duty, should raise the standard of disunion against the residue of the Union, I would go against her, I would go against Kentucky in that contingency as much as I love her."

The rebellion of the southern states in late 1860 and early 1861 forced Americans to consider the constitutionality of secession. Abraham Lincoln argued in his First Inaugural that nothing within the principles of the country and the Constitution proper allowed for dissolution of the Union. Tragically, war came shortly after, thereby fulfilling Morris's eerie prophecy at the Convention: "This country must be united.... If persuasion does not unite it, the sword will."[3] In many ways, Lincoln is heir to many of the great political ideas of Morris, having acquired them through his prolonged admiration of Clay.

The second and more volatile of the two is his deep faith in human equality and profound hatred of American slavery. A proud abolitionist from an early age, Morris always denounced slavery in the strongest possible terms. During the Convention, he aligned with other northern abolitionists such as Alexander Hamilton and declared that he could never agree with upholding domestic slavery. Bluntly, he deemed it to be a "nefarious institution. It was the curse of Heaven on the States where it prevailed."

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