
- 368 pages
- English
- PDF
- Available on iOS & Android
About this book
An engrossing biography of one of the most colorful and least well-known of the founding fathers
A plainspoken, racy patrician who distrusted democracy but opposed slavery and championed freedom for all minorities, an important player in the American Revolution, later an astute critic of the French Revolution, Gouverneur Morris remains an enigma among the founding generation. This comprehensive, engrossing biography tells his robust story, including his celebrated love affairs during his long stay in Europe. Morrisās public record is astonishing. One of the leading figures of the Constitutional Convention, he put the Constitution in its final version, including its opening Preamble. As Washingtonās first minister to Paris, he became Americaās most effective representative in France. A successful, international entrepreneur, he understood the dynamics of commerce in the modern world. Frankly cosmopolitan, he embraced city life as a creative center of civilization and had a central role in the building of the Erie Canal and in laying out the urban grid plan of Manhattan. William Howard Adams describes Morrisās many contributions, talents, sophistication, and wit, as well as his romantic liaisons, free habits, and free speech. He brings to life a fascinating man of great stature, a founding father who receives his due at last.
William Howard Adams is also the author ofĀ The Paris Years of Thomas Jefferson,Ā published by Yale University Press.
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Information
Table of contents
- Contents
- Acknowledgments
- INTRODUCTION. Redeeming Mr. Morris
- PART I. BACKGROUND
- CHAPTER 1. The Pedigree
- CHAPTER 2. A Profession
- PART II. REVOLUTION
- CHAPTER 3. Things Fall Apart
- CHAPTER 4. āThe Great Question of Independencyā
- CHAPTER 5. Breaking the Fetters
- PART III. NATIONAL AFFAIRS
- CHAPTER 6. The Continental Congress, 1778ā1779
- CHAPTER 7. Money Matters
- CHAPTER 8. The Convention
- PART IV. EUROPE
- CHAPTER 9. Paris, 1789
- CHAPTER 10. Business as Usual
- CHAPTER 11. A Presidential Mission
- CHAPTER 12. Minister to France
- PART V. SETTLING DOWN
- CHAPTER 13. The Long Journey Home
- CHAPTER 14. On Native Ground
- Notes
- Bibliography
- Index