President Nathaniel Gorham
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8th
President of the United States
in Congress Assembled
June 1786 – February 1, 1787
in Congress Assembled
June 1786 – February 1, 1787
Copyright © Stan Klos, President Who? Forgotten Founders 2004 & 2008
Students and Teachers of US History this is a video of Stanley and Christopher Klos presenting America's Four United Republics Curriculum at the University of Pennsylvania's Wharton School. The December 2015 video was an impromptu capture by a member of the audience of Penn students, professors and guests that numbered about 200.
Presidents of the United States in Congress Assembled
March 1, 1781
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July 6, 1781
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July 9, 1781
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Declined Office
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July 10, 1781
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November 4, 1781
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November 5, 1781
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November 3, 1782
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November 4, 1782
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November 2, 1783
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November 3, 1783
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June 3, 1784
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November 30, 1784
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November 22, 1785
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November 23, 1785
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June 5, 1786
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June 6, 1786
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February 1, 1787
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February 2, 1787
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January 21, 1788
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January 22, 1788
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January 21, 1789
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Nathaniel Gorham of
Massachusetts was elected President of the United States, in Congress
Assembled June 6, 1786 and served until November 13, 1786. He was born in
Charlestown, Massachusetts on May 27th, 1738 and died there on June
11th, 1796. He was the son of a small boat operator growing-up in a family of
modest means. After receiving a public school education, Gorham worked in
various small businesses in his birth place of Charlestown. He was apprenticed
in 1754 to Nathaniel Coffin, a merchant in New London, Connecticut where he
learned the import and export business. He left Coffin's employ in 1759 and
returned to Charlestown establishing his own small business there, which
prospered in the post French and Indian War market.
In 1763 Gorham wed Rebecca
Call, who bore the couple nine children. In 1770, Gorham launched his public
career as a notary and the following year won his election to the colonial legislature.
He took an active part in public affairs at the beginning of the Revolution and
was a strong supporter of the Whigs.
[1]
Gorham was elected delegate
to the Massachusetts' Provincial Congress in 1774 and served throughout 1775.
During the war he was a member of the Massachusetts Board of War from 1778
until its dissolution in 1781, which oversaw the State's military strategy,
logistics , recruitment and coastal. He help plan the military and naval effort where American forces were engaged in several important expeditions against British bases in Nova Scotia. He paid the price for his efficient service when
British troops confiscated or damaged most of his property during their
occupation of Charlestown.
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Early Nathaniel Gorham Autograph Letter Signed on legal folio, Charles Town, Nov. 5, 1772 to Philadelphia merchants John Reynell and Samuel Coates writing that
“…by Capt. Hinkley I wrote you desiring you to ship me 2 Tons Barr Iron which I take this opportunitiy to desire you to alter & in the room of it to send six Tons pig Iron & if you cannot get pig Iron then to send the Barr Iron as above mentioned…”
According to the Iron Act of 1750, iron manufacture was prohibited in the colonies and all pig and bar iron was to be shipped to Great Britain for finishing. Many Colonial merchants and manufacturers skirted these laws and future President Gorham’s business was no exception to circumventing these British Laws. While most of the arms used during the American Revolution were of European manufacture, some of the numerous New England iron furnaces did supply shot, shells and the occasional cannon. --Courtesy of the Author
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In 1779 Nathaniel Gorham was chosen
a delegate to the Massachusetts Constitutional Convention and that fall he
was placed on a committee chaired by John Adams assigned the task of drafting
the new Constitution. The Constitution's Preamble states that "The body politic is formed by a
voluntary association of individuals: it is a social compact, by which the
whole people covenants with each citizen, and each citizen with the whole people,
that all shall be governed by certain laws for the common good."
Its Declaration of Rights emphatically states that:
"All men are born free
and equal, and have certain natural, essential, and unalienable rights; among
which may be reckoned the right of enjoying and defending their lives and
liberties; that of acquiring, possessing, and protecting property; in fine,
that of seeking and obtaining their safety and happiness..."
The new state constitution, founded on the principle of
the separation and balance of powers, was adopted, with minor alterations, and
remains "one of the great, enduring
documents of the American Revolution," as well as "the oldest functioning written constitution in the world.”
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NATHANIEL GORHAM'S COPY OF AN IMPORTANT BROADSIDE AUTHORIZING A NEW STATE CONSTITUTION. By this resolution, "read and concurred" 21 June 1779 and signed in type by Speaker John Hancock, Massachusetts formally authorized the drafting and adoption of a new Constitution. The act directs that delegates are to be chosen in each jurisdiction to attend a constitutional convention which will draft the new constitution. In electing delegates, "every Freeman...twenty one years of ago, shall have a right to vote." The act also provides for the ratification of the constitution, once drafted, again specifying that "the Male inhabitants...being free and twenty-one years of age," shall vote to approve or disapprove the proposed plan of government. |
In the same year
Nathaniel Gorham was elected to the state senate and served until 1781 and was
thus elected to the 1782 term of the USCA.
By 1786, he was revered by his fellow delegates as an experience and
judicious member of the USCA. The 1785-1786 session of Congress had been the
strangest session in the Articles of Confederation's USCA since its inception
in 1781. John Hancock, the duly elected
President since November of 1785, had not even made a passing appearance in New
York to assert his position as the President of the unicameral federal
government. Moreover, despite an absence spanning five months, President
Hancock did not tender his resignation for a term that was constitutionally
limited to one year. David Ramsay, brother of Nathaniel Ramsey and a Delegate
from South Carolina, had reluctantly agreed to serve as the USCA Chairman while
Hancock prepared his Boston household for the move to New York City. Six
months later, Ramsay still found himself in the Chair and on May 15th resigned
the office as his credentials as a delegate of South Carolina had expired.
The delegates
turned to Hancock's friend and fellow State representative, Nathaniel Gorham,
to assume Ramsay’s duties as the USAC Chairman.
Chairman Gorham was the antithesis of his predecessor Richard Henry Lee as he was an ultra-conservative who believed the government required a strong chief executive. Many history textbooks claim that Chairman Gorham was "monarchy inclined." According to the Library of Congress:
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| USCA Resolution Recording Nathaniel Gorham as Chairman "in the absence of his excellency, John Hancock, our President" dated May 17, 1786 five days after Ramsay's resignation as Chairman. |
Chairman Gorham was the antithesis of his predecessor Richard Henry Lee as he was an ultra-conservative who believed the government required a strong chief executive. Many history textbooks claim that Chairman Gorham was "monarchy inclined." According to the Library of Congress:
Historians
were once fascinated with the idea of monarchical tendencies in the United
States, seizing upon a number of statements and rhetorical flourishes gleaned
from the correspondence of several founding fathers. As [Rufus] King and his
colleague Nathaniel Gorham had been linked with such sentiments, Edmund C.
Burnett discussed the issue at this point in his edition of congressional
correspondence, explaining that 'King's remark is one among many indications
that the idea of establishing a monarchy in America was in circulation at that
time, although perhaps only in whispers.' Burnett, Letters of the Delegates,
8:459n.3.
The research, however,
indicates these claims to be unfounded especially of President Gorham who
played a major role in framing the Constitution of Massachusetts in 1779. He
also chaired, on frequent occasions, the Constitutional Convention of 1787 and
signed the final document. The chief sources cited in this thesis can be found
in Richard Krauel's, "Prince Henry of Prussia and the Regency of the
United States, 1786."
In May 1786, before his
election as President, Gorham received a letter from future U.S. President, James Monroe, resigning his judgeship
over the New York/Massachusetts border dispute that placed the matter into his
presidential hands:
As
some circumstances will put it out of my power to act as a judge for the
decision of the controversy between the States of Massachusetts & New York,
I take the liberty to present thro' you my resignation to Congress. But at the
same time that I withdraw myself from this office, it is with particular
pleasure that I assure your Excellency, of the high sense, & grateful
regard I bear to the States who have conferr'd this honor on me.[2]
Three days later, on May
18th, Nathaniel Gorham made the decision to postpone the September meeting of
agents to negotiate a settlement to the Georgia-South Carolina boundary
dispute.
Debate then turned to Connecticut's cession of their claims to the Northwest Territory. The abandonment of all state claims, encumbering the Northwest Territorial lands, was paramount to transacting federal land sales with clear and marketable titles. Consequently, the debate over Connecticut's land claims cession lasted until May 26th when the parties declared a conditional acceptance. The USCA, also during May, took up the issue of coinage and the establishment of a mint but the resolution failed.
Debate then turned to Connecticut's cession of their claims to the Northwest Territory. The abandonment of all state claims, encumbering the Northwest Territorial lands, was paramount to transacting federal land sales with clear and marketable titles. Consequently, the debate over Connecticut's land claims cession lasted until May 26th when the parties declared a conditional acceptance. The USCA, also during May, took up the issue of coinage and the establishment of a mint but the resolution failed.
June began with the amending
of the Rules of War and finally after six "leaderless months" John Hancock's resignation. This act
required a new Presidential election as his term did not expire until early
November. On Sunday evening June 4th 1786, Rufus King wrote to Elbridge Gerry discussing
Hancock's replacement and cites, indirectly, the rotating custom of electing
Presidents from the North and South regions of the United States:
Mr.
Hancock has sent his resignation as President and Tomorrow I suppose Mr. Gorham
will be elected his successor. You understand the meaning of this Appointment
as well as I can explain it; no State is here from New England except
Massachusetts.[3]
Gorham was already sitting
in the Chair of Congress and appeared to be the natural Presidential choice to
serve out the remainder of Hancock’s term. Northern delegate attendance,
however, was slim and the election required Rufus King’s influence that
ultimately mustered the necessary votes to have Gorham elected President on
June 6th, 1786:
Present,
Massachusetts, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Maryland, Virginia, North
Carolina, South Carolina and Georgia; and from New Hampshire, Mr. [Pierse]
Long, and from Delaware, Mr. [William] Peery. Congress proceeded to the
election of a president and the ballots being taken, the honble. Nathaniel
Gorham was elected.[4]
Deficiency in the funding of
the Federal government continued to plague the United States throughout the
Presidency of Nathaniel Gorham. The unsettled economic conditions were
manifested in the people's distrust of socially prominent politicians. The laws
passed by the "Carriage Class" were perceived as being grossly
unfair to farmers and working people throughout a nation paralyzed by war debt.
Hundreds of letters poured into Congress complaining about excessive taxes on
property, polling taxes that prevented less fortunate citizens from voting, unjust
rulings by the common plea courts, the soaring costs of lawsuits, and the lack
of a stable currency all landing on President Gorham’s desk. Oddly, nowhere was
this anger more conspicuous than in Gorham's home state of Massachusetts.
The States were also all in
difficult war debt positions attempting to raise capital by selling land which
gave rise to border disputes. Gorham's home state of Massachusetts was in a
bitter dispute with New York as each party claimed the other was selling their
State lands at the expense of each other's citizens. The Massachusetts
population had increased to 270,000 people but the debt ballooned from .42
pounds in 1775 to 11.30 pounds per person in 1786, a 270% increase!
Additionally, inflation on
both federal and the states paper currency was rampant. The time was ripe,
especially with John Hancock dashing
their hopes for recovery by failing to take office in 1785, for a rebellion and
Massachusetts became the epicenter of citizen protests that threatened a second
revolution. The federal government's finances and the weak federal constitution
provided neither Gorham nor anyone else with power to rectify the situation.
Maryland and Virginia, in an
attempt to eliminate trade barriers and spur on entrepreneurship, held the
Mount Vernon Conference in March 1785.[5]
This conference achieved an accord on the maritime use of the Chesapeake Bay,
fishing and harbor rights, criminal jurisdiction, import duties, currency
control, and boundary issues resolving many important issues but only between
the two states. The success of this interstate diplomacy prompted James Madison to draft a resolution, in
the 1786 Virginia legislature, to invite all the States to a second conference
dealing with domestic and foreign trade issues that were stifling any hope for
a national recovery due to the ineptness of the USCA. It was Virginia's
hope that such a conference would result in the empowerment of the federal
government with the authority to improve commerce and levy reasonable tariffs
to retire the mounting public debt.
The call for a summer
conference failed but New York City warm weather brought former veterans,
merchants and money lenders to New York who deluged the USCA daily, in person
and with letters, to be remunerated for their back pay, money and goods "loaned"
to the United States for conducting the successful war effort. Even former
Presidents took to the cause of patriots burdened with federal receivables now five
to ten years in the arrears. Richard Henry Lee wrote President
Gorham:
I
am perfectly satisfied that this demand of M[ Schweighauser will be found, on
due enquiry, to be right ; and that this worthy Gentleman who has been long
injuriously baffled of his honest demand plainly against the will of Congress,
will now be fully paid by the effectual measures that Congress in their wisdom
and justice shall direct.[6]
Despite the former
President’s plea, Congress could not act because the federal government was insolvent.
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Franks, David, The New York directory for 1786 listing the members of Congress, addresses of President John Hancock, Secretary Charles Thomson and numerous officials serving in the Federal Departments of Foreign Affairs, War and Treasury. |
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National Collegiate Honor’s Council (NCHC) Partners in the Park Federal Hall Class of 2017 in front of Fraunces Tavern, which is a national historic landmark, museum, and restaurant in New York City, situated at 54 Pearl Street at the corner of Broad Street. The location played a prominent role in pre-Revolution, American Revolution and post-Revolution history, serving as a headquarters for George Washington, a venue for peace negotiations with the British, and housing federal offices in the Early Republic under Nathaniel Gorham's Presidency. The picture is flanked with Andrew Cuevas in the Tavern holding an April 1, 1786, USCA Secretary Charles Thomson letter transmitting the USCA Journals and legislation to Governor Samuel Huntington in Connecticut. - For more information visit our National Park and NCHC Partners in the Park Class of 2017 website. |
The Nation was ripe for
rebellion. The first open and organized measure to oppose the government was
taken on the 22nd of August in President Gorham's home state. Shays'
Insurrection, as it was called in the 18th Century, took the initial form
of convention delegates from fifty towns from Hampshire County, Massachusetts.
They met at Hatfield from the 23rd to the 25th and set forth, in great detail,
what they believed to be the grievances of the post-war people. On the
third day of the conference, the following articles were passed by the
delegates "as unnecessary burdens now lying on the people":
1.
The existence of the State Senate 2. The present mode of
State representation 3. The officers of government not being
annually dependent on the representative of the people, in General Court
assembled, for their salaries. 4. All civil officers of
government, not being annually elected by Representatives of the People, in the
General Court Assembled. 5. The existence of the Court of Common
Pleas, and General Sessions of Peace 6. The State Fee Table as it
now stands 7. The present mode of appropriating the import and excise. 8. The unreasonable
grants made to some of the officers of government. 9. The supplementary aid.
10. The present mode of paying the government securities. 11. The present mode
adopted for the payment and speedy collection of the last tax. 12. The present
mode of taxation as it operates unequally between the polls and estates, and
between landed and mercantile interests. 13. The present method of
practice of attorneys at law. 14.
The want of a sufficient medium of trade, to remedy the mischief arising from
the scarcity of money. 15. The General Court sitting in the town of Boston.
16. The present embarrassments on the press. 17. The neglect of
settlement of important matters between the Commonwealth and the United States
in Congress Assembled, relating to monies and averages. 18. Vote, this
convention recommended to several towns in this county that they instruct their
Representatives, to use their influence in the next General Court, to have
emitted a bank of paper money, subject to a depreciation; making it a tender in
all payments, equal to silver and gold, to be issued in order to call in the
Commonwealth securities. 19. Voted, that whereas several of the above
articles of grievances, arise from defects in the constitution; therefore a
revision of the same ought to take place. 20. Voted, that it be
recommended by this convention to the several towns in this country, that they
petition the Governor to call the General Court immediately together, in order
that the other grievances complained of, may by legislature, be redressed.
21. Voted, that this convention recommend it to the inhabitants of this
county, that they abstain from all mobs and unlawful assemblies, until a
constitutional method of redress can be obtained. 22. Voted, that Mr.
Caleb Weft be desired to transmit a copy of the proceeding of this convention
to the convention of the county of Worcester. 23. Voted, that the
chairman of this convention be desired to transmit a copy of the proceedings of
this convention to the county of Berkshire. 24. Voted, that the chairman
of this convention be directed to notify a county convention, upon any motion
made to him for that purpose, if he judge the reasons offered be sufficient,
giving such notice, together with the reasons therefore, in the public papers
of this county. 25. Voted, that copy of the proceedings of this
convention is sent to the press in Springfield for publication.[7]
The Massachusetts county
delegates directed that these grievances be sent to the counties of Worchester
and Berkshire seeking support from neighboring communities in the heart of
Massachusetts. They were hoping that this
"grass root effort" would expand statewide forcing the
legislature and the Governor to adopt measures to satisfy their grievances.
Despite the call to "abstain
from all mobs and unlawful assemblies," on the following Tuesday, 1500
insurgents assembled under arms at the Northampton Court House preventing the
trial and imprisonment of debtors. The Governor of Massachusetts mobilized the
militia "in the most feeling and spirited manner to suppress such
treasonable proceedings." Little attention was given to the Governor's
militia call and the counties of Worchester, Middlesex, Bristol and Berkshire
were "set in flame and the
tumult" threatening a general statewide rebellion.[8]
In the succeeding week the
Courts of Common Pleas and General Sessions of the Peace at Worchester were
surrounded by three hundred insurgents. The judges, although admitted to
the door, were prevented entrance by a line of bayonets. The chief
justice rebuffed the rioters on the "madness
of their conduct" but the court was forced to retire to an adjacent
house where trials were conducted. The violence of the mob, however, soon
forced the court to adjourn altogether until the 21st of November. These
actions were mirrored with a convention of delegates called from the towns of
Middlesex County whose proceedings "very near resembled to those of
their brethren in Hampshire." The rebellion was gaining steam and the
armed insurgents had formed a defiant militia led by Daniel Shays, a former
Revolutionary Army Captain.[9]
In New York, the USCA
remained powerless to help Massachusetts but their Foreign Secretary John Jay was determined to win most favored
status with Spain. Secretary Jay believe
believed that his proposed Spanish American treaty would result in the opening
of new markets not only in Europe but the entire Spanish Colonial Empire. For
one year Minister Gardoqui has stalled Jay by lavishing him, his wife and key
members of Congress in hopes of establishing favor trade concessions for
Spain’s exclusive right to the lower Mississippi. Spain wanted to kept
American trade and settlement in frontier areas to a minimum because they
viewed the growing United States as a threat to their vast undeveloped
territory in the American West. Unfortunately, neither Spanish colonial
officials nor the King’s policymakers in Madrid were interested in granting the
concessions to the Mississippi and the New Orleans port. Jay wrote:
Mr.
Gardoqui strongly insists on our relinquishing it. We have had many conferences
and much reasoning on the subject, not necessary now to detail. His concluding
answer to all my arguments has steadily been, that the King will never yield
that point, nor consent to any compromise about it, for that it always has
been, and continues to be, one of their maxims of policy, to exclude all
mankind from their American shores. I
have often reminded him that the adjacent country was filling fast with people,
and that the time must, and would come, when they would not submit to seeing a
fine river flow before their doors without using it as a highway to the sea for
the transportation of their productions. That it would, therefore, be wise to
look forward to that event, and take care not to sow in the treaty any seeds of
future discord. He said that the time alluded to was far distant, and that
treaties were not to provide for contingencies so remote and future. For his
part, he considered the rapid settlement of that country as injurious to the
States, and that they would find it necessary to check it. Many fruitless
arguments passed between us, and though he would admit that the only way to
make treaties and friendship permanent was for neither party to leave the other
anything to complain of, yet he would still insist that the Mississippi must be
shut against us.
In addition to trade
challenges there was also the border dispute of Spanish East and West Florida. In 1783, King George III ceded back East and
West Florida that became Great Britain’s territory after winning the Seven
Years War in 1763. Although the border
was set at the 31st parallel in 1763, Great Britain moved it to 32°38′
latitude. In 1783 Great Britain in its
concessions of the Floridas ceded it at the 31st parallel Spain
contended after the war that the border remained at 32°38′ latitude. This border dispute, as one can well imagine,
became a major contention between the United States and Spain.
In the summer of 1786, Jay
came to the conclusion that to establish vital Spanish trade concessions and a
Florida border at 31st parallel, the USCA should vacate the claim to
the lower Mississippi for a period of 25-30 years. He decided to bring the matter before the
USCA and seeking southern support Jay broached the subject with Virginia
Delegate James Monroe. Jay reasoned:
Whether
Mr. Gardoqui would be content with such an article, I cannot determine, my
instructions restraining me from even sounding him respecting it. I
nevertheless think the experiment worth trying, for several reasons:
1.
Because, unless that matter can, in some way or other, be settled, the treaty,
however advantageous, will not be concluded.
2.
As that navigation is not at present important, nor will probably become much
so in less than twenty-five or thirty years, a forbearance to use it while we
do not want it is no great sacrifice.
3.
Spain now excludes us from that navigation, and with a strong hand holds it
against us; she will not yield it peaceably, and therefore we can only acquire it
by war. Now, as we are not prepared for a war with any Power, as many of the
States would be little inclined to a war with Spain for that object at this
day, and as such a war would, for those, and a variety of obvious reasons, be
inexpedient, it follows that Spain will, for a long space of time yet to come,
exclude us from that navigation. Why, therefore, should we not (for a valuable
consideration too) consent to forbear to use what we know is not in our power
to use?
4.
If Spain and the United States should part on this point, what are the latter
to do? Will it, after that, be consistent with their dignity to permit Spain
forcibly to exclude them from a right, which, at the expense of a beneficial
treaty, they have asserted? They will find themselves obliged either to do
this, and be humiliated, or they must attack Spain. Are they ripe and prepared
for this? I wish I could say they are.
It
is possible that such an article, if agreed to, might lessen one of the
arguments urged to enhance the value of western lands; but would not the
Spaniards, continuing by force to exclude us from the navigation, soon have the
same effect? In either case, that argument must lose some of its force; but in
the one case America would lose some of its dignity. It can be no question,
therefore, which of the two cases would be least desirable. If such a compromise should be attempted, and
not succeed, we shall lose nothing by it, for they who take a lease admit the
right of the lessor. I have some hopes that it would succeed, for I suspect
that Spain would argue, that as we are tempted “to this forbearance” now by
other articles in the treaty, the like temptations will again induce us to
prolong it; besides, I much doubt whether the Minister extends his views far
beyond the limits of his own life or administration; if he can render that easy
and satisfactory, he may, perhaps, without much reluctance, leave future
disputes to be settled by future Ministers. It is hard to say whether this will
or will not be the case; I am for trying the experiment, because it can, in my
opinion, do us no injury, and may produce much good.
James
Monroe was anything but an ally on the USCA giving Jay the power to
negotiate such a treaty. He led the
opposition writing Patrick Henry:
This
is one of the most extraordinary transactions I have ever known, a minister
negotiating expressly for the purpose of defeating the object of his
instructions, and by a long train of intrigue & management seducing the
representatives of the States to concur in it. It is possible some, or perhaps
one, (in which case it will be ever) member may change his sentiments; but as
he risked his reputation upon carrying it, it is to be presumed he had engaged
them too firmly in the business to have a possibility of their forsaking him.
This however is not the only subject of consequence I have to engage yr.
attention to. Certain it is that Committees are held in this town of Eastern
men and others of this State upon the subject of a dismemberment of the States
East the Hudson from the Union & the erection of them into a separate
government. To what lengths they have gone I know not, but have assurances to
the truth of the above position, with this addition to it that the measure is
talked of in Massachusetts familiarly & is supposed to have originated
there. …
This treaty independent of the
sacrifice I consider as a very disadvantageous one & such as we shod. not
accept since it in reality gains us nothing & subjects to very high
restrictions, such as exist in none of our other treaties although they are in
effect bad enough. But they are to be justified especially those of France
& Holland in the motives which led to them, to bring those powers into the
war. …. The object in the occlusion of
the Mississippi on the part of these people so far as it is extended to the
interests of their States (for those of a private kind gave birth to it) is to
break up so far as this will do it, the settlements on the western waters,
prevent any in future, and thereby keep the States southward as they now
are---;or if settlements will take place, that they shall be on such principles
as to make it the interest of the people to separate from the confederacy, so
as effectually to exclude any new state from it, to throw the weight of
population eastward & keep it there, to appreciate the vacant lands of New
York & Massachusetts. In short it is a system of policy which has for its
object the keeping the weight of govt. & population in this quarter, &
is pursued by a set of men so flagitious, unprincipled & determine in their
pursuits, as to satisfy me beyond a doubt they have extended their views to the
dismemberment of the govt.[10]
On August 29, 1786 the
matter was brought before the USCA and the debate was lengthy, heated with the
Southern/Western States opposing John Jay’s proposal. The USCA resolved:
That
the resolutions of the 20 July, 1785, and the 25th of August following,
authorizing the Secretary of foreign Affairs to treat with Don Diego de
Gardoqui respecting the boundaries and the Mississippi, in the words above
recited, be and they are hereby repealed. That two commissioners be appointed
and associated with the Secretary of foreign Affairs, with powers to enter into
a treaty with Don Diego de Gardoqui, or such other person as his C. M. shall
appoint, upon the following principles. Upon the Mississippi and the boundaries
as above; but that they receive no proposition on the said points until he
shall be authorized by his said Majesty to accede to the said terms.[11]
Seven states accepted Jay’s
proposal but the Articles of Confederation required nine so the measure failed.
James Monroe had successfully stalled John
Jay’s treaty.
Notwithstanding
all the weaknesses of the USCA that might have sparked reform, such as having a
standing army to put down this rebellion, it was the USCA’s lack of power to
regulate commerce that brought about the historic Annapolis Convention. This was a positive and far-reaching meeting that
was called to order by John Dickinson at the Maryland State House. In
attendance were 12 delegates of the five States; Delaware, New Jersey, New
York, Pennsylvania, and Virginia. John Dickinson was elected Chairman and
other notable attendees were Richard Bassett, Abraham Clark, Alexander Hamilton, William C.
Houston, James Madison, Edmund J.
Randolph and George Read. The delegates were appointed from Massachusetts, New
Hampshire, Rhode Island, and North Carolina did make the journey to Annapolis
but arrived too late to take part in the Convention. Maryland, the host state,
along with Connecticut, South Carolina, and Georgia did not make any
appointments. [12]
The meager representation
was actually a blessing because the commissioners took no action on intrastate
commerce as planned. Instead, the delegates turned the “convention” into a brainstorming session on how to correct the
defects in the Articles of Confederation. Hamilton and Madison seized the lead in proposing
that they should summarize their discussions in a formal report to the USCA.
The other delegates agreed and submitted their unanimous recommendations that
included calling a convention to revise the ailing Articles of Confederation.
This landmark report was drafted by Alexander Hamilton and culminated with the
specific USCA recommendation to call on all the States to send their preeminent
and most experienced representatives to Philadelphia on the second Monday of
May in 1787:
Under
this impression, Your Commissioners, with the most respectful deference, beg
leave to suggest their unanimous conviction, that it may essentially tend to
advance the interests of the union, if the States, by whom they have been
respectively delegated, would themselves concur, and use their endeavours to
procure the concurrence of the other States, in the appointment of
Commissioners, to meet at Philadelphia on the second Monday in May next, to
take into consideration the situation of the United States, to devise such
further provisions as shall appear to them necessary to render the constitution
of the Federal Government adequate to the exigencies of the Union; and to
report such an Act for that purpose to the United States in Congress assembled,
as when agreed to, by them, and afterwards confirmed by the Legislatures of
every State, will effectually provide for the same.[13]
In New York that same fall,
President Gorham's September Congress selected judges for hearing on yet
another State boundary dispute. This time it was between South Carolina and
Georgia. On September 14th Congress finalized Connecticut's land cession of
their portion of the Northwest Territory. A few days later, they agreed
to bar payment of USCA requisitions in paper money that "wasn't worth a
continental". The action was followed with postmasters' orders "to
receive no other money in payment for postage than specie." Not even
the Federal Government had confidence in its backing of its own discontinued
currency.[14]
In October, Congress turned to debating a third Ordinance for the Northwest Territory because the Ordinances of 1784 and 1785 had failed wretchedly to stabilize any orderly settlement of the Seven Ranges in Ohio. Also in October Congress elected James White southern Indian superintendent to confer with southern states. Other Gorham USCA measures included the adoption of an ordinance for settlement of the States' Continental accounts along with a law for establishment of a mint.
In October, Congress turned to debating a third Ordinance for the Northwest Territory because the Ordinances of 1784 and 1785 had failed wretchedly to stabilize any orderly settlement of the Seven Ranges in Ohio. Also in October Congress elected James White southern Indian superintendent to confer with southern states. Other Gorham USCA measures included the adoption of an ordinance for settlement of the States' Continental accounts along with a law for establishment of a mint.
An Ordinance for the establishment of the Mint of the United States of America,
and for regulating the Value and Alloy of Coin.
and for regulating the Value and Alloy of Coin.
It is hereby ordained by the United States in Congress assembled, that a Mint be established for the coinage of gold, silver and copper money, agreeably to the Resolves of Congress of the 8th August last, under the direction of the following officers, viz.
An Assay Master, whose duty it shall be to receive gold and silver in bullion, or foreign coin, to assay the same and to give his certificates for the value thereof at the following rates:
For every pound troy weight 2of uncoined gold or foreign gold coin, eleven parts fine and one part alloy, two hundred and nine dollars, seven dimes and seven cents, Money of the United States, as established by the resolves of Congress of the 8th of August last, and so in proportion to the fine gold contained in any coined or uncoined gold whatsoever.
For every pound troy weight of uncoined silver, or foreign silver coin, eleven parts fine and one part alloy, thirteen dollars, seven dimes seven cents and seven mills, Money of the United States, established as aforesaid; and so in proportion to the fine silver contained in any coined or uncoined silver whatsoever.
A Master coiner, whose duty it shall be to receive, from time to time, of the assay master, the bullion necessary for coinage; to report to Congress devices and proofs of the proposed pieces of coin, and to procure proper workmen to execute the business of coinage, reporting, from time to time, to the Commissioners of the board of treasury of the United States for approbation, and allowance, the occupation, number and pay of the persons so employed.
A Paymaster, who shall be the treasurer of the United States for the time being, whose duty it shall be to receive and take charge of the coin made under the direction of the Master-coiner, and to receipt for the same; to receive and duly enter the certificates for uncoined gold or silver issued by the Assay master, and to pay ninety-five hundredths of the amount thereof in gold or silver, and five-hundredths in the copper coin of the United States.
And it is hereby further Ordained, That the certificates to be given by the Assay master, to persons who shall lodge gold or silver in the Mint for coinage, shall be on fine blank paper, and expressed in the manner and form following, to wit:
MINT OF THE UNITED STATES.
I acknowledge to have received of A. B. for coinage, [here insert the weight] of [here insert the species] bullion, for the Amount of which pay toor bearer, the sum of at ten days sight, agreeably to the custom of the Mint. C. D. Assay Master.
To E. F. Pay Master of the Mint of the United States of America.
And it is hereby further Ordained, That the Officers above mentioned, shall settle their accounts monthly, agreeably to such forms and vouchers as shall be prescribed by the Comptroller of the treasury.
And it is hereby further Ordained, That the Officers shall enter into bonds to the United States in Congress assembled, for the faithful execution of the trust respectively reposed in them, in the manner and amount following, viz.
The Assay Master, in the sum of ten thousand dollars, and two sureties, each in the sum of five thousand dollars.
The Master Coiner, in the sum of ten thousand dollars, and two sureties, each in the sum of five thousand dollars.
And that the Officers mentioned in this Ordinance, as well as every other person employed in the Mint, shall take and subscribe the Oath of Office, established by the resolve of the 14th March, 1786.
And it is hereby further ordained, That it shall be the duty of the comptroller of the treasury to report monthly to the Commissioners of the treasury of the United States, a statement of the mint Accounts adjusted agreeably to the usual forms; and if on such statement or other information it shall appear, that there has been any neglect, mismanagement or abuse of trust, in any of the Officers mentioned in the within Ordinance, it shall be the duty of the commissioners of the board of treasury to suspend such officer or officers, and to report thereon specially to Congress.
And it is hereby further ordained, That the copper coin struck under the Authority of the United States in Congress assembled, shall be receivable in all taxes, or payments due to the United States, in the proportion of five dollars for every hundred dollars so paid; but but that no other copper coin whatsoever, shall be receivable in any taxes or payments whatsoever to the United States.
And whereas, The great quantities of base copper coin daily imported into, or manufactured within the several states, is become so highly injurious to the interest and commerce of the same, as to require the immediate interposition of the powers vested by the Confederation in the United States in Congress assembled, of regulating the value of copper, the coin so current as aforesaid;
It is hereby Ordained, That no foreign copper coin whatsoever, shall, after the first day of September, 1787, be current within the United States of America: And that no copper coin struck under the Authority of a particular state, shall pass at a greater value than one federal dollar for two pounds and one quarter of a pound, avoirdupois weight, of such copper coin.
Done by the United States in Congress assembled. Nathaniel Gorham, President
On October 18th, the USCA
was challenged to address the ever growing insurgency in the President’s home
State of Massachusetts. Shays' Rebellion had become such a sweeping mass of
confusion and lawlessness that Secretary of War Henry Knox deemed it prudent to
submit a formal report to President Gorham and he concluded:
That
from the facts stated in the said letter from the Secretary at War, and other
authentic information it appears that a dangerous insurrection has taken place
in divers parts of the State of Massachusetts which is rapidly extending its
influence; that the insurgents have already, by force of arms, suppressed the
administration of Justice in several counties.[15]
The Secretary of War's
report so alarmed the USCA that their attention turned away from the
recommendations of the Annapolis Convention to discussions on how to end the
rebellion. The October military measures passed by the USCA decidedly increased
the military federal forces for the purpose of "Indian defense." The public relations label was designed
to mask the seriousness of Massachusetts’ rebellion and the need for federal
troops. Despite the resolution to help Massachusetts, the lack of money still
weighed heavily on the USCA. The October 21st debate centered on the
perils of raising an army to stop the rebellion only to be faced with the
prospect; not being able to pay the newly commissioned U.S. Army. The United States was financially paralyzed
and the Commonwealth of Massachusetts was forced to shoulder the bulk of the
expense and troops necessary to put down Shays' Rebellion.
The USCA, in its final months
of 1786, also faltered on enacting legislation to revise the Articles of
Confederation. President Nathaniel Gorham and his USCA would end the session
failing to call for the May 1787 Philadelphia Convention, fail to muster an army
to aid the State of Massachusetts and fail to assemble a quorum of its newly elected
delegates in November and December. Once
again the United States government was headless because Nathaniel Gorham,
having served out Hancock’s term as President, returned to Massachusetts. 1786
would end with the federal government financially insolvent, the leading
revolutionary state of Massachusetts in rebellion, the Northwest Ordinance
still on the shelf, no convention called to revise the Articles of
Confederation and no President to direct the affairs of State coming into the
1787 New Year.
 |
| Click Here to view the US Mint & Coin Acts 1782-1792 |
The
USCA Chronology of Nathaniel Gorham's presidency is as follows:
May 15, 1786 Elects Nathaniel Gorham chairman of Congress to succeed David Ransay. May 17 Ratifies Prussian-American treaty of commerce. May 18 Postpones to September meeting of agents for Georgia-South Carolina boundary dispute. May 22-25 Debates Connecticut cession. May 26 Declares conditional acceptance of Connecticut cession. May 29 Fails to achieve quorum. May 31 Amends rules to war; receives John Jay request for a committee to confer with him on negotiations with Diego de Gardoqui.
June 5 Receives resignation of President John Hancock; receives report on military establishment. June 6 Elects Chairman Nathaniel Gorham president of the United States in Congress Assembled. June 13-14 Fails to achieve quorum. June 15 Receives reports on prospects for Indian hostilities and on Continental arsenals and magazines. June 16 Orders Indian commissioners to report on prospects for hostilities June 19-20 Fails to achieve quorum. June 21 Bans acceptance of paper money by post offices. June 22 Orders troop reinforcements "to the rapids of the Ohio." June 27 Directs court of appeals judges to reconvene November 6 and reinstates salaries on per diem basis. June 28 Receives draft ordinance for the Indian department. June 30 Responds to Virginia appeal for protection against western Indians.
July 4 Celebrates anniversary of independence. July 7 Requests revision of Virginia cession to permit creation of "not more than five nor less than three" states from the northwest territory. July 12 Revokes commissions of those appointed to negotiate treaties with the Indians. July 13 Recommits draft territorial plan of government. July 21 Debates Indian affairs ordinance. July 24 Orders second reading of Indian affairs ordinance July 27 Seeks revision of New York act authorizing Continental impost.
August 1 Receives report on arsenals and ordnance. August 2 Adopts 1786 requisition. August 3 Authorizes purchase of West Point; confers with secretary for foreign affairs on negotiation of treaty with Spain. August 7 Adopts Indian affairs ordinance. August 8 Adopts coinage standards; orders board of treasury to report an ordinance for establishment of a mint. August 9 Appeals to North Carolina, South Carolina, and Georgia for land cessions. August 10 Debates John Jay's instructions for negotiating Spanish treaty. August 14 Appoints committee to meet with Pennsylvania Assembly on revising act authorizing Continental impost. August 16-23 Debates John Jay's instructions for negotiating Spanish treaty. August 24 Orders relief for displaced Moravian Indians. August 28 Debates John Jay's negotiating instructions. August 29 Repeals John Jay's negotiating instructions by seven-to-five vote (which was contested on the ground that nine votes were constitutionally required). August 30-31 Debates repeal of John Jay's instructions.
September 1-2 Debates repeal of John Jay's instructions. September 4 Convenes agents for appointing a court to hear South Carolina-Georgia boundary dispute. September 5 Authorizes settlement of Pennsylvania fiscal claim. September 11 Receives South Carolina appeal for congressional intervention in hearing boundary dispute with Georgia. September 12 Receives John Jay report on consular convention with France. September 13 Selects judges for hearing South Carolina, Georgia boundary dispute. September 14 Accepts Connecticut land cession. September 18 Bars payment of Continental requisitions in paper money. September 20 Receives report on Annapolis Convention; orders postmasters "to receive no other money in payment for postage than specie." September 25 Receives report on conference of congressional committee with Pennsylvania Assembly. September 28 Debates repeal of John Jay's negotiating instructions. September 29 Debates ordinance for territorial government.
October 3 Instructs Thomas Jefferson on renegotiation of consular convention with France. October 4 Debates Northwest ordinance. October 6 Elects James White southern Indian superintendent. October 10 Directs Indian superintendent to confer with southern states. October 13 Adopts ordinance for settlement of the states' Continental accounts; receives report on British response to request for evacuation of frontier posts. October 16 Adopts ordinance for establishment of a mint. October 18 Receives secretary at war's report on Shays' rebellion. October 21 Increases military establishment - ostensibly for Indian defense but with an eye to the "disorders" in Massachusetts. October 23 Appeals to states for authority to regulate trade; authorizes secretary for foreign affairs to inspect the mails for reasons of national security (excepting the mail of members of Congress). October 26 Orders inquiry into postal service. October 30 Authorizes suspension of interest credits on Rhode Island-held debt in retaliation for state paper money policy.
November 1-2 Debates postal reform. November 3 Adjourns - referring "the several matters now before Congress" to the new Congress scheduled to meet "on Monday next" November 6 Convenes - five states represented November 7-24 Fails to achieve a quorum. November 13 - Nathaniel Gorham's term as President ends.
In Massachusetts after his
presidency, Gorham served as a judge for Middlesex County's court of Common
Pleas. He was elected to represent Massachusetts in the Philadelphia Convention
that his USCA failed to call. Nathaniel Gorham would exert a powerful influence
in securing the second U.S. Constitution’s ratification in the Massachusetts
State Convention. Ratification was won only when Gorham and other Federalists
proposed possible amendments to the Constitution to attract the moderates who
held the deciding votes. Unfortunately, former President Gorham did not serve
in the new government he helped to create deciding, instead, to engage in precarious
entrepreneurial pursuits.
In connection with
Oliver Phelps, Gorham purchased from the State of Massachusetts, in 1786, an
immense tract of land on the Genesee River, for the sum of $1,000,000 secured
by a large mortgage. This had been previously ceded to Massachusetts from the State
of New York. They settled the Native American title to a part of this
territory, surveyed it into tracts, laid out townships, and sold large parts to
speculators and settlers. Sales,
however, were not nearly as good as Gorham had hoped. A large mortgage on the
parcel still remained when Massachusetts scrip rose dramatically in value in
1788/89, enormously swelling the mortgaged portion of the vast tract. By 1790, Gorham
and Phelps were unable to fulfill their contract in full to Massachusetts. They surrendered that a large portion of the
land as settlement but the partners never recovered from the insolvency. Like Robert Morris in Philadelphia, the
former President fell from the pinnacle of society and lost all his political
esteem. At the age of 58 on the 11th of June, 1796 he died a financially broken
man and was buried at the Phipps Street Cemetery in Charlestown, MA.
Phipps Street Burying Ground,
Charlestown, MA
[1] Early activists in the colonies called
themselves "Whigs", allying themselves with the Great Britain's Radical Whigs who did much to stimulate
colonial republican sentiment during the Revolutionary War.
[2] Smith, Paul H.,
et al., eds. Letters of
Delegates to Congress, 1774-1789. 25 volumes, “James Monroe to
President Nathaniel Gorham – May 15th, 1786, Washington, D.C.:
Library of Congress, 1976-2000
[3] Ibid, Rufus King wrote to Elbridge
Gerry, June 4th 1786
[4]
Journals of the USCA, June 6, 1786.
[5] Ward, George Washington -- The early
development of the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal project Published 1899 by the Johns Hopkins Press
page 14
[6] Ballagh James Curtis, Editor, The
Letters of Richard Henry Lee National
Society of the Colonial Dames of America The Macmillan Company: 1914, page 414
[7] Proceedings of the Worcester Society
of Antiquity Published by Worcester Society of Antiquity, 1888, page 67
[8] Barber, John Warner, Historical
Collections, Being A General Collection Of Interesting Facts, Traditions,
Biographical Sketches, Anecdotes, &C., Relating To The History And Antiquities
Of Every Town In Massachusetts, Published 1844 Published By Warren Lazell:1844.
page 331-332
[9] Ibid
[10] Letters to the Delegates, James
Monroe to Patrick Henry, August 12, 1786
[11] Journals of the USCA, August 29,
1786.
[12] Hart, Albert Bushnell, American
History Told by Contemporaries,
Published in 1901 by Macmillan & Co., ltd., page 185
[13] Proceedings Of Commissioners To
Remedy Defects Of The Federal Government,
[14] Journals of the United States, in
Congress Assembled, Wednesday, September 20, 1786
[15] Ibid, Saturday, October 21, 1786
The Congressional Evolution of the United States of America
Continental Congress of the United Colonies Presidents
Continental Congress of the United Colonies Presidents
Sept. 5, 1774 to July 1, 1776
September 5, 1774
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October 22, 1774
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Commander-in-Chief United Colonies & States of America
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Continental Congress of the United States Presidents
July 2, 1776 to February 28, 1781
July 2, 1776
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October 29, 1777
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December 9, 1778
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September 28, 1779
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September 29, 1779
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February 28, 1781
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Presidents of the United States in Congress Assembled
March 1, 1781 to March 3, 1789
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July 6, 1781
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July 10, 1781
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Declined Office
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July 10, 1781
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November 4, 1781
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November 5, 1781
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November 3, 1782
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November 4, 1782
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November 2, 1783
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November 3, 1783
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June 3, 1784
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November 30, 1784
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November 22, 1785
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June 5, 1786
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Presidents of the United States of America
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(1789-1797)
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*Confederate States of America
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(1857-1861)
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(1929-1933)
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(1861-1865)
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United Colonies Continental Congress
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President
|
18th Century Term
|
Age
|
Elizabeth "Betty" Harrison Randolph (1745-1783)
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09/05/74 – 10/22/74
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29
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Mary Williams Middleton (1741- 1761) Deceased
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Henry Middleton
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10/22–26/74
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n/a
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Elizabeth "Betty" Harrison Randolph (1745–1783)
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05/20/ 75 - 05/24/75
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30
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Dorothy Quincy Hancock Scott (1747-1830)
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05/25/75 – 07/01/76
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28
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United States Continental Congress
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President
|
Term
|
Age
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Dorothy Quincy Hancock Scott (1747-1830)
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07/02/76 – 10/29/77
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29
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Eleanor Ball Laurens (1731- 1770) Deceased
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Henry Laurens
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11/01/77 – 12/09/78
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n/a
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Sarah Livingston Jay (1756-1802)
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12/ 10/78 – 09/28/78
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21
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Martha Huntington (1738/39–1794)
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09/29/79 – 02/28/81
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41
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United States in Congress Assembled
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President
|
Term
|
Age
|
Martha Huntington (1738/39–1794)
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03/01/81 – 07/06/81
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42
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Sarah Armitage McKean (1756-1820)
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07/10/81 – 11/04/81
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25
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Jane Contee Hanson (1726-1812)
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11/05/81 - 11/03/82
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55
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Hannah Stockton Boudinot (1736-1808)
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11/03/82 - 11/02/83
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46
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Sarah Morris Mifflin (1747-1790)
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11/03/83 - 11/02/84
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36
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Anne Gaskins Pinkard Lee (1738-1796)
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11/20/84 - 11/19/85
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46
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Dorothy Quincy Hancock Scott (1747-1830)
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11/23/85 – 06/06/86
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38
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Rebecca Call Gorham (1744-1812)
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06/06/86 - 02/01/87
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42
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Phoebe Bayard St. Clair (1743-1818)
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02/02/87 - 01/21/88
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43
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Christina Stuart Griffin (1751-1807)
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01/22/88 - 01/29/89
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36
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Constitution of 1787
First Ladies |
President
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Term
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Age
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April 30, 1789 – March 4, 1797
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57
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March 4, 1797 – March 4, 1801
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52
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Martha Wayles Jefferson Deceased
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September 6, 1782 (Aged 33)
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n/a
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March 4, 1809 – March 4, 1817
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40
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March 4, 1817 – March 4, 1825
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48
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March 4, 1825 – March 4, 1829
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50
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December 22, 1828 (aged 61)
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n/a
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February 5, 1819 (aged 35)
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n/a
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March 4, 1841 – April 4, 1841
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65
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April 4, 1841 – September 10, 1842
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50
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June 26, 1844 – March 4, 1845
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23
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March 4, 1845 – March 4, 1849
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41
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March 4, 1849 – July 9, 1850
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60
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July 9, 1850 – March 4, 1853
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52
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March 4, 1853 – March 4, 1857
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46
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n/a
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n/a
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March 4, 1861 – April 15, 1865
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42
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February 22, 1862 – May 10, 1865
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April 15, 1865 – March 4, 1869
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54
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March 4, 1869 – March 4, 1877
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43
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March 4, 1877 – March 4, 1881
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45
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March 4, 1881 – September 19, 1881
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48
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January 12, 1880 (Aged 43)
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n/a
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June 2, 1886 – March 4, 1889
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21
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March 4, 1889 – October 25, 1892
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56
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June 2, 1886 – March 4, 1889
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28
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March 4, 1897 – September 14, 1901
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49
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September 14, 1901 – March 4, 1909
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40
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March 4, 1909 – March 4, 1913
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47
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March 4, 1913 – August 6, 1914
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52
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December 18, 1915 – March 4, 1921
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43
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March 4, 1921 – August 2, 1923
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60
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August 2, 1923 – March 4, 1929
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44
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March 4, 1929 – March 4, 1933
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54
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March 4, 1933 – April 12, 1945
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48
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April 12, 1945 – January 20, 1953
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60
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January 20, 1953 – January 20, 1961
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56
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January 20, 1961 – November 22, 1963
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31
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November 22, 1963 – January 20, 1969
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50
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January 20, 1969 – August 9, 1974
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56
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August 9, 1974 – January 20, 1977
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56
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January 20, 1977 – January 20, 1981
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49
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January 20, 1981 – January 20, 1989
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59
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January 20, 1989 – January 20, 1993
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63
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January 20, 1993 – January 20, 2001
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45
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January 20, 2001 – January 20, 2009
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54
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January 20, 2009 to date
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45
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Capitals of the United Colonies and States of America
Philadelphia
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Sept. 5, 1774 to Oct. 24, 1774
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Philadelphia
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May 10, 1775 to Dec. 12, 1776
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Baltimore
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Dec. 20, 1776 to Feb. 27, 1777
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Philadelphia
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March 4, 1777 to Sept. 18, 1777
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Lancaster
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September 27, 1777
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York
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Sept. 30, 1777 to June 27, 1778
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Philadelphia
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July 2, 1778 to June 21, 1783
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Princeton
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June 30, 1783 to Nov. 4, 1783
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Annapolis
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Nov. 26, 1783 to Aug. 19, 1784
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Trenton
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Nov. 1, 1784 to Dec. 24, 1784
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New York City
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New York City
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October 6, 1788 to March 3,1789
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New York City
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March 3,1789 to August 12, 1790
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Philadelphia
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Dec. 6,1790 to May 14, 1800
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Washington DC
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November 17,1800 to Present
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