Robert Morris, Financier of the Revolution, Born January 31, 1734

Robert Morris was born in Liverpool, England, January 31, 1734, son of Robert Morris, a nail maker, and grandson of Andrew Morris, who was a seafearingseafearing man of the British Isles.

Robert Morris, Sr., was the Maryland agent of a London tobacco firm. When Robert, Jr., was thirteen years old, his mother having died, he came to America, rejoined his father and was for a time under the tuition of a clergyman and then entered the mercantile firm of Charles and Thomas Willing.

In 1750, Morris, the father, died leaving a small estate. When Robert, the son, reached the age of twenty-one, Charles Willing made him a partner in the business and turned over his own share to his son, Thomas. The firm of Willing & Morris became famous, and soon their trade was extended to Europe and the West Indies. Long before 81the battle drums of the Revolution were heard the two partners became wealthy men and were regarded as among the foremost people of the city.

Willing and Morris were among the merchants who protested against the Stamp Act, and in 1766 Robert Morris was one of the Board of Port Wardens.

As soon as the news of Lexington reached Philadelphia, the Assembly appointed a Committee of Safety. Robert Morris was a member and helped greatly to get powder and firearms, to organize troops and to fortify the Delaware.

The Assembly elected him a member of the Continental Congress and his practical knowledge of ships made him a member of the Naval Committee and the first American Navy was soon launched.

April, 1776, he was specially commissioned to suggest methods and provide plans for procuring money to prosecute the war. No other man in Congress, probably, could have succeeded so well, and he was not relieved from this task while the war lasted.

However reluctantly he subscribed to the Declaration of Independence, when the crucial moment came he risked his fortune and faced beggary for his family and he looked at the gallows for himself as bravely as any of his contemporaries. Other Pennsylvanians who voted against it lost their places, but neither Pennsylvania nor the Colonies could spare Robert Morris.

When Congress in a fright fled from Philadelphia to Baltimore, Morris, with two other men, was left in charge of its affairs and the defense of the capital of the infant republic. The two men who were to assist Morris failed to appear, but Morris stuck faithfully to his post, and he became really the ruler of the city.

When Washington defeated the British at Trenton, the English were surprised but not troubled. They expected Washington’s unpaid army to disband and Morris thought so too. He promised $10 extra pay to each soldier if he would remain six weeks longer, then went to his Quaker friends and on his personal credit borrowed the money and turned the cash over to Washington on New Year’s Day. Hope sprang up again in patriotic hearts.

After the battle of Brandywine there remained no hope of saving Philadelphia. Congress fled once more, this time to Lancaster, then to York. The Liberty Bell was hauled away to Allentown, where it was hidden under the floor of the Zion Reformed Church. The State officials went to Lancaster, and Morris traveled there also.

Morris was not eligible for re-election in 1778, but he worked to supply the army. He turned over a cargo of ninety tons of lead for cartridges at a time when the troops sorely needed them. In 1780 he was again chosen to the Assembly, and a year later was chosen by Congress to be Superintendent of Finance.

82Some persons had wished Alexander Hamilton to take this post, but Hamilton himself proposed Morris. Until the end of the war Morris had power to appoint and dismiss all employes in his own department and could even fix their salaries. No one else connected with the Government possessed such extensive powers.

Morris counseled with Washington the project of transferring his army southward to block Cornwallis. When the troops appeared in Philadelphia, Washington, Count dede Rochambeau and other generals dined with Morris and used his house on Market Street as their headquarters.

During this visit Morris borrowed money which the Count de Rochambeau had brought to pay his own soldiers and gave it to the Americans. He advanced every shilling of his own money and borrowed all he could obtain from his friends.

Robert Morris realized that a national bank was necessary, but few had sufficient confidence to invest in the shares, but just at this time France sent over some hard money, which was landed at Boston. Morris sent two trustworthy men to bring the coins to Philadelphia.

The treasure amounted to half a million dollars. The coins were packed in great oak boxes, which when filled weighed a ton. These chests were set on the axle of a cart and driven by oxenoxen, through country which contained many English troops. After a drive of two months, the coins were safely dragged into Philadelphia. Half the money was used to start the bank, which was chartered December 31, 1781, as the “Bank of North America.”

At the same time the bank opened its doors, Morris reported to Congress that a mint should be established, in which money could be coined of one kind and one standard. The mint was established and has been making coins to this day.

Robert Morris was a member of the convention which framed the Federal Constitution, and he had the pleasure of nominating his friend, General Washington, for presiding officer.

After this Constitution was ratified by the States, Pennsylvania chose Robert Morris and William Maclay as her first two Senators.

Morris owned several magnificent homes, and much desirable real estate, and was regarded as the richest man in America. But he had been too hopeful. Land values did not rise quickly and he and his partners could not sell their properties, nor were they able to pay their debts.

At last the crash came and Morris was sent to prison for debt, February 15, 1798. Close to the prison sat the Congress which, on April 4, 1800, passed the Bankrupt Act, though it was not until August 26, 1801, that Morris regained his liberty. He came out with three millions of debt to be a pensioner on his family.

On May 7, 1806, Robert Morris died and was buried in Christ 83Churchyard. His widow, who survived him twenty-one years, in 1824 received the first private call made by Lafayette in Philadelphia.

It is sad to think that a man who did so much for his country should at last have done so badly for himself. If we had had no Robert Morris there would probably have been no United States. All he had was at the service of America. There was no truer patriot. It was his confidence in the quick growth of the young nation that ruined him. Our country owes a great debt to Robert Morris, the Financier of the Revolution.

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