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Robert Morris Jr. (January 20, 1734 – May 8, 1806) was an English-born American merchant, investor and politician who was one of the Founding Fathers of the United States.
Jun 25, 2024 · Robert Morris was an American merchant and banker who came to be known as the financier of the American Revolution (1775–83). Morris left England to join his father in Maryland in 1747 and then entered a mercantile house in Philadelphia. During the war, Morris was vice president of the Pennsylvania.
- The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica
- More Than A Merchant
- A Reluctant Revolutionary
- Morris Becomes A One-Man Treasury
- Morris Becomes Subject of First Congressional Inquiry
- From Real Estate Speculation to Debtor’S Prison
Morris was born in Liverpool, England in 1734 and as a young teenager followed his father, a successful tobacco merchant, to the New World. Orphaned at age 16—his father was killed in a freak accidentinvolving a fly and a misfired cannon—Morris had only one year of formal education before he began apprenticing as a clerk in Philadelphia. “From a yo...
Morris was nominated as a delegate from Pennsylvania to the Second Continental Congress, but even with his staunch opposition to the Stamp Act and the Intolerable Acts, Morris didn’t initially support independence from Britain. He favored continued negotiations with Parliament rather than starting a war with the world’s greatest military power. Whe...
The War for Independence was a financial as well as a military struggle. The 1777 Articles of Confederation, the country’s first constitution, allowed Congress to request funds from the states, but didn’t require the states to comply. Troops went for months without pay while Congress begged the states and European allies for loans. On the brink of ...
While Morris put his own substantial fortune and resources on the line to supply food and weaponry for the war effort, he conducted much of the overseas trade through his own businesses, which earned handsome profits. But questions about that relationship lingered. After the Constitution was ratified and Morris was elected Senator from Pennsylvania...
After the dust-up with Congress, Morris left political life and returned to his original passion, making money. He had tremendous faith in the new nation and its ability to make his family richer than he had ever imagined. Morris got his hand in just about every industry and profit scheme. He built a factory town along the Delaware River in Pennsyl...
- Dave Roos
- 1 min
Mar 18, 2020 · Though Alexander Hamilton receives just credit for getting the nation’s financial industry up and running, it was Robert Morris who was the engine behind the founding of America’s financial sector.
Robert Morris was a Founding Father of the United States, known for his critical role in financing the American Revolution and managing the fledgling nation’s economy. He served as the Superintendent of Finance from 1781 to 1784, effectively acting as the nation’s first Secretary of the Treasury.
Dec 20, 2010 · Founding Father Robert Morris was a laissez-faire capitalist and subject of perhaps the first American congressional inquiry. In Robert Morris: Financier of the American Revolution,...
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Feb 14, 2020 · As a wealthy merchant, Robert Morris was one of the main financiers of the American Revolutionary War. He was also a signatory of the Declaration of Independence and a delegate to the Second Continental Congress.
