America's Forgotten Founders by Gary L. Gregg Ii & Mark David Hall

Author:Gary L. Gregg Ii & Mark David Hall [Gregg, Gary L. Ii & Hall, Mark David]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Biography & Autobiography, Political, History, Biography
ISBN: 9781480492950
Google: uy4QAwAAQBAJ
Goodreads: 21445909
Publisher: Open Road Media
Published: 2008-09-16T00:00:00+00:00

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“No individual was more directly and intimately involved in the major actions of the American Founding than Roger Sherman.”

—Daniel L. Dreisbach

* * *

Sherman was held in high esteem by his contemporaries. In 1777, John Adams described him as “that old puritan, as honest as an angel, and as firm in the cause of American Independence as Mt. Atlas.” Late in life, Patrick Henry remarked that Sherman and George Mason were “the greatest statesmen he ever knew.” Thomas Jefferson, who was often at odds with both Adams and Henry, shared their admiration for Sherman. He once pointed Sherman out to a visitor and noted, “That is Mr. Sherman of Connecticut, a man who never said a foolish thing in his life.”

Jefferson's comment highlights Sherman's proclivity to bring a healthy dose of common sense to political deliberations. In the Constitutional Convention, Robert Yates recorded him as commenting: “I am not fond of speculation. I would rather proceed on experimental ground [i.e., on the ground of experience].” Similarly, in an essay defending the proposed Constitution, Sherman wrote, “Philosophy may mislead you. Ask experience.” His contributions to crafting the Declaration and Resolves (1774), the Articles of Association (1774), the Declaration of Independence (1776), the Articles of Confederation (1777, 1778), the U.S. Constitution (1787), and the Bill of Rights (1789) all reflect his prudential approach to politics.

Sherman was not a radical thinker, a great author, or a stirring orator—realities that diminished his contemporary and future fame. Nevertheless, as historian Jack N. Rakove comments in his Pulitzer Prize—winning book Original Meanings, “America has had more Shermans in its politics than Madisons, and arguably too few of either, but it was the rivalry between their competing goals and political styles that jointly gave the Great Convention much of its drama and fascination—and also permitted its achievement.” Scholars, teachers, and students who wish to understand America's Founding cannot afford to ignore the contributions of that old Connecticut Puritan, Roger Sherman.

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