Show SUPERIOR MEN 55 IN NUMBER MET TO DRAFT CONSTITUTION All Were Verc Keen J Politicians Politicians clans Best Minds Of Day Day- DayMO M MO 0 S T L Y LAWYERS Washington Madison Morris Hamilton And Dayton Typical EDITORS EDITOR'S NOTE How 53 5 men met at Philadelphia to frame the Constitution Is I told In this article the third of ot Mr At series of 12 Tomorrow The Method l of Its Making BY ill HARRY AT President Constitution Anniversary Association the convention met at VY Philadelphia In the late spring of ot 1787 1737 there was assembled a n group of notably superior w men from the s rw standpoint of f men men- mental m r tal tai acumen political 1 cal understanding r- r rs It and moral courage re r r Their lives ves had hadL L J been devoted large large- largely i ly to study and andY Y t thought concerning government and to toJ o. o t the rendering of I service to the gov gov- government politically They minded were d in the sense that J Edison and Mar Mar- Marconi Marconi coni are electrical electrical- electrically ly minded that Socrates and Emerson were ere philosophically philosophically minded that Mozart and Mendelssohn were musically minded that Newton and Kepler were scientifically scientifically minded five Fifty delegates were In attend attend- attendance attendance attendance ance at the convention and 39 of ot them signed the Constitution Of the theother theother theother other 16 a number would have signed had they not been called home be before be- be before before fore the close of the convention con by Illness pressing family matters or urgent business FROM ALL WALKS IVALES Among the delegates were lawyers physicians merchants financiers edu edu- educators educators educators farmers soldiers and states state men More Important than their special calling or profession however is the I fact that the delegates were men of great natural ability and strength of I character devoted de wholeheartedly whole to I Ithe the public welfare It is interesting to note that 25 of oX the delegates were college graduates In those days when a college education was difficult to acquire The calling most numerously represented represented represented was the legal profession which had 31 members Including several who were also Judges More than half of them had bad ren ren- rendered rendered rendered dered distinguished military service during the revolutionary war and a number had served an apprenticeship in making constitution-making for tor their vari van various various ous Otis states FRANKLIN THEN 81 Benjamin Franklin of ot Pennsylvania at 81 years of ot age was the oldest delegate He brought to the deliberations deliberations deliberations of the convention the ripe ex experience ex- ex experience resulting from a a long life lite of distinguished sen service Ice Ice to his bis country both at home and abroad and was the great harmonizing Influence of ot the convention Jonathan Dayton of ot New Jersey at 26 years cars of age was the youngest dele dele- gate He Ho later served In congress as speaker of the house and as United States senator Dayton Ohio was named in his memory George Washington was unanimously unanimously unanimously I chosen as presiding officer I He was the great central figure of that epoch HAMILTON CLOSE ADVISER Alexander Hamilton was Washing Washing- Washington's tons ton's closest adviser At that time only 30 years of age he was an out out- outstanding outstanding outstanding standing political genius and rendered great service as our first secretary of ot the tho treasury James Madison of Virginia was later president of the United States for tor two terms He kept a record of the proceedings which have come to be known as the Madison Papers Oliver Ellsworth of ot Connecticut was WIlS afterwards United States senator and author of the first Judiciary act and later chief Justice of the United States supreme court by appointment at Washington Abraham Baldwin Bald of Georgia was afterwards United States senator and I founder and first president of the University of Georgia Baldwin county In Georgia was named In his mem- mem memory lory ory MORRIS MORRIS' Gouverneur Morris of Pennsylvania Is said to have given ghen tha th finishing style to the Constitution and during the convention to have hm given gi utter utter- utterance utterance utterance ance to the prophecy The whole human race will be af af- af affected I by the proceedings of this con con- These are only a few of ot the many remarkable men who served in the convention It Is a striking fact that many of the 55 15 delegates became either presidents of the United States foreign ministers Justices of the su supreme su- su supreme supreme preme court college presidents United States senators members of the cab cab- caba met inet a or governors of slates 1 Many people to t have the im- im that John Hancock John I I Adams Thomas Jefferson n and Pat Pat- Patrick Patrick g rick Henry n were delegates d to the e Con Constitution convention Adams was In I England and Jefferson was In France while the convention was in session Henry was appointed a delegate but refused to serve acne and Hancock was I not appointed as a delegate to the convention by his state |