The public services of Gouverneur Morris to 1787 . d ponderous men of his period. Of his early hoy-hood there is only the record of tradition, which has it that hewas not overly fond of hooks, hut rather sought pleasure in out-door sports. Morris went to Kings College in the City of Kew York,whence he graduated at the age of sixteen (1). Here his hahitswere not those of a grind; rather he was noted for his alertness,versatility, and facility of acquisition. After leaving college,he began to study law as wac expected of a man of his family. He soap-nlied nlmself with study that he was licensed
The public services of Gouverneur Morris to 1787 . d ponderous men of his period. Of his early hoy-hood there is only the record of tradition, which has it that hewas not overly fond of hooks, hut rather sought pleasure in out-door sports. Morris went to Kings College in the City of Kew York,whence he graduated at the age of sixteen (1). Here his hahitswere not those of a grind; rather he was noted for his alertness,versatility, and facility of acquisition. After leaving college,he began to study law as wac expected of a man of his family. He soap-nlied nlmself with study that he was licensed to practice inCctoher, 1771, at the early age of nineteen years and nine months(2) But, even hefore this, Morris had slipped out into theworld of politics and puhlic affairs. In 1769 a paper money hillwas before the He?; York Assemhly. wrote several criticismsof the hill, pointing out with a good deal of acuteaess the variousdefects and unsound principles which he conceived the hill to (1) Sparks, Gouverneur Morris, 1,6. (2) Ihid, I, containfl) . I*Iorris continiTed to take an interest in all public af-I fairs, bTit, at the sarne time, no did not neglect his rofession.; Nor did he neglect the social side of life, hut entered that life nfpleasure to which his social standinf^ gave him ready access. It wasnot long, however, until the events of 1775 and 1776 pushed hothpleasure and office Vv^ork from the stage in order that more stirringscenes might hold sv/ay. During the years immediately -^receding the Revolu-tion, Morris had no more idea of separation from England than hadmost of his contemr,oraries. The aristocracy had opposed the stampact, but in a lav/ful manner, in v/hioh tliey were distinguisherl fromthe riotous radical organizations (2). Tlio problem before luorrisanri his arictocratic friends was to determine the bacir, of set^ with rlngland,. Morris writes in 1774, I see that if the dis-putes with l^rnat Britain continue, v;e shall bo undej the dom
Size: 1327px × 1883px
Photo credit: © The Reading Room / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No
Keywords: ., bookcentury1900, bookdecade1910, booksubjectmo, booksubjecttheses
