The public services of Gouverneur Morris to 1787 . s only by the fact that his allegianceto special and class interests was not so strong, and also by thefact that he was usually able to disregard such allegiance whenthe best interests of the country demanded it. These specialinterests were due in a large part to tne influence of his birth,his location, and the economic class to which he belonged. Morris was born into the aristocracy of Hew York, andhe remained true to his breeding. The only t-me he absolutelydeserted his clasr was during the Kevolution,when his love of lib-erty and treodom ma
The public services of Gouverneur Morris to 1787 . s only by the fact that his allegianceto special and class interests was not so strong, and also by thefact that he was usually able to disregard such allegiance whenthe best interests of the country demanded it. These specialinterests were due in a large part to tne influence of his birth,his location, and the economic class to which he belonged. Morris was born into the aristocracy of Hew York, andhe remained true to his breeding. The only t-me he absolutelydeserted his clasr was during the Kevolution,when his love of lib-erty and treodom made him align with the radicals as opposed tothe aristocratic conservatives. After the war was over, Morrisfound that nis interests no longer coincided with the radical group,He could not favor their popular commercial restrictions, whicn sowell expressed the radical views. He was now clearly on the sideof the conservatives, and eager to use all his influence againstradical legislation (1). He expressed his idea of the class he fl) Sparks, I, 39 opposed in a letter to Jay where he speaks of those turbiilentspirits who wish for confusion and he said that in the regularorder of things they oan oniy till a subordinate sphere fl).Morris in the Convention expressed his disapproval of the estab-lishment of an aristocracy (2), but his actions belied his was at heart an aristocrat absolutely opposed to democracy, Mad~ison wrote to Hparks years after the Convention : He (Morris)certainly did not incline to the democratic side. - - - - ge con-tended for certain articles capable ri protecting the rights ofproperty against the spirit of Democracy (3). Morris aristo-cratic tendencies are plainly visioie in rest of the things he didin tne Convention, particularly in nis work in the establishmentof the legislative and executive departments . He was never infavor of a purely popular government, and when the New York consti-tution was being considered,he wrote to Hamilton that he
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