The public services of Gouverneur Morris to 1787 . n; andfrom Delaware came Dickenson. These were the men who were to havethe leading part in shaping the destinies of America. Morris was well equipped for the work he was about tobegin. He had the training of a lav/yer, to which he had addedlegislative and executive experience. Morris had been in thestate legislative bodies during the early oart of the war and inthe national . legislature in the later oeriod, where he had devel-oped clear ideas as to the working relation between the generaland state golzrernments. He was a member of the first C
The public services of Gouverneur Morris to 1787 . n; andfrom Delaware came Dickenson. These were the men who were to havethe leading part in shaping the destinies of America. Morris was well equipped for the work he was about tobegin. He had the training of a lav/yer, to which he had addedlegislative and executive experience. Morris had been in thestate legislative bodies during the early oart of the war and inthe national . legislature in the later oeriod, where he had devel-oped clear ideas as to the working relation between the generaland state golzrernments. He was a member of the first Constitutiona!Convention of I^ew York, and took a very important part in theshaping of the instrument there produced. There, because of thedistrust of the people, he had to be content with less than he de-sired in the way of a strong,centralized government. The merefact that he was instrumental in the building of one governmentwas invaluable when it came 1 o undertaking the same thing on a fl) ?arrand. Records of th^ Federal Convention, II, 189. !. 38 larger scale. Morris had iDeeij on three of the executive committeesof the Continental Congress where he full opportunity to realizethe inefficiency of a government conducted in that manner. Hislater connection of three years with the Department of B^inance gavehim a yet deeper insight into the weaknessis of the addition to this practical experience in government, Morrishad made some study of past constitutions, and his speeches inthe Federal Convention show a wide knowledge x)f history. As has been said, tne Convention embraced in its mem-bership the representatives of many special interests, from whichlist but few men could be excepted. Morris was different frommost of his contemporaries 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 specialinter
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