Who Signed and Who Did Not Sign the U.S. Constitution?
"Scene at the Signing of the Constitution of the United States" by Howard Chandler Christy
The Constitution of the United States was not signed into effect. Rather, by the process outlined in Article VII, the states had to ratify the Constitution and nine of the 13 states had to ratify it for the Constitution to become the law of the land. Still, many of the men who had debated and drafted the Constitution signed their names to the document, showing their support and endorsement and—more importantly—as delegates showing the support of their state as the convention ended.
Delegates at the Constitutional Convention made it clear that their signature did not mean they agreed with everything in the document, but they agreed with enough and felt it was the very best that could be achieved at that time. Benjamin Franklin, a respected statesman and delegate representing Pennsylvania at the convention, expressed it this way:
“I confess that there are several parts of this Constitution which I do not at present approve, but I am not sure I shall never approve them. For having lived long, I have experienced many instances of being obliged by better information, or fuller consideration, to change opinions even on important subjects, which I once thought right, but found to be otherwise. It is therefore that, the older I grow, the more apt I am to doubt my own judgment, and to pay more respect to the judgment of others.
“In these sentiments, Sir, I agree to this Constitution, with all its faults, if they are such; because I think a General Government necessary for us, and there is no form of government, but what may be a blessing to the people if well administered; and believe further, that this is likely to be well administered for a course of years, and can only end in despotism, as other forms have done before it, when the people shall become so corrupted as to need despotic government.”
Franklin made these remarks on September 17, 1787, ahead of signing the Constitution and to encourage several concerned delegates. Most of the concerns rose from the lack of specific statements of rights protected and upheld through the Constitution. Freedom of speech, freedom of religion, freedom of press, freedom to assemble, the right to petition, safety from unlawful seizure, and a general guarantee of rights not outlined remaining in the hands of the people or the states numbered among top concerns. While delegates tried to assure the concerned parties that it was implied that anything not outlined in the Constitution remained protected and in the hands of the states or the people, many wanted it in writing. Before the convention adjourned, there were already plans to add amendments—a Bill of Rights—to specifically outline and protect these and other freedoms. Still, some delegates at the Constitutional Convention decided not to sign the document to signal their concerns about its power without a Bill of Rights.
Of the 55 delegates present at the convention, 39 signed:
Connecticut
William. Samuel Johnson
Delaware
Richard Bassett
Gunning Bedford, Jr.
Jacob Broom
George Read
Georgia
Abraham Baldwin
William Few
Maryland
Daniel Carroll
Daniel of St. Thomas Jenifer
James McHenry
Massachusetts
Nathaniel Gorham
Rufus King
New Hampshire
Nicholas Gilman
John Langdon
New Jersey
David Brearly (Brearley)
Jonathan Dayton
William Livingston
William Paterson (Patterson)
New York
North Carolina
William. Blount
Richard. Dobbs Spaight
Hugh Williamson
Pennsylvania
George Clymer
Thomas Fitzsimons (FitzSimons; Fitzsimmons)
Jared Ingersoll
Thomas Mifflin
James Wilson
Rhode Island
(Rhode Island did not send any delegates to the Constitutional Convention.)
South Carolina
Pierce Butler
Charles Cotesworth Pinckney
John Rutledge
Virginia
John Blair
The following delegates decided not to sign, and a few had already left the convention by mid-September.
Connecticut
Oliver Ellsworth (Elsworth)
Georgia
William Houston
William L. Pierce
Maryland
Luther Martin
John F. Mercer
Massachusetts
Caleb Strong
New Jersey
William C. Houston
New York
John Lansing, Jr.
Robert Yates
North Carolina
William R. Davie
Alexander Martin
Virginia
James McClurg
Of the men who chose not to sign, Edmund Randolph and George Mason—both from Virginia—and Elbridge Gerry from Massachusetts were the most vocal. Randolph declared: “In refusing to sign the Constitution, I take a step which might be the most awful of my life, but it is dictated by my conscience, and it is not possible for me to hesitate, much less, to change.” Meanwhile, Gerry explained his belief that two opposing views and fundamental differences were at work "one devoted to democracy, the worst of all political evils, the other as violent in the opposite extreme." In his view, the Constitution combined the negative options of both options and would never succeed.
Whether they chose to sign or not, the men who had gathered in Philadelphia during the summer of 1787 debated, compromised and drafted a document that challenged and changed the political world. As they signed with ink and goose quill pens, they gave personal endorsement (though some with reservations) and state delegation support to the Constitution. Work lay ahead to explain and defend the new Constitution and to encourage states to ratify it into law. For those men who chose not to sign, that did not mean that they abandoned or ignored the Constitution going forward; instead, many of them became strong advocates for a Bill of Rights which would strength the protection and power of “We the People…”
Further Reading:
- Plain, Honest Men: The Making of the American Constitution by Richard Beeman (Random House, 2010)
