Episode 615 Show Notes- The Forgotten Founding Father: Gouverneur Morris and We the People
↓ The P.A.S. Report Podcast is on every podcast platform! ↓
Episode Description
In this episode of America’s Founding Series on The P.A.S. Report Podcast, Professor Nick Giordano uncovers the remarkable story of Gouverneur Morris – the forgotten Founding Father who authored the iconic phrase “We the People.” While history often overlooks his brilliance, Morris was the penman of the Constitution, a fierce defender of national unity, and one of the few delegates to boldly speak out against slavery. Discover why his powerful words, moral clarity, and lasting legacy demand renewed attention in today’s debates over America’s founding principles.
Episode Highlights:
- The story of how Gouverneur Morris shaped the Constitution and coined “We the People.”
- How Morris’s family division during the Revolution mirrored the larger colonial conflict.
- His bold denunciation of slavery during the Constitutional Convention and why modern education ignores him.
📲 Subscribe to The P.A.S. Report’s America’s Founding Series to learn about forgotten patriots and the untold stories that shaped the fabric of America.
Click play above to listen to the entire episode or you can listen on any podcast platform
Show Notes- The Forgotten Founding Father: Gouverneur Morris and We the People
Timestamps
00:00 Introduction to America’s Founding Series
00:26 The Legacy of Governor Morris
02:41 Morris’s Early Life and Political Awakening
07:11 The Constitutional Convention and Morris’s Role
11:03 Morris’s Stance on Slavery and Its Implications
13:48 Remembering Governor Morris and His Impact
Welcome to The P.A.S. Report Podcast
[Auto-Generated Transcript]
Welcome to America’s Founding Series, a special feature of The P.A.S. Report Podcast. I’m Professor Nick Giordano, and I am glad you can join me. Make sure you follow and subscribe to the podcast so you never miss an episode. Also, visit The P.A.S. Report website at pasreport.com.
I’m glad to hear so many are enjoying the America’s Founding Series, and keep sharing it with your family and friends. The America’s Founding Series goes to the core of the forgotten patriots who helped shape this nation. Sadly, too few received a quality education when it comes to our history, and that’s why today, I want to talk about a founder that played such an integral role in our development.
“We the People.”
Three of the most powerful words ever written. It’s the start of a document that ultimately changed the world, our United States Constitution. But how often do we stop and ask who wrote those words? And more importantly, why those words?
While names like Madison, Hamilton, and Franklin get all the attention, there’s one man who penned the Constitution, including that iconic phrase. His name? Gouverneur Morris.
Most Americans have never heard of him, and no, he was not a governor. But today, in this episode of America’s Founding Series, we’ll explore how Morris helped shape the very soul of our nation, why his words still echo today, and why he was one of the Founding Fathers to speak out forcefully against slavery which makes his absence from our classrooms even more disturbing.
Morris is one of the brilliant, daring, and overlooked patriots in American history. And just to give you a little background on him.
He was born into a wealthy, prominent New York family. But like many families in the colonies, the Revolution tore them apart. His mother was a Loyalist. His half-brother Staats Long Morris was a Major-General and fought for the British. Another half-brother, Lewis Morris, was a patriot and signer of the Declaration of Independence. Morris? He chose the cause of liberty. It’s interesting that so many talk about the division within our society today without ever realizing that we were divided from the start, and I would argue that the division back then was far more palpable than today.
The internal war within Morris’s own household was mirrored by the broader fracture across the colonies. It wasn’t just a political conflict. It was personal. And for Morris, it set him on a course of unwavering commitment to the Patriot cause.
He enrolled at King’s College, today we know it as Columbia University, at just 12 years old. By 16, he had graduated, by 19, he earned a Masters degree. He had a sharp mind and quickly became a rising star in New York politics. In 1778, he was appointed as a delegate to the Continental Congress. He even signed the Articles of Confederation, a system he would later criticize as far too weak.
But one moment, above all, revealed his commitment to the Revolution: a little-known vote in the Continental Congress. There was serious talk to remove George Washington from command. Frustrations with the war effort were growing. Some delegates believed Washington wasn’t up to the task. If the vote succeeded, Washington would have been dismissed from his command and court martialed.
Morris cast the tie-breaking vote to keep Washington in charge. Think about that. Had Morris voted the other way, American history could’ve taken a very different turn. I think
And he didn’t just support Washington in theory. Morris went to Valley Forge during that brutal winter, and what he saw shook him. And I do believe this is why he supported General Washington. He witnessed firsthand Washington’s commitment to his troops, and the only reason the Continental Army didn’t dissolve was due to Washington’s resilience and leadership.
The conviction and resolve of Gouverneur Morris would carry him into the next great chapter: the Constitutional Convention and change the course of history. I’ll explain when we get back from this quick break so hang tight and we’ll be right back.
Break
‘We the People’ and The Penman of the Constitution
Welcome back to the America’s Founding Series of The P.A.S. Report Podcast. We’re talking about the forgotten founding father, Gouverneur Morris, who is considered the Penman of the Constitution and wrote three very consequential words that would shape our history.
See, the Articles of Confederation collapsed, and at the Annapolis Convention of 1776, the founders felt that the Articles were beyond revival. So they commissioned a new convention, the Philadelphia Convention.
When the delegates gathered in Philadelphia in 1787, they were faced with a mess. The states were fighting amongst each other. The economy was crumbling. And no one could seem to agree on how to fix it.
But Gouverneur Morris stepped up. Known for his wit, clarity, and commanding presence, Morris spoke more than any other delegate during the convention. And when it came time to write the Constitution, not just debate it, the job fell to him as the Connecticut Plan was taking shape.
He was named chair of the Committee of Style, tasked with organizing and refining the document. And it was Morris who took the legalistic, clunky draft and transformed it into the masterpiece we know today.
The shift from “We the States” to “We the People” would change everything.
It wasn’t just a stylistic edit. It was a statement of purpose. A declaration that power rests not in government, not in elites, but in us. The citizens. The people. It was a fundamental change that would alter the source of the Constitution’s authority. Instead of being a compact between sovereign states, the document now derived its legitimacy directly from the citizenry and established the principle of popular sovereignty.
Why did Morris make that change? While we can’t know for sure, it’s my belief that it’s likely he was driven by a belief in a more unified national identity that transcended state boundaries, and perhaps a pragmatic recognition that a government drawing its power directly from the people would be inherently stronger and more enduring.
And with those three words, We the People, Morris gave America its voice.
But Morris didn’t stop there.
At the Constitutional Convention, there were fierce debates regarding the issue of slavery. Some spoke out in support, while others registered there opposition to it, but Morris stood up and forcefully called out the practice of slavery as an injustice.
He called slavery a “nefarious institution,” and condemned it as “the curse of heaven on the States where it prevailed.” Powerful words. Uncomfortable words. And that kind of fire and passion on the issue of slavery was rare for the times.
During debates over representation, the Three-Fifths Compromise, and the slave trade, Morris didn’t hold back. He argued forcefully that slavery contradicted the very principles on which the new Constitution was being built.
However, he would go on to support the compromises that were established because he recognized the necessity of forging a union. Too often, we tend to view history through the prism of the times we are currently living in rather than how they were. The fact is that in order for America to survive, we would need 9 out of the 13 states to approve this Constitution, and without the southern states signing on, that would have been impossible.
It was based on pragmatism. You don’t cut your nose to spite your face. And like all of us, Gouverneur Morris wasn’t perfect. However, when it mattered most, he put the birth of a nation first and gave us the words that have defined our Republic for over two centuries.
He believed in a United States, and his life reminds us that our Founders were not gods. They were human. Flawed, complex, courageous – all at once. And that’s why we should remember Morris.
That’s why the America’s Founding Series is so important. Unfortunately, our past has been oversimplified and demonized, but the truth is it’s far more complex than some want to acknowledge, and I encourage you to share this episode and The P.A.S. Report podcast if you’re starting to see our Founding in a different light.
Also, please take 30 seconds to write a good review on any podcast platform that allows it, including Apple Podcasts and Spotify. Let’s help others rediscover the remarkable men and women who built this nation.
“We the People.” Three words. One forgotten patriot, and a legacy that still echoes today.
I want to thank you for joining me and I’ll be back next week with another great episode of The P.A.S. Report Podcast.
To listen to the full episode, click play above or visit your favorite podcast platform!
Kirk Cameron vs. Woke Hollywood: Restoring Faith and Values
The P.A.S. Report wants to hear from you. Send your feedback to podcast@pasreport.com. Please leave a 5-star rating and write a review on Apple Podcast.
Please share this episode with others & on social media.
*PA Strategies, LLC. may earn advertising revenue or a small commission for promoting products or when you purchase through any affiliate links on this website and within this post.
Follow Nicholas Giordano
You must be logged in to post a comment.