Elbridge Gerry - Constitutional Convention

Constitutional Convention

Gerry attended the United States Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia during the summer of 1787. In its deliberations he strongly supported the idea that the Senate composition should not be determined by population; the view that it should instead be composed of equal numbers of members for each state prevailed in the Connecticut Compromise, which was adopted on a narrow vote in which the Massachusetts delegation was divided. Gerry supported the compromise, but was also vocal in opposing the Three-Fifths Compromise, which counted slaves as 3/5 of a person for the purposes of apportionment in the House of Representatives and gave southern states a decided advantage.

Gerry was also unhappy about the lack of expression of any sort of individual liberties in the proposed constitution, and consequently was one of only three delegates who voted against it in the convention (the others were George Mason and Edmund Randolph). During the ratification debates that took place in the states following the convention Gerry continued his opposition, publishing a widely-circulated pamphlet documenting his objections to the lack of a Bill of Rights. Following ratification, he was elected to the inaugural House of Representatives, serving there from 1789 to 1793.

Gerry surprised his friends by becoming a strong supporter of the new government. He so vigorously supported Alexander Hamilton's reports on public credit, including the assumption of state debts, and supported Hamilton's new Bank of the United States, that he was considered a leading champion by the Federalists. He did not stand for re-election in 1792, returning home to life as a gentleman farmer. He agreed to serve as a presidential elector for John Adams in the 1796 election.