We’re on day 2 of our 4 Forgotten Founding Fathers theme week! Today’s Founding Father is Robert Morris, who became known as the “Financier of the Revolution”. He became very wealthy as the partner in a shipping firm in Philadelphia. When the Revolutionary War broke out in 1775, the Continental Congress asked Morris to use his shipping connections and financial acumen to help get the money and supplies needed to create an American Army and Navy. Congress appointed him Superintendent of Finance, where he often used his personal credit to secure loans for colonial forces and even loaned the government $10,000 for provisions for soldiers fighting the Battle of Trenton. He also established the Bank of North America, the first congressionally chartered national bank to operate in the U.S. Morris is one of only 2 people to sign the Declaration of Independence, the Articles of Confederation, and the U.S. Constitution. He was also one of the first Senators for Pennsylvania. After Morris left politics, he started getting involved in land prospecting. He bought 6 million acres of land on the frontier, and one point owned the western half of New York State! He anticipated an influx of immigrants and a real estate boom as the country grew and prospered. That didn’t happen as quickly as Morris needed it to, however, and he was on the hook for around $3 million! Unable to pay his debts, he went to debtors prison for 3 and a half years. After being released from prison, he lived a quiet, private life in a modest home in Philadelphia until his death in 1806. Learn more in the audio below.