Robert Morris: The Yorktown Financier Who Ended Up in Debtors' Prison

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Robert Morris was born out of wedlock in Liverpool in 1734, raised by his grandmother, and at 13 joined his father in Maryland. His father died after being struck when a ceremonial bottle bounced off a ship's hull at a christening, leaving Morris an inheritance. In Philadelphia he apprenticed with merchant Charles Willing and became a partner of Thomas Willing, building Willing, Morris and Company into a global shipping firm with pooled maritime insurance. The firm also traded in enslaved people during the French and Indian War, lobbying against Pennsylvania's import tariff and buying the ship Nancy, which carried about 170 people to auction in Delaware. Morris was one of only two men to sign the Declaration of Independence, the Articles of Confederation and the Constitution.

He voted against independence on July 1, 1776, then stayed away with John Dickinson on July 2 so Pennsylvania could vote yes. On the Secret Committee of Trade he traded American goods for European arms and backed privateers. As Superintendent of Finance from 1781 he founded the Bank of North America, issued Morris Notes backed by his own credit, and raised money for the Yorktown campaign. Later, leveraged land speculation collapsed in the Panic of 1797, and he was jailed for debt in 1798.

• He explained his signature by saying a good citizen should follow when he cannot lead.
• He raised more than $1.4 million for Washington's march to Yorktown, working with broker Haym Salomon.
• Rhode Island blocked his federal tariff under the Articles, and he resigned in 1784.
• He turned down Washington's offer to be the first Treasury secretary and recommended Alexander Hamilton.
• His unfinished mansion by Pierre Charles L'Enfant was mocked as Morris's Folly, and he spent over three years in Prune Street prison before the Bankruptcy Act of 1800 freed him.