U.S. Constitution with Handwritten Notes by Elbridge Gerry
U. S. Constitution (first printing), with annotations by Elbridge Gerry
39.5 cm x 25.4 cm
Philadelphia: printed by John Dunlap and David C. Claypool, 1787
This copy of the first printed draft of the United States Constitution illustrates the evolution of the text during the Philadelphia Convention of 1787. The notes are in the hand of Elbridge Gerry, a delegate from Massachusetts who was a signer of both the Declaration of Independence and the Articles of Confederation. Gerry followed the debates carefully but refused to sign the Constitution because it contained no Bill of Rights. He wrote to John Adams in explanation: "Time must determine the fate of this production, which with a check on standing armies in powers vested in the Legislature, would have met with my approbation." Gerry later served in Congress and became governor of Massachusetts. He was vice president of the United States at the time of his death in 1814.
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