(1721-1793) signer of four of the most important documents in United States history

Roger Sherman was born in Newton, Massachusetts, on April 19, 1721. His parents moved to Stoughton in 1723, where he attended the country school and learned the cobbler's trade in his father's shop.

Moving to New Milford, Connecticut, in 1743, he worked as County Surveyor, studied law, was admitted to the bar in 1754, and then served as treasurer of Yale College from 1765 to 1776, as judge of the Connecticut Superior Court from 1766 to 1789, and as the first mayor of New Haven from 1784 to 1793.

Sherman served in the Continental Congress from 1774 to 1781 and again from 1783 to 1784. During this period he signed the Articles of Association (1774), the Declaration of Independence (1776), and the Articles of Confederation (1777). As a delegate to the Constitutional Convention of 1787, Sherman presented the Connecticut Compromise, which resolved the differences between the large and small states on representation in the national legislature. He was a signer of the final document, and then served in the Connecticut convention called to ratify the Constitution.

Following ratification of the Constitution, Sherman was elected to the United States House of Representatives, where he served from 1789 to 1791. He was then elected to the Senate, where he served until his death in 1793. During his tenure in Congress Sherman favored the assumption of the state debts, the establishment of a national bank, and the adoption of a protective tariff policy. He was strongly opposed to slavery.

Roger Sherman died in New Haven on July 23, 1793.

Questions or comments about this page?

Daanen, Jeroen. "Roger Sherman." From Revolution to Reconstruction. 2003. odur.let.rug.nl/~usa/B/rsherman/sherman.htm
Vinci, John. "Biography of Roger Sherman." Biographies, America's Founding Fathers. Independence Hall Association, 2004. www.colonialhall.com/sherman/sherman.php

Yale College

The Robinson Library
American History.--United States: General History and Description.--Revolution to the Civil War, 1775/1783-1861.--Individual Biography, A-Z.

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