John F. Mercer
State: Maryland (Born in Virginia)
Age at Convention: 28
Date of Birth: May 17, 1759
Date of Death: August 30, 1821
Schooling: College of William and Mary (1775), Read law under Thomas Jefferson
Occupation: Lawyer, Planter, Public Security Interests, Slave Holder, Soldier
Prior Political Experience: Lower House of Virginia State Legislature 1782 & 1785-1786, Virginia Delegate to Confederation Congress 1782-1784
Committee Assignments: None
Convention Contributions: Attended August 6 until August 16 and never returned to the Convention. He opposed a strong central government. William Pierce made no observation about Mercer, since Pierce left on July 2 to attend the Confederation Congress.
New Government Participation: Attended the Maryland ratification convention, he did not support the ratification of the Constitution. Served in the U.S. House of Representatives for Maryland from 1791 to 1794.
Biography from the National Archives:John Francis Mercer, born on May 17, 1759, was the fifth of nine children born to John and Ann Mercer of Stafford County, Virginia. He attended the College of William and Mary, and in early 1776 he joined the 3rd Virginia Regiment. Mercer became Gen. Charles Lee’s aide-de-camp in 1778, but after General Lee’s court-martial in October 1779, Mercer resigned his commission. He spent the next year studying law at the College of William and Mary and then rejoined the army, where he served briefly under Lafayette.
In 1782, Mercer was elected to the Virginia House of Delegates. That December, he became one of Virginia’s representatives to the Continental Congress. He later returned to the House of Delegates in 1785 and 1786.
Mercer married Sophia Sprigg in 1785 and soon after moved to Anne Arundel County, Maryland. He attended the Constitutional Convention as part of Maryland’s delegation when he was only 28 years old, the second youngest delegate in Philadelphia. Mercer was strongly opposed to centralization, and both spoke and voted against the Constitution. He and fellow Marylander Luther Martin left the proceedings before they ended.
After the convention, Mercer continued in public service. He allied himself with the Republicans and served in the Maryland House of Delegates in 1778-89, 1791-92, 1800-1801, and 1803-6. Between 1791 and 1794 he also sat in the U.S. House of Representatives for Maryland and was chosen governor of the state for two terms, 1801-3. During Thomas Jefferson’s term as President, Mercer broke with the Republicans and joined the Federalist camp.
Illness plagued him during his last years. In 1821, Mercer traveled to Philadelphia to seek medical attention, and he died there on August 30. His remains lay temporarily in a vault in St. Peter’s Church in Philadelphia and were reinterred on his estate, “Cedar Park” in Maryland.
Related:
* indicates delegates who did not sign the Constitution
Connecticut
William Samuel Johnson – Roger Sherman – Oliver Ellsworth (Elsworth)*
Delaware
George Read – Gunning Bedford, Jr. – John Dickinson – Richard Bassett – Jacob Broom
Georgia
William Few – Abraham Baldwin – William Houstoun* - William L. Pierce*
Maryland
James McHenry – Daniel of St. Thomas Jenifer – Daniel Carroll – Luther Martin* - John F. Mercer*
Massachusetts
Nathaniel Gorham – Rufus King – Elbridge Gerry* - Caleb Strong*
New Hampshire
John Langdon – Nicholas Gilman
New Jersey
William Livingston – David Brearly (Brearley) - William Paterson (Patterson) - Jonathan Dayton – William C. Houston*
New York
Alexander Hamilton – John Lansing, Jr.* - Robert Yates*
North Carolina
William Blount – Richard Dobbs Spaight – Hugh Williamson – William R. Davie* - Alexander Martin*
Pennsylvania
Benjamin Franklin – Thomas Mifflin – Robert Morris – George Clymer – Thomas Fitzsimons (FitzSimons; Fitzsimmons) - Jared Ingersoll – James Wilson – Gouverneur Morris
South Carolina
John Rutledge – Charles Cotesworth Pinckney – Charles Pinckney – Pierce Butler
Rhode Island
Rhode Island did not send delegates to the Convention.
Virginia
John Blair – James Madison Jr. – George Washington – George Mason* - James McClurg* - Edmund J. Randolph* - George Wythe*
Other:
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