Historic Highlights: Roger Sherman is only man to sign all 4 major documents of U.S. history

Tuesday, Sept. 17 is Constitution Day, honoring the date in 1787 in which 39 delegates signed the United States Constitution. Eleven years before, 56 men signed the Declaration of Independence.

Roger Sherman is one of six men who signed both documents. And those aren’t the only ones with his signature.

Sherman is the lone individual to sign the four major state papers of the United States; the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution, the Articles of Association, and the Articles of Confederation.

Surprisingly little is remembered of this Founding Father today. His peers, however, held him in the highest regard.

Patrick Henry called Sherman one of “the greatest statesmen he ever knew” and referred to him as one of the three greatest men at the Constitutional Convention.

John Adams said Sherman was “that old Puritan, as honest as an angel, and as firm in the cause of American independence as Mt. Atlas.” Thomas Jefferson once declared that Sherman “never said a foolish thing in his life.”

Few Americans today, however, recognize Sherman’s name. Born on April 19, 1721, in Newton, Massachusetts, Sherman moved to New Milford, Connecticut, with his widowed mother in 1743 and, along with his brother, opened a cobbler shop, the first store in the town’s history. Two years later, he was named surveyor of New Haven County.

Sherman did not attend college, but was described by one account as “a vociferous reader” who “taught himself advanced mathematics.” He was admitted to the bar in Litchfield, Connecticut, in 1754, and published a popular almanac every two years through 1761.

With so many endeavors, Sherman accumulated substantial wealth. In 1756, his property was valued as the 17th highest in New Milford.

In 1760, Sherman moved to New Haven, Connecticut, where he operated a general merchandise store and bookshop next to Yale, with considerable success. He ran the store until 1772.

Sherman served in the Connecticut House of Representatives from 1755-58 and again from 1760-61. He was subsequently appointed justice of the peace and judge of the Court of Common Pleas. In 1766, he won election to the Governor’s Council of the Connecticut General Assembly, remaining in the position through 1785.

Meanwhile, he was a justice of the Superior Court of Connecticut from 1766-89. Sherman was also a skilled academician who taught religion and served as treasurer of Yale. In 1784, he was elected mayor of New Haven and remained in office until his death.

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On Sept. 5, 1774, the First Continental Congress convened in Philadelphia to oppose a set of heavy-handed British moves that the colonists called the “Intolerable Acts.” Sherman was one of 56 delegates to the convention, which approved a Declaration of Resolves on Oct. 14, protesting the Intolerable Acts with a list of grievances.

Six days later, the Articles of Association called for a boycott of British goods. Sherman, who favored independence at the Congress, was one of the signers.

In May 1775, Sherman was also a delegate at the Second Continental Congress, where he was named to the Committee of Five that was charged with drafting the Declaration of Independence. The group included such luminaries as Adams, Jefferson, Benjamin Franklin and Robert Livingston of New York.

Jefferson is commonly credited with writing most of the document. The final draft of the Declaration was signed by 56 delegates, including Sherman.

The Second Continental Congress also resulted in the Articles of Confederation, which is considered the nation’s first frame of government, further binding the colonies.

Sherman became one of the signers of the Articles, which were finalized by the Second Continental Congress in November 1777 and enforced after the ratification of all 13 colonies in March 1781.

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But Sherman’s greatest moment may have come at the Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia in 1787. He promoted a dual system of congressional representation, which was ultimately adopted and became the form of government we know today.

Sherman’s plan, better known as the Connecticut Compromise, reflected his desire to help the less populous states. Under his plan, the states would be represented proportionally in the House of Representatives, but would receive equal representation – two each – in the Senate. Sherman’s compromise passed on July 16, 1787.

Until then, the convention had been gripped in a deadlock and was on the verge of collapse. Sherman is considered by some analysts as one of the most pivotal – and valuable – delegates at the convention.

Sherman was the second-oldest delegate at the Constitutional Convention, behind only Franklin, and was one of 39 signers of the Constitution, the fourth major document that bears his signature.

But Sherman is largely forgotten today and his name graces few landmarks or memorials, unlike the other founders. Many believe this is because he was not a self-promoter, nor a flamboyant personality.

Writer Mark David Hall asserts that Sherman “was not a radical thinker, a great author, or a stirring orator,” all of which “diminished his contemporary and future fame.”

Sherman was elected to the First Congress as a representative, then to the Second and Third Congresses as a senator.

Twice married, Sherman was the father of 15 children. He died in office on July 23, 1793, after an illness of two months, and is buried in New Haven.

• Tom Emery is a freelance writer and historical researcher from Carlinville, Illinois. He may be reached at 217-710-8392 or ilcivilwar@yahoo.com.