How Did Roger Sherman Contribute To The American Revolution

Obscure People of the American Revolution

We have all heard of George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, and Benjamin Franklin. These are the most studied, the most documented people of the American Revolution and a few of our country’s Founding Fathers. These are the famous people that everyone refers to when they are either reciting a quote or making a reference to the American Revolution or our Founding Fathers. We all know that these well documented individuals were well educated in the finest schools and that their families had the wealth to accomplish anything they wished.

However these people were not alone in their pursuit to begin a new society, one that was formed on how life should be lived and what liberties we should all enjoy as citizens

He is one of our forgotten founders. A man that deserves the notoriety that history has forgotten. He served in a variety of state and national offices. Roger Sherman was the only Founder to help draft and or sign the Declaration and Resolves in 1774, the Articles of Association in 1774, the Declaration of Independence in 1776, the Articles of Confederation in 1777-1778, and the Constitution of the United States in 1787. Here we will examine who this person was and how did he accomplish so much within this defining time in our history as a nation. Roger Sherman was born in Newton, Massachusetts on April 19, 1721. He lived with his family in the town of Stoughton where he learning the shoemaking trade from his father while working in the shop and on the family farm. As for his education it is known that he may have been educated in one of the common country schools of the time but had no other assistance other than what the schools could provide. However it is suggested that either more or less there was influence from his pastor, the Reverend Samuel Dunbar of the church which his family

Mr. Sherman then a young man, was going to the county town, he was commissioned to obtain it from an eminent lawyer. To prevent embarrassment and secure the accurate representation of the case, he committed it to paper, as well as he could before he left home. In stating the case, the gentleman with whom he was consulting observed that Mr. Sherman frequently referred to the manuscript which he held in his hand. As it was necessary to make an application, by way of petition, to the proper tribunal, he desired the paper to be left in his hands, provided it contained a statement of the case from which the petition might be framed. Mr. Sherman consented with reluctance, telling him that it was merely a memorandum drawn up by himself for his own convenience. The lawyer, after reading it, remarked, with an expression of surprise, that, with a few alterations in form, it was equal to any petition which he could have prepared himself and that no other was requisite. Having then made some inquires relative to Mr. Sherman’s situation and prospects in life, he advised him to devote his attention to the study of law (Boutell 35,