One Person

George Washington – Hero of the Revolution

Not only was George Washington the “indispensable man” relative to the founding of our nation, but he also played a key role in the drama surrounding the size of the House of Representatives.  September 17, 1787, was the final day of the Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia. Two days earlier the convention unanimously agreed to the text of the Constitution and, having since been engrossed on the parchment, it was now ready to be signed by all the delegates. Despite that, an urgent proposal had just been made by one of the those delegates relative to the clause declaring that “the number of Representatives shall not exceed one for every forty thousand…”.  The proposal was that “forty thousand” be reduced to “thirty thousand” in hopes of lessening the objections to the constitution they were proposing to the states. Said motion having been seconded by others present, George Washington rose to address this question. Though he had been the President of the convention, this was the first time he addressed the assembly on a substantive matter.