Roger Sherman and the Creation of the American Republic Ralph Earl. R oger Sherman (1721–1793), M. A. (Hon.) 1768. Yale University Art Gallery. Gift of Roger Sherman White, B. A. 1859, LL.B. 1862. Roger Sherman and the Creation of the American Republic z MARK DAVID HALL 1 1 Oxford University Press, Inc., publishes works that further Oxford University’s objective of excellence in research, scholarship, and education. Oxford New York Auckland Cape Town Dar es Salaam Hong Kong Karachi Kuala Lumpur Madrid Melbourne Mexico City Nairobi New Delhi Shanghai Taipei Toronto With offi ces in Argentina Austria Brazil Chile Czech Republic France Greece Guatemala Hungary Italy Japan Poland Portugal Singapore South Korea Switzerland Thailand Turkey Ukraine Vietnam Copyright © 2013 by Oxford University Press, Inc. Published by Oxford University Press, Inc. 198 Madison Avenue, New York, New York 10016 www.oup.com Oxford is a registered trademark of Oxford University Press All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior permission of Oxford University Press. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Hall, Mark David, 1966– Roger Sherman and the creation of the American republic / Mark David Hall. p. cm. Includes bibliographical references (p.). ISBN 978–0–19–992984–9 1. Sherman, Roger, 1721–1793. 2. Statesmen—United States—Biography. 3. United States. Declaration of Independence—Signers—Biography. 4. United States. Continental Congress—Biography. 5. Connecticut—History— Colonial period, ca. 1600–1775. 6. Connecticut—History—Revolution, 1775–1783. 7. United States—History—Revolution, 1775–1783. 8. United States—Politics and government—1775–1783. I. Title. E302.6.S5H35 2013 973.3092—dc23 [B] 2012018343 1 3 5 7 9 8 6 4 2 Printed in the United States of America on acid-free paper To my son, Joshua, of whom I am very proud. This page intentionally left blank Contents Preface ix 1. The Old Puritan and a New Nation 1 2. Reformed Political Theory in the American Founding 12 3. Connecticut Politics and American Independence 41 4. Achieving Independence 63 5. “An Eel by the Tail” 92 6. Roger Sherman and the New National Government 122 7. “Philosophy May Mislead You. Ask Experience” 149 Notes 155 Appendix 213 Index 219 This page intentionally left blank Preface i began this study with the belief that Roger Sherman’s contributions to the founding of the American republic have been neglected, that he has been ignored as a political thinker, and that the signifi cance of his reli- gious convictions has been overlooked. Addressing these concerns remain at the core of this book. However, as the work progressed, I was intrigued by Sherman’s extensive knowledge of, and commitment to, Reformed Christianity. (“Reformed,” in this context, refers to the theological and broader cultural traditions that emerged from the Protestant Reformation, especially that branch of the Reformation associated with John Calvin. Accordingly, the terms “Reformed” and “Calvinist” are used interchange- ably throughout this book.) As I delved into his correspondence and the world in which he lived, I became convinced that there was a larger story to tell. Sherman represents well the many founders infl uenced by the Reformed political tradition, a tradition that dominated New England and which had a signifi cant presence throughout the rest of the nation.1 As this study evolved from being a narrow account of Sherman to include a broader argument for the infl uence of Reformed tradition in the American founding, I found it necessary to trace the development of Reformed political theory. Like many students of American political theory, I was trained broadly in political philosophy and so was familiar with great political philosophers such as Thomas Hobbes, John Locke, and Jean-Jacques Rousseau. Although I had read excerpts from Calvin’s Institutes and Brutus’s V indiciae, Contra Tyrannos , I knew little about Reformed political theory. Perhaps it is as a result of this shortcoming, which I suspect is not uncommon among students of America’s founding, that the infl uence of the Reformed tradition on American political theory is neglected. There are notable exceptions to this rule which will be dis- cussed in the chapters to come, but these works are lost in a sea of books and articles contending that the founders were primarily infl uenced by