Introduction

It has often been remarked that in the journey of life, the young rely on energy to counteract the experience of the old. And vice versa. What makes this Constitutional Convention remarkable is that the delegates were both young and experienced. The average age of the delegates was 42 and four of the most influential delegates—Alexander Hamilton, Edmund Randolph, Gouvernor Morris, and James Madison—were in their thirties. Over half of the delegates graduated from College with nine from Princeton and six from British Universities. Even more significant was the continental political experience of the Framers: 8 signed the Declaration of Independence, 25 served in the Continental Congress, 15 helped draft the new State Constitutions between 1776 and 1780, and 40 served in the Confederation Congress between 1783 and 1787.

* indicates delegates who did not sign the Constitution

Titles and Professions of the Delegates

Delegates with Military Titles

• General George Washington (VA)
• General Charles Coatsworth Pinckney (SC)
• General Thomas Mifflin (PA)
• Colonel William Davie (NC)
• Colonel George Mason (VA)
• Captain Jonathan Dayton (NJ)
• Captain William L. Pierce (GA)
• Major Pierce Butler (SC)

Doctors

• Benjamin Franklin (PA)
• Hugh WIlliamson (NC)
• William Samuel Johnson (CT)
• James McClurg (VA)

Judges

• John Blair (VA)
• David Brearly (NJ)
• Oliver Ellsworth (CT)
• John Rutledge (SC)
• Robert Yates (NY)
• George Read (DE)
• William Paterson (NJ)

Governors

• John Dickinson (DE)
• Benjamin Franklin (PA)
• John Langdon (NH)
• William Livingston (NJ)
• Alexander Martin (NC)
• Edmund Randolph (VA)
• John Rutledge (SC)

Attorneys General

• Gunning Bedford, Jr. (DE)
• Luther Martin (MD)
• William Paterson (NJ)
• Edmund Randolph (VA)

Professors

• George Wythe (VA)