Who Were the Stamp Congress Delegates?

When one reads the 1765 Declaration of Rights and Grievances The Stamp Act Congress passed, one question to ask is who were these guys who wrote it? Demographically, there were 27. By colony, five came from New York, three each from Connecticut, Massachusetts, Maryland, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and South Carolina, and two from Delaware and Rhode Island.

Not all signed the declaration; some claimed that they were not authorized by their state governments (South Carolina and Connecticut). New York’s five said they were not elected and therefore could not sign.

The vigorous “who should or can we sign” debate led to Thomas McKeon of Delaware challenging Timothy Ruggles from Massachusetts to a duel. Cooler heads prevailed, and the duel did not take place. Ultimately, six colonies, which were a majority, signed, and the document was sent to the British Parliament.

Studying the list of delegates, unless one studies the American  Revolution, are not well known. Space doesn’t allow providing bios on all 27, but the group represents the civil war aspect of what became the Revolutionary War. So, here’s nine in alphabetical order.

William Bayard (New York) was a wealthy NY trader who sided with the British. He raised a regiment of Loyalists and after the war, left for England where he died. All his property in the new U.S. was confiscated.

Metcalf Bowler (Rhode Island) was, on the surface, a loyal Patriot. He signed Rhode Island’s Declaration of Independence from England and was a member of its Supreme Court. Yet, unbeknownst to his fellow Patriots. Bowler was a spy for the British. When General Sir Henry Clinton’s papers were cataloged in 1920, long after Bowler’s death in 1789, it was discovered that Bowler had been a paid informant for the British.

John Dickinson (Pennsylvania) later served as a member of the First and Second Continental Congresses. He also edited Jefferson’s first draft of the Declaration of Independence and is one of the authors of the Articles of Confederation.

Christopher Gadsden (South Carolina) was the founder of the South Carolina chapter of the Sons of Liberty. After the war broke out, he became commander of the 1st South Carolina Regiment. Ultimately, he surrendered to the British in 1780 and was paroled. However, Cornwallis ordered his arrest upon his arrival in August 1780, and Gadsden was sent to St. Augustine. And, yes, the yellow flag with the coiled snake is named after him.

William Johnson (Connecticut), a successful attorney and the third president of Columbia College tried to stay neutral and failed. A lawsuit against the British cost him his law practice. He became a delegate to the Second Continental Congress and chose to be a member of the Constitutional Convention.

Philip Livingston (New York) represented New York on both the First and Second Continental Congresses and was one of the signers of the Declaration of Independence.

Timothy McKeon (Delaware) served as both an officer in the Continental Army and a delegate to both Continental Congresses. He was one of the drafters of the Articles of Confederation, and because McKeon was with Washington at the time, he didn’t sign the Declaration of Independence when it was originally promulgated. He added his signature later.

Timothy Ruggles (Massachusetts) decided he wanted no part of a revolution and left for Nova Scotia as soon as the war began.

John Rutledge (South Carolina) had the unhappy duty to be the colony’s governor when the British invaded in 1780. Yet he managed to remain a member of the Second Continental Congress and was selected to serve in the Constitutional Convention. In 1789, he was appointed as an Associate Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court and became the Chief Justice in 1795.

Engraving is of Federal Hall on Wall Street where The Stamp Act Congress convened.