DOCUMENT SIGNED BY FOUNDING FATHER ROBERT MORRIS

Autograph document signed by Robert Morris. With additional signatures from John Nicholson and James Greenleaf. N.p., 25 July 1794. 1 page, 8vo, with seals from the signers. 

WITH engraving of Robert Morris. J.B. Longacre & H.B. Hall, engravers. W. Pate, printer. New York: G.P. Putnam, [mid-19th century]. 5 x 7 in. 

Document reads in full: "Witness whereof We the said Robert Morris, John Nicholson and James Greenleaf have hereunto set our Hands and Seals this Twenty Fifth Day of July in the Year of Our Lord One Thousand Seven Hundred and Ninety Four. — / Signed and Delivered in the presence of us. — John Hilary Baker / George A. Baker". 

An incredibly well-preserved document signed by one of the country's founding fathers, Robert Morris. While it's unclear for what purpose this document was prepared, the fact that it was signed by Morris, along with two other founders of the North American Land Company, suggest that perhaps it was related to real estate. 

Morris (1734-1806) was one of the signers of the Declaration of Independence, Articles of Confederation and U.S. Constitution. He was also instrumental in acquiring necessary funds for the Revolutionary War, loaning George Washington £10,000 to pay for his troops; this money kept Washington's Army together just before the Battles of Trenton and Princeton. 

Morris first became involved with land speculation while he was a U.S. senator representing Pennsylvania from 1789-1795. At the end of his term, Morris, along with Nicholson (?-1800) and Greenleaf, founded the North American Land Company to raise money by selling stock secured by the real estate the company purchased.

The trio attempted to sell 6 million acres of land from Pennsylvania, Virginia, Georgia, Kentucky and the Carolinas; however, the demand for land was not as strong as Morris and his associates had hoped. Morris was forced to file for bankruptcy, eventually sending the three men to debtor's prison. Greenleaf spent a year in prison, while Nicholson died less than a year after being arrested. Morris was imprisoned for a little more than three years, with the Temporary Bankruptcy Act of 1800 being passed in part by Congress to get him out of prison. 

[American Revolutionary War, American Revolution, Founding Fathers, Declaration of Independence, Colonial America, George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Alexander Hamilton, James Monroe] [Manuscripts, Documents, Letters, Ephemera, Signatures, Autographs] [Art, Folk Art, Military Art, Etching, Engraving, Lithographs, Prints, Ephemera] 

Typical toning and ink offset from age.