Biography of gunning bedford jr

Beford, along with George Read, Jacob Broom, John Dickinson, and Richard Bassett was appointed a commissioner to meet in Phildadelphia for what was to become one of the most important events in our country's history--the United States Constitutional Convention. Bedford took his seat in the Convention on May 28, and regularly attended its sessions.

The account book of the auditor of the State of Delaware shows that he was paid for attending at least sixteen days. Bedford spoke out warmly in favor of a federal government whose powers should be vested in congress and withheld from the executive. He feared the undue oppression of the larger states, and he repeatedly insisted that all states should be represented equally.

At the convention on June 30, , Bedford made a bold and celebrated speech in which he accused Massachusetts, Virginia, and Pennsylvania of selfishness in their votes. He exclaimed, "If you possess the power, the abuse of it cannot be checked. You dare not dissolve the confederation; if you do, the small states will find some foreign ally of more honor and good faith who will take them by the hand and do them justice.

Later Bedford tried to explain his comments by saying that he did not mean that the small states would court the aid of foreign powers, but that the federal compact should be considered intact until dissolved by the acts of the larger states. He also said, somewhat apologetically, that some allowance ought to be made for the habits of his profession as a lawyer in which "warmth was natural and sometimes necessary.

Early in July, a compromise committee headed by Benjamin Franklin, with Bedford as a member, recommended that in the second branch of Congress each state should have an equal vote. On July 16th when a vote was taken, the greatest of compromises was adopted by a narrow vote. Bedford returned to Dover where he used his eloquence to encourage Delaware's early ratification of the Constitution.

He is a bold and nervous Speaker, and has a very commanding and striking manner;--but he is warm and impetuous in his temper, and precipitate in his judgment. Bedford is about 32 years old [he was actually forty] , and very corpulant" There is no question that he was an imposing figure. In Judge Gunning Bedford, Jr. Included on the land was a five room stone house.

A south wing was added to the house, and seven years later the Bedfords moved there. The house was equivalent to similar important houses of its day, forty-six feet by thirty feet, though it seems small today. His daughter Henrietta erected a monument over his remains. The following inscription summarizes his life. He received from Washington the Commission of first judge of the District Court of the United States for the District of Delaware which he held till his death in He so behaved in these high offices as to deserve and receive the approbation of his fellow citizens.

Biography of gunning bedford jr

His form was goodly, his temper amiable, his manner winning, and his discharge of private duties exemplary. Reader, may his example stimulate you to improve the talents --be they five or two, or one-- with which God has entrusted you. Harold T. A large and forceful man, he spoke on several occasions and was a member of the committee that drafted the Great Compromise.

An ardent small-state advocate, he attacked the pretensions of the large states over the small and warned that the latter might be forced to seek foreign alliances unless their interests were accommodated. He attended the Delaware ratifying convention. For another 2 years, Bedford continued as Delaware's attorney general. In Washington designated him as a federal district judge for his state, an office he was to occupy for the rest of his life.

His only other ventures into national politics came in and , as a Federalist presidential elector. Bedford, Gunning. Bedford, Francis Russell, 5th duke of. Bedford, Francis Russell, 4th earl of. Bedford, Francis Russell, 2d earl of. Bedford, Francis Octavius. Bedford, Deborah Bedford, Barbara — Bedford, B. Bedford Lloyd, John. Bedford Heights.

Bedford Cut Stone Company v. Journeymen Stone Cutters Association U.