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Website
US National Archives

Nara: Founding Fathers: Delegates to the Constitutional Convention

For Students 9th - 10th
The National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) provides biographies of all 55 delegates to the Constitutional Convention.
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Handout
University of Groningen

American History: Biographies: Richard Bassett 1745 1815

For Students 9th - 10th
Bassett (Basset) was born in Cecil County, MD., in April 1745. After his tavern-keeper father deserted his mother, he was reared by a relative, Peter Lawson, from whom he later inherited Bohemia Manor (MD.) estate. He read for the law at...
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Handout
University of Groningen

American History: Biographies: Gunning Bedford, Jr. 1747 1812

For Students 9th - 10th
Bedford was born in 1747 at Philadelphia and reared there. The fifth of seven children, he was descended from a distinguished family that originally settled in Jamestown, VA. He usually referred to himself as Gunning Bedford, Jr., to...
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Handout
University of Groningen

American History: Biographies: George Read 1733 1798

For Students 9th - 10th
Read's mother was the daughter of a Welsh planter, and his Dublin-born father a landholder of means. Soon after George's birth in 1733 near the village of North East in Cecil County, MD, his family moved to New Castle, DE, where the...
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Handout
US National Archives

Nara: Founding Fathers: Delaware

For Students 9th - 10th
Gives biographical details on the five delegates from Delaware to the Constitutional Convention: Richard Bassett, Gunning Bedford, Jr., Jacob Broom, John Dickinson, and George Read.
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Handout
Bill of Rights Institute

Bill of Rights Institute: John Dickinson

For Students 9th - 10th
John Dickinson was called "The Penman of the American Revolution." During the 1760s and 1770s, he authored numerous important essays in defense of American rights, including The Late Regulations Respecting the British Colonies, the...
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Handout
University of Groningen

American History: Biographies: Jacob Broom 1752 1810

For Students 9th - 10th
Broom was born in 1752 at Wilmington, DE., the eldest son of a blacksmith who prospered in farming. The youth was educated at home and probably at the local Old Academy. Although he followed his father into farming and also studied...
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Handout
University of Groningen

American History: Biographies: John Dickinson (1732 1808)

For Students 9th - 10th
Dickinson has correctly been called the "Penman of the Revolution" by later historians. But his activities extended fortwo decades into the life of the new republic, years in which Dickinson's contributions were many. Dickinson's career...
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Handout
University of Groningen

American History: Biographies: John Dickinson 1732 1808 (2)

For Students 9th - 10th
Dickinson, "Penman of the Revolution," was born in 1732 at Crosiadore estate, near the village of Trappe in Talbot County, MD. He was the second son of Samuel Dickinson, the prosperous farmer, and his second wife, Mary (Cadwalader)...