Constitution Signer

Abraham Baldwin

1754-1807

Abraham Baldwin was born in Guilford, Connecticut. He was the second son of a blacksmith who fathered 12 children by two wives. His humble beginnings served him well in his future endeavors since he would be able to relate to the rougher frontiersman, as well as the academic elite. Possibly as a great tribute to his strong upbringing as well as the financial sacrifices of his parents, several of the children attained distinction in life. His sister Ruth Baldwin married the poet and diplomat Joel Barlow, and his half-brother Henry Baldwin became an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States.

Abraham graduated from Yale University in nearby New Haven, Connecticut in 1772. Three years later, he became a minister and tutor at the college. Years later he would decline an offer from Yale for a divinity professorship; instead he choosing to study law.

In conjunction with Georgia Governor, Lyman Hall, Baldwin helped develop educational plans for both secondary and higher education in the state after being elected to the Georgia House of Representatives in the state legislature.  The educational plans included land grants from the state to fund the establishment of the University of Georgia (UGA) in Athens, Georgia, which was modeled after Baldwin alma mater, Yale.  Baldwin was instrumental in UGA becoming the first state-chartered school in the nation. Baldwin served as the first president of the institution during its initial planning phase, from 1785 to 1801.

Baldwin helped frame the constitution of the United States and signed such as one of the deputies from Georgia. After the organization of the new United States government, he was elected as the Georgia Senator. On March 4, 1807, at age fifty-two, Baldwin died while serving discharging his duties as the U.S. senator from Georgia. Later that month the Savannah Republican and Savannah Evening Ledger reprinted a eulogy of the great statesman, which had first appeared in a Washington, D.C., newspaper: "He originated the plan of the University of Georgia, drew up the charter, and with infinite labor and patience, in vanquishing all sorts of prejudices and removing every obstruction, he persuaded the assembly to adopt it."

References:

Marshall,James V. The United States Manual of Biography and History, Philadelphia: James B. Smith & Co., 1856, Page 189.

Abraham Baldwin. (2011, August 25). In Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Retrieved 03:58, September 13, 2011, from http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Abraham_Baldwin&oldid...