55 - Abraham Baldwin (GA)

#55 - Abraham Baldwin (GA)
Birthplace: Guilford, Conn
Age at Convention: 32

1) Religion
-- Served as a minister at Yale for 3 years
-- Served as a chaplain in the Continental Army for 2 years

2) Slavery
-- Georgia delegate - not in favor of immediate abolishment of slavery in southern states.
-- Later acknowledged the "pain and difficulty which the subject (slavery) caused in that body (1st Continental Congress)"
-- Member of subsequent Continental Congresses that voted unanimously to a) ban slavery in the Northwest Territories and b) endorse federal oversight of slavery in the Louisiana Territory, a measure which prevented the import of new slaves from foreign shores.

3) Upbringing
-- One of twelve children born to a blacksmith

References:
1) http://www.teachingamericanhistory.org/convention/delegates/baldwin.html
2) http://books.google.com/books?id=JIpGSFl2yLAC&pg=PA126&lpg=PA126&dq=%22abraham+baldwin%22+northwest+1787&source=web&ots=pATsKCOh1K&sig=ALB62JaYdsMM9zyAPcMnsQP9L8s&hl=en&sa=X&oi=book_result&resnum=2&ct=result#PPA127,M1
3) "Founding Brothers" by Joseph J. Ellis

Running tabulation:
1) Religiously Active (1) or Primarily Secular (0)
2) Abolitionist (0), Partial Abolitionist (1) or Non-Abolitionist (0)
3) Wealthy (0) or Middle-Class/Poor (1)