36 - Nathaniel Gorham (MA)

#36 - Nathaniel Gorham (MA)
Birthplace: Charlestown, MA
Age at Convention: 49

1) Religion
-- helped write the Massachusett's Constitution, which required: "Any person chosen governor, or lieutenant-governor, cousellor, senator, or representative, and accepting the trust, shall before he proceed to execute the duties of his place or office, take, make, and subscribe the following declaration, viz. 'I, ____, do declare, that I believe the Christian religion, and have a firm persuasion of its truth.'"

2) Slavery
-- Accepted southern demands about slavery to gain support of Carolinas and Georiga

3) Upbringing
-- Born into a family of modest means
-- Minimal education as a youth

References:
1) http://www.teachingamericanhistory.org/convention/delegates/gorham.html
2) http://www.errantskeptics.org/Fifty-Five-Delegates.htm
3) http://fas-history.rutgers.edu/clemens/constitutional1/gorham.html

Running tabulation:
1) Religiously Active (14) or Primarily Secular (6)
2) Abolitionist (9), Partial Abolitionist (7) or Non-Abolitionist (4)
3) Wealthy (6) or Middle-Class/Poor (14)