George Clymer Buys Worthless Coin
It’s hard to believe that after two years of daily articles I still have not written about George Clymer.
This is partially because Clymer did SO MUCH during the American Revolution that consolidating it into one article is difficult.
Well, that changes today as we look at the life of a man who signed both the Declaration of Independence and United States Constitution.
George Clymer
George Clymer grew up in Philadelphia and studied the mercantile business with his uncle.
By his early 30’s Clymer had become one of the wealthiest men in the city and saw all of his earnings at risk when the Mother Country began issuing new, oppressive taxes.
Though he was a quiet man, George knew it was time to speak up.
Treasurer of the Continental Congress
Clymer became a leading Patriot in Pennsylvania, acting as one of the major forces behind the Philadelphia Tea Party (yes, Philly had a Tea Party too).
George joined the local Committee of Correspondence and became its Treasurer.
The following year, Clymer was hired as one of two Treasurers of the Continental Congress. He became an early and outspoken supporter of independence.
Declaration Signer
Clymer had not yet been elected to the Continental Congress when the debate on separating from Great Britain took place.
However, in the aftermath of the approval of the Declaration of Independence, Pennsylvania removed the delegates who supported maintaining a relationship with the Mother Country.
In their place, the State sent more radical Revolutionaries.
Among these men was George Clymer, who arrived in time to be a part of history and signed the Declaration of Independence.
Buying Continentals
Clymer spent the rest of the War of Independence serving on several committees in Congress.
Furthermore, he exchanged a great deal of his personal fortune for the new American currency, the Continental. The goal was to add value to these bills which were virtually worthless.
It is interesting to note that, had Britain won the war, George would have essentially bankrupted himself in support of the Patriot Cause.
Constitution Signer
When the Redcoats took control of Philadelphia, they destroyed one of Clymer’s houses and used the other as a hospital. At one point, his family was forced to hide in the woods.
Undeterred, George stuck with his country and several years later was again asked to serve his State as a Delegate to the Constitutional Convention.
Although he played a small role in the deliberations, Clymer signed the United States Constitution.
He is one of just five men to have signed both the Declaration and the Constitution.
George Clymer would go on to serve as an inaugural member of the United States House of Representatives to finish his extremely important career as an American Founder.
Want to read about other Signers?
Check out this page where I have listed all the Signers I’ve written about:
Somehow, Clymer does not have a biography available.
If you want to learn more about the Declaration Signers in general (and like my approach to history) you’ll most likely enjoy ‘Signing Their Lives Away.’
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