Nathaniel Gorham and the Committee of the Whole
Updated 8/20/21
Nathaniel Gorham was Chairman of the Committee of Postponed Parts at the Constitutional Convention, overseeing some of the most important conversation during the creation of the United States.
Attending Congress
Nathaniel Gorham arrived in Philadelphia in May 1787 fresh from his tenure as President of the Confederation Congress. He had by then demonstrated himself as an able administrator during the American Revolution, working in the Massachusetts Provincial Congress and on the Board of War.
Like most of the delegates arriving in Pennsylvania that summer Nathaniel thought he was amending the Articles of Confederation, not founding of a new government.
As the convention began, the attendees created the format by which the sessions would operate. The first step was to chose a Chairman of the Convention.
This decision was easy…George Washington.
The Committee of the Whole
The delegates then decided to use a technique called the Committee of the Whole.
Then, as now, Congress would form committees who would break off to study a subject and return with recommendations. Those recommendations would then be voted on by the entire body.
The Committee of the Whole followed this pattern. The only difference is instead of just a few delegates joining the committee, the Committee of the Whole consisted of ALL the delegates.
The reason for this is simple. Anything that was said in the Committee of the Whole would not be official. It allowed the representatives to speak more casually than they might if everything was on the record.
As author Richard Beeman puts it, “This strategy gave the delegates the opportunity…to measure the relative strength of opposing opinions on particularly contentious issues and, when appropriate, to change their minds as they groped their way toward compromise and consensus.”
But there was a problem. How would the men know when they were in Congress and when they were in Committee?
The solution was, like in all other committees, to choose a Chairman.
The choice: Nathaniel Gorham.
Why Gorham
Gorham was a popular choice for several reasons.
Having been known as an able administrator, and the most recent President of the Confederation Congress, his talent for the position was known to all in attendance.
Additionally, he was a moderate and not clearly committed to any of the arguments.
And yes, there were arguments. The Revolution was easy to agree on: win the war. Now there was a government to create.
Chairman
As Chairman of the Committee of the Whole, Gorham would monitor tensions in the room. More than once he adjourned for the night at just the right time, saving the convention from imploding.
It was up to Gorham to recognize who was next to speak. He had to make sure everyone had their turn in an order that moved the debates along and simultaneously didn’t hurt anyone’s feelings.
For the first month of the Convention, and periodically thereafter, Washington would start the day’s session then immediately step down.
In his place, running the Constitutional Convention, was Nathaniel Gorham.
Want to learn about another extremely important committee at the Constitutional Convention?
Great, check this out:
David Brearley and the Committee of Postponed Parts
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