Biography of Elbridge Gerry

FAIN: RB-10051-70

Clark University (Worcester, MA 01610-1400)
George A. Billias (Project Director: February 1971 to present)

To complete definitive biography of Elbridge Gerry (1744-1814), Massachusetts statesman and politician. Study analyzes Gerry's republican ideas and attitudes and their relationship to his political behavior as member of the Continental Congress, signer of the Declaration of Independence, delegate to the Federal Constitutional Convention, Congressman in the 1790s, minister to France, Governor of Massachussetts, and Vice-President of the United States. Thesis is that Gerry's Republicanism--his fears regarding standing armies, arbitrary courts and an established church coupled with his beliefs in natural rights, limited government and political liberty--was the major focre in determining his ideological outlook.