Luther Martin

Luther Martin (February 20, 1748, Piscataway, New Jersey – July 10, 1826 New York, N.Y.) was a politician and one of the United States' Founding Fathers, who refused to sign the Constitution because he felt it violated states' rights. He was a leading Anti-Federalist, along with Patrick Henry and George Mason, whose actions helped passage of the Bill of Rights.

Martin was an early advocate of American independence from Great Britain. In the fall of 1774, as a resident of Somerset County, Maryland, he served on the county's patriot committee, and in December attended a convention of the Province of Maryland in Annapolis, which had been called to consider the recommendations of the American Congress.

In 1785, he was elected to the Confederation Congress by the Maryland General Assembly, but his numerous public and private duties prevented him from traveling to Philadelphia. Martin was elected as a delegate to the Constitutional Convention of 1787 in Philadelphia. When he arrived on June 9, 1787, he expressed suspicion of the secrecy rule imposed on the proceedings. He also opposed the creation of a government in which the large states would dominate the small ones, he consistently sided with the small states, helping to formulate the New Jersey Plan and voting against the Virginia Plan. On June 27, Martin spoke for more than three hours in opposition to the Virginia Plan's proposal for proportionate representation in both houses of the legislature. He was known for his ability to talk and as stated by William Pierce "he was educated for the Bar … and he never speaks without tiring the patience of all who hear him." Martin served on the committee formed to seek a compromise on representation, where he supported the case for equal numbers of delegates in at least one house. Before the convention closed, he became convinced that the new government would have too much power over state governments and would threaten individual rights. Failing to find any support for a bill of rights, Martin and another Maryland delegate, John Francis Mercer, walked out of the convention.

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