ROBERT MORRIS - PROMISSORY NOTE ENDORSED 10/29/1794 CO-SIGNED BY: JOHN NICHOLSON - HFSID 1775

ROBERT MORRIS and JOHN NICHOLSON
Promissory note for $1,596 payable to Robert Morris for value received.
Promissory Note endorsed: "Robt Morris", and signed on front: "Jno Nicholson", 8½x3¾. No place, 1794 October 29. Promissory note #411 for $1,596 payable to Robert Morris for value received. Coupon for payment after 60 days, the leftmost two inches of the document, has been severed and then reattached with a thin strip of paper on verso. ROBERT MORRIS (1734-1806), a successful Philadelphia merchant, was elected to both Continental Congresses. He abstained from voting for the Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776, still hoping for reconciliation with England, but he signed the document on August 2. As an active member of the Congress' ways and means committee and then as its Superintendent of Finance, Morris played a key role in financing the revolution: raising money, trimming waste, and spending money out of his own funds when necessary. A signer of both the Articles of Confederation and the U.S. Constitution, Morris declined to become the nation's first Secretary of the Treasury, recommending Alexander Hamilton instead. He was the first U.S. Senator from Pennsylvania (1789-1795). Bullish on land prices in an independent U.S., Morris joined with Pennsylvania ComptrollerJOHN NICHOLSON to form the North American Land Company in 1795. Unfortunately, the investments proved imprudent, ending in bankruptcy for both Morris and Nicholson. Morris spent over three years in debtors' prison (1798-1801). Also endorsed "William Wood". Slightly soiled. Minor nick at right of upper edge. Bold endorsements on verso show through. Thin ¼-inch hole in center, not touching signatures. Overall, fine condition.