Gunning Bedford Jr.

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Biography Gunning Bedford Junior was born in 1747 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Gunning Bedford often added Jr. to his name to avoid confusion with his cousin, Gunning Bedford Sr., who was the 12th governor of Delaware. Bedford graduated from The College of New Jersey in 1771 and decided to set up a law firm in Delaware. After the revolutionary war Bedford rose to become a powerful political figure in Delaware. He participated in the Continental Congress between 1783 and 1785 and was invited to the Annapolis Convention, but he did not attend. He also spent most of the 1780’s in the Delaware legislature. Bedford was among the 55 delegates invited to the Constitutional Convention on 1787 and was one of the most vocal speakers in the convention. ------------------------------------------------- Notes: Articles of Confederation: Gunning Bedford Junior joined those who wanted to amend the articles of confederation, but when he liked the idea of a new constitution when it was brought up. Congress: He supported the idea a new constitution (one that followed the New Jersey Plan) to be signed into law. He was so against the idea of some states not having as much rights as others that he threatened to make alliances with other countries to insure the small states were cared for. As the convention went on Bedford became more flexible and was in the committee that drafted the Great Compromise, which he supported. Voting Rights: Bedford cared more about states right than voting rights of individuals in the convention. Legislative wise, he supported the New Jersey Plan where each state would have the same amount of representatives in congress regardless of their size, thus giving all states an equal vote. His positions on voting rights for individuals is not noted. Slavery: Gunning Bedford was generally against the idea of slavery and used his position of Federal
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