War is hell – especially on certain wallets. It was especially costly for Founding Father Robert Morris, the so-called "Financier of the Revolution," who had his hands in many of the monetary aspects of America's battle for independence.
Though he doesn't have the fame of other 18th-century notables such as George Washington, Benjamin Franklin, or Alexander Hamilton, the Liverpool-born Morris was essentially in charge of the financial side of waging a costly war with Britain. Morris was a fundraiser, borrower, and even personal backer of the newborn nation's struggles.
To pay for the Revolutionary War, he requisitioned money from the states and borrowed from our allies in France. He also founded the Bank of North America and had a long and arduous political career, but was ultimately forced to file for personal bankruptcy after his land speculations went bust in the late 1790s. The man who bankrolled the American Revolution ended up in debtors' prison for more than three years.
Founding Father facts:
- The only people who signed the Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776 were Charles Thomson and John Hancock – most signed on August 2nd.
- Benjamin Franklin was considered too much of a jokester to be allowed to write the Declaration of Independence.
- Thomas Jefferson pushed for having the Constitution rewritten every 19 years.