Charles Carroll | |
|---|---|
 Charles Carroll painted by Michael Laty | |
| United States Senator fromMaryland | |
| In office March 4, 1789 – November 30, 1792 | |
| Preceded by | Office created |
| Succeeded by | Richard Potts |
| Delegate to the Second Continental Congress from Maryland | |
| In office 1776–1778 | |
| Member of theMaryland Senate | |
| In office 1781–1800 | |
| Personal details | |
| Born | (1737-09-19)September 19, 1737 |
| Died | November 14, 1832(1832-11-14) (aged 95) |
| Nationality | Great Britain (1737–1776) United States (1776–1832) |
| Political party | Federalist[1] |
| Spouse | Mary Darnall |
| Relations | Charles Carroll of Annapolis (father) Charles Carroll the Settler (grandfather) Charles Carroll (cousin) Daniel Carroll (cousin) John Carroll (cousin) |
| Alma mater | College of St. Omer Lycée Louis-le-Grand |
| Signature |  |
Charles Carroll (September 19, 1737 – November 14, 1832), known asCharles Carroll of Carrollton orCharles Carroll III,[2] was an American politician, planter, andsignatory of theDeclaration of Independence. He was the onlyCatholic signatory of the Declaration and the longest surviving, dying 56 years after its signing.[3]
Considered one of theFounding Fathers of the United States,[4] Carroll was known contemporaneously as the "First Citizen" of the American colonies, a consequence of signing articles in theMaryland Gazette with that pen name.[5] He served as a delegate to theContinental Congress andConfederation Congress. Carroll later served as the firstUnited States Senator forMaryland. Of all of the signers of the Declaration of Independence, Carroll was one of the wealthiest and most formally educated. A product of his 17-yearJesuit education in France, Carroll spoke five languages fluently.
Born inAnnapolis, Maryland, Carroll inherited vast agricultural estates and was regarded as the wealthiest man in the American colonies when theAmerican Revolution commenced in 1775.[citation needed] His personal fortune at this time was reputed to be 2,100,000 pounds sterling, the equivalent to £338,402,985 in 2023 (US$375 million). In addition, Carroll presided over his manor in Maryland, a 10,000-acre estate, and claimed as his property approximately 300 slaves. Though barred from holding office in Maryland because of his religion, Carroll emerged as a leader of the state's movement for independence. He was a delegate to theAnnapolis Convention and was selected as a delegate to the Continental Congress in 1776. He was part of an unsuccessful diplomatic mission, which also includedBenjamin Franklin andSamuel Chase, that Congress sent toQuebec in hopes of winning the support ofFrench Canadians.
Carroll served in theMaryland Senate from 1781 to 1800.[6] He was elected as one of Maryland's inaugural representatives in the United States Senate but resigned his seat in 1792 after Maryland passed a law barring individuals from simultaneously serving in both state and federal office. After retiring from public service, he helped establish theBaltimore and Ohio Railroad by purchasing $40,000 of state-backed securities and serving on its first board of directors.[6]
TheCarroll family were descendants of the Ó Cearbhaill's, who were the rulers of the Irishpetty kingdom ofÉile inKing's County,Ireland.[7] Carroll's grandfather wasCharles Carroll the Settler, an Irishman fromAghagurty who moved toLondon in 1685 and worked as a clerk for English noblemanLord Powis before emigrating toMaryland in October 1688.[8] After arriving in Maryland, he settled in the colonial capital ofSt. Mary's City with a commission as anattorney general from the colony'sproprietor,Lord Baltimore.[9][10]
Carroll's maternal ancestry was English, as his mother hailed from the Brooke family.[11][12]
Carroll's father wasCharles Carroll of Annapolis, who was born inAnnapolis, Maryland, in 1702. Though he inherited theplantation ofDoughoregan Manor from his father, as a Roman Catholic he was forbidden from participating in the political affairs of the colony.[13][14]
Carroll was born on September 19, 1737, in Annapolis, Maryland, the only child of Charles Carroll of Annapolis and his wife Elizabeth Brooke.[6] He was born an illegitimate child, as his parents were not married at the time of his birth, for technical reasons to do with the inheritance of the Carroll family estates. They eventually married in 1757.[15] The young Carroll was educated at aJesuit preparatory school known as Bohemia Manor inCecil County on Maryland'sEastern Shore.[15] At age 11, he was sent to France, where he continued in Jesuit schools, first at theCollege of St. Omer in Northern France and later theLycée Louis-le-Grand in Paris, graduating in 1755. He continued his studies in Europe andread law in London before returning to Annapolis in 1765.[15][16]
Charles Carroll of Annapolis grantedCarrollton Manor to his son, Charles Carroll of Carrollton. It is from this tract of land that he took his title "Charles Carroll of Carrollton." Like his father, Carroll was a Catholic and as a consequence was barred by Maryland statute from entering politics, practicing law and voting.[15] This did not prevent him from becoming one of the wealthiest men in Maryland (or indeed anywhere in the Colonies),[15] owning extensive agricultural estates, most notably the large manor atDoughoregan,Hockley Forge and Mill, and providing capital to finance new enterprises on the Western Shore.[17]
Carroll was not initially interested in politics,[15] and in any event Catholics had been barred from holding office in Maryland since the 1704 act seeking "to prevent the growth of Popery in this Province".[18] But as the dispute betweenGreat Britain and herAmerican colonies intensified in the early 1770s, Carroll became a powerful voice for independence. In 1772, he engaged in a debate, conducted through anonymous newspaper letters, maintaining the right of the colonies to control their own taxation. Writing in theMaryland Gazette under the pseudonym "First Citizen," he also criticized the royal governor's proclamation that increased special fees paid by colonists to state officials and Protestant clergy. Opposing Carroll in these written debates, using the name "Antillon", wasDaniel Dulany the Younger, a noted lawyer andLoyalist politician.[19][20] In these debates, Carroll argued that the government of Maryland had long been the monopoly of four families, the Ogles, the Taskers, the Bladens and the Dulanys, with Dulany taking the contrary view.[20] Eventually word spread of the true identity of the two combatants, and Carroll's fame and notoriety began to grow.[21] Dulany soon resorted to highly personal ad hominem attacks on "First Citizen", and Carroll responded, in statesmanlike fashion, with considerable restraint, arguing that when "Antillon" engaged in "virulent invective and illiberal abuse, we may fairly presume, that arguments are either wanting, or that ignorance or incapacity know not how to apply them".[21] Following these written debates, Carroll became a leading opponent of British rule and served on various committees of correspondence.[22]
In the early 1770s, Carroll appears to have embraced the idea that only war could break the impasse with Great Britain. According to legend, Carroll andSamuel Chase (who would also later sign the Declaration of Independence on Maryland's behalf) had the following exchange:
Beginning with his election to Maryland'scommittee of correspondence in 1774, Carroll represented the colony in most of the pre-revolutionary groups. He became a member of Annapolis' firstcommittee of safety, known as the "Annapolis Committee of Correspondence and Council Safety" in 1775.[7] Carroll was a delegate to theAnnapolis Convention, which functioned as Maryland's revolutionary government before the Declaration of Independence. In early 1776, the Congress sent him on a four-man diplomatic mission to theProvince of Quebec, in order to seek assistance fromFrench Canadians in the coming confrontation with Great Britain. Carroll was an excellent choice for such a mission, being fluent in French and a Catholic and therefore well suited to negotiations with the French-speaking Catholics of Quebec.[23] He was joined in the commission byBenjamin Franklin,Samuel Chase, and his cousinJohn Carroll.[24] The commission did not accomplish its mission.
Carroll was elected as a Maryland representative the Continental Congress[6] on July 4, 1776, and remained a delegate until 1778. He arrived at the 2nd Continental Congress[6] too late to vote in favor of theDeclaration of Independence but was present to sign the official document that survives today. He signed the document in Philadelphia on August 2, 1776.[6] After bothThomas Jefferson andJohn Adams died on July 4, 1826, Carroll became the last living signatory of the Declaration of Independence. His signature reads "Charles Carroll of Carrollton" to distinguish him from his father, "Charles Carroll of Annapolis," who was still living at that time, and several otherCharles Carrolls in Maryland, such as Charles Carroll, Barrister, and his son Charles Carroll Jr., also known as "Charles Carroll of Homewood." He is usually referred to this way by historians. At the time, he was the richest man in America and had much to lose by identifying himself on the document. Throughout his term in theSecond Continental Congress, he served on the board of war. Carroll also gave considerable financial support to theAmerican Revolutionary War.
Carroll returned to Maryland in 1778 to assist in the formation of a state government. Carroll was re-elected to the Continental Congress in 1780, but he declined to take his seat. Instead, he accepted election to theMaryland Senate in 1781 and served there until 1800. In November 1779, theMaryland House of Delegates moved to pass a bill authorizing the confiscation of property from those who would not renounce their allegiance to England, without any right to a legal hearing or remedy. Carroll opposed this measure, questioning the motives of those who pressed for confiscation and arguing that the measure was unjust. However, such moves to confiscateTory property had much popular support and eventually, in 1780, the measure passed.[25]
When the United States government was created, the Maryland legislature elected him to the first session of theUnited States Senate. In 1792, Maryland passed a law that prohibited any man from serving in the state and national legislatures at the same time. Since Carroll was more interested in matters concerning his home state, he resigned from the U.S. Senate on November 30, 1792.
The Carroll family were slaveholders and Carroll was reputedly the largest single slave owner at the time of the American Revolution.[26] Carroll was opposed in principle toslavery, asking rhetorically: "Why keep alive the question of slavery? It is admitted by all to be a great evil.; let an effectual mode of getting rid of it be pointed out, or let the question sleep forever;"[27] However, although he supported its gradual abolition, he did not free his own slaves.[28] Carroll introduced a bill for the gradual abolition of slavery in the Maryland Senate, but it did not pass.[29] In 1828, aged 91, he served as president of theAuxiliary State Colonization Society of Maryland,[30] the Maryland branch of theAmerican Colonization Society, an organization dedicated to returningBlack Americans to lead free lives in African states[6] such asLiberia.
Carroll retired from public life in 1801. After Thomas Jefferson became president, he had great anxiety about political activity and was not sympathetic to theWar of 1812. He was elected a member of theAmerican Antiquarian Society in 1815.[31] Carroll came out of retirement to help create theBaltimore and Ohio Railroad in 1827.
In 1828, he commissioned thePhoenix Shot Tower in Baltimore and laid its cornerstone. The 234-foot tower, which is still standing, was the tallest structure in the United States until theWashington Monument was built.[32] Carroll's last public act, on July 4, 1828, was the laying of the "first stone" (cornerstone) of the railroad at almost 91 years of age.[33] "The Carrollton March", written in his honor to celebrate the occasion, is recognized as the firsttrain song.[34]
Carroll was admitted as an honorary member of TheSociety of the Cincinnati in the state of Maryland in 1828.[35][36] Unlike hereditary members, honorary members are not eligible to be represented by a living descendant.[37] In May 1832, he was asked to appear at the firstDemocratic Party Convention but did not attend on account of poor health.[38] Carroll died on November 14, 1832, at age 95, inBaltimore, at the Caton home.[6]
He holds the distinction of being the oldest-lived Founding Father. He had outlived four of the first five U.S. presidents. His funeral took place at the Baltimore Cathedral (now known as theBasilica of the National Shrine of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary). Carroll was buried in hisDoughoregan Manor Chapel atEllicott City, Maryland after a national day of mourning.[6]
Carroll is remembered in the third stanza of the former state songMaryland, My Maryland.
Named in his honor are counties inArkansas,Georgia,Illinois,Indiana,Iowa,Kentucky,Maryland,Mississippi,Missouri,New Hampshire,Ohio, andVirginia as well as two Louisiana parishes,East andWest Carroll. Cities and towns named for him are inAlabama,Georgia,Kentucky, Illinois (Mount Carroll, Illinois),Iowa,Maryland,Missouri,New Hampshire, andNew York, as well as neighborhoods inBrooklyn andTampa.Charles Carroll Middle School in New Carrollton, Maryland; Charles Carroll High School[39] in thePort Richmond neighborhood ofPhiladelphia; andCarroll University inWaukesha, Wisconsin, are named in his honor.
In 1876, the Centennial Exhibition held to commemorate the birth of the United States was held in Philadelphia. The Catholic Abstinence Union of America commissioned theCatholic Total Abstinence Union Fountain for the Centennial Exhibition. The fountain was commissioned and created by sculptor Herman Kim to promote American morality, and the centerpiece of the fountain is a statue ofMoses. There are four other statues that surround it, making up the points of theMaltese cross: Carroll,Father Mathew, CommodoreJohn Barry, and ArchbishopJohn Carroll. The fountain is located in West Fairmount Park.[40]
In 1903, the state of Maryland added abronze statue of Carroll to theUnited States Capitol'sNational Statuary Hall Collection. Sculpted byRichard E. Brooks, it is located in the Crypt.[22] In 1906, theUniversity of Notre Dame constructed a residence hall known asCarroll Hall.[41] Paca-Carroll House atSt. John's College is named for Carroll and his fellow signer of the Declaration of Independence,William Paca.[42] TheWorld War IILiberty ShipSS Charles Carroll was named in his honor.[43]
Carroll is depicted in the 2004 filmNational Treasure.
.jpg)
Carroll married Mary Darnall (1749–1782), known as Molly, on June 5, 1768. She was a granddaughter ofHenry Darnall (Carroll was a great-grandson of Darnall).[44] They had seven children before Molly died in 1782, but only three survived infancy:
Today, Carroll's descendants continue to own Doughoregan Manor, the largest parcel of land in Howard County, Maryland, with over 1,000 acres (4 km2) of valuable but historically preserved land in Ellicott City, Maryland.
Anne Marie Becraft's grandmother, a free Black woman, worked as a housekeeper for Carroll. Carroll presented Anne Marie's father with several of the Carroll family's prized relics, paintings, and other keepsakes just before Carroll's death in 1832.[46]
In the 1940s, newspaper journalist John Hix's syndicated comicStrange as It Seems published anapocryphal explanation for Charles Carroll's distinctive signature on the Declaration of Independence. Every member of the Continental Congress who signed this document automatically became a criminal, guilty of sedition against KingGeorge III. Carroll, because of his wealth, had more to lose than most of his companions. Some of the signators, such asCaesar Rodney andButton Gwinnett, had unusual and distinctive names which would clearly identify them to the King; other signators, with more commonplace names, might hope to sign the Declaration without incriminating themselves.
According to Hix, when it was Carroll's turn to sign the Declaration of Independence, he rose, went toJohn Hancock's desk where the document rested, signed his name "Charles Carroll" and returned to his seat. At this point another member of the Continental Congress, who was prejudiced against Carroll because of his Catholicism, commented that Carroll risked nothing in signing the document, as there must be many men named Charles Carroll in the colonies, and so the King would be unlikely to order Carroll's arrest without clear proof that he was the same Charles Carroll who had signed the Declaration. Carroll immediately returned to Hancock's desk, seized the pen again, and added "of Carrollton" to his name.[47]
In fact, Carroll had been appending "of Carrollton" to his signature for over a decade, the earliest surviving example appearing at the end of a September 15, 1765, letter to his English friend William Gibson. Carrollton Manor was the name of a tract of more than twelve thousand acres in Frederick County, Maryland, which the Carroll family leased to tenant farmers.[48]
| Maryland Senate | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | President of the Maryland State Senate 1783 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | President of the Maryland State Senate 1783 | Succeeded by |
| U.S. Senate | ||
| Preceded by None | U.S. senator (Class 1) from Maryland 1789–1792 Served alongside:John Henry | Succeeded by |
| Honorary titles | ||
| Preceded by | Oldest living U.S. senator June 1, 1832 – November 14, 1832 | Succeeded by |
| Class 1 |  | |
|---|---|---|
| Class 3 | ||
