John Collins (June 8, 1717March 4, 1795), was an American politician and a

Founding Father of the United States The Founding Fathers of the United States, often simply referred to as the Founding Fathers or the Founders, were a group of late-18th-century American Revolution, American revolutionary leaders who United Colonies, united the Thirteen Colon ...

who, as a member of the

Continental Congress The Continental Congress was a series of legislature, legislative bodies, with some executive function, for the Thirteen Colonies of British America, Great Britain in North America, and the newly declared United States before, during, and after ...

, signed the

Articles of Confederation The Articles of Confederation, officially the Articles of Confederation and Perpetual Union, was an agreement and early body of law in the Thirteen Colonies, which served as the nation's first Constitution, frame of government during the Ameri ...

. He was the third governor of the U.S. state of

Rhode Island Rhode Island ( ) is a state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders Connecticut to its west; Massachusetts to its north and east; and the Atlantic Ocean to its south via Rhode Island Sound and Block Is ...

from 1786 to 1790.

Early life

Born in Newport in the

Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations The Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations was an English colony on the eastern coast of America, founded in 1636 by Puritan minister Roger Williams after his exile from the Massachusetts Bay Colony. It became a haven for religious d ...

, he was the son of Samuel and Elizabeth Collins.

Political life

He stood forth as a staunch advocate of the independence of the

Thirteen Colonies The Thirteen Colonies were the British colonies on the Atlantic coast of North America which broke away from the British Crown in the American Revolutionary War (1775–1783), and joined to form the United States of America. The Thirteen C ...

. An admirer of

George Washington George Washington (, 1799) was a Founding Fathers of the United States, Founding Father and the first president of the United States, serving from 1789 to 1797. As commander of the Continental Army, Washington led Patriot (American Revoluti ...

, he was selected by the governor of Rhode Island in 1776 to carry a letter to Washington informing him of the condition of the colony and soliciting counsel upon the best method to adopt for its defense. In 1778, Collins represented Rhode Island in the

Second Continental Congress The Second Continental Congress (1775–1781) was the meetings of delegates from the Thirteen Colonies that united in support of the American Revolution and American Revolutionary War, Revolutionary War, which established American independence ...

, where he served until May 1781, when he was superseded by

William Ellery William Ellery (December 22, 1727 – February 15, 1820) was a Founding Father of the United States, one of the 56 signers of the United States Declaration of Independence, and a signer of the Articles of Confederation as a representative of Rho ...

. He was, however, re-elected in 1782 and held the position until 1783. In 1782, he was made bearer to the President of Congress of a statement of Rhode Island's reasons for rejecting the Impost Act. During the

American Revolution The American Revolution (1765–1783) was a colonial rebellion and war of independence in which the Thirteen Colonies broke from British America, British rule to form the United States of America. The revolution culminated in the American ...

, Rhode Island was for the most part an agricultural area, and as such opposed the restrictions of a national government. The state's agricultural interests vigorously advocated a paper currency. Collins espoused their cause and in 1786 was elected governor. During his term in office, the issuance of paper money, which had been ceased at intervals since 1750, was resumed. It was provided by law that should any creditor refuse to accept the bills of the state the debtor might secure a discharge by depositing the amount of his debt with one of the judges of the state superior court or the court of common pleas. This law led to the suit of '' Trevett vs. Weeden'', which resulted in a decision looking toward the right of courts to declare legislative enactments unconstitutional.Richman, I. B., ''Rhode Island, A Study in Separatism'', 1905, pp. 78–81.

Rhode Island's ratification of the U.S. Constitution

When Washington was inaugurated as

President of the United States The president of the United States (POTUS) is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president directs the Federal government of the United States#Executive branch, executive branch of the Federal government of t ...

on April 30, 1789, Rhode Island was one of only two of the thirteen original states (along with

North Carolina North Carolina ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, South Carolina to the south, Georgia (U.S. stat ...

) not to have ratified the United States Constitution and was, technically speaking, an independent nation with Collins as it chief of state.

Anti-Federalist The Anti-Federalists were a late-18th-century political movement that opposed the creation of a stronger U.S. federal government and which later opposed the ratification of the 1787 Constitution. The previous constitution, called the Articles ...

elements in Rhode Island vigorously fought against the calling of a convention to decide upon entering the Federal Union, but on January 17, 1790, gave its sanction to such a call by a majority of one vote in the General Assembly. This vote was cast by Collins, who had come to realize the importance of a Federal connection. The vote cost him his popularity and the governorship. He left office on May 5, 1790. The Rhode Island General Assembly ratified the

United States Constitution The Constitution of the United States is the Supremacy Clause, supreme law of the United States, United States of America. It superseded the Articles of Confederation, the nation's first constitution, on March 4, 1789. Originally includi ...

on May 29. Later in 1790, Collins was elected to the 1st Congress but did not take his seat.

Personal life

Collins was married to Mary, daughter of John Avery of Boston, and his daughter Abigail married John Warren. Collins died at Newport and was buried on his farm, " Brenton Neck", near Brenton Point in that city. His grandson and

namesake A namesake is a person, place, or thing bearing the name of another. Most commonly, it refers to an individual who is purposely named after another (e.g. John F. Kennedy Jr would be the namesake of John F. Kennedy). In common parlance, it may ...

, John Collins Covell (1823–1887), was a principal of the Virginia School for the Deaf and the Blind and West Virginia Schools for the Deaf and Blind. The Rhode Island Society of the Sons of the Revolution holds an annual observance of Rhode Island Independence Day (May 4) at Governor Collins' grave. John Collins was a close friend of Benjamin Franklin when he was young. John Collins and Benjamin Franklin unfortunately broke off their friendship after trouble due to money, as detailed in '' The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin 1771-1790''.

Notes

References

* "John Collins". ''Dictionary of American Biography''. American Council of Learned Societies, 1928–1936. * {{DEFAULTSORT:Collins, John 1717 births 1795 deaths Continental Congressmen from Rhode Island Signers of the Articles of Confederation Governors of Rhode Island Founding Fathers of the United States People from colonial Rhode Island