Who Was Charles Carroll of Carrollton?
Charles Carroll of Carrollton (his complete name) was born in 1737 into a wealthy Catholic family in Annapolis Maryland. He began his education at the age of eight when he was sent to France to study. He eventually completed his work and returned to the United States not until the age of twenty eight. At that time he took immediate interest in Maryland politics and the issue of succession from Great Britain circa 1755. He visited the Continental Congress in 1776, and was enlisted in a diplomatic mission to Canada, along with Dr. Benjamin Franklin and Samuel Chase. Shortly after his return, the Maryland Convention decided to join in support for the Revolutionary War. Carroll was elected to represent Maryland on the 4th of July, and though he was too late to vote for the Declaration, he did sign it. He served in the Continental Congress, on the Board of War, through much of the War of Independence, and simultaneously participated in the framing of a constitution for Maryland. In 1778 he
