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=John Mercer=

**Maryland Representative**
Maryland

**Background Information and Occupation**
John Mercer was born on May 17, 1759 in Stafford County, VA. He studied and graduated from the College of William and Mary, soon after joining the third Virginia Regiment. He proceeded on becoming General Charles Lee's aide-de-camp in 1778. He resigned from commission in 1779 after Gen. Lee's court martial, spending the next year studying law once more in the College of WIlliam and Mary. He briefly rejoined the army and around 1782 was elected to the Virginia House of Delegates. He became a Virginia representative in the Continental Congress but moved into Maryland in 1785 soon after marrying Sophia Sprigg. He attended at the convention in Philadelphia as a Maryland delegate, who spoke against and voted on the Constitution, but left theconvention before the process of signing had come to a finish. John Francis Mercer died on August 30th still considered one of the founding fathers of the constitution til this day.

**Constitutional Convention**
John Mercer had attended the Constitutional Convention ( the youngest delegated at that time) but was opposed completely against the New Constitution. He went against the whole idea of a strong centralized government. Mercer stated that if one man alone was to be given legislative power by the people who will represent them ,with partial interests, it will become a tyranny with full authority. He did not stay to see the final results walking out of the convention with his fellow friend Luther Martin, holding onto the firm belief that this whole idea could never succeed.

**Ratifying Convention**
Once John Mercer returned home, he was once more elected to attend the Maryland Convention as a representative of Anne Arundel County for the Consititution. He once more opposed the document, this time for the reason of protesting against " cheap paper money". He was completely against all Federalist beliefs and refused to support the Constitution.

Friends- Luther Martin Foes-