Luther Martin

In the months following the convention, he was a leading Anti-Federalist, along with Patrick Henry and George Mason, whose collective efforts led to the passage of the Bill of Rights.Martin believed the legislative branch should be unicameral, proposed limiting the standing army during peacetime, and argued that the Convention had exceeded its powers by creating a national government when they were sent to Philadelphia "for the sole and express purpose of revising the Articles of Confederation.Failing to find any support for a bill of rights, Martin and another Maryland delegate, John Francis Mercer, walked out of the convention on September 3, 1787.He was one of the most vocal opponents of slavery at the Constitutional Convention, denouncing it as "an odious bargain with sin" that was "inconsistent with the principles of the revolution and dishonorable to the American character.George Washington and Benjamin Franklin had backed the change of direction of the convention, but, Martin said, we should not "suffer our eyes to be so far dazzled by the splendor of names, as to run blindfolded into what may be our destruction."In an address to the Maryland House of Delegates in November 1787 and in numerous newspaper articles, Martin attacked the proposed new form of government and continued to fight ratification of the Constitution through 1788.By this time, detestation of Thomas Jefferson, his one-time decentralist ally, led Martin to embrace the Federalist Party, in apparent repudiation of everything he had argued for so strenuously.On July 10, 1826, at the age of 78, Martin died in Burr's home in New York City and was buried in an unmarked grave in St. John's churchyard.
Martin among the Constitutional Convention delegates in the U.S. National Archives 1936 Faulkner Mural, located in the building's rotunda above the Charters of Freedom .
Coat of Arms of Luther Martin
Martin LutherNew Brunswick, New JerseyNew York, New YorkFounding Father of the United StatesU.S. ConstitutionMarylandConstitutional Conventionstates' rightsAnti-FederalistPatrick HenryGeorge MasonBill of RightsAmerican independenceGreat BritainSomerset County, MarylandProvince of MarylandContinental CongressConfederation CongressMaryland General AssemblyConstitutional Convention of 1787PhiladelphiaNew Jersey PlanVirginia Plancompromise on representationJohn Francis MercerCharters of FreedomMaryland House of DelegatesArticles of Confederationcoup d'étatGeorge WashingtonBenjamin FranklinU.S. Supreme CourtfederalMaryland State Convention of 1788Supreme Court JusticeSamuel Chasehis impeachment trial in 1805Aaron Burrtreasonoyer and terminerMcCulloch v. MarylandDaniel WebsterWilliam PinkneyWilliam WirtThomas JeffersonFederalist PartyParalysisNew York CityJohn AdamsMichael CresapThe New YorkerAnnapolis, Maryland, USAKauffman, BillIntercollegiate Studies InstituteThe Wall Street Journalpublic domainChisholm, HughEncyclopædia BritannicaJames TilghmanAttorney General of MarylandJohn MontgomeryThomas Beale Dorsey