Roger Sherman (April 19, 1721 – July 23, 1793) was an early American statesman, lawyer, and a Founding Father of the United States.

Born in Newton, Massachusetts, Sherman established a legal career in Litchfield County, Connecticut, despite a lack of formal education.

Sherman favored granting the federal government power to raise revenue and regulate commerce, but initially opposed efforts to supplant the Articles of Confederation with a new constitution.

[3] After supporting the establishment of a new constitution, Sherman became a key delegate and main opponent of James Madison's Virginia Plan by introducing the Connecticut Compromise that won the approval of both the more and less populous states.

Sherman's education did not extend beyond his father's library and grammar school, and his early career was spent as a shoemaker.

[7] However, he had an aptitude for learning, access to a good library owned by his father, and a Harvard-educated parish minister, Rev.

[12][13] Despite the fact that Sherman had no formal legal training, he was urged to read for the bar exam by a local lawyer and was admitted to the bar of Litchfield, Connecticut in 1754, during which he wrote "A Caveat Against Injustice"[7][14] and was chosen to represent New Milford in the Connecticut House of Representatives from 1755 to 1758 and from 1760 to 1761.

Sherman was also appointed treasurer of Yale College, and awarded an honorary Master of Arts degree.

During February 1776, Sherman, George Wythe, and John Adams were members of a committee responsible for establishing guidelines for U.S. Embassy officials in Canada with the committee instructions that included, "You are to declare that we hold sacred the rights of conscience, and may promise to the whole people, solemnly in our name, the free and undisturbed exercise of their religion.

[18] As a member of the Confederation Congress, Sherman was a signatory of the Treaty of Paris which ended the Revolutionary War.

"[4] Sherman advanced the idea that the national government simply needed a way to raise revenue and regulate commerce.

Connecticut operated almost without much need from other states, using its own ports[20][21][22][23] to trade with the West Indies[24][25] instead of utilizing ports in Boston,[19] and feared that "...the mass of people lacked sufficient wisdom to govern themselves and thus wished no branch of the federal government to be elected directly by the people".

[4][5] Sherman is also known for his stance against paper money with his authoring of Article I, Section 10 of the United States Constitution and his later opposition to James Madison over the Bill of Rights.

[6] One was to form a bicameral legislature in which both chambers had representation proportional to the population of the states, which was supported by the Virginia Plan.

The second was to modify the unicameral legislature that had equal representation from all of the states, which was supported by the New Jersey Plan introduced by William Paterson that Sherman helped author.

[6] Some scholars have identified Sherman as a pivotal delegate at the Convention because of his role in settling the debate over representation.

[7] Sherman opposed appointment of fellow signer Gouverneur Morris as minister to France because he considered that high-living Patriot to be of an "irreligious nature".

[34] The Gazette of the United States (Philadelphia), August 17, 1793, p. 508, reported an alternate diagnosis, "He was taken ill about the middle of May last, and from that time declined till his death.

He praised his contributions to his friends, family, town, and country, noting Sherman's piety and excellence in study.

John Dickinson also signed three, the Continental Association, the Articles of Confederation and the United States Constitution.

[3][5][1] He is not well known for his actions at the Convention because he was a "terse, ineloquent speaker" who never kept a personal record of his experience, unlike other prominent figures.