John Rutledge was quite an amazing man. He is known as a great man since he was the Governor of South Carolina (as a colony), signed the United States Constitution as a delegate in the Constitutional Convention, and served on the US Supreme Court. He must have come from a family with good roots because he had a younger brother named Edward who, as coincidentally as it may be, also was an active signer of the Declaration of Independence. Obviously, John Rutledge had some sort of power to be able to achieve what he did. He perfected all the necessary traits needed to become a man who can take control. It was his open mind that truly put him ahead of many simple minded countrymen.
Willingly, Rutledge helped lead South Carolina to a serious recovery from the war fought with Britain. Since it was fought in the colonies, rather than in Britain, more work needed to be done here. The main reason John Rutledge is considered a founding father, actually, is because of his generosity and help with South Carolina's deep, severe recovery from a victorious war that led to the American Revolution. Then, in 1761, Rutledge began his political career in the court room. During that very same year, Rutledge was elected to the provincial assembly and held his seat until the American Revolution on behalf of Christ Church Parish. He served as Attorney General for ten months in 1764, before he needed to step up his game in 1765 when problems with Britain became much worse due to the Stamp Act and other acts that were trying to be passed. Rutledge, who was all for self-governing the colonies, sought to avoid severance from the British and maintained a restrained stance. Without being able to stay completely quite throughout the matter, he did chair a committee that drew up a petition to the House of Lords. With most of the credit going to Rutledge, a few months before the Declaration of Independence was actually signed, South Carolina became the first and only state drafted by a Provinicial Congress. This made them the very first republic in America. He was elected as the states leader or representative with Henry Laurens as his “vice-president”. This office provided important services to America.
Later in 1774, Rutledge was sent to the First Continental Congress, where he pursued a moderate course. After spending the next year in the Second Continental Congress, Rutledge returned to South Carolina and helped reorganize its' government. In 1776, he served on the committee of safety where he took a big part in the formation of the state constitution. Within months he also became president of the lower House of the Legislation. Very proud of this job, Rutledge kept it until 1778. As he grew politically speaking, he began to disapprove the democratic revisions in the state constitution. This was when he resigned from his position. It wasn't even a year later that he was elected the Governor of South Carolina.
While Rutledge was advancing in his career, America on the other hand was struggling tremendously. The British began to invade South Carolina and the they needed men to fight badly. In May the American army was captured, and the British confiscated Rutledge's property. He was able to escape back to North Carolina where he attempted to rally forces to recover South Carolina. In 1781, General Nathaniel Greene helped build a new Continental Army force. This reestablished their government. When they year had finished, so did Rutledge. He resigned from governor and took a seat in the lower House of the Legislature. He never recouped the financial losses he suffered during the war. John Rutledge became known as a founding father because of his heroic rescue of South Carolina as well. John Rutledge died on July 23, 1800, as one of “the greats”. Political and economical impact on the formation of the Declaration of Independence and America will never be overlooked.
