Richard Stockton's Personal Qualities Of A Statesman
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The person I was assigned was Richard Stockton. He signed of the Declaration of Independence and was a member of the Continental Congress. Stockton was wealthy most of his life, including early childhood. His father was a wealthy landowner that helped found Princeton. At first, he was uninterested in politics, saying the public was "generally ungrateful" and that he would "never serve them." However, he later changed this view and became a politician. Mr. Stockton was the only signer of the Declaration that was imprisoned and starved. Richard Stockton was a reliable statesman because he was an American lawyer, presented to King George the repeal of the Stamp Act, and was imprisoned for his country. One reason I say this is because he was an American lawyer and law teacher. He taught law at what is now Princeton University. Which happened to be the college his father helped found. Mr. Stockton also served as a trustee for 26 years after graduating. Stockton was also one of the best and most renowned lawyers in the colonies. His law skills were definitely one of the things that let him sign the Declaration of Independence. After his graduation, Mr. Stockton went on a tour of Europe…show more content… Then, he went east to evacuate his family out of the path of the British. On the way he was staying at a friends house. When he was sleeping, loyalists ransacked the house and brought Stockton and his friend to Perth Amboy. There he was treated as a criminal, which was uncommon for him, a respected man of honor, to be treated as if he was a thief, even by the British. From Perth Amboy he was sent to Provost Prison, where he was intentionally starved and placed in freezing cold weather. After five weeks there, Richard Stockton was released on parole, his health beaten and battered. Mr. Stockton was the only signer of the Declaration of Independence to be