Summary
Jacob Broom represented Delaware at the Conventional Convention, and he was a dedicated supporter of measures that would create a new, powerful government.
Jacob Broom | Signer of the Constitution
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Biography
Jacob Broom was born in 1752, the eldest son of a blacksmith who became a successful farmer. As a young boy, Broom was educated at home and at a local academy. Like his father, Broom initially pursued farming, while also studying surveying. In 1772, he advertised himself as a surveyor who “hopes to give general Satisfaction to those who may be pleased to employ him.” He pledged to show “greatest Care, Secrecy and Dispatch” to all his customers. But, by 1773, he had undertaken a mercantile career, engaging in shipping and importing and investments in real estate. In 1773, at the age of 21, he married Rachel Pierce, with whom he had eight children.
By 1776, 24-year-old Broom made his entrance into politics. He became the Assistant Burgess of Wilmington, a position he held six times before he moved up to hold the office of Chief Burgess on four occasions. A series of other local offices followed, including Borough Assessor and Justice of the Peace. In 1783, he was charged with writing Wilmington’s farewell to George Washington, who was retiring from military service. In this address, he urged George Washington to “contribute your advice and influence to promote that harmony and union of our infant governments which are so essential to the permanent establishment of our freedom, happiness, and prosperity.”
By 1784, Broom was a member of the state legislature and an ardent partisan of a strong central government to replace the Confederation. When the Constitutional Convention was called, Broom was chosen by Delaware to attend along with John Dickinson, George Read, Gunning Bedford, and Richard Bassett.
At the Convention, Broom supported measures that would create a new, powerful government. He supported several propositions that were rejected, chief among them the power of Congress to veto state laws, a president to serve for life, and salaries for representatives to be paid by state governments. But the Delaware delegation’s central mission was to ensure that the small states were well represented in the new government.
As the debate over representation in the two houses of Congress dragged on, several delegates hoped for a break in the proceedings. But Jacob Broom protested. As Madison recalled “Mr BROOM thought it his duty to declare his opinion against an adjournment sine die, … such a measure, he thought, would be fatal.” The debate thus continued.
On the whole, Broom kept quiet as long as he thought things were moving in what he considered the right direction, for he was content to cede the floor to the more experienced and influential members of the Convention. William Pierce was not surprised that Broom thus played a minor role in the drafting of the Constitution. He described the 35-year-old Broom as a “plain good Man, with some abilities,” who could not hope to shine with so many distinguished men around him.
After the Convention, Broom continued to build his reputation as a local public servant and a successful entrepreneur in Wilmington. His interests were broad: he chaired the board of directors of Wilmington’s Delaware Bank, operated a cotton mill, ran a machine shop, and was involved in an ill-fated attemptto mine bog iron ore. He was also an enthusiastic advocate for improvements to the city’s toll roads, canals, and bridges.
In 1810, 58-year-old Broom died suddenly while on a business trip to Philadelphia.
