(1759-1821)
John Francis Mercer was born in Virginia and was educated at the College of William and Mary.
He enlisted in the army and served from 1776 to 1779.
He studied law under Thomas Jefferson and practiced in Virginia.
Mercer served in the Virginia legislature and in the Continental Congress.
He moved to Maryland in 1785 when he inherited land.
At the Philadelphia Convention he opposed a strong central government and left before the convention was over.
Mercer opposed ratification of the Constitution.
He later served in the Maryland legislature, the U.S. House of Representatives, and as governor of Maryland.
