John Morton

Foreign. Morton. Farmer, surveyor, self taught, son of Pennsylvania and, dare I say it, keystone of American independence. I was born in chester county in 1725. My father died before I ever saw his face. My mother remarried. My stepfather, a farmer, put a plough in my hands and purpose in my spine. I became a surveyor by trade, then a public servant by duty. In the assembly, I served 19 terms, helped pass 50 laws. Justice of the peace, sheriff, judge on the Pennsylvania Supreme Court. When they needed someone to speak, I stood. When they needed someone to lead, I led. But my name lives or dies by what I did. In July of 1776, among Pennsylvania's seven delegates, the vote for independence was split. The colonies stood divided, and it fell to me. On July 4th, I broke the tie, broke from the crown and broke open the door to revolution. That vote gave the cause its keystone, which is why some say they call Pennsylvanian the Keystone State. Without us, the arch would have crumbled. Without my vote, the Declaration might have never passed. I did not live long after that. In the spring of 77, I took ill. But not before the critics came. Legend has it that with my last breath I said, tell them they will live to see the hour when they shall acknowledge it to have been the most glorious service I ever rendered my country. And now you know that one voice, one vote can turn the tide.