(September 19, 1737–November 14, 1832), was a member of the Continental Congress and one of the first signers of the Declaration of Independence. Born at Annapolis, Maryland, he became one of the richest men in the Colonies. Charles, who outlived all the other signers, made many daring speeches and greatly supported the patriot cause with his finances. When he signed his name to the Declaration, someone commented that there were many men with the name “Charles Carroll” and that the British would not know which one was him. He at once added “of Carrollton,” and was known by that title ever since.
On November 4, 1800, in a letter to James McHenry, Charles Carroll, stated:
Without morals a republic cannot subsist any length of time; they therefore who are decrying the Christian religion, whose morality is so sublime and pure [and] which insures to the good eternal happiness, are undermining the solid foundation of morals, the best security for the duration of free governments.1147
On April 23, 1820, in a letter to Robert Goodloe, Charles Carroll, who was a member of a society to end slavery, stated:
[W]hy keep alive the question of slavery? It is admitted by all to be a great evil.1148
On September 27, 1825, in a letter to Charles W. Wharton, Esq., written from Doughoragen, Maryland, Charles Carroll stated:
On the mercy of my Redeemer I rely for salvation and on His merits not on the works I have done in obedience to His precepts.1149
On October 9, 1827, in a letter to the Rev. John Stanford, Charles Carroll, who was a Roman Catholic, stated:
To obtain religious as well as civil liberty I entered jealously into the Revolution, and observing the Christian religion divided into many sects, I founded the hope that no one would be so predominant as to become the religion of the State. That hope was thus early entertained, because all of them joined in the same cause, with few exceptions of individuals.1150