The men who took a prominent part in this convention performed a service of such value and permanence that their names can never be forgotten. Washington, who headed the delegation from Virginia, was chosen by the convention to be its presiding officer. This debarred him from taking an active part in the discussions on the floor, but his great personal influence was on many occasions exerted in the interests of harmony. Benjamin Franklin, the wisest man of his time, was the senior member of the Pennsylvania delegation. His broad knowledge of men and affairs, gained through a long life of more than eighty years, made him one of the most valuable members. Then there was James Madison, still a young man but already a thorough scholar in matters of government. Among all the delegates Madison ranked first in point of active helpfulness and fully earned the distinction which posterity has given him as the Father of the Constitution. Alexander Hamilton, of New York, young and brilliant, with plenty of imagination and strong political opinions, was the orator of the convention; but oratory did not carry far with the delegates. They listened with rapt attention to Hamilton’s impassioned speeches and applauded him generously at the end; but when the question was put to a vote he sometimes got nobody’s vote but his own. Arguments counted for more than eloquence in this gathering. Among the delegates of ability and prominence were Robert Morris and James Wilson, of Pennsylvania, the former a wizard in financial matters, the latter a hard-headed Scotchman of great political sense; Roger Sherman, the shoemaker-statesman, of Connecticut; the two Pinckneys, of South Carolina, John Dickinson, of Delaware, and a dozen others whose names were known throughout the nation in their day. They were not all of the same mind on political questions, not by any means; some were conservative and some were radical; some looked far into the future and others only to the needs of the hour; some were always willing to compromise and others were not ready to compromise at all; but taken as a whole they formed an able, well-balanced group of men, fairly reflecting the intelligence and patriotism of their time.[106] [Sidenote: The obstacles and the compromises.]