and prevented him from engaging in the study of law for several years. He studied law with Joseph Hawley, was admitted to the bar in 1772, and began the practice of law in Northampton. Hawley was also a political mentor, shaping Strong's views on relations between the Colonies and Great Britain. American Revolution Strong and Hawley were both elected to the Massachusetts Provincial Congress in 1774. When the Revolutionary War broke out in 1775, Strong was unable to serve in the military because of his damaged sight, but he was otherwise active in the Patriot cause. He served on the Northampton Committee of Safety and in other local offices but refused service in the Continental Congress. He was a delegate to the 1779 Massachusetts Constitutional Convention and was elected to the committee that drafted the state constitution, ratified in 1780. He then served on the first governor's council and in the state senate from 1780 to 1789. Strong's legal practice thrived during the tumultuous war years and was one of the most successful in Hampshire County. He became a judge of the Court of Common Pleas in 1775 and was appointed county attorney of Hampshire County the following year, a post he held until 1800. On more than one occasion he was offered a seat on the state's supreme court but rejected the position on account of its inadequate salary. Strong was described by a contemporary as meticulously detailed in his preparation of legal paperwork and a persuasive advocate when speaking to a jury. In 1781 Strong was one of the lawyers (another was Worcester lawyer and future United States Attorney General Levi Lincoln Sr.) who worked on a series of legal cases surrounding Quock Walker, a former slave seeking to claim his freedom. One of the cases, Commonwealth of Massachusetts v. Nathaniel Jennison, firmly established that slavery was incompatible with the new state constitution. Philadelphia Convention and United States Senator Strong was elected as a delegate to the Philadelphia Convention that drafted the 1787 Constitution. A committed Federalist, Strong opposed the idea of the Electoral College as a means of electing the president, instead supporting the idea that the legislature should choose him. Although he initially opposed proposals that the number of senators should be equal for all states, he eventually changed his mind, enabling passage of the Connecticut Compromise. To temper the power of the states, he introduced