He was long active in Maryland politics and a good friend of Franklin. As did Franklin, Jenifer played the part of elder statesman at the Convention. Along with Franklin, Jenifer used laughter to help reconcile the opposing views of the delegates and to formulate the compromises that made the Convention a success. When Luther Martin, who refused to sign the document, said that he feared being hanged if the people of Maryland approved the Constitution, Jenifer told him, humorously, that Martin should stay in Philadelphia, so that he would not hang in his home state.
