Thomas Mifflin was an American merchant,soldier,and politician from Pennsylvania,who is regarded as a Founding Father of the United States for his roles during and after the American Revolution. Mifflin was the first governor of Pennsylvania,serving from 1790 to 1799 and was also the state's last president,succeeding Benjamin Franklin in 1788.
Thomas McKean was an American lawyer,politician,and Founding Father. During the American Revolution,he was a Delaware delegate to the Continental Congress,where he signed the Continental Association,the United States Declaration of Independence,and the Articles of Confederation. McKean served as a President of Congress. He was at various times a member of the Federalist and the Democratic-Republican parties. McKean served as president of Delaware,chief justice of Pennsylvania,and governor of Pennsylvania. He is also known for holding copious public positions.
Benjamin Chew was a fifth-generation American,a Quaker-born legal scholar,a prominent and successful Philadelphia lawyer,slaveowner,head of the Pennsylvania Judiciary System under both Colony and Commonwealth,and Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of the Province of Pennsylvania. Chew was well known for his precision and brevity in making legal arguments as well as his excellent memory,judgment,and knowledge of statutory law. His primary allegiance was to the supremacy of law and constitution.
George Clymer was an American politician,abolitionist and Founding Father of the United States,one of only six founders who signed both the Declaration of Independence and U.S. Constitution. He was among the earliest patriots to advocate for complete independence from Britain. He attended the Continental Congress and served in political office until the end of his life. He was a Framer of the Constitution where he attempted unsuccessfully to regulate the importation of slaves. Clymer was himself a minor slave owner,at least briefly when seven years-old through inheritance.
George Read was an American politician from New Castle in New Castle County,Delaware. He was a Continental Congressman from Delaware,a delegate to the U.S. Constitutional Convention of 1787,president of Delaware,and a member of the Federalist Party,who served as U.S. Senator from Delaware and chief justice of Delaware.
George Ross Jr was a Founding Father of the United States who signed the Continental Association and the United States Declaration of Independence as a representative of Pennsylvania. He was also the uncle of the man who married Betsy Griscom in 1773,more famous under her married name,Betsy Ross. In 1952,Ross,George Washington,and Robert Morris appeared on a three-cent stamp commemorating Betsy Ross.
Independence Hall is a historic civic building in Philadelphia,where both the United States Declaration of Independence and the United States Constitution were debated and adopted by America's Founding Fathers. The structure forms the centerpiece of the Independence National Historical Park and has been designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
The Pennsylvania Constitution of 1776 was the state's first constitution following their declaration of independence and has been described as the most democratic in America;although it notably based rights in "men" not in "persons," as contemporaneous constitutions did in neighboring areas such as New Jersey,and as the 1689 English Bill of Rights and 1787 U.S. Constitution and 1791 U.S. Bill of Rights did. It was drafted by Robert Whitehill,Timothy Matlack,Dr. Thomas Young,George Bryan,James Cannon,and Benjamin Franklin. Pennsylvania's innovative and highly democratic government structure,featuring a unicameral legislature and collective executive,may have influenced the later French Republic's formation under the French Constitution of 1793. The constitution also included a declaration of rights that coincided with the Virginia Declaration of Rights of 1776.
John Penn was the last governor of colonial Pennsylvania,serving in that office from 1763 to 1771 and from 1773 to 1776. Educated in Britain and Switzerland,he was also one of the Penn family proprietors of the Province of Pennsylvania from 1771 until 1776,holding a one-fourth share,when the creation of the independent Commonwealth of Pennsylvania during the American Revolution removed the Penn family from power.
John Dickinson,a Founding Father of the United States,was an attorney and politician from Philadelphia,Pennsylvania,and Wilmington,Delaware. Dickinson was known as the "Penman of the Revolution" for his twelve Letters from a Farmer in Pennsylvania,published individually in 1767 and 1768,and he also wrote "The Liberty Song" in 1768.
John Morin Scott was a lawyer,military officer,and statesman before,during and after the American Revolution.
Nicholas Van Dyke was an American Founding Father,lawyer,and politician from New Castle in New Castle County,Delaware. He served in the Delaware General Assembly,in the Continental Congress,where he signed the Articles of Confederation,and as president of Delaware.
Joseph Reed was a Founding Father of the United States and a lawyer,military officer,and statesman of the American Revolutionary Era who lived the majority of his life in Pennsylvania. He served as a delegate to the Continental Congress and,while in Congress,signed the Articles of Confederation. He also served as President of Pennsylvania's Supreme Executive Council,during the American Revolutionary War,a position analogous to the modern office of Governor.
Thomas Collins was an American planter and politician from Smyrna,in Kent County,Delaware. He was an officer of the Delaware militia during the American Revolution,and served in the Delaware General Assembly and as President of Delaware.
John McKinly was an American physician and politician from Wilmington,Delaware. He was a veteran of the French and Indian War,served in the Delaware General Assembly,was the first elected President of Delaware,and for a time was a member of the Federalist Party.
Pennsylvania was the site of many key events associated with the American Revolution and American Revolutionary War. The city of Philadelphia,then capital of the Thirteen Colonies and the largest city in the colonies,was a gathering place for the Founding Fathers who discussed,debated,developed,and ultimately implemented many of the acts,including signing the Declaration of Independence,that inspired and ultimately launched the revolution and the quest for independence from the British Empire.
The Supreme Executive Council of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania was the collective directorial executive branch of the Pennsylvanian state government between 1777 and 1790. It was headed by a president and a vice president. The best-known member of the Council was Benjamin Franklin,who also served as its sixth president.
George Bryan was an Irish/American Pennsylvania businessman,and politician of the Revolutionary era. He served as the first vice-president of Pennsylvania and its second president (governor) following the Declaration of Independence from Great Britain. He was an early abolitionist and sponsored the bill which helped bring about abolition in Philadelphia. He also served as a judge of the Pennsylvania Supreme Court.
Owen Biddle Sr. was a clockmaker and watchmaker by trade,a merchant in Philadelphia,Pennsylvania,an American Revolutionary War Colonel,and an astronomer and scientist.
Holy Trinity Lutheran Church is a historic Lutheran church located at 31 South Duke Street in Lancaster,Pennsylvania. It is one of the oldest in the state. The remains of both Thomas Mifflin and Thomas Wharton are interred at Holy Trinity Lutheran Church.
