Thomas McKean Totally Explained

Everything about Thomas Mckean totally explained

Thomas McKean (March 19 1734 – June 24 1817) was an American lawyer and politician from New Castle, Delaware, and Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He was a militia officer during the American Revolution, a signer of the Declaration of Independence, a Continental Congressman from Delaware, and the second President of the Continental Congress under the Articles of Confederation. He was at various times a member of the Federalist and Democratic-Republican Parties, who served as President of Delaware, Chief Justice of Pennsylvania, and Governor of Pennsylvania. McKean is usually pronounced McKane.

Early life and family

McKean was born March 19 1734 in New London Township, Chester County, Pennsylvania, the son of William McKean and Letitia Finney. His father was a tavern keeper in New London and both his parents were Ulster-Scots who came to Pennsylvania from Ireland as children. Mary Borden was his first wife. They married in 1763, lived at 22 The Strand in New Castle, Delaware, and had six children, Joseph, Robert, Elizabeth, Letitia, Mary, and Anne. Mary Borden McKean died in 1773 and is buried at Immanuel Episcopal Church in New Castle. Sarah Armitage was McKean’s second wife. They married in 1774, lived at the northeast corner of 3rd and Pine Streets in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and had four children, Sarah, Thomas, Sophia, and Maria. They were members of the New Castle Presbyterian Church in New Castle and the First Presbyterian Church in Philadelphia. Sarah's son, Carlos Fernando de Yrujo, would later become Prime Minister of Spain.

Early career

McKean's education began at the Reverend Francis Allison's New London Academy. At the age of 16, he went to New Castle, Delaware to begin the study of law under his cousin, David Finney. In 1755, he was admitted to the Bar in the Lower Counties, as Delaware was then known, and likewise in the Province of Pennsylvania the following year. In 1756 he was appointed deputy Attorney General for Sussex County. From the 1762/63 session through the 1775/76 session he was a member of the General Assembly of the Lower Counties, serving as its Speaker in 1772/73. From July 1765, he also served as a judge of the Court of Common Pleas and began service as the customs collector at New Castle in 1771. In November 1765, his Court of Common Pleas became the first such court in the colonies to establish a rule that all the proceedings of the court be recorded on un-stamped paper.
Eighteenth century Delaware was politically divided into loose political factions known as the "Court Party" and the "Country Party." The majority Court Party was generally Anglican, strongest in Kent County and Sussex County, worked well with the colonial Proprietary government, and was in favor of reconciliation with the British government. The minority Country Party was largely Ulster-Scot, centered in New Castle County, and quickly advocated independence from the British. McKean was the epitome of the Country party politician and was, as much as anyone, its leader. As such, he generally worked in partnership with Caesar Rodney from Kent County, and in opposition to his friend and neighbor, George Read.

American Revolution

Stamp Act Congress

At the Stamp Act Congress of 1765, McKean and Caesar Rodney represented Delaware. McKean proposed the voting procedure that the Continental Congress later adopted: that each colony, regardless of size or population, have one vote. This decision set the precedent, the Congress of the Articles of Confederation adopted the practice, and the principle of state equality continued in the composition of the United States Senate.
McKean quickly became one of the most influential members of the Stamp Act Congress. He was on the committee that drew the memorial to Parliament, and with John Rutledge and Philip Livingston, revised its proceedings. On the last day of its session, when the business session ended, Timothy Ruggles, the president of the body, and a few other more cautious members, refused to sign the memorial of rights and grievances. McKean arose, and addressing the chair, insisted that the president give his reasons for his refusal. After refusing at first, Ruggles remarked, "it was against his conscience." McKean then disputed his use of the word "conscience" so loudly and so long that a challenge was given by Ruggles and accepted in the presence of the congress. However, Ruggles left the next morning at daybreak, so that the duel didn't take place.

Continental Congress and Declaration of Independence

In spite of his primary residence in Philadelphia, McKean remained the effective leader for American Independence in Delaware. Along with George Read and Caesar Rodney, he was one of Delaware's delegates to the First Continental Congress in 1774 and the Second Continental Congress in 1775 and 1776.
Being an outspoken advocate of independence, McKean's was a key voice in persuading others to vote for a split with Great Britain. When Congress began debating a resolution of independence in June 1776, Caesar Rodney was absent. George Read was against independence, which meant that the Delaware delegation was split between McKean and Read, and therefore couldn't vote in favor of independence. McKean requested that the absent Rodney ride all night from Dover to break the tie. After the vote in favor of independence on July 2, McKean participated in the debate over the wording of the official Declaration of Independence, which was approved on July 4.
A few days after McKean cast his vote, he left Congress to serve as colonel in command of the Fourth Battalion of the Pennsylvania Associators, a militia unit created by Benjamin Franklin in 1747. They joined Washington's defense of New York City at Perth Amboy, New Jersey. Being away, he wasn't available when most of the Signers placed their signatures on the Declaration of Independence on August 2 1776. Since his signature didn't appear on the printed copy that was authenticated on January 17 1777, it's assumed that he signed after that date, possibly as late as 1781.

U.S. Congress and the Articles of Confederation

In a conservative reaction against the advocates of American independence, the 1776/77 Delaware General Assembly didn't reelect either McKean or Caesar Rodney to the Continental Congress in October 1776. However, the British occupation following the Battle of Brandywine swung opinions enough that McKean was returned to Congress in October 1777, by the 1777/78 Delaware General Assembly. He then served continuously until February 1 1783. McKean helped draft the Articles of Confederation and voted for their adoption on March 1 1781. When poor health caused the Congress' first president, Samuel Huntington, to resign in July 1781, McKean was elected its second president, serving from July 10 1781, until November 4 1781. In this position, McKean presided over the unicameral assembly of the United States Congress and held the highest political office in the United States at the time. He was the first person to whom the title “President of the United States” was applied in an official document. However, it wasn't an executive position in any way comparable to the Presidency as configured in the later U.S. Constitution of 1787. During his time in office, Lord Cornwallis' British army surrendered at Yorktown, effectively ending the war.

Government of Delaware

Meanwhile, McKean led the effort in the General Assembly of the Lower Counties to declare its separation from the British government, which it did on June 15 1776. Then, in August, he was elected to the special convention to draft a new state constitution. Upon hearing of it, McKean made the long ride to Dover, Delaware from Philadelphia in a single day, went to a room in an Inn, and that night, virtually by himself, drafted the document. It was adopted September 20 1776. The Delaware Constitution of 1776 thus became the first state constitution to be produced after the Declaration of Independence.
McKean was then elected to Delaware's first House of Assembly for both the 1776/77 and 1778/79 sessions, succeeding John McKinly as Speaker on February 12 1777 when McKinly became President of Delaware. Shortly after President McKinly's capture and imprisonment, McKean served as the President of Delaware for a month from September 22 1777 until October 20 1777. That was the time needed for the rightful successor to John McKinly, the Speaker of the Legislative Council, George Read, to return from the Continental Congress in Philadelphia and assume the duties.
At this time, immediately after the Battle of Brandywine, the British Army occupied Wilmington and much of northern New Castle County. Its navy also controlled the lower Delaware River and Delaware Bay. As a result the state capital, New Castle, was unsafe as a meeting place, and the Sussex County seat, Lewes, was sufficiently disrupted by Loyalists that it was unable to hold a valid general election that autumn. As President, McKean was primarily occupied with recruitment of the militia and with keeping some semblance of civic order in the portions of the state still under his control.

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