McKean, Thomas, 1734-1817

Thomas McKean (March 19, 1734 – June 24, 1817) was an American lawyer, politician, and a Founding Father of the United States from New Castle, in New Castle County, Delaware and Philadelphia. During the American Revolution he was a delegate to the Continental Congress where he signed the Continental Association, 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 Democratic-Republican parties. McKean served as President of Delaware, Chief Justice of Pennsylvania, and Governor of Pennsylvania.

Born in New London Township, Province of Pennsylvania, his education began at the Reverend Francis Allison's New London Academy. At the age of sixteen, 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 of 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. At the Stamp Act Congress of 1765, McKean and Caesar Rodney represented Delaware. 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. In 1768, McKean was elected to the revived American Philosophical Society.

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. 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. Being away, he was not available when most of the signers placed their signatures on the Declaration of Independence on August 2, 1776. Since his signature did not appear on the printed copy that was authenticated on January 17, 1777, it is assumed that he signed after that date, possibly as late as 1781.

McKean was 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, to October 20, 1777. McKean started his long tenure as Chief Justice of Pennsylvania on July 28, 1777, and served in that capacity until 1799. There he largely set the rules of justice for revolutionary Pennsylvania. He was a member of the convention of Pennsylvania, which ratified the Constitution of the United States. After initially aligning himself with the Federalist Party, he eventually became an outspoken Jeffersonian Republican.

McKean was elected Governor of Pennsylvania and served three terms from December 17, 1799, until December 20, 1808. At first, McKean ousted Federalists from state government positions and so he has been called the father of the spoils system. However, in seeking a third term in 1805, McKean was at odds with factions of his own Democratic-Republican Party, and the Pennsylvania General Assembly instead nominated Speaker Simon Snyder for governor. McKean then forged an alliance with Federalists, called "the Quids," and defeated Snyder. Afterwards, he began removing Jeffersonians from state positions.

McKean died in Philadelphia and was buried in the First Presbyterian Church Cemetery there. In 1843, his body was moved to Laurel Hill Cemetery.