Thomas McKean
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Second President of the United States
in Congress Assembled
July 10, 1781 to November 5, 1781
July 10, 1781 to November 5, 1781
Copyright © Stan Klos, President Who? Forgotten Founders 2004 & 2008
Students and Teachers of US History this is a video of Stanley and Christopher Klos presenting America's Four United Republics Curriculum at the University of Pennsylvania's Wharton School. The December 2015 video was an impromptu capture by a member of the audience of Penn students, professors and guests that numbered about 200 attendees.
Presidents of the United States in Congress Assembled
March 1, 1781
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July 6, 1781
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July 9, 1781
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Declined Office
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July 10, 1781
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November 4, 1781
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November 5, 1781
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November 3, 1782
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November 4, 1782
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November 2, 1783
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November 3, 1783
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June 3, 1784
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November 30, 1784
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November 22, 1785
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November 23, 1785
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June 5, 1786
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June 6, 1786
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February 1, 1787
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February 2, 1787
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January 21, 1788
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January 22, 1788
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January 21, 1789
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Thomas McKean of Delaware was elected
President of the United States in Congress Assembled (USCA) on July 10, 1781
serving until November 4, 1781. This signer of the Declaration of Independence
was born in New London, Chester County, Pennsylvania on March 19, 1734 and died
in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, June 24, 1817. McKean’s parents were both
natives of Ireland. He studied with the Reverend Francis Allison, who was at
that time, a renowned teacher of New Castle, Delaware. McKean was of
Scottish-Irish descent and was a man of energetic personality, "with a
thin face, hawk's nose and hot eyes." An imposing figure who was over six feet tall, McKean
donned a large cocked hat and gold-headed cane adding to his air of authority. John Adams described him as "one of the three men in the
Continental Congress who appeared to me to see more clearly to the end of the
business than any others in the body."
McKean inherited a Pennsylvania network
of important family friends that were a great asset in his career pursuits of
law and politics. He was admitted to the bar before he was twenty-one years
old, appointed deputy attorney general of Sussex County a year later, and
served as clerk of the assembly from 1757 to 1759. In 1762 McKean, along with
Caesar Rodney, revised the laws of the old colonial assembly established before
1752. In October 1762 McKean was elected to the Colonial General Assembly
serving in that capacity for seventeen successive years.
Prior to this, Thomas McKean was a
trustee of the loan-office for New Castle County for twelve years, and in 1765
he was elected to the Stamp Act Congress. It was proposed that the votes in the
Congress were to be taken according to the each colony’s population that was
represented. McKean, realizing that Delaware’s influence would have been
insignificant, successfully brokered a resolution giving, each colony one vote
and thus an equal voice in the proceedings.
McKean
was one of the most influential members of the Stamp Act Congress,
serving on the committee that drew the memorial to the House of Lords and
Commons and, with John
Rutledge and Philip
Livingston, revised its proceedings. When business was concluded on the
last day of its session, and Timothy Ruggles, the
president of the body refused to sign the memorial of rights and grievances,
McKean arose, and insisted that the president give his reasons for his refusal.
After a pause Ruggles remarked, "it was against his conscience." McKean
then rang rhetorical changes on the word "conscience" so long
and loudly that a duel challenge was given and accepted between himself and
Ruggles, all in the presence of the congress. Ruggles hastily left the next
morning at daybreak, so that the duel could not take place.
In July of the same year McKean was
appointed the notary of the lower counties of Delaware, judge of the court of
common pleas, and of the orphans' court of New Castle. In November of 1765 he
ordered that all the proceedings of his court be recorded on un-stamped paper
and was the first court in the colonies that established such a rule against
British taxation. He was appointed tax collector of the New Castle port in 1771
and elected Speaker of the House of Representatives of the Colonial Assemble in
1772. In 1774 he was elected a member of the First Continental Congress.
In September 1774, he had just married
his second wife, Sarah Armitage of New Castle. His first wife, Mary Borden, the
daughter of Joseph Borden of Bordentown, New Jersey, and sister of the wife of
Francis Hopkinson, died in 1773, leaving him with six children. He would father
five more children with his second wife.
McKean’s representation in the First
Continental Congress was as a delegate of Pennsylvania’s three lower counties.
This area, now known as Delaware, was governed by William Penn and his family from the onset
of the Royal Pennsylvania Charter until 1774. William Penn, in 1682,
established an assembly that had equal representation from the Lower Counties
(New Castle, Kent and Sussex-upon-Delaware) and the Upper Counties (Chester,
Philadelphia and Bucks). The assembly's meeting place alternated between the
two largest towns in the 17th Century, Philadelphia and New Castle.
Once Philadelphia began to grow, its
leaders resented the requirement to assemble in New Castle. They were also averse to being subjected to
the laws that resulted from the sparsely populated Lower Counties
representation in the assembly. In 1704, the assembly agreed to pass laws
separately for their respective upper and lower areas. The Lower Counties,
however, remained beholden to Royal governor seated in Philadelphia
.
Seventy years later, with the formation
of the First Continental Congress in 1774 "Delaware" was still
referred to as "The Three Lower Counties on the Delaware River." It
was not until June 15th, 1776 that the people of the Lower Counties of New
Castle, Kent and Sussex-upon-Delaware declared themselves separate and
independent from Great Britain and it colony of Pennsylvania.
McKean served in the Continental
Congress and USCA representing Delaware from 1774 to 1783. McKean also served
as chief justice of Pennsylvania from July 1777 until 1799 while occupying a seat
in the “Delaware” legislature for seventeen successive years.[i]
During Second Continental
Congress session in 1776, McKean served as a member of the committee to state
the rights of the colonies, as well as a member of the secret committee to
contract for the importation of arms.
More importantly, In June 1776, McKean
returned to Delaware and gained authority for his delegation to vote for
independence. The Declaration
of Independence found an enthusiastic supporter in McKean who believed that
the time had fully come for its unanimous adoption. The first vote for independence, however, was
not over the Declaration but for Richard
Henry Lee’s Resolution for
Independence.
Congress was called to order on July
1, 1776 at 9am and heated debate consumed most of that hot and humid
Monday. The Declaration
of Independence had been set aside to consider Richard Henry Lee’s Resolution for independence. Late in the day it was apparent that
the delegates from Pennsylvania and South Carolina were not ready to pass the resolution.
Additionally the two delegates from Delaware, George Read and Thomas
McKean, split postponing
debate until the following day.
Moreover, the delegates from New York were still not empowered by their State
legislature to cast a vote of either yes or no on the question of
independence.
On July 2, 1776, both Robert Morris and John Dickinson, opponents to the resolution, “abstained” by not attending the
historic session. The remaining delegation carried
Pennsylvania’s vote for independence.[ii]
South Carolina delegate Arthur
Middleton, who had replaced former Continental
Congress President Henry
Middleton,
changed the colony's position to yes on independence in direct violation
of his father’s directive.
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National Collegiate Honor’s Council Partners in the Park Independence Hall Class of 2017 students at Independence Hall with Ranger Jay holding the September 1787, American Museum printing of the U.S. Constitution and Ranger Ed Welch holding John Dunlap's 1776 Journals of Congress opened, respectively to the U.S. Constitution of 1787 and Declaration of Independence. They are flanked by National Collegiate Honors Council Students and NCHC President, Dr. Naomi Yavneh Klos - – For more information visit our National Park and NCHC Partners in the Park Class of 2017 website |
Traveling 80 miles through a lightning storm, asthmatic and suffering from a serious facial cancer, delegate
Caesar Rodney, who was summoned[iii] by fellow delegate Thomas McKean, arrived in time to break Delaware’s deadlock. Rodney cast the third vote for Delaware and
it was for independence. With this vote, all 12 colonies adopted the
resolution, introduced by Richard Henry
Lee and John Adams, declaring ...that they are
absolved from all allegiance to the British Crown, and that all political
connection between them and the state of Great Britain is, and ought to be, totally dissolved.[iv]
Liberty Bell on tour at the New Orleans World's Fair in 1884
McKean, likewise, was one of the most active Delegates in securing the Declaration of Independence’s passage two days later. He was present when the final votes were taken but a few days after the vote, he left Congress to command a battalion of troops to assist Washington at Perth Amboy, New Jersey. On his return to Philadelphia, McKean stopped in Delaware where he encountered a committee urging him to prepare a new state constitution. McKean drew up the new constitution on the night of his arrival, and it was unanimously adopted by the Delaware Assembly the following day.
Despite this, McKean’s name did not
appear on the Goddard Declaration of Independence Broadside printed in January 1777.
Consequently,
there is considerable question as to when McKean did actually sign the
Declaration of Independence in 1776. Some historians speculate that McKean was
not available for the August 2, 1776 signing because of his Perth Amboy command
in New Jersey and the Delaware constitution authorship. In a letter years later addressed to Pennsylvania
Secretary Alexander J. Dallas, in answer to an inquiry made relative to this
omission, Mr. McKean writes:
Modesty should not rob any man of his just
honor, when by that honor, his modesty cannot be offended. My name is not in
the printed journals of congress, as a party to the Declaration of
Independence, and this, like an error in the first concoction, has vitiated
most of the subsequent publications, and yet the fact is, that I was then a
member of congress for the state Delaware, wa9 personally
present in congress, and voted in favor of independence on the fourth of July,
1776, and signed the declaration alter it had been engrossed on parchment,
where my name, in my own hand writing, still appears. Henry Wisner, of the
state of New York, was also in congress, and voted for independence. … I do not
know how the misstatement in the printed journal has happened. The manuscript
public journal has no names annexed to the Declaration of Independence, nor has
the secret journal; but it appears by the latter, that on the nineteenth day of
July, 1776, the congress directed that it should be engrossed on parchment, and
signed -by every member, and that it was so produced on the second of August,
and signed. This is interlined in the secret journal, in the hand of Charles
Thompson, the secretary. The present secretary of state, of the United States,
and myself, have lately inspected the journals, and seen this. The journal was
first printed by Mr. John Dunlap, in 1778, and probably copies, with the names
then signed to it, were printed in August, 1776, and that Mr. Dunlap printed
the names from one of them. I have now, sir, given you a true, though brief,
history of this affair, and, as you are engaged in publishing a new edition of
the Laws of Pennsylvania, I am obliged to you for affording the favorable
opportunity of conveying to you this information, authorizing you to make any
use of it you please.[v]
Biographer G.S. Rowe reports in his 1978 Thomas McKean biography on his signing of the Declaration of Independence that "To McKean's chagrin--and that of subsequent historians--he could not recall the specifics of his own signing of that historic document." (See Rowe page 398). Rowe continues on a possible DOI signing in 1781 date, cites McKean's last known letter of June 16, 1817) when "he claimed to have signed a public edition of the document in 1781 while he was preparing an edition of the laws of Pennsylvania, but it is unlikely that we will ever know when he signed the parchment [i.e. engrossed] copy." (See Rowe page 429, footnote 1).
What we do know now is that the "Journals of Congress Containing the Proceedings in the Year, 1776. Published by order of Congress. Volume II. York-Town, Pa., John Dunlap, 1778" which were printed sometime after a May 1778 resolution of the Continental Congress reports the Declaration of Independence listing all the signers without McKean's.
Therefore, we now can now definitively say the McKean signed it sometime after the printing of these Journals in 1778, the year he returned as a delegate to the Continental Congress, bringing us a year and half closer to the 1781 claim.
What we do know now is that the "Journals of Congress Containing the Proceedings in the Year, 1776. Published by order of Congress. Volume II. York-Town, Pa., John Dunlap, 1778" which were printed sometime after a May 1778 resolution of the Continental Congress reports the Declaration of Independence listing all the signers without McKean's.
Therefore, we now can now definitively say the McKean signed it sometime after the printing of these Journals in 1778, the year he returned as a delegate to the Continental Congress, bringing us a year and half closer to the 1781 claim.
McKean was also on the committee to
form a new constitution for the fledgling nation. The committee selected him to prepare and
digest Benjamin Franklin’s Articles of Confederation into working
draft for the Continental Congress. The
following day he completed the draft for consideration of the committee and
other members of Congress.
In that same year, McKean’s talents were
so much in demand that he served as chairman of the Pennsylvania committees of
safety and inspection as well as the Philadelphia committee of
observation. In 1777, while acting in the capacity of President of
Delaware, Chief Justice of Pennsylvania, and a member of the US Continental
Congress McKean describes his perils in a letter to his friend, John Adams:
I was honored with your letter of the 20th September last,
and proud to find that I was not forgotten by one I so much esteem. You must
have had your difficulties in these times, I know, I too have had my full share
of the anxieties, cares & troubles attending the present war. For some time
I was obliged to act as President of the Delaware State and as Chief Justice of
this; General Howe had just landed at the head of Elk River, when I undertook
to discharge those two great trusts. The consequence was to be hunted like a
fox by the enemy and envied by those who ought to have been my friends. I was
obliged to remove my family five times in a few months, and at last fixed them
in a little Log house on the banks of the Susquehanna above an hundred miles
from this; but safety was not to be found there, for they were soon obliged to
remove again, occasioned by the incursions of the Indians. In December 1777 I
went again into Congress, where for some months the United States had but nine
voices and thirteen members, sometime only Eleven, and their affairs almost
desperate. When the war is over we shall talk of these matters more at large -
Cur jubes[vi] me
renovare dolorem.[vii]
On
November 15, 1777 after numerous postponements, amendments, and debates, the Articles of Confederation were
finally agreed to in the York, Pennsylvania where the Continental Congress took
refuge from the occupying British force in Philadelphia. The Articles of Confederation,
however, owing to the objections made by the slates, were not signed by a
majority of their representatives, until November 26, 1778. On the February 22, 1779, Thomas McKean signed
the articles on behalf of Delaware. The
final ratification of the Articles of Confederation did not occur, however,
until March 1, 1781 due to Maryland’s refusal to accept the constitution until
border disputes were settled with Pennsylvania, New York and Connecticut.
Maryland finally ratified the Articles of Confederation on February 2nd, 1781, and sent its two delegates to assemble with the other state delegations and decide when to enact the new constitution and thus form the new Articles of Confederation Republic. Article I named the "Confederacy" and Article II named the new governing body:
I. The Stile of this Confederacy shall be "The United States of America".
II. Each state retains its sovereignty, freedom, and independence, and every power, jurisdiction, and right, which is not by this Confederation expressly delegated to the United States, in Congress assembled.
On February 20th, 1781, Daniel Carroll wrote Charles Carroll of Carrollton on presenting Maryland’sArticles of Confederation ratification resolution to the U.S. Continental Congress in Philadelphia:
On February 22, 1781, it was unanimously resolved by the U.S. Continental Congress that:On the first day of my appearing in Congress, I delivered the Act empowering the Delegates of Maryland to Subscribe the Articles of Confederation &c.! It was read, & entered on the Journals.[15]
The delegates of Maryland having taken their seats in Congress with powers to sign the Articles of Confederation: Ordered, That Thursday next [March 1, 1781] be assigned for compleating the Confederation; and that a committee of three be appointed, to consider and report a mode for announcing the same to the public: the members, [Mr. George] Walton, Mr. [James] Madison, Mr. [John] Mathews.
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Thursday, March 1, 1781: "According to the order of the day, the honble John Hanson and Daniel Carroll, two of the delegates for the State of Maryland, in pursuance of the act of the legislature of that State, entitled "An act to empower the delegates of this State in Congress to subscribe and ratify the Articles of Confederation," which was read in Congress the 12 of February last, and a copy thereof entered on the minutes, did, in behalf of the said State of Maryland, sign and ratify the said articles, by which act the Confederation of the United States of America was completed, each and every of the Thirteen United States, from New Hampshire to Georgia, both included, having adopted and confirmed, and by their delegates in Congress, ratified the same, as follows:" [Journals continue with the full printing of the Articles of Confederation and its signers]. Image courtesy of the Historic.us Collection. |
According to the resolution, at high noon on March 1, 1781, after 39 months of ratification consideration, the Articles of Confederation were adopted by the U.S. Continental Congress as the first U.S. Constitution. By virtue of this ratification, the ever fluid U.S. Continental Congress ceased to exist and was replaced by the United States in Congress Assembled (USCA) governing body. The elated Minister of France was the first to address Samuel Huntington as “His Excellency the President of the United States, in Congress Assembled”.
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March 12, 1781 Treasury letter referring to Samuel Huntington as "His Excellency, President of the United States in Congress Assembled." - Image Courtesy of Historic.us |
The States of New Hampshire and Rhode Island having each but one Member in Congress, they became unrepresented by the Confirmation of the Confederation-By which not more than Seven nor less than two members is allowed to represent any State -Whereupon General Sullivan, Delegate from New Hampshire moved - That Congress would appoint a Committee of the States, and Adjourn till those States Could Send forward a Sufficient number of Delegates to represent them-Or that they would allow their Delegates now in Congress To give the Vote of the States until one More from each of those States was Sent to Congress to Make their representation Complete.
He alleged that it was but just for Congress to do one or the other of them-for that the act of Congress by completing the Confederation ought not to deprive those States of their representation without giving them due notice, as their representation was complete before, & that they did not know when the Confederation would be completed. Therefore if the Confederation put it out of the power of Congress to allow the States vote in Congress because there was but one member from each them, they ought in justice to those States to appoint a Committee of the States, in which they would have an Equal Voice. This motion was seconded by Genl. Vernon from Rhode Island and enforced by arguments to the same purpose.
But all their arguments were ably confuted by Mr. Burke of N.C. and others, and the absurdity of the motion fully pointed out, So that the question passed off without a Division. But it was the general opinion of Congress that those members might continue to sit in Congress, and debate & serve on Committees though they could not give the vote of their States.
It was unanimously agreed by the USCA that the Articles of Confederation was in full force and for a State to have a vote in the new Congress, unlike the U.S. Continental Congress, two or more delegates were required in accordance with Article V: "No State shall be represented in Congress by less than two, nor more than seven members."
The Articles of Confederation government was thus deemed to be in full force by the USCA and Samuel Huntington, not John Hanson as claimed by the State of Maryland, was its President. As irrefutable proof that Samuel Huntington's USCA was obliged to comply with the Articles of Confederation below is an image of two different Journals of Congress entries. The first entry is from the December 24th, 1778, Continental Congress vote tally that was taken while President Henry Laurens was presiding. The states of New Hampshire, Delaware, Rhode Island, and Georgia all had only one delegate present, and the States' votes of "ay" were registered as "ay" in the tally.
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Thursday, December 24, 1778 Journals of Congress entry of the US Continental Congress vote on " the support of the charge against Brigadier Thompson, be rejected, and that the deposition of Colonel Noarth, produced last night by Brigadier Thompson in his own exculpation from the charge, be also rejected ... passed in the negative" Journals of Congress Containing the proceedings from January 1st, 1779 to Jan. 1st, 1780 PUBLISHED BY ORDER OF Congress, Philadelphia, by David Claypoole, VOLUME V. -- Image courtesy of the Historic.us Collection. |
The second entry is from the March 22nd, 1781, United States in Congress Assembled vote tally taken while President Samuel Huntington was presiding. The states of New Hampshire, Maryland, Rhode Island, and Georgia all had only one delegate present, and the States' votes of "ay" were registered as " * " having no effect in the tally.
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Thursday, MARCH 22, 1781 Journals of Congress entry of the USCA vote "Resolved, That there be one deputy director of the military hospitals,in the Southern district subject to the general control of the director... So it passed in the negative." The Journals of Congress and the United States in Congress Assembled, For the Year 1781, Published By Order of Congress, Volume VII New York: Printed by John Patterson. -- Image courtesy of the Historic.us Collection. |
As a final "voting proof" that President Samuel Huntington presided as the first USCA President, here is a third entry from November 14th, 1781, United States in Congress Assembled vote tally taken while President John Hanson was presiding. The states of Connecticut and North Carolina had only one delegate present, and the States' votes of "ay" were also registered as " * " having no effect in the tally demonstrating that the USCA's votes, under President Hanson, were tallied just as the first USCA.
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Wednesday, November 14, 1781 Journals of Congress entry of the USCA vote "That the first Tuesday of December next, be assigned for the consideration of the report of the committee, to whom were referred the cessions of New York, Virginia, Connecticut, and the petitions of the Indiana, Vandalia, Illionois, and Wabash companies.A motion was made by Mr. Smith, seconded by Mr. Varnum, to amend, by adding, "provided that eleven states shall be then represented." On the question to agree to the amendment, the yeas and nays being required by Mr. Varnum, ... So it passed in the negative." The Journals of Congress and the United States in Congress Assembled, For the Year 1781, Published By Order of Congress, Volume VII New York: Printed by John Patterson. -- Image courtesy of the Historic.us Collection. |
It was expected that the first USCA President, Samuel Huntington, would
serve under the ratified Articles until the constitutionally prescribed
election on the first Monday in November.
On May 8th, however, Huntington applied for official leave as President and Congress designated the 10th of May for electing his successor. No candidate was able to garnish more than two votes and Huntington continued in the chair. On May 19th John Witherspoon wrote Richard Henry Lee about the expected length of Huntington’s tenure as President noting that:
The
President of Congress asked Leave lately to go home and a Day was fixed for the
Choice of another. The Ballots being taken upon that Day no one had more than
two Votes so that we requested the President to continue & it was postponed
sine die and I think it probable he will continue till the Fall.
By July President Huntington's health,
like Hancock and Laurens before him, began to fail. The
President, despite the pleadings of the delegates, tendered his resignation on
July 6, 1781.
"The President having informed
the United States in Congress assembled, that his ill state of health" ...
not permit him to continue longer in the exercise of the duties of that office".[viii]
On
July 8th, 1781 Thomas McKean wrote to Samuel
Adams of the summer events:
“Since you left us we have been going
on nearly in the old tract, tho' the General Assemblies of this State, Delaware
and Maryland, by their late exertions (being at last thoroughly roused) have
granted such effectual Aids, as must enable us in a little time to hold up our
heads again. The Army under General Green has been successful; Augusta in Georgia
and all the enemies posts in that State, except Savanna, are certainly in our
possession; and I believe Fort Ninety Six, and all other Posts of the enemy in
South Carolina, except Charles-Town, are also wrested from them. There were an
hundred barrels of powder, and a considerable quantity of other military Stores
and provisions, found in Augusta, and about five hundred Prisoners taken there
and in its neighborhood. A general exchange of prisoners has taken place to the
Southward, and our good old friend General Gadsden is expected here in a few
days. All the Refugees and Tories taken on our part have been given up for all
our Militia taken by the enemy; this was agreed to without any reference to
numbers or rank on either side.
A new President of Congress is to be
chosen tomorrow, as Mr. Huntington will not continue any longer; this honor is
going a begging; there is only one Gentleman, and he from the Southward, who
seems willing to accept, but I question whether he will be elected. There are
some amongst us, who are so fond of having a great and powerful man to look up
to, that, tho' they may not like the name of King, seem anxious to confer
kingly powers, under the titles of Dictator, Superintendent of Finance, or some
such, but the majority do not yet appear to be so disposed.
The Harvests in Pennsylvania and the
adjoining States promise to be double in quantity and better in quality than in
any year during the last twenty, and the whole Country teems with fruit. In
short that good Providence that has protected and blessed us hitherto, appears
now to take us under his most particular care; for everything augurs well."[ix]
Surprisingly, this letter gives no
indication on July 8th that Thomas McKean was even considering a candidacy for
the first election, "this honor is going begging,"[x] of
the President of the United States.
The first presidential election under the Articles of Confederation occurred on July 9th, 1781, and North Carolina Delegate Samuel Johnston was chosen the successor to the ailing Samuel Huntington. The following day, however, Johnston refused the office.
The handwritten July 9th, 1781, Journals of the USCA do record that the following measure was passed after Johnston’s election and thus, if he took the chair, he was technically USCA President for a day:
The honble. Samuel Johnston was elected.
A letter of this day, from the superintendant of finance was read:
Ordered, That it be referred to a committee of three:
The members, Mr. Mathews, Mr. Carroll, Mr. Sullivan.
The members, Mr. Mathews, Mr. Carroll, Mr. Sullivan.
Historians, however, conclude that Samuel Johnston did not take the chair after his election on July 9th, 1781, as the business was so brief that it was not recorded in numerous print issues of the Journals. The chair, they reason, must have remained with the Delegate or the USCA Secretary that was designated to preside over the election. This conclusion is substantiated by the Journals of the USCA reporting that, the following day, Samuel Johnston “declined” rather than "resigned" the office of President:
Mr. [Samuel] Johnston having declined to accept the office of President, and offered such reasons as were satisfactory, the House proceeded to another election; and, the ballots being taken, the Hon. Thomas McKean was elected. [17]
Delegate Thomas McKean accepted the USCA Presidential office and began to preside over Congress on July 10th, 1781, four months before John Hanson was elected to the USCA Presidency.
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USCA Journals 1781 printing open to the July 9 & 10th, 1781 entries recording the elections of Samuel Johnston and Thomas McKean as Presidents of the United States in Congress Assembled four months before John Hanson's Presidency. - Image courtesy of the Historic.us Collection. |
McKean came into the presidency at the
beginning of the Revolutionary War’s end. His first dispatch as President was
military in nature issuing permission, on July 11th, to James and
William Winthrop of Massachusetts “to occupy the barracks, standing without
the fortifications on Governor's Island, in the harbor of Boston, for the
purpose of a barn.”[xiii] His
last letters in November of 1781 as President would also be military
correspondence that congratulated plethora of military officers on their
success at Yorktown.
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| President Thomas McKean signs Joseph de L’ Etombe Consul General of France U.S. Commission[xiv] – Stan Klos Collection |
McKean's
Presidency is most curious as he was elected as a Delegate of Delaware
while he was serving as the Chief Justice of Pennsylvania. The opposition of
many Pennsylvanians against his Presidency was vicious due to his affiliation
with both States. Born in Pennsylvania, he remained steadfast in his right to
serve in both positions and did not resign the Chief Justice office. In Congress, however, he maintained he
represented Delaware despite his primary residence being in Philadelphia.
Since
1779, Chief Justice Thomas McKean resided on Philadelphia’s High street, now
known as Market Street, near Second Street. On December 20, 1780, the Supreme
Executive Council directed that the honorable Chief Justice be allowed to
occupy Mr. Duche's house until July 1, 1781. The Reverend Duche had been
chaplain to the First Continental Congress. Being of a “vacillating character,”
after siding with the colonists, Duche joined the Tories. He was found guilty
of high treason and his real estate consisting of the mansion, coach house,
stables and four lots was confiscated.
On
August 10, 1781 the Executive Council sold the house to Thomas McKean for £7750,
Pennsylvania currency, subject to a ground rent of 232| bushels of wheat.
The
house was located on the east side of Third Street, occupying the whole side of
the square from Pine Street on the south to Union Street on the north, and
thirty feet in depth. It was "a large and splendid mansion in the
Elizabethan style at the northeast corner of Third and Pine streets." [xv] This house would be often utilized by the
President to host teas and dinners for his fellow Congressmen and foreign
dignitaries.
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| President McKean's House in Philadelphia was the former residence of Tory Duche |
The house, being an initial “perk” provided
for the Chief Justice by the Pennsylvania Executive Council, fueled the citizen
criticism of the McKean. Particularly, a
Mr. Tenax's public attacks on the Chief
Justice President for serving in the dual offices left McKean no choice but
to respond publically. Two were printed
in The Freeman's Journal during July and August of 1781. On August 6th McKean
writes:
QUERIES to TENAX. Do you not know,
that the chief justice of Pennsylvania, was, at the time of his appointment,
speaker of the house of assembly, soon after commander in chief, and for near
four years since constantly a delegate for the Delaware state?
If
so, and you thought it a violation of the constitution, why did you not
heretofore mention it to him, or publish your sentiments as you have now done?
Do you not know that the honorable William Henry Drayton, esq. sat in congress
for two years as a member of South Carolina, being at the same time chief
justice of that state; that the honorable William Paca, esq. was at the same
time chief justice and a member of congress for the state of Maryland; that the
honorable John Jay, esq. was chief justice of New-York during the time he was
president of congress; that the honorable Samuel Huntington, esq. the last
president of congress, was, during the whole time, a justice of the supreme
court of Connecticut; and that there are several of the present members of
congress who are justices of the supreme court in their respective states?
Can
the chief justice of Pennsylvania sit upon the decision of any controversy
between that state and any other; or can a delegate for the Delaware state have
any share indetermining whether the islands in the river belong to Delaware or
Pennsylvania? Have you ever read the confederation of the several states, or do
you understand it? Do you understand the doctrine of replevins, impeachments,
or the rights of sovereign independent states? Would it not be adviseable to
qualify yourself in this respect, before you assume the office of REFORMER or
CENSOR-GENERAL? Are you so regardless of all reputation as to persist in an
error in spite of conviction?
On
August 8th McKean writes:
In the reply of Tenax to Jurisperitus
in your last paper I find he is a little sore; this proves he is not altogether
callous, tho' I should have been more pleased if he had pointed out that part
of the Constitution, of Pennsylvania which provides, 'that no man shall hold
more than one place of power,' as he was particularly called upon for it. I
would ask, which is most blamable, with respect to decorum, he who violates the
truth, or he who proves the charge.
In
spite of conviction, he still would insinuate that a Judge of Pennsylvania
ought not to sit in Congress, tho' a Delegate for another State, and he
artfully cites only three words of the sentence, viz. sit in Congress, where as
if he had given the whole as Jurisperitus has candidly done, there could remain
no doubt of the meaning of the Convention. The sentence is "The Judges of
the Supreme court shall not be allowed to sit as members in the continental
Congress Executive Council, or general Assembly". They cannot therefore
sit as members in the Executive Council or General Assembly, more than in
Congress; now let us inquire, what Council or Assembly was had in
contemplation, surely those for Pennsylvania, because the words Executive
Council and General Assembly are not used, as Jurisperitus has told us, in the
Constitution of any other State; and of course they are not excluded even by
words from sitting in the Congress or Council, Senate or Assembly for any other
State. Can Tenax believe, that the
Convention had the power or inclination to direct the Governments of other
States, or to restrain them from employing whom they thought proper in
any of their offices of trust or profit, or that they had any other State in
view but Pennsylvania.
A Judge of Pennsylvania can hold any
office whatsoever, which is not derived from the State of Pennsylvania, and
there is neither any (Constitution) law nor reason against it, and this has
been the opinion of all men, whom I ever heard mention the subject, even if
Tenax himself [ . . . ] not remark, & if then The Presidency of Congress is
an office, any Judge of Pennsylvania may hold it, because he is not appointed
by that Government, but if it is a Station of the same nature with that of
Speaker of an House of Assembly for a particular State, how can it be more an
office than that of any other Delegate?
With respect to fees and perquisites,
Tenax quibbles just like himself. He has been asked, whether a Judge of
Pennsylvania may not practise the law in another State; (and take fees) fees
& perquisites would in such case be taken literally, but to this he gives
no answer.
With
his case made, President McKean, didn't miss a step in the rigors of his new
office writing George Washington on August 7th about the
mistreatment of imprisoned soldiers on the British naval ships docked in New
York:
I
was yesterday honored with your Letter of the 2d Instant, and communicated it
with the Inclosures immediately to Congress. Re-iterated Complaints from our
unfortunate Prisoners at New York, whose Treatment is cruel, beyond Description
and their situation really deplorable, gave rise to the Act of Congress of the
3d Instant, a Copy of which is inclosed herewith. How their Distresses will be
alleviated is difficult to tell: Humanity to the Enemy Prisoners seems to be no
longer a Virtue; Retaliation through the Medium of the Simsbury Mines, may
possibly awaken them to a Sense of Duty.
By the last Accounts from Maryland,
the Fleet with Lord Cornwallis amounting to near forty Sail, and having on
Board (it is supposed) near three thousand Troops, had proceeded on the 1st
Instant from Hampton Road towards Annapolis:(3) His Lordship himself was said
to remain at Portsmouth, and two Men of War & eight Transports in Hampton
Road. Governor Lee had on Saturday last six hundred Regulars at Annapolis, and
was collecting the Militia; he appears to be in good Spirits. This Intelligence
has been sent to the Presidents of Delaware & Pennsylvania. Can this
Manoeuvre be to draw the Marquis's Forces on this Side James River, in Order to
facilitate the March of the Horse to South Carolina; or is it for the Purpose
of collecting Provisions & Forage before they proceed for New York; or can
they flatter themselves with Conquest thro' any Assistance promised by the
disaffected near the Head of the Bay, which Lord George Germaine alludes to in
his Letter of the 7th of Feby. last to Sir Henry Clinton: If the latter was
expected, or even the Recovery of their Prisoners at Lancaster or York-town, I
should suppose Lord Cornwallis would have acted in Person. As soon as anything
more is known respecting this Movement I shall inform your Excellency of it.
The Congressional resolve President
McKean enclosed was adopted in response to a committee report drafted by
Delegate Elias Boudinot who had been commissary General of Prisoners in
1778. Future President Boudinot recommended that Washington remonstrate against
the "unnecessary severity" of the treatment of Americans
confined on board prison ships at New York, demanding in answer "to
know the reasons" that Congress might decide "measures for due
retaliation...if a redress of these evils is not immediately given."
On the diplomatic front, the Department of Foreign Affairs that was
born on January 10, 1781
still was without an executive. On
August 10, 1781, at McKean’s urging, a Secretary of Foreign Affairs was
appointed to head the new State Department:
Congress
proceeded to the election of a secretary for foreign affairs; and, the ballots
being taken, Mr. Robert R. Livingston was elected, having been previously
nominated by Mr. William Floyd.[xvi]
Robert
Livingston would serve in this capacity for 19 months. His office was constantly beset with
frustration because the Articles
of Confederation were very weak and diffused his foreign policy authority. Secretary
Livingston, in an attempt to bolster the effectiveness of his office reported
his challenges to the USCA in hopes they would act on his recommendations.
Instead the USCA, ever vigilant of the federal government having too much power
over the states, further restricted his authority to act.
President McKean wrote George
Washington a rather lengthy two days later apprising him of both military, key
USCA diplomatic measures and Livingston’s appointment:
"Sir, Private. Philadelphia. By a
vessel from Cadiz last night we are informed, that our Minister at the Spanish
court, as late as the 11th June, had made but little progress in a negotiation
with them; they still appear friendly, but aim at cessions we cannot make; they
give encouragement respecting money at sometimes, again they are disappointed and
cannot promise anything certain; they have however given Mr. Jay liberty to accept Bills to the amount
of One hundred and fifty thousand Dollars, but have no known funds appropriated
for the payment. In short their conduct appears rather insincere and
mysterious. Our public dispatches are intercepted; or obstructed in so much,
that a free correspondence is almost impracticable. Mr. Cardoqui was to set off
from Madrid for Philadelphia sometime in June; but his intentions of coming
here have been so often announced, and the delay not accounted for, that Mr.
Jay will say nothing about him hereafter, until he has actually sailed.
France acts a truly friendly part. We
shall certainly obtain from her, this year, twenty millions of livres; four of
which will be retained for Doctor
Franklin, to discharge the interest on Loan-Office Certificates; two
supplied in military stores & c. and the residue be subject to the
directions of Congress. I have the strongest reasons to believe that Colonel Laurens is now on the Ocean, and
has with him two millions and an half of this money in specie: I pray most
sincerely for his safe arrival.
It is yet more than
probable, that there will be a negotiation for a general peace sometime this
Fall: the Congress to assemble at Vienna. France has proposed that the United
States of America shall have a Minister or Ministers Plenipotentiary at the
Congress: The Emperor is afraid this proposition may obstruct a measure he has
much at heart; it has been suggested, that if the United States are headed by
Memorial it would probably answer; but to this France does not seem to consent.
The Emperor was expected in June or July at Paris on a visit-The probable
consequence of which is yet in dubio. Sweden and Denmark have refused to assist
the Dutch with Ships of War; Russia is undecided. Count Panin, the Prime
Minister of Russia, is removed. Mr. Neckar's resignation has been accepted by
His Most Christian Majesty; this great Character was not agreeable to the court
of Spain, nor to the Officers at Versailles; he is said to have conducted with
too much Hauteur.
Out of Admiral Rodney's
thirty four Ships, laden with the plunder of St. Eustatia,
Monsieur Piquet has certainly captured twenty four; and it is said, that five more have been picked up by Privateers; the Escort, consisting of a 74, one 64 and two Frigates, with five of the convoy, escaped by their swiftness in sailing. An expedition was in great forwardness at Cadiz, to consist of eight sail of the line besides frigates &c. and eight or ten thousand Land-forces; the destination unknown. They were to sail in July, and conjectured to be for the West-Indies or this Continent.
Monsieur Piquet has certainly captured twenty four; and it is said, that five more have been picked up by Privateers; the Escort, consisting of a 74, one 64 and two Frigates, with five of the convoy, escaped by their swiftness in sailing. An expedition was in great forwardness at Cadiz, to consist of eight sail of the line besides frigates &c. and eight or ten thousand Land-forces; the destination unknown. They were to sail in July, and conjectured to be for the West-Indies or this Continent.
By a letter from the Marquis La Fayette of the 6th from
Pamunky we have intelligence that Lord Cornwallis, with the Fleet formerly
mentioned, and an addition of Whale-boats, carrying the greatest part of the
British Army, have arrived in York River, and landed at Gloucester and
Yorktown, which they now occupy. Your Excellency is probably acquainted with
their situation; however the Marquiss describes the one to be a small neck
projected into the river; the other surrounded by the river and a Morass. Genl.
O'Hara commands at Portsmouth.
The Honorable Robert R. Livingston was appointed by
Congress, on Friday last, Secretary for foreign affairs. Georgia has re-established
her Government, and South Carolina is expected to be soon in capacity to do the
same.
On August 14th, George Washington
received word that the long awaited French fleet under Admiral Comte de Grasse
was sailing for the Chesapeake Bay consisting of 34 warships with transports
carrying 3200 troops prepared to advance his Army south. The arrival of Admiral Comte de Grasse was
expected in mid-September. Washington
along with Rochambeau now had to quietly move forces from Rhode Island to New
Jersey without alarming the British fleet and General Clinton their plans were
on Virginia.
It was now mid-August and the last
orders that Lt. General Charles Cornwallis received from General Henry Clinton
was over a month ago to establish defenses at Old Point Comfort. General
Cornwallis deemed the Point indefensible and chose to make Yorktown his main
position setting up only a support camp across the York River in Gloucester. By
the end of August, Cornwallis successfully deployed his entire force to these
two positions which provided him an easy route to any port via the sea.
Thomas
McKean wrote Richard Henry Lee of
Virginia on August 13th apprising him of current events:
Virginia, I find, has not yet experienced
all the calamities of war. Lord Cornwallis appears to be determined on still
greater mischief. I pray God to give you patience & fortitude in this
severe trial, and to enable you to work out your deliverance. The Enemy must
become weaker every day, and we shall certainly grow stronger; we are at
present very low, with respect to finance, but it is with infinite pleasure I
can inform you, that we have very fair prospects on that head from abroad as
well as at home. France has lately given further proof, that she is a faithfull
Ally: I cannot be more particular.
Spain continues to act an interested
and mysterious part, but must in the end close with us. The United Provinces of
the Netherlands appear to be very friendly, but they are tedious in their
deliberation & slow in execution.
President McKean with no communication
from the besieged Virginia Governor Thomas
Jefferson decided, also, to write a second letter re-informing him of his
appointment as Foreign Secretary on August 20th:
My Predecessor sent you the Copy of a
vote of Congress of the 14th. of June last, appointing you a Minister for
negotiating a peace: As no answer had been yet received, a doubt has taken
place whether the information had reached you, and therefore I now inclose you
a Duplicate.
Permit me, Sir, to congratulate you on
this evidence of the full confidence and esteem of your Country, and to hope
that so very honorable an appointment may meet with your acceptance. I am, Sir, with the most respectful
attachment Your most obedient humble Servant, Tho M:Kean President.
On August 21st, 1781, Washington and 2700 Continental troops
crossed the Hudson River to Stony Point, New York. General Comte de Rochambeau
French forces completed their crossing on August 25th. Tactically, Washington
left a detachment of forces to cover his departure with an order to withdraw
and protect the Hudson Highlands under Maj. General William Heath once they
safely crossed. General Clinton who observed the deployment, made no movement
to counteract the shifting Continental forces away from New York City. On
August 23rd President McKean informed Washington:
Portsmouth is said to be evacuated,
and Lord Cornwallis is still fortifying at Yorktown and Glocester; he is
otherwise very quiet: Of this however we have no official accounts. It is
re[ported] that General Sumpter and Colonel Lee have had an action with a party
of the enemy to the Southward of Monk's corner (I think at Dorchester) in South
Carolina, that they have taken about one hundred and forty prisoners and killed
near an hundred; some waggons and stores were also taken. No account of this
affair has been received from General Greene by Congress, but it comes in such
a manner as to gain credit.
I am possessed of a letter written by
a Richard Nash on board the Terrible at Antigua, dated the 6th Instant, to his
Father on bo[ard] the London at New-York, informing him that Sir Samuel Hood,
with the greatest part of the Fleet there, would sail in a few days for New
York. From other accounts I learn, that Admiral Rodney had sailed for England
with three Ships of the line; that Admiral Hood had dispatched a Frigate for
St. Lucia-Bay for six Men of War, and that he purposed to sail for New-York at
the return of the Frigate. I apprehend that Richard Nash is Captain or a
Lieutenant on board the Terrible, from his requesting his Father to present his
Compliments to Admiral Graves; and that the Father is Master of the London, for
the letter is directed to him as "N. M. of the Ship London." These Minutia
are mentioned that you may be enabled to form the better judgment of this
Intelligence."
On August the 25th, plagued
by states not sending their Delegate quota and with the full knowledge of
George Washington's military intentions, President McKean wrote each state legislature:
The Act of Congress of the 23d
instant, of which you have a Copy enclosed, was occasioned by five States
being unrepresented at this important period. We are at the Eve of great
events, and the collected wisdom of the United States was perhaps seldom more
wanted. I flatter myself therefore the public Good will so far prevail over
every other consideration that the Delegates from your State, or two of them at
least, will give their attendance in Congress without delay. Your good offices
on this occasion will, I rest assured, be successfully exerted.
Three days later General Washington used his light
infantry to ruse a maneuver towards Staten Island. On August 29, the infantry
then turned to Sandy Hook appearing to meet the French fleet. On August 30th,
the troops abandoned the maneuver and headed for Princeton, NJ where the
combined French and Continental Army prepared to march for Philadelphia.
General Clinton realizing Washington was now headed to Philadelphia assumed that
they were preparing for a defense of that city against the feigned British
attack. Clinton dispatched a letter to General Cornwallis apprising of the
movements. The strategy delayed the British from supporting Cornwallis’
position.
In Philadelphia General Arthur St. Clair, who was ordered to
recruit and train troops for the Yorktown effort, requested money from the
Congress to pay the soldiers now under his command. The matter had been
referred to a Congressional committee and on August 28th the members learned
from the Superintendent of Finance, Robert Morris that no money was available
to pay St. Clair's troops. The committee then recommended that the general's
request be referred to the Pennsylvania Council. On the 30th President McKean
wrote the President of the Supreme Council of Pennsylvania Joseph Reed:
Your Excellency has enclosed herewith
an Act of Congress of yesterday, together with a letter from Major General St.
Clair, to be laid before Council. It gives the greatest uneasiness to Congress
that their funds at present will not enable them to expedite the march of the
Troops mentioned by the General, but they hope you will be able to devise some
means to accomplish this desirable purpose.
 |
| October 20, 1781 Military Captain Commission signed by Thomas McKean as President of the United States in Congress Assembled. |
The Congressional Evolution of the United States of America
Continental Congress of the United Colonies Presidents
Continental Congress of the United States Presidents
July 2, 1776 to February 28, 1781
202-239-1774 | Office
202-239-0037 | FAX
Dr. Naomi and Stanley Yavneh Klos, Principals
Continental Congress of the United Colonies Presidents
Sept. 5, 1774 to July 1, 1776
September 5, 1774
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October 22, 1774
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October 22, 1774
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October 26, 1774
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May 20, 1775
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May 24, 1775
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May 25, 1775
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July 1, 1776
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Commander-in-Chief United Colonies & States of America
George Washington: June 15, 1775 - December 23, 1783
Continental Congress of the United States Presidents
July 2, 1776 to February 28, 1781
July 2, 1776
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October 29, 1777
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November 1, 1777
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December 9, 1778
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December 10, 1778
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September 28, 1779
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September 29, 1779
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February 28, 1781
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Presidents of the United States in Congress Assembled
March 1, 1781 to March 3, 1789
March 1, 1781 to March 3, 1789
March 1, 1781
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July 6, 1781
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July 10, 1781
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Declined Office
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July 10, 1781
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November 4, 1781
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November 5, 1781
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November 3, 1782
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November 4, 1782
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November 2, 1783
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November 3, 1783
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June 3, 1784
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November 30, 1784
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November 22, 1785
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November 23, 1785
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June 5, 1786
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June 6, 1786
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February 1, 1787
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February 2, 1787
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January 21, 1788
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January 22, 1788
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January 21, 1789
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Presidents of the United States of America
D-Democratic Party, F-Federalist Party, I-Independent, R-Republican Party, R* Republican Party of Jefferson & W-Whig Party
(1789-1797)
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(1933-1945)
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(1865-1869)
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(1797-1801)
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(1945-1953)
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(1869-1877)
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(1801-1809)
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(1953-1961)
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(1877-1881)
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(1809-1817)
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(1961-1963)
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(1881 - 1881)
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(1817-1825)
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(1963-1969)
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(1881-1885)
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(1825-1829)
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(1969-1974)
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(1885-1889)
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(1829-1837)
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(1973-1974)
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(1889-1893)
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(1837-1841)
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(1977-1981)
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(1893-1897)
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(1841-1841)
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(1981-1989)
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(1897-1901)
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(1841-1845)
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(1989-1993)
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(1901-1909)
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(1845-1849)
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(1993-2001)
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(1909-1913)
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(1849-1850)
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(2001-2009)
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(1913-1921)
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(1850-1853)
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(2009-2017)
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(1921-1923)
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(1853-1857)
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(20017-Present)
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(1923-1929)
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*Confederate States of America
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(1857-1861)
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(1929-1933)
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(1861-1865)
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United Colonies Continental Congress
|
President
|
18th Century Term
|
Age
|
Elizabeth "Betty" Harrison Randolph (1745-1783)
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09/05/74 – 10/22/74
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29
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Mary Williams Middleton (1741- 1761) Deceased
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Henry Middleton
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10/22–26/74
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n/a
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Elizabeth "Betty" Harrison Randolph (1745–1783)
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05/20/ 75 - 05/24/75
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30
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Dorothy Quincy Hancock Scott (1747-1830)
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05/25/75 – 07/01/76
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28
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United States Continental Congress
|
President
|
Term
|
Age
|
Dorothy Quincy Hancock Scott (1747-1830)
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07/02/76 – 10/29/77
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29
| |
Eleanor Ball Laurens (1731- 1770) Deceased
|
Henry Laurens
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11/01/77 – 12/09/78
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n/a
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Sarah Livingston Jay (1756-1802)
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12/ 10/78 – 09/28/78
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21
| |
Martha Huntington (1738/39–1794)
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09/29/79 – 02/28/81
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41
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United States in Congress Assembled
|
President
|
Term
|
Age
|
Martha Huntington (1738/39–1794)
|
03/01/81 – 07/06/81
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42
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Sarah Armitage McKean (1756-1820)
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07/10/81 – 11/04/81
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25
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Jane Contee Hanson (1726-1812)
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11/05/81 - 11/03/82
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55
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Hannah Stockton Boudinot (1736-1808)
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11/03/82 - 11/02/83
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46
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Sarah Morris Mifflin (1747-1790)
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11/03/83 - 11/02/84
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36
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Anne Gaskins Pinkard Lee (1738-1796)
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11/20/84 - 11/19/85
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46
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Dorothy Quincy Hancock Scott (1747-1830)
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11/23/85 – 06/06/86
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38
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Rebecca Call Gorham (1744-1812)
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06/06/86 - 02/01/87
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42
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Phoebe Bayard St. Clair (1743-1818)
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02/02/87 - 01/21/88
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43
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Christina Stuart Griffin (1751-1807)
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01/22/88 - 01/29/89
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36
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Constitution of 1787
First Ladies |
President
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Term
|
Age
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April 30, 1789 – March 4, 1797
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57
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March 4, 1797 – March 4, 1801
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52
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Martha Wayles Jefferson Deceased
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September 6, 1782 (Aged 33)
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n/a
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March 4, 1809 – March 4, 1817
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40
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March 4, 1817 – March 4, 1825
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48
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March 4, 1825 – March 4, 1829
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50
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December 22, 1828 (aged 61)
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n/a
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February 5, 1819 (aged 35)
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n/a
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March 4, 1841 – April 4, 1841
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65
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April 4, 1841 – September 10, 1842
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50
| ||
June 26, 1844 – March 4, 1845
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23
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March 4, 1845 – March 4, 1849
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41
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March 4, 1849 – July 9, 1850
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60
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July 9, 1850 – March 4, 1853
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52
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March 4, 1853 – March 4, 1857
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46
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n/a
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n/a
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March 4, 1861 – April 15, 1865
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42
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February 22, 1862 – May 10, 1865
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April 15, 1865 – March 4, 1869
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54
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March 4, 1869 – March 4, 1877
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43
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March 4, 1877 – March 4, 1881
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45
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March 4, 1881 – September 19, 1881
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48
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January 12, 1880 (Aged 43)
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n/a
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June 2, 1886 – March 4, 1889
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21
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March 4, 1889 – October 25, 1892
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56
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June 2, 1886 – March 4, 1889
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28
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March 4, 1897 – September 14, 1901
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49
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September 14, 1901 – March 4, 1909
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40
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March 4, 1909 – March 4, 1913
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47
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March 4, 1913 – August 6, 1914
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52
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December 18, 1915 – March 4, 1921
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43
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March 4, 1921 – August 2, 1923
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60
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August 2, 1923 – March 4, 1929
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44
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March 4, 1929 – March 4, 1933
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54
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March 4, 1933 – April 12, 1945
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48
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April 12, 1945 – January 20, 1953
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60
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January 20, 1953 – January 20, 1961
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56
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January 20, 1961 – November 22, 1963
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31
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November 22, 1963 – January 20, 1969
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50
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January 20, 1969 – August 9, 1974
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56
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August 9, 1974 – January 20, 1977
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56
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January 20, 1977 – January 20, 1981
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49
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January 20, 1981 – January 20, 1989
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59
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January 20, 1989 – January 20, 1993
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63
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January 20, 1993 – January 20, 2001
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45
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January 20, 2001 – January 20, 2009
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54
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January 20, 2009 to date
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45
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Capitals of the United Colonies and States of America
Philadelphia
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Sept. 5, 1774 to Oct. 24, 1774
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Philadelphia
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May 10, 1775 to Dec. 12, 1776
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Baltimore
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Dec. 20, 1776 to Feb. 27, 1777
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Philadelphia
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March 4, 1777 to Sept. 18, 1777
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Lancaster
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September 27, 1777
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York
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Sept. 30, 1777 to June 27, 1778
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Philadelphia
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July 2, 1778 to June 21, 1783
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Princeton
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June 30, 1783 to Nov. 4, 1783
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Annapolis
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Nov. 26, 1783 to Aug. 19, 1784
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Trenton
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Nov. 1, 1784 to Dec. 24, 1784
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New York City
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Jan. 11, 1785 to Nov. 13, 1788
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New York City
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October 6, 1788 to March 3,1789
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New York City
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March 3,1789 to August 12, 1790
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Philadelphia
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Dec. 6,1790 to May 14, 1800
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Washington DC
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November 17,1800 to Present
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Book a primary source exhibit and a professional speaker for your next event by contacting Historic.us today. Our Clients include many Fortune 500 companies, associations, non-profits, colleges, universities, national conventions, PR and advertising agencies. As a leading national exhibitor of primary sources, many of our clients have benefited from our historic displays that are designed to entertain and educate your target audience. Contact us to learn how you can join our "roster" of satisfied clientele today!
Hosted by The New Orleans Jazz Museum and The Louisiana Historical Center
Hosted by The New Orleans Jazz Museum and The Louisiana Historical Center
Historic.us
A Non-profit Corporation
A Non-profit Corporation
Primary Source Exhibits
727-771-1776 | Exhibit Inquiries
202-239-1774 | Office
202-239-0037 | FAX
Dr. Naomi and Stanley Yavneh Klos, Principals
Naomi@Historic.us
Stan@Historic.us
Primary Source exhibits are available for display in your community. The costs range from $1,000 to $35,000 depending on length of time on loan and the rarity of artifacts chosen.
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| U.S. Dollar Presidential Coin Mr. Klos vs Secretary Paulson - Click Here |
The United Colonies of North America Continental Congress Presidents (1774-1776)
The United States of America Continental Congress Presidents (1776-1781)
The United States of America in Congress Assembled Presidents (1781-1789)
The United States of America Presidents and Commanders-in-Chiefs (1789-Present)
The United States of America Continental Congress Presidents (1776-1781)
The United States of America in Congress Assembled Presidents (1781-1789)
The United States of America Presidents and Commanders-in-Chiefs (1789-Present)
