Thomas Mckean, Delegate from Delaware to the Continental Congress, 1774-1783

A VALUABLE ACQUISITION IN CONGRESS: THOMAS MCKEAN, DELEGATE FROM DELAWARE TO THE CONTINENTAL CONGRESS, 1774-1783 BY G. S. RowE* A BBf RAYNAL once observed that the most substantial strides A toward American independence and the creation of a permanent foundation for freedom had been made less by visionary, passionate, and mercurial revolutionaries than by tenacious and methodical men. He was not particularly surprised by this de- velopment. The history of republics had convinced him that, while the "multitude have almost always great impetuosity and heat at the first moment," the political, social, and moral struggles leading to the betterment of mankind invariably had been di- rected by "a small number of chosen men, qualified to serve as chiefs." In such men, he concluded, ". reside those constant and vigorous resolutions which march, with a steady . step, towards some great and worthy end, never turning . from the path; and never ceasing, most stubbornly to combat all obstruc- tions that they meet with from fortune, . misery, . and man."' Among those of the American revolutionary generation who most stubbornly pursued policies in the interest of independence and union, few were more dedicated than Thomas McKean. Blessed with neither the sense of history nor the talent of a Jefferson or John Adams, McKean was nonetheless among the best of a second line of leaders who utilized their abilities to the utmost in the service of the young nation. His experience en- compassed much of the political and judicial history of Pennsyl- "The author is an Assistant Professor of History at the University of Northern Colorado. 'Pennsylvania Journal, November 24, 1781, quoted in John H. Powell, "John Dickinson, President of the Delaware State, 1781-1782," Delaware RiStory, I (January, 1946), 35-36. Raynal's The Revolution in America appeared n many American newspapers in 1781 and in book form in 1782. 225 226 PENNSYLVANIA HISTORY vania and Delaware in the three decades prior to the ratifica. tion of the federal constitution. Most of his involvement in the events surrounding the creation of the new republic, however, stemmed from his tenure as a delegate from Delaware to the Continental Congress, a tenure that extended, save for one year, from 1774 to 1783.2 McKean's career in Congress provides more than a substantiation of Rayna's observation. It furnishes insight into a variety of forces at work in revolutionary America. Be- cause he was the chief judicial officer in Pennsylvania during the greater part of his congressional service to Delaware, his story sheds light on the eighteenth-century practices of pluralism and non-resident representation. His behavior is accordingly of interest to the historian examining the nature of American representation, and its evolution under the impact of revolutionary exigencies. Equally important, McKean's career provides a con- venient example against which to test recent assumptions con- cerning the structure and motivation of factions within the Continental Congress. I Although McKean's name is indelibly linked to the political events of Delaware's revolutionary and immediate post-revolutionary years, he was not a native of that state, nor was he, after 1775, a permanent resident of the Lower Counties. Born in Chester County, Pennsylvania, and educated at Francis Alison's New London Academy, he moved to Delaware in 1750 at the age of sixteen to live and study law with his cousin, David Finney, a practicing lawyer with a substantial law library. David's father, Dr. John Finney, was a man highly esteemed by the proprietary governor and a holder of reputable offices in New Castle's political and military life. The opportunities afforded McKean by his association with the Finneys combined with his own perspicacity and resourcefulness to quickly draw to him an impressive number of public offices, a lucrative law practice 2 No adequate published biography of McKean exists. There are two UnI- published dissertations: James H. Peeling, "The Public Life of Thomas MeKean, 1734-1817" (doctoral dissertation, University of Chicago, 1929); Gail Stuart Rowe, "Power, Politics, and Public Service: The Life of Thomas McKean, 1734-1817" (doctoral dissertation, Stanford University, 1969). THOMAS McKEAN, DELEGATE 227 and, if we can believe his later recollections, not a little envy from his less aggressive colleagues at the bar.3 When Delaware joined with other colonies after 1763 in pro- testing imperial policies McKean, by then a prominent figure in the Delaware Assembly, played a leading role. He represented his colony in the Stamp Act Congress, acted on its committee of correspondence, and sought to *create the local sentiment necessary to align Delaware with the most advanced Whig program emanating from the Continental Congress. He, as much as any other individual, was responsible for securing Delaware's official commitment to independence in July of 1776. Even after moving his permanent residence to Pennsylvania and becoming that state's first chief -justice, he continued to serve Delaware, working "double-tides" as he called it, for he provided leadership in that state in September of 1777 following the capture of its president by the British, and he remained a member of its Assembly until 1779.4 More important, until America's independence was assured, he remained Delaware's principal voice in the national government. Delaware was fortunate in securing McKean's services in Con- gress after 1774. Much to the exasperation of the congressional leadership, Delaware, despite its proximity to the Congress, found it impossible to maintain adequate representation in that body. Not only did its small population produce few truly qualified, experienced men, and its limited resources render it difficult to compensate adequately those who did serve, but a tradition of plural office holding made it inexpedient for men to assume the added responsibilities demanded of congressional 'Rowe, "Thomas McKean," chapter 1. McKean's own assessment of his early career can be found in his autobiographical sketch, McKean Papers, Historical Society of Pennsylvania. 'McKean represented New Castle County. Beginning his legislative career in 1762, he became an important figure in that body almost im- mediately. His activities there can be followed in Thomas McKean and Caesar Rodney, eds., Votes and Proceedings of the House of Representa- tives of the Government of the Counties of New Castle, Kent and Sussex Upon Delaware at a Session of the Assembly held in New Castle on the 20th Day of October 1762 (Wilmington, 1930), and the records for the Years between 1765 and 1770, edited by McKean and George Read. Me- Keats used the nautical expression to ,describe his two jobs in a letter to aesar Rodney, April 28, 1778, in George H. Ryden, ed., Letters to and from Caesar R'odney, 1756-1784 (Philadelphia, 1933), 265. 228 PENNSYLVANIA HISTORY delegates, and frequently exhausted those who tried.5 Nonethe less, another factor-political apathy-accounted as much as did any factor for Delaware's conspicuous laxity in promoting and maintaining effective representation in Philadelphia. "Such in our State do not incline to serve," Nicholas Van Dyke admitted to McKean in 1781, and altho I believe they desire the Welfare of America, yet I can not help saying that they prefer their own Ease & Interest to the Promotion of the good of their Country by Exertion which might be in a degree incom- patible with such Ease & Interest.6 That these were in Delaware but ". few to be found that are possessed of great talents, who will devote them(selves) entirely to the public service solely for the public benefit . ," came as no revelation to the over-worked McKean.7 Some men, when called upon to serve, simply refused. Most, however, remained content to bemoan their own limitations, to protest the inconvenience of service in Congress, and to view McKean as the palliative for Delaware's representational woes in Philadelphia. Samuel Patterson expressed to Caesar Rodney what soon became, if it were not already, a commonplace sentiment: "I will push McKean," he wrote, ". he will not refuse" To the chagrin of his enemies and the relief of his friends, he never did. In McKean one finds a type of individual whose ambition for office and craving for power and adulation is so intertwined with a personal sense of obligation to public service that he himself could rarely distinguish the primary motivation behind his quest for office.9 Despite a sincere desire after 'John A. Munroe, "Nonresident Representative in the Continental COD- gress: The Delaware Delegation of 1782," William and Mary Quarterly, IX (April, 1952), 169. 6 Nicholas Van Dyke to McKean, February 14, 1781, McKean Papers. Van Dyke was referring specifically to John Dickinson and George Read. 7McKean to John Dickinson, December 25, 1780, McKean Papers. 8 James Sykes to George Read, September 10, 1777, in William T. Read, The Life and Correspondence of George Read (Philadelphia, 1870), 162; Samuel Patterson -to Caesar Rodney, August 17, 1778, in Ryden, Letters, 280. Patterson's comment actually referred to pushing McKean for a seat in the Assembly but it typifies Delaware Whig attitudes towards his will- ingness to serve. 9 McKean never admitted seeking an office. If one believes -his letters and autobiographical sketch, he merely agreed to serve in various offices when THOMAS McKEAN, DELEGATE 229 1779 to curb his activities in Congress in order to devote his full energies to his judicial duties and his growing family, an in- clination that increased with the years, he did not refuse when year after year Delaware turned to him to serve it in the national government. The historian of the Continental Congress correctly described McKean'S attendance after 1777 as "irregular." The demands of his judicial post frequently prevented him from attending Con- gress, and he often neglected congressional matters.

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