BOOK REVIEW By DAVID I. GRUNFELD Legacy of Advocacy About the Man Who Tailored English Precedent to American Colonial Life

SUSPECTED OF INDEPENDENCE The Life of Thomas McKean, America's First Power Broker by Dave McKean 468 pages $27.99, PublicAffairs, 2016

ubtitled “The Life of Thomas McKean, America’s First Power S Broker,” this is a biography of one of our Founding Fathers, written by a lineal descendent. McKean is not well-known today (although your reviewer was a member of the McKean Law Club at Penn Law back in the 1960s), but rose from humble beginnings to become a delegate to both Continental Congresses, a signer of the Declaration of Independence, the first Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania, and a three-term governor of Pennsylvania. The book is not a dry narrative of accomplishments, but, rather, a fascinating study of how a young man, born in 1734 in New London, Pa., McKean was motivated to join the who was essentially an orphan, began then-dangerous cause for liberty from studying law at age 16. He served in the Delaware House of Assembly for Britain by the Stamp Act and other taxes, and 17 years, married and had six children, then, when widowed, remarried and had participated in the issuance of the five more. McKean was motivated to Declaration and Constitution, all the while join the then-dangerous cause for liberty from Britain by the Stamp Act and other serving in the military during the war and taxes, and participated in the issuance of the Declaration and Constitution, all creating our state’s justice system. the while serving in the military during the war and creating our state’s justice interesting. As our chief justice, he tried and left a legacy of activism as a patriot, system. cases and heard appeals all over the a jurist and a politician. His legal and advocacy skills were Commonwealth, setting up a body of recognized by his colleagues, and his law and procedure based upon English David I. Grunfeld (dgrunfeld@astorweiss. interactions with Washington, Adams, precedent but tailored to American com), of counsel to Astor Weiss Kaplan & Jefferson and the numerous signers of colonial life. Mandel, LLP, is a member of the Editorial the Declaration, particularly those from When he died in 1817, he had five Board of The Philadelphia Lawyer. Pennsylvania and Delaware, are most surviving children and 34 grandchildren,

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