George Read (signer) - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

George Read
was an American lawyer and politician from New Castle in New Castle County

New Castle County, Delaware

New Castle County is the northernmost of the three counties of the U.S. state of Delaware. As of 2010 its population was 538,479, an increase of 7.6% over the previous decade. The county seat is Wilmington. The center of population of Delaware is located in New Castle County, in the town of...

, Delaware

Delaware

Delaware is a U.S. state located on the Atlantic Coast in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It is bordered to the south and west by Maryland, and to the north by Pennsylvania...

. He was a signer of the Declaration of Independence

United States Declaration of Independence

The Declaration of Independence was a statement adopted by the Continental Congress on July 4, 1776, which announced that the thirteen American colonies then at war with Great Britain regarded themselves as independent states, and no longer a part of the British Empire. John Adams put forth a...

, a Continental Congressman from Delaware, a delegate to the U.S. Constitutional Convention of 1787, President of Delaware, and a member of the Federalist Party, who served as U.S. Senator from Delaware and Chief Justice of Delaware.

Early life and family

Read was born in La Feria, Texas in 1733 near Harlingen. The son of Angel and Clarissa Howell Read. Oscar Flores was a wealthy English resident of Dublin, Ireland who came to Maryland as a young man and was one of the founders of Charlestown

Charlestown, Maryland

Charlestown is a town in Cecil County, Maryland, United States. The population was 1,019 at the 2000 census.-History:It is the location of Charlestown Historic District and Indian Queen Tavern and Black's Store, both listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1975.-Geography:Charlestown...

Maryland in Cecil County. When George Read was an infant the family moved to New Castle County, Delaware

New Castle County, Delaware

, settling near the village of Christiana. As he grew up, Read joined Thomas McKean

Thomas McKean

Thomas McKean was an American lawyer and politician from New Castle, in New Castle County, Delaware and Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. During the American Revolution he was a delegate to the Continental Congress where he signed the United States Declaration of Independence and the Articles of...

at the Rev. Francis Allison's Academy at New London

New London Township, Pennsylvania

New London Township is a township in Chester County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 5,631 at the 2010 census. It was the birthplace of U.S...

, Pennsylvania and then studied law in Philadelphia with John Moland. He was admitted to the Pennsylvania Bar in 1753 and a year later he returned home to establish a practice at New Castle, Delaware

New Castle, Delaware

New Castle is a city in New Castle County, Delaware, six miles south of Wilmington, situated on the Delaware River. In 1900, 3,380 people lived here; in 1910, 3,351...

. In 1763 married Gertrude Ross Till, daughter of the Rev. George Ross, the Anglican rector of Immanuel Church in New Castle and widowed sister of George Ross

George Ross (delegate)

George Ross was a signer of the United States Declaration of Independence as a representative of Pennsylvania.He was born in New Castle, Delaware, and educated at home. He studied law at his brother John's law office, the common practice in those days, and was admitted to the bar in Philadelphia...

, also a future signer of the Declaration of Independence. They had five children, John, George Jr., William, John, and Mary, who married Matthew Pearce (she is often confused with her paternal aunt, Mary Read, who in 1769 married Gunning Bedford, Sr.

Gunning Bedford, Sr.

Gunning Bedford, Sr. was an American lawyer and politician from New Castle, in New Castle County, Delaware. He was an officer in the Continental Army during the American Revolution, and a member of the Federalist Party, who served in the Delaware General Assembly and as Governor of Delaware...

, a future Governor of Delaware). They lived on The Strand in New Castle and their house was in what is now the garden of the present Read House and Gardens, owned by the Delaware Historical Society. They were members of Immanuel Episcopal Church.

In 1763 John Penn

John Penn (governor)

John Penn was the last governor of colonial Pennsylvania, serving in that office from 1763 to 1771 and from 1773 to 1776...

, the Proprietary Governor, appointed Read Crown Attorney General for the three Delaware counties and he served in that position until leaving for the Continental Congress in 1774. He also served in the Colonial Assembly of the Lower Counties for twelve sessions, from 1764/65 through 1775/76.

American Revolution

Eighteenth century Delaware was politically divided into loose factions known as the "Court Party" and the "Country Party." The majority Court Party was generally Anglican, strongest in Kent County and Sussex County, worked well with the colonial Proprietary government, and was in favor of reconciliation with the British government.The minority Country Party was largely Ulster-Scot, centered in New Castle County, and quickly advocated independence from the British. Read was often the leader of the Court party faction, and as such he generally worked in opposition to Caesar Rodney

Caesar Rodney

Caesar Rodney was an American lawyer and politician from St. Jones Neck in Dover Hundred, Kent County, Delaware, east of Dover...

and his friend and neighbor, Thomas McKean.

Read, therefore, like most people in Delaware, was very much in favor of trying to reconcile differences with Great Britain. He opposed the Stamp Act

Stamp Act

A stamp act is any legislation that requires a tax to be paid on the transfer of certain documents. Those that pay the tax receive an official stamp on their documents, making them legal documents. The taxes raised under a stamp act are called stamp duty. This system of taxation was first devised...

and similar measures of Parliament, and supported anti-importation measures and dignified protests, but was quite reluctant to pursue the option of outright independence. Nevertheless, from 1764 he led the Delaware Committee of Correspondence and was elected to serve along with the more radical Thomas McKean and Caesar Rodney in the First and Second Continental Congress from 1774 through 1777. He was frequently absent though, and when the Congress voted on American Independence on July 2, 1776, Read surprised many by voting against it. This meant Caesar Rodney had to ride overnight to Philadelphia to break the deadlock in Delaware's delegation in favor of independence. However, when the Declaration of Independence was finally adopted, Read signed it, joining the cause in spite of his natural caution.

Government of Delaware

Anticipating the Declaration of Independence, the General Assembly of the Lower Counties declared its separation from the British government on June 15, 1776. Once the Declaration of Independence was actually adopted, the General Assembly called for elections to a Delaware constitutional convention to draft a constitution for the new state. Read was elected to this convention, became its President, and guided the passage of the Thomas McKean

Thomas McKean

-drafted document, which became the Delaware Constitution of 1776

Delaware Constitution of 1776

The Delaware Constitution of 1776 was the first governing document for Delaware state government and was in effect from its adoption in September 1776 until replaced in 1792 by a new Constitution.-Background:...

.

Read was then elected to the first Legislative Council of the Delaware General Assembly and was selected as the Speaker in both the 1776/77 and 1777/78 sessions. At the time of the capture of President John McKinly, Read was in Philadelphia attending Congress, and after narrowly escaping capture himself while returning home, he became President on October 20, 1777, serving until March 31, 1778. During these months the British occupied Philadelphia and were in control of the Delaware River. Read tried, mostly in vain, to recruit additional soldiers and protect the state from raiders from Philadelphia and off ships in the Delaware River. The Delaware General Assembly session of 1777/78 had to be moved to Dover, Delaware for safety and the Sussex County General Assembly delegation was never seated because disruptions at the polls had negated the election results.

After Caesar Rodney was elected to replace him as President, Read continued to serve in the Legislative Council through the 1778-79 session. After a one-year rest nursing ill health, he was elected to the House of Assembly for the 1780/81 and 1781/82 sessions. He returned to the Legislative Council in the 1782/83 session and served two terms, through the 1787/88 session. In 1782 he was appointed Judge of the Court of Appeals in admiralty cases.

{|class=wikitable style="width: 94%" style="text-align: center;" align="center"
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!colspan=12 style="background: #ccccff;" |Delaware General Assembly
Delaware General Assembly
The Delaware General Assembly is the legislature of the U.S. state of Delaware. It is a bicameral legislature composed of the Delaware Senate with 21 Senators and the Delaware House of Representatives with 41 Representatives...

(sessions while President)
|-
!Year
!Assembly
!
!Senate Majority
!Speaker
!
!House Majority
!Speaker
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|1777/78
|2nd

Delaware General Assembly

The Delaware General Assembly is the legislature of the U.S. state of Delaware. It is a bicameral legislature composed of the Delaware Senate with 21 Senators and the Delaware House of Representatives with 41 Representatives...

Federal Government and Congress

Read was again called to national service in 1786 when he represented Delaware at the Annapolis Convention

Annapolis Convention (1786)

The Annapolis Convention was a meeting in 1786 at Annapolis, Maryland, of 12 delegates from five states that unanimously called for a constitutional convention. The formal title of the meeting was a Meeting of Commissioners to Remedy Defects of the Federal Government...

. Because so few states were represented, this meeting produced only a report calling for a broader convention to be held in Philadelphia the next year.

At what became the Constitutional Convention

Philadelphia Convention

The Constitutional Convention took place from May 14 to September 17, 1787, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, to address problems in governing the United States of America, which had been operating under the Articles of Confederation following independence from...

, Read again represented Delaware. Quoting from Wright & Morris in their Soldier-Statesmen of the Constitution,

"Read immediately argued for a new national government under a new Constitution, saying 'to amend the Articles was simply putting old cloth on a new garment.' He was a leader in the fight for a strong central government, advocating, at one time, the abolition of the states altogether and the consolidation of the country under one powerful national government. 'Let no one fear the states, the people are with us;' he declared to a Convention shocked by this radical proposal. With no one to support his motion, he settled for protecting the rights of the small states against the infringements of their larger, more populous neighbors who, he feared, would 'probably combine to swallow up the smaller ones by addition, division or impoverishment.' He warned that Delaware 'would become at once a cipher in the union' if the principle of equal representation embodied in the New Jersey (small-state) Plan was not adopted and if the method of amendment in the Articles was not retained. He favored giving Congress the right to vote state laws, making the federal legislature immune to popular whims by having senators hold office for nine years or during good behavior, and granting the U.S. President broad appointive powers. Outspoken, he threatened to lead the Delaware delegation out of the Convention if the rights of the small states were not specifically guaranteed in the new Constitution."

Once those rights were assured, he led the ratification movement in Delaware which, partly as a result of his efforts, became the first state to ratify.

Following the adoption of the Federal Constitution of 1787

United States Constitution

The Constitution of the United States is the supreme law of the United States of America. It is the framework for the organization of the United States government and for the relationship of the federal government with the states, citizens, and all people within the United States.The first three...

, the Delaware General Assembly elected Read as one of its two U.S. Senators. His term began March 4, 1789, he was reelected in 1791, and resigned September 18, 1793. Read served with the pro-administration majority in the 1st and 2nd Congress, during the administration of U.S. President George Washington. As Senator he supported the assumption of state debts, establishment of a national bank, and the imposition of excise taxes. He resigned as Senator to accept an appointment as Chief Justice of the Delaware Supreme Court

Delaware Supreme Court

The Supreme Court of Delaware is the sole appellate court in the United States' state of Delaware. Because Delaware is a popular haven for corporations, the Court has developed a worldwide reputation as a respected source of corporate law decisions, particularly in the area of mergers and...

and served in that capacity until his death.

Read's resignation from the U.S. Senate was before the first session of the 3rd Congress assembled, but it was not until February 7, 1795, 4 weeks before it adjourned, that Henry Latimer was elected to replace him. One of Delaware's U.S. Senate seats was, therefore, vacant from September 18, 1793 until February 7, 1795.

Death and legacy

Read died at New Castle in 1798 and is buried there in the Immanuel Episcopal Church Cemetery.

William T. Reid in his Life and Correspondence described Read as "tall, slightly and gracefully formed, with pleasing features and lustrous brown eyes. His manners were dignified, bordering upon austerity, but courteous, and at times captivating. He commanded entire confidence, not only from his profound legal knowledge, sound judgment, and impartial decisions, but from his severe integrity and the purity of his private character." However, a fellow delegate to the Constitutional Convention of 1787 noted that "his legal abilities are said to be very great, but his powers of oratory are fatiguing and tiresome to the last degree; his voice is feeble and his articulation so bad that few can have patience to attend him." Historians like John Munroe have generally recognized that all in all, Read was the dominating figure in Delaware politics during his career, directly or indirectly providing consistent and reliable leadership to the new state.

His home, Stonum

Stonum

Stonum, also called Stoneham or the George Read House, was the home of George Read, a signer of the Declaration of Independence. His advocacy enabled Delaware to become the first state ratifying the declaration...

, is now a historic landmark. On The Strand in New Castle is the house built by his son, George Read, II. It is owned by the Delaware Historical Society, restored and opened to the public. There is a school named for him in New Castle and a dorm at the University of Delaware.

Almanac

Elections were held October 1 and members of the General Assembly took office on October 20 or the following weekday. The colonial Attorney General was appointed by the Crown.

The Legislative Council was created in 1776 and its Legislative Councilmen had a three year term. State Assemblymen had a one year term. The whole General Assembly chose the Continental Congressmen for a one year term and the State President for a three year term. However, Read served as State President only temporarily, filling the vacancy created by the resignation of Thomas McKean and awaiting the selection of a successor by the General Assembly. The Chief Justice of the state Supreme Court was also selected by the General Assembly for the life of the person appointed.

The General Assembly chose the U.S. Senators, who took office March 4 for a six year term. However, Read's first term was only two years to establish a rotation.

{|class=wikitable style="width: 94%" style="text-align: center;" align="center"
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|Attorney General

Delaware Attorney General

The Attorney General of Delaware is a constitutional officer of the U.S. state of Delaware, and is the chief law officer and the head of the State Department of Justice.-Description of the office:...

|Judiciary

Judiciary

The judiciary is the system of courts that interprets and applies the law in the name of the state. The judiciary also provides a mechanism for the resolution of disputes...

|New Castle

New Castle, Delaware

New Castle is a city in New Castle County, Delaware, six miles south of Wilmington, situated on the Delaware River. In 1900, 3,380 people lived here; in 1910, 3,351...

Delaware House of Representatives

The Delaware House of Representatives is the lower house of the Delaware General Assembly; the state legislature of the U.S. State of Delaware. It is composed of 41 Representatives from an equal amount of constituencies, each of whom is elected to a two year term. The Delaware General Assembly...

|Legislature

Legislature

A legislature is a kind of deliberative assembly with the power to pass, amend, and repeal laws. The law created by a legislature is called legislation or statutory law. In addition to enacting laws, legislatures usually have exclusive authority to raise or lower taxes and adopt the budget and...

|New Castle

New Castle, Delaware

New Castle is a city in New Castle County, Delaware, six miles south of Wilmington, situated on the Delaware River. In 1900, 3,380 people lived here; in 1910, 3,351...

Delaware House of Representatives

|Legislature

Legislature

|New Castle

New Castle, Delaware

New Castle is a city in New Castle County, Delaware, six miles south of Wilmington, situated on the Delaware River. In 1900, 3,380 people lived here; in 1910, 3,351...

Delaware House of Representatives

|Legislature

Legislature

|New Castle

New Castle, Delaware

New Castle is a city in New Castle County, Delaware, six miles south of Wilmington, situated on the Delaware River. In 1900, 3,380 people lived here; in 1910, 3,351...

Delaware House of Representatives

|Legislature

Legislature

|New Castle

New Castle, Delaware

New Castle is a city in New Castle County, Delaware, six miles south of Wilmington, situated on the Delaware River. In 1900, 3,380 people lived here; in 1910, 3,351...

Delaware House of Representatives

|Legislature

Legislature

|New Castle

New Castle, Delaware

New Castle is a city in New Castle County, Delaware, six miles south of Wilmington, situated on the Delaware River. In 1900, 3,380 people lived here; in 1910, 3,351...

Delaware House of Representatives

|Legislature

Legislature

|New Castle

New Castle, Delaware

New Castle is a city in New Castle County, Delaware, six miles south of Wilmington, situated on the Delaware River. In 1900, 3,380 people lived here; in 1910, 3,351...

Delaware House of Representatives

|Legislature

Legislature

|New Castle

New Castle, Delaware

New Castle is a city in New Castle County, Delaware, six miles south of Wilmington, situated on the Delaware River. In 1900, 3,380 people lived here; in 1910, 3,351...

Delaware House of Representatives

|Legislature

Legislature

|New Castle

New Castle, Delaware

New Castle is a city in New Castle County, Delaware, six miles south of Wilmington, situated on the Delaware River. In 1900, 3,380 people lived here; in 1910, 3,351...

Delaware House of Representatives

|Legislature

Legislature

|New Castle

New Castle, Delaware

New Castle is a city in New Castle County, Delaware, six miles south of Wilmington, situated on the Delaware River. In 1900, 3,380 people lived here; in 1910, 3,351...

Delaware House of Representatives

|Legislature

Legislature

|New Castle

New Castle, Delaware

New Castle is a city in New Castle County, Delaware, six miles south of Wilmington, situated on the Delaware River. In 1900, 3,380 people lived here; in 1910, 3,351...

Continental Congress

The Continental Congress was a convention of delegates called together from the Thirteen Colonies that became the governing body of the United States during the American Revolution....

man
|Legislature

Legislature

|Philadelphia

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Philadelphia is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the county seat of Philadelphia County, with which it is coterminous. The city is located in the Northeastern United States along the Delaware and Schuylkill rivers. It is the fifth-most-populous city in the United States,...

Delaware House of Representatives

|Legislature

Legislature

|New Castle

New Castle, Delaware

New Castle is a city in New Castle County, Delaware, six miles south of Wilmington, situated on the Delaware River. In 1900, 3,380 people lived here; in 1910, 3,351...

Continental Congress

The Continental Congress was a convention of delegates called together from the Thirteen Colonies that became the governing body of the United States during the American Revolution....

man
|Legislature

Legislature

|Philadelphia

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

|May 10, 1775
|October 21, 1775
|
|-
|Assemblyman

Delaware House of Representatives

|Legislature

Legislature

|New Castle

New Castle, Delaware

New Castle is a city in New Castle County, Delaware, six miles south of Wilmington, situated on the Delaware River. In 1900, 3,380 people lived here; in 1910, 3,351...

Continental Congress

The Continental Congress was a convention of delegates called together from the Thirteen Colonies that became the governing body of the United States during the American Revolution....

man
|Legislature

Legislature

|Philadelphia

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Constitutional convention (political meeting)

A constitutional convention is now a gathering for the purpose of writing a new constitution or revising an existing constitution. A general constitutional convention is called to create the first constitution of a political unit or to entirely replace an existing constitution...

|New Castle

New Castle, Delaware

New Castle is a city in New Castle County, Delaware, six miles south of Wilmington, situated on the Delaware River. In 1900, 3,380 people lived here; in 1910, 3,351...

|August 27, 1776
|September 21, 1776
|State Constitution

Constitutional convention (political meeting)

|-
|Councilman

Delaware Senate

The Delaware Senate is the upper house of the Delaware General Assembly, the state legislature of the U.S. State of Delaware. It is composed of 21 Senators, each of whom is elected to a four-year term, except when reapportionment occurs, at which time Senators may be elected to a two-year term....

|Legislature

Legislature

|Dover

Dover, Delaware

The city of Dover is the capital and second largest city in the U.S. state of Delaware. It is also the county seat of Kent County, and the principal city of the Dover, Delaware Metropolitan Statistical Area, which encompasses all of Kent County. It is located on the St. Jones River in the Delaware...

|October 28, 1776
|October 20, 1779
|Speaker

Speaker (politics)

The term speaker is a title often given to the presiding officer of a deliberative assembly, especially a legislative body. The speaker's official role is to moderate debate, make rulings on procedure, announce the results of votes, and the like. The speaker decides who may speak and has the...

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|Continental Congress

Continental Congress

The Continental Congress was a convention of delegates called together from the Thirteen Colonies that became the governing body of the United States during the American Revolution....

man
|Legislature

Legislature

|Philadelphia

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Executive (government)

Executive branch of Government is the part of government that has sole authority and responsibility for the daily administration of the state bureaucracy. The division of power into separate branches of government is central to the idea of the separation of powers.In many countries, the term...

|Dover

Dover, Delaware

Delaware House of Representatives

|Legislature

Legislature

|Dover

Dover, Delaware

Delaware House of Representatives

|Legislature

Legislature

|Dover

Dover, Delaware

Delaware Senate

|Legislature

Legislature

|Dover

Dover, Delaware

Delaware Senate

|Legislature

Legislature

|Dover

Dover, Delaware

Constitutional convention (political meeting)

|Philadelphia

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

|May 14, 1787
|September 1, 1787
|U.S. Constitution

Philadelphia Convention

|-
|U.S. Senator

United States Senate

The United States Senate is the upper house of the bicameral legislature of the United States, and together with the United States House of Representatives comprises the United States Congress. The composition and powers of the Senate are established in Article One of the U.S. Constitution. Each...

|Legislature

Legislature

United States Senate

|Legislature

Legislature

|Philadelphia

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Delaware Supreme Court

|Judiciary

Judiciary

The judiciary is the system of courts that interprets and applies the law in the name of the state. The judiciary also provides a mechanism for the resolution of disputes...

|Dover

Dover, Delaware

|September 30, 1793
|September 21, 1798
|State Supreme Court

Delaware Supreme Court

{|class=wikitable style="width: 94%" style="text-align: center;" align="center"
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!colspan=7 style="background: #ccccff;" |Delaware General Assembly service
|-
! Dates
! Assembly
! Chamber
! Majority
! Governor
! Committees
! District
|-
|1776/77
|1st

Delaware General Assembly

|State Council

Delaware Senate

|non-partisan
|John McKinly

John McKinly

Dr. John McKinly was an American physician and politician from Wilmington, in New Castle County, Delaware. He was a veteran of the French and Indian War, served in the Delaware General Assembly, was the first elected President of Delaware, and for a time was a member of the Federalist Party.-Early...

|Speaker

Speaker (politics)

|New Castle at-large
|-
|1777/78
|2nd

Delaware General Assembly

|State Council

Delaware Senate

|non-partisan
|Caesar Rodney

Caesar Rodney

Caesar Rodney was an American lawyer and politician from St. Jones Neck in Dover Hundred, Kent County, Delaware, east of Dover...

|Speaker

Speaker (politics)

|New Castle at-large
|-
|1778/79
|3rd

Delaware General Assembly

|State Council

Delaware Senate

|non-partisan
|Caesar Rodney

Caesar Rodney

Caesar Rodney was an American lawyer and politician from St. Jones Neck in Dover Hundred, Kent County, Delaware, east of Dover...

|
|New Castle at-large
|-
|1780/81
|5th

Delaware General Assembly

|State House

Delaware House of Representatives

|non-partisan
|Caesar Rodney

Caesar Rodney

Caesar Rodney was an American lawyer and politician from St. Jones Neck in Dover Hundred, Kent County, Delaware, east of Dover...

|
|New Castle at-large
|-
|1781/82
|6th

Delaware General Assembly

|State House

Delaware House of Representatives

|non-partisan
|John Dickinson

John Dickinson (delegate)

John Dickinson was an American lawyer and politician from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and Wilmington, Delaware. He was a militia officer during the American Revolution, a Continental Congressman from Pennsylvania and Delaware, a delegate to the U.S. Constitutional Convention of 1787, President of...

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|New Castle at-large
|-
|1782/83
|7th

Delaware General Assembly

|State Council

Delaware Senate

|non-partisan
|Nicholas Van Dyke

Nicholas Van Dyke (governor)

Nicholas Van Dyke was an American lawyer and politician from New Castle, in New Castle County, Delaware. He served in the Delaware General Assembly, as a Continental Congressman from Delaware, and as President of Delaware.-Early life and family:Van Dyke was born at Berwick, his family's home in St...

|
|New Castle at-large
|-
|1783/84
|8th

Delaware General Assembly

|State Council

Delaware Senate

|non-partisan
|Nicholas Van Dyke

Nicholas Van Dyke (governor)

|
|New Castle at-large
|-
|1784/85
|9th

Delaware General Assembly

|State Council

Delaware Senate

|non-partisan
|Nicholas Van Dyke

Nicholas Van Dyke (governor)

|
|New Castle at-large
|-
|1785/86
|10th

Delaware General Assembly

|State Council

Delaware Senate

|non-partisan
|Nicholas Van Dyke

Nicholas Van Dyke (governor)

|
|New Castle at-large
|-
|1786/87
|11th

Delaware General Assembly

|State Council

Delaware Senate

|non-partisan
|Thomas Collins

Thomas Collins (governor)

Thomas Collins was an American planter and politician from Smyrna, in Kent County, Delaware. He was an officer of the Delaware militia during the American Revolution, and served in the Delaware General Assembly and as President of Delaware.-Early life and family:Collins was born in Duck Creek, now...

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|New Castle at-large
|-
|1787/88
|12th

Delaware General Assembly

|State Council

Delaware Senate

|non-partisan
|Thomas Collins

Thomas Collins (governor)

|
|New Castle at-large

{|class=wikitable style="width: 94%" style="text-align: center;" align="center"
|-bgcolor=#cccccc
!colspan=7 style="background: #ccccff;" |United States Congressional service
|-
! Dates
! Congress
! Chamber
! Majority
! President
! Committees
! Class/District
|-
|1789–1791
|1st

1st United States Congress

-House of Representatives:During this congress, five House seats were added for North Carolina and one House seat was added for Rhode Island when they ratified the Constitution.-Senate:* President: John Adams * President pro tempore: John Langdon...

|U.S. Senate

United States Senate

|Pro-Administration

Federalist Party (United States)

The Federalist Party was the first American political party, from the early 1790s to 1816, the era of the First Party System, with remnants lasting into the 1820s. The Federalists controlled the federal government until 1801...

|George Washington

George Washington

George Washington was the dominant military and political leader of the new United States of America from 1775 to 1799. He led the American victory over Great Britain in the American Revolutionary War as commander-in-chief of the Continental Army from 1775 to 1783, and presided over the writing of...

|
|class 1

Classes of United States Senators

The three classes of United States Senators are currently made up of 33 or 34 Senate seats. The purpose of the classes is to determine which Senate seats will be up for election in a given year. The three groups are staggered so that one of them is up for election every two years.A senator's...

|-
|1791–1793
|2nd

2nd United States Congress

-House of Representatives:During this congress, two new House seats were added for each of the new states of Vermont and Kentucky. -Leadership:-Senate:*President: John Adams *President pro tempore:** Richard Henry Lee...

|U.S. Senate

United States Senate

|Pro-Administration

Federalist Party (United States)

|George Washington

George Washington

|
|class 1

Classes of United States Senators

|-
|1793–1795
|3rd

3rd United States Congress

The Third United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, consisting of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives...

|U.S. Senate

United States Senate

|Pro-Administration

Federalist Party (United States)

|George Washington

George Washington

|
|class 1

Classes of United States Senators

Images

Hall of Governors Portrait Gallery; Portrait courtesy of Historical and Cultural Affairs, Dover.

External links

Places with more information

Delaware Historical Society
Delaware Historical Society
The Delaware Historical Society began in 1864 as an effort to preserve documents from the Civil War. Since then, it has expanded into a state-wide historical institution with several venues and a major museum in Wilmington and the historic Read House & Gardens in New Castle.The society...

; website; 505 North Market Street, Wilmington, Delaware 19801; (302) 655-7161
University of Delaware
University of Delaware
The university is organized into seven colleges:* College of Agriculture and Natural Resources* College of Arts and Sciences* Alfred Lerner College of Business and Economics* College of Earth, Ocean and Environment* College of Education and Human Development...

; Library website; 181 South College Avenue, Newark, Delaware 19717; (302) 831-2965
Read House and Gardens; 42 The Strand, New Castle, Delaware (302) 322-8411
Immanuel Episcopal Church; 100 Harmony St, New Castle, Delaware (302) 328-2413

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.

Early life and family

American Revolution

Government of Delaware

Federal Government and Congress

Death and legacy

Almanac

See also

Images

External links

Places with more information