REVOLUTIONARY WAR CONTINENTAL CONGRESS 1st SPEAKER Of HOUSE DOCUMENT SIGNED 1781
Item History & Price
FREDERICKAUGUSTUS CONRAD MUHLENBERG (1750 -1801)MEMBER OF THE CONTINENTAL CONGRESS REPRESENTING PENNSYLVANIA1779-1780, 1st and 3rd SPEAKER OF THE UNITEDSTATES HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 1789-1791 and 1793-1795, 1st DEAN OF THE US HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES1789-1797, US CONGRESSMAN FROM PENNSYLVANIA TO THE 1stCONGRESS 1789-1797, DELEGATE TO and PRESIDENT OF THE PENNSYLVANIA STATECONSTITUTIONAL CONVENTION IN 1787 CALLED TO RATIFY THE FEDERAL CONSTITUTION, MEMBER OF THE PENNSYLVANIA STA...TE HOUSE OFREPRESENTATIVES, 1780-1783, and HOUSE SPEAKER, 1780-1783;RECEIVER GENERALOF THE PENNSYLVANIA LAND OFFICE, 1800-1801&MINISTEROF THE LUTHERAN CHURCH IN STOUCHSBURG AND LEBANON, PA 1770-1774, NEW YORK CITY1774-1776, and NEW HANOVER, PA 1776-79.WhileSpeaker, Muhlenberg also became the first signer of the Bill of Rights!The Muhlenberglegend is an urban legend in the United Statesand Germany.According to the legend, the single vote of Frederick Muhlenberg, the first ever Speaker of the US House ofRepresentatives, prevented Germanfrom becoming an official language of the UnitedStates. The United States, however, has no statutory officiallanguage; English has been used on a de facto basis because of itsstatus as the country's predominant language.<<>> HERE’s A REVOLUTIONARYWAR DATE AUTOGRAPH DOCUMENT SIGNED BY MUHLENBERG WHILE SERVING AS SPEAKER OFTHE PENNSYLVANIA HOUSE, 1p., DATED AT PHILADELPHIA, DEC. 28th 1781 –AN ORDER TO PAY HENRY HILL, ESQUIRE THE SUM OF 40 POUNDS TEN SHILLINGS FOR 54DAYS ATTENDANCE IN THE PA ASSEMBLY and MILEAGE. PA STATE REPRESENTATIVE HENRY HILL SIGNS ON THE VERSO OF THE DOCUMENT!The document measures 8¼”x 6¾” and is in very fine condition for its advanced age!A GREAT ADDITION TO YOUR EARLY AMERICAN POLITICAL and MILITARY HISTORY AUTOGRAPH, MANUSCRIPT &EPHEMERA COLLECTION!<>>::<<>BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH OF THE HONORABLEFREDERICK A. C.MUHLENBERGFrederickAugustus Conrad Muhlenberg, a nativeof Trappe, Pennsylvania, was the son of Henry Melchior Muhlenberg, a prominentLutheran minister, and his wife, Anna Maria Weiser. At the age of thirteenFrederick was sent with his brothers (one of whom was Penn trustee John PeterGabriel Muhlenberg) to be educated in Germany. In 1770, afterstudying at the University of Halle, he returned to America and was ordained asa Lutheran minister. The next year he married Catharine Schaefer, the daughterof a Philadelphia sugar refiner; they would have seven children. YoungMuhlenberg worked as a clergyman on a rural Pennsylvania circuit until 1773, when he accepted a call to the German-speaking Swamp Church (Christ Church) inNew York City.A supporter of the patriotic movement, Muhlenberg left New York City for Philadelphia when the British occupationbecame imminent in 1776. In Philadelphia, he preached at various places, butquit the ministry in 1780 to engage in politics and to support his familythrough business pursuits. His unsolicited 1779 nomination as a delegate(replacing the recently deceased Edward Biddle)to the Continental Congress began a long and successful career in state andnational politics. He served on the Continental Congress until 1780.Enjoying the confidence and support of theGerman community in the Philadelphia area, Muhlenberg was first elected to thePennsylvania Assembly in 1779 on the radical (constitutional) ticket. He wasquickly chosen as Speaker of the Assembly. During the 1780’s he also held avariety of local offices in Montgomery County. During this period, he becamemore moderate and encouraged the revision of both Pennsylvania’s unicameralconstitution and the national Articles of Confederation. In 1787 he was presidentof the Pennsylvania Convention to ratify the new federal constitution. He alsohelped to encourage ratification through his contributions to German-languagepublications.Under the new constitution, he was elected asa Federalist to the first four United States Congresses, serving as the firstSpeaker of the House of Representatives. When the federal capital moved fromNew York to Philadelphia, Muhlenberg made his home an important social centerfor members of Congress. During the 1790s Muhlenberg was twice the unsuccessfulFederalist candidate for Pennsylvania governor. His opposition to the JayTreaty in 1796 led to defeat of his bid for another Congressional term. In 1800Governor McKean appointed him collector general of the Pennsylvania landoffice; the following year Muhlenberg died in Lancaster, then the seat of thecommonwealth government. His biggest political achievements were the buildingof bridges between Federalists and Democrat-Republicans and his role in theintegration of German Americans into the American political process.It was during his tenure as Speaker of thePennsylvania Assembly, from 1780 to 1783, that Muhlenberg served as an exofficio trustee of the University of the State of Pennsylvania (now theUniversity of Pennsylvania). His other years as a trustee were in an electedcapacity. I am a proud member of the Universal AutographCollectors Club (UACC), The Ephemera Society of America, the Manuscript Societyand the American Political Items Collectors (APIC) (member name: JohnLissandrello). I subscribe to each organizations' code of ethics andauthenticity is guaranteed. ~Providing quality service and historicalmemorabilia online for over twenty years.~
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