Joseph Galloway (politician)

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Joseph Galloway

Joseph Galloway (* 1731 in Anne Arundel County , Province of Maryland , † August 10, 1803 in Watford , Hertfordshire , England ) was a British politician in colonial North America. In 1774 he attended the Continental Congress as a delegate for Pennsylvania .

Life

In his youth, Joseph Galloway moved with his father to the province of Pennsylvania , where he received a liberal school education. After a subsequent law degree and his admission to the bar, he began to work in Philadelphia in this profession. At the same time he embarked on a political career. Between 1757 and 1775 he was a member of the Provincial Assembly , the colonial House of Representatives for Pennsylvania. From 1766 to 1774 he was its president. At that time he campaigned for a reform of the province, which he wanted to convert into a British crown colony in order to reduce the influence of a few less wealthy landowners on the administration. He was a staunch supporter of the British Crown.

In the early 1770s he understood some of the concerns of the colonists. In 1774 he represented Pennsylvania in the Continental Congress. There he submitted a plan that provided for a compromise with Great Britain. According to this plan, the colonies should found a joint American parliament, which should decide on political developments together with the British parliament in London . According to this plan, the 13 colonies would have stayed with the crown, but would have had the opportunity to participate in the then controversial tax issue. Congress rejected Galloway's plan with a majority of just one vote.

After this parliamentary defeat, Galloway withdrew from the Continental Congress. He was an opponent of the independence movement and remained a supporter of the British crown as a loyalist. During the War of Independence he served in the British Armed Forces until 1778. Then he left America forever and moved to England. Meanwhile, he was tried in absentia in Pennsylvania for high treason and his American property was confiscated. Galloway spent the rest of his life studying and writing religious studies in England. He died in Watford on August 10, 1803.

He was an elected member of the American Philosophical Society .

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Member History: Joseph Galloway. American Philosophical Society, accessed August 16, 2018 (incorrect life dates).