Joseph Reed

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Joseph Reed, painted by Pierre Eugène du Simitière (1781)signature

Joseph Reed (born August 27, 1741 in Trenton , Province of New Jersey , † March 5, 1785 in Philadelphia , Pennsylvania ) was an American politician . He was President of Pennsylvania between 1778 and 1781. In 1778 he was also a member of the Continental Congress .

Life

Joseph Reed came to Philadelphia with his parents shortly after he was born. There he attended the Philadelphia Academy , which later became the University of Pennsylvania . He then studied at the College of New Jersey , now Princeton University . He then studied law in London for two years . After returning to the then British colonies in America, he began working as a lawyer in Trenton from 1767.

In October 1770 he moved to Philadelphia, where he also worked as a lawyer. When the American Revolution broke out , he joined this movement. In January 1775 he was president of a meeting in preparation for the independence of Pennsylvania ( Pennsylvania Convention ). During the Revolutionary War , he was on the staff of General George Washington in July 1775 . During the campaign of 1776 he was adjutant general of the Continental Army . He was the first to discover and report the betrayal of Benedict Arnold . His relationship with Washington cooled when the latter learned from a letter that Reed doubted the general's ability.

In 1778 Reed was elected to the Continental Congress; there he was one of the signatories of the articles of confederation . On December 1, he was elected President of Pennsylvania. This office corresponded roughly to that of a current governor . In this election he defeated his predecessor George Bryan . He held the office of president until 1781. His term of office was overshadowed by the still unfinished war of independence. Reed was a staunch opponent of the so-called loyalists , who did not join the American movement and remained loyal to the British. He advocated the confiscation of their property and proposed charges of treason against them. This made him far more radical than the majority in the Continental Congress. Reed, like his predecessor Bryan, was an opponent of slavery .

From 1782 to 1785 Reed was a curator at the University of Pennsylvania. In 1784 he was re-elected to the Continental Congress. He was unable to take up this mandate for health reasons. He died after a long illness in March 1785. Joseph Reed was married to Esther De Berdt. At the time of his death, five of his children were still alive.

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personal data
SURNAME Reed, Joseph
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American politician
DATE OF BIRTH August 27, 1741
PLACE OF BIRTH Trenton , New Jersey
DATE OF DEATH March 5, 1785
Place of death Philadelphia , Pennsylvania