Frederick Muhlenberg

For other people named Frederick Muhlenberg, see Frederick Muhlenberg (disambiguation).

Frederick Muhlenberg
Portrait of Frederick Muhlenberg, 1790
1st Speaker of the United States House of Representatives
In office December 2, 1793 – March 4, 1795
Preceded by	Jonathan Trumbull Jr.
Succeeded by	Jonathan Dayton
In office April 1, 1789 – March 4, 1791
Preceded by	Office established
Succeeded by	Jonathan Trumbull Jr.
Dean of the United States House of Representatives
In office March 4, 1789 – March 4, 1797
Preceded by	Title established
Succeeded by	Thomas Hartley George Thatcher
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Pennsylvania
In office March 4, 1789 – March 4, 1797
Preceded by	Constituency established
Succeeded by	Blair McClenachan (2nd)
Constituency	At-large (1789–1791) 2nd district (1791–1793) At-large (1793–1795) 2nd district (1795–1797)
Delegate from Pennsylvania to the Continental Congress
In office 1779–1780
Personal details
Born	Frederick Augustus Conrad Muhlenberg (1750-01-01)January 1, 1750 Trappe, Pennsylvania, British America
Died	June 4, 1801(1801-06-04) (aged 51) Lancaster, Pennsylvania, U.S.
Resting place	Woodward Hill Cemetery
Political party	Democratic-Republican (1795–1801) Anti-Administration (1791–1795) Pro-Administration (before 1791)
Relatives	Muhlenberg family
Alma mater	University of Halle
Profession	Minister of religion
Signature
Pennsylvania Historical Marker
Official name	Frederick A. C. Muhlenberg (1750–1801)
Type	Roadside
Designated	April 12, 2008
Location	151 W Main St., Trappe, across from strip mall

Frederick Augustus Conrad Muhlenberg (/ˈmjuːlɪnbɜːrɡ/; January 1, 1750 – June 4, 1801) was an American minister and politician who was the first speaker of the United States House of Representatives and the first dean of the United States House of Representatives. A member of the Federalist Party, he was delegate to the Pennsylvania state constitutional convention and a member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Pennsylvania and a Lutheran pastor by profession, Muhlenberg was born in Trappe, Pennsylvania. His home, known as the Speaker's House, is now a museum and is currently undergoing restoration to restore its appearance during Muhlenberg's occupancy.

Early life and education

Muhlenberg was born in Trappe, Pennsylvania, the son of Anna Maria (Weiser) and Heinrich Melchior Mühlenberg. His father, an immigrant from Germany, was considered the founder of the Lutheran Church in North America. His maternal grandfather was Pennsylvania German colonial leader Conrad Weiser. His brother, Peter, was a general in the Continental Army and his brother Gotthilf Heinrich Ernst was a botanist.

In 1763, together with his brothers John Peter Gabriel and Gotthilf Henry Ernst, he attended the Latina at the Franckesche Stiftungen in Halle, Germany. In 1769, he attended the University of Halle, where he studied theology.

Career

On October 25, 1770, Muhlenberg was ordained by the Pennsylvania Ministerium as a minister of the Lutheran Church. He preached in Stouchsburg, Pennsylvania, and Lebanon, Pennsylvania, from 1770 to 1774, and in New York City from 1774 to 1776. When the British Army entered New York at the onset of the American Revolutionary War, he felt obligated to leave, and returned to Pennsylvania. He moved to New Hanover Township, and was a pastor there and in Oley and New Goshenhoppen until August 1779.

Continental Congress

Muhlenberg was a member of the Continental Congress in 1779 and 1780, and served in the Pennsylvania House of Representatives from 1780 to 1783. He was elected its speaker on November 3, 1780. He was a delegate to and chairman of the Pennsylvania state constitutional convention in 1787 called to ratify the Federal Constitution. He was the first signer of the Bill of Rights.

U.S. House of Representatives

He served as a member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Pennsylvania in the first and the three succeeding United States Congresses (March 4, 1789 – March 4, 1797). Muhlenberg was also the first speaker of the United States House of Representatives. In August 1789, he cast the deciding vote for the location of the nation's new capital. He did not seek renomination as speaker in 1796. On April 29, 1796, as chairman of the Committee of the Whole, he cast the deciding vote for the laws necessary to carry out the Jay Treaty.

In 1794, during Muhlenberg's second tenure as Speaker, the House voted 42–41 against a proposal to translate some of the laws into German. Muhlenberg, who himself abstained from the vote, commented later that "the faster the Germans become Americans, the better it will be." Despite not having voted against the bill, a legend, the Muhlenberg Legend, developed in which he was responsible for prohibiting German as an official language of the United States.

According to another legend, Muhlenberg also suggested that the title of the president of the United States should be "Mr. President," instead of "His High Mightiness" or "His Elected Majesty," as John Adams had suggested.

Other offices

Muhlenberg was the Federalist candidate in the 1793 Pennsylvania gubernatorial election, losing to incumbent Thomas Mifflin.

Muhlenberg was president of the council of censors of Pennsylvania, and was appointed receiver general of the Pennsylvania Land Office on January 8, 1800, serving until his death in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, on June 4, 1801.

Personal life

On October 15, 1771, Muhlenberg married Catherine Schaeffer, the daughter of wealthy Philadelphia sugar refiner David Schaeffer. They had seven children.

Death

On June 4, 1801, Muhlenberg died in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, at age 51. He was interred in Woodward Hill Cemetery in Lancaster.

The gravesite of Speaker Muhlenberg

Legacy

• On July 9, 1945, with World War II still ongoing, the S.S. Muhlenberg, named in Muhlenberg's honor, was launched at the Bethlehem Fairfield Shipyard in Baltimore.

See also

• German language in the United States
• Muhlenberg College, in Allentown, Pennsylvania, named for Henry Muhlenberg
• The Speaker's House, in Trappe, Pennsylvania, home of Frederick Muhlenberg

References

• United States Congress. "Frederick Muhlenberg (id: M001063)". Biographical Directory of the United States Congress.
• Biography and portrait at the University of Pennsylvania

External links

• "Muhlenberg, Frederick Augustus Conrad" . New International Encyclopedia. 1905.
• "Muhlenberg, Henry Melchior" . Appletons' Cyclopædia of American Biography. 1900.
• Ritchie, Donald A. (2006). Muhlenberg, Frederick Augustus. The Congress of the United States: A Student Companion. Oxford University Press. p. 146. ISBN 9780195309249.
• Peters, Ronald M. Jr. (1990). The American Speakership: The Office in Historical Perspective. Baltimore, MD: Johns Hopkins University Press. ISBN 9780801839559.
• Jenkins, Jeffery A.; Charles Stewart, III (2012). Appendix 2: Election of House Speaker, First-112th Congresses. Fighting for the Speakership: The House and the Rise of Party Government. Princeton University Press. p. 332. ISBN 978-0691156446.
• "speakershouse.org/restoration". Archived from the original on May 20, 2019. Retrieved May 1, 2019.