Michael Leib (January 8, 1760December 22, 1822) was an American physician and politician from Philadelphia. He served as a surgeon in the Philadelphia Militia during the American Revolutionary War. He served as a Democratic-Republican member of the

Pennsylvania House of Representatives The Pennsylvania House of Representatives is the lower house of the bicameral Pennsylvania General Assembly, the legislature of the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. There are 203 members, elected for two-year terms from single member districts. It ...

three times; from 1795 to 1798, 1806 to 1808 and 1817 to 1818. He served as a member of the United States House of Representatives for Pennsylvania's 2nd congressional district from 1799 to 1803 and for Pennsylvania's 1st congressional district from 1803 to 1806. He served as a member of the United States Senate for Pennsylvania from 1809 to 1814. He also served as a member of the

Pennsylvania State Senate The Pennsylvania State Senate is the upper house of the Pennsylvania General Assembly, the Pennsylvania state legislature. The State Senate meets in the State Capitol building in Harrisburg. Senators are elected for four year terms, staggered ev ...

for the

1st district The Innere Stadt (; Central Bavarian: ''Innare Stod'') is the 1st municipal district of Vienna () located in the center of the Austrian capital. The Innere Stadt is the old town of Vienna. Until the city boundaries were expanded in 1850, the Inn ...

from 1818 to 1821.

Biography

Leib was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania to George and Dorothea Leib. He studied and practiced medicine in Philadelphia, received a commission as a surgeon in the Philadelphia Militia in 1780 and served during the American Revolutionary War. Following the war, Leib returned to Philadelphia and continued the practice of medicine. He served on the staff of several Philadelphia hospitals and was a member of the committee of correspondence in 1793. He was one of the organizers of the German Republican Society in Philadelphia. He represented the large German immigrant poopulation in Philadelphia. He and Benjamin Bache became a part of a radical faction of the Society which led to a schism in the Society over the Whiskey Rebellion. Leib and his brother volunteered to join the military force sent to control the insurrection. He was elected as a member of the

and served from 1795 to 1798. He was elected to the United States House of Representatives from Pennsylvania's 2nd congressional district and served from 1799 to 1803. He continued in the United States House of Representatives from Pennsylvania's 1st congressional district from 1803 to 1806. He resigned to return to the Pennsylvania House and served from 1806 to 1808. He served on the committee of correspondence for the Chesapeake–Leopard affair in June 1807. From 1805 to 1809, a power struggle ensued in the Pennsylvania Republican Party with Leib and

William J. Duane William John Duane (May 9, 1780 – September 27, 1865) was an American politician and lawyer from Pennsylvania. Duane served a brief term as United States Secretary of the Treasury in 1833. His refusal to withdraw Federal deposits from the Seco ...

on one side and

Simon Snyder Simon Snyder (November 5, 1759November 9, 1819) was the third Governor of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, serving three terms from 1808 to 1817. He led the state through the War of 1812. Born in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, Snyder established a ...

on the other. Duane and Leib represented the interests of Philadelphia, such as banking, trade and shipping, whereas Snyder represented the interests of rural Pennsylvania such as land ownership. In 1807, he was elected

Brigadier-General Brigadier general or Brigade general is a military rank used in many countries. It is the lowest ranking general officer in some countries. The rank is usually above a colonel, and below a major general or divisional general. When appointed ...

of the Second Brigade of the Philadelphia Militia. Leib was elected as a Democratic-Republican to the United States Senate by the state legislature in December 1808. Leib was elected to the term beginning on March 4, 1809, but assumed office on January 9, 1809, following the resignation of Samuel Maclay. In 1809, he was a member of the committee that formed the "Whig Society of Pennsylvania". He served as a U.S. Senator until February 14, 1814, and resigned to serve as postmaster of Philadelphia from 1814 to 1815. He returned to the Pennsylvania House for a third time, from 1817 until 1818 and served as a Pennsylvania State Senator for the

from 1818 until 1821. He became prothonotary of the United States district court in Philadelphia in November 1822 and served in that role until his death in December 1822. He was interred at St. John's Lutheran Churchyard in the Northern Liberties neighborhood of Philadelphia. In 1924, he was reinterred to the Laurel Hill Cemetery in Philadelphia when the church and burial ground were demolished during the construction of the Benjamin Franklin Bridge.

Bibliography

A Portrait of the evils of democracy, submitted to the consideration of the people of Maryland
Baltimore Printed, 1816

References

, - {{DEFAULTSORT:Leib, Michael 1760 births 1822 deaths 18th-century American physicians 18th-century American politicians 19th-century American politicians Pennsylvania postmasters Burials at Laurel Hill Cemetery (Philadelphia) Democratic-Republican Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Pennsylvania Democratic-Republican Party United States senators Members of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives Pennsylvania prothonotaries Pennsylvania state senators People of colonial Pennsylvania People of Pennsylvania in the American Revolution Physicians from Philadelphia Politicians from Philadelphia United States senators from Pennsylvania