Samuel Breck (July 17, 1771August 31, 1862) was an American politician from Pennsylvania who served as a member of the

U.S. House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they ...

for

Pennsylvania's 1st congressional district Pennsylvania's first congressional district includes all of Bucks County and a sliver of Montgomery County in southeastern Pennsylvania. It has been represented by Brian Fitzpatrick since 2019. The state congressional district map was redrawn ...

from 1823 to 1825.

Life

Samuel Breck (brother of

Daniel Breck Daniel Breck (February 12, 1788 – February 4, 1871) was a member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Kentucky. Daniel Breck (brother of Samuel Breck) was born in Topsfield, Massachusetts. He graduated from Dartmouth College in Hanover, ...

) was born in

Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...

in the

Province of Massachusetts Bay The Province of Massachusetts Bay was a colony in British America which became one of the Thirteen Colonies, thirteen original states of the United States. It was chartered on October 7, 1691, by William III of England, William III and Mary II ...

. His parents were Samuel Breck and Hannah Andrews. His father was a wealthy merchant in Boston and the family mansion adjacent to Boston Common was often visited by foreign travelers. He began his education at Boston Latin School. In 1783 Breck attended the

Royal Military School Koninklijke Militaire School (KMS) is a Dutch military school in the Netherlands training soldiers and non-commissioned officers for the Royal Netherlands Army. History The KMS began as the Onderofficiers School (OOS), in 1952, in Weert; it was ...

of Loreze, France. He completed his studies in France in 1787. Although he was somewhat drawn to Catholicism in France he remained an Episcopalian his whole life. In 1790 his father gave him $10,000 to set up as a merchant on Boston's longwharf. He moved to Pennsylvania and settled in

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...

in 1792, where he engaged in business as a merchant. He served as a corporal during the

Whiskey Rebellion The Whiskey Rebellion (also known as the Whiskey Insurrection) was a violent tax protest in the United States beginning in 1791 and ending in 1794 during the presidency of George Washington. The so-called "whiskey tax" was the first tax impo ...

. On December 24, 1795, he married Jean Ross, the daughter of a leading Philadelphia merchant. Besides his role in business he was also an essayist and orator. He founded a group called the Sons of New England. Breck was 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 ...

from 1817 to 1821. In February 1821, he was the lead sponsor of a law that would have immediately emancipated all enslaved persons living in Pennsylvania. When this failed, he sponsored another bill which would have amended the state's existing gradual abolition law. This bill failed as well. He returned to the state assembly as the senator for Pennsylvania's 2nd district from 1832 to 1834. He was elected as a member to the

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in 1838. Breck was elected as an Adams-Clay Federalist to the Eighteenth Congress. He withdrew from active business pursuits and lived in retirement. In 1861 he spoke publicly at a meeting in Philadelphia urging the people to preserve the constitution he had been alive to help form. His death occurred in Philadelphia in 1862. Interment in St. Peter's Episcopal Churchyard in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

Works

* ''Sketch of the Internal Improvements Already Made by Pennsylvania: With Observations Upon Her Physical and Fiscal Means for Their Extension; Particularly as They Have Reference to the Future Growth and Prosperity of Philadelphia.'' M. Thomas, 1818.

Bibliography

Wainwright, Nicholas B. ''The Diary of Samuel Breck, 1814–1835, 1838.'' Pennsylvania Magazine of History and Biography 102 (October 1978): 469–508; 103 (1979): 85-113, 222–51, 356–82.

Notes

References

The Political Graveyard

External links

* Th
Samuel Breck Papers
including correspondence, diaries, manuscripts, travel logs and other materials, are available for research use at the

Historical Society of Pennsylvania The Historical Society of Pennsylvania is a long-established research facility, based in Philadelphia. It is a repository for millions of historic items ranging across rare books, scholarly monographs, family chronicles, maps, press reports and v ...

. {{DEFAULTSORT:Breck, Samuel 1771 births 1862 deaths Politicians from Boston People from colonial Boston American people of English descent Federalist Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Pennsylvania Members of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives Pennsylvania state senators Politicians from Philadelphia 19th-century American politicians American expatriates in France Military personnel from Pennsylvania Burials at St. Peter's churchyard, Philadelphia