Joseph Galloway
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Joseph Galloway (1731August 29, 1803) was an American attorney and a leading political figure in the events immediately preceding the founding of the
United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
in the late 1700s. As a staunch opponent of American independence, he would become one of the most prominent
Loyalists Loyalism, in the United Kingdom, its overseas territories and its former colonies, refers to the allegiance to the British crown or the United Kingdom. In North America, the most common usage of the term refers to loyalty to the British Cr ...
in North America during the early part of the Revolutionary War. The son of a wealthy landowner, Galloway became close friends with
Benjamin Franklin Benjamin Franklin ( April 17, 1790) was an American polymath who was active as a writer, scientist, inventor, statesman, diplomat, printer, publisher, and political philosopher. Encyclopædia Britannica, Wood, 2021 Among the leading inte ...
through his law studies in the late 1740s. His association with Franklin and his father-in-law's relationship with the
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drew him into the political drama then unfolding in the American colonies. Galloway was elected to the
Pennsylvania Provincial Assembly The Province of Pennsylvania, also known as the Pennsylvania Colony, was a British North American colony founded by William Penn after receiving a land grant from Charles II of England in 1681. The name Pennsylvania ("Penn's Woods") refers to Wi ...
in 1756 when he was just 25. He would go on to serve for 18 years, eight of them as assembly
speaker Speaker may refer to: Society and politics * Speaker (politics), the presiding officer in a legislative assembly * Public speaker, one who gives a speech or lecture * A person producing speech: the producer of a given utterance, especially: ** I ...
. In 1774, Galloway led the Pennsylvania delegation in the
First Continental Congress The First Continental Congress was a meeting of delegates from 12 of the 13 British colonies that became the United States. It met from September 5 to October 26, 1774, at Carpenters' Hall in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, after the British Navy ...
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 ...
, where as a
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he proposed a plan for forming a union between the colonies and
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. After the Congress failed to adopt his Plan of Union, he signed the
Continental Association The Continental Association, also known as the Articles of Association or simply the Association, was an agreement among the American colonies adopted by the First Continental Congress on October 20, 1774. It called for a trade boycott against ...
, an agreement uniting the colonies in a
boycott A boycott is an act of nonviolent, voluntary abstention from a product, person, organization, or country as an expression of protest. It is usually for moral, social, political, or environmental reasons. The purpose of a boycott is to inflict som ...
of British goods. Unhappy with the radical directions being taken, Galloway quit the Assembly and refused election to the
Second Continental Congress The Second Continental Congress was a late-18th-century meeting of delegates from the Thirteen Colonies that united in support of the American Revolutionary War. The Congress was creating a new country it first named "United Colonies" and in 1 ...
in May 1775. Remaining loyal to the
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, he opposed the adoption of the
Declaration of Independence A declaration of independence or declaration of statehood or proclamation of independence is an assertion by a polity in a defined territory that it is independent and constitutes a state. Such places are usually declared from part or all of the ...
the next year. Three months after the Declaration's signing, Galloway fled to
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to join the British. As a top advisor to William Howe, the commander-in-chief of British forces in North America, he provided crucial
intelligence Intelligence has been defined in many ways: the capacity for abstraction, logic, understanding, self-awareness, learning, emotional knowledge, reasoning, planning, creativity, critical thinking, and problem-solving. More generally, it can b ...
, assisted in planning attacks on
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troops, and personally recruited upwards of 80
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. With the capture of Philadelphia in September 1777, Howe appointed Galloway to govern the city as Superintendent of both Police and Port. When the British abandoned Philadelphia in June 1778, Galloway escaped to England and was convicted of high
treason Treason is the crime of attacking a state authority to which one owes allegiance. This typically includes acts such as participating in a war against one's native country, attempting to overthrow its government, spying on its military, its diplo ...
in absentia by the Pennsylvania Assembly; his estates were confiscated. Through the end of the war, Galloway was a leader of the loyalist cause in exile, a group of between 80,000 and 100,000 displaced colonists. He would never return to the Americas, nor again see his wife whom he had left behind in hopes of recovering his properties.


Early life

Galloway was born near
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,
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, the son of a landowner in the colony. He moved with his father to Pennsylvania in 1740 where he received a liberal schooling. He studied law, for a time alongside
William Franklin William Franklin (22 February 1730 – 17 November 1813) was an American-born attorney, soldier, politician, and colonial administrator. He was the acknowledged illegitimate son of Benjamin Franklin. William Franklin was the last colonial G ...
, the son of Benjamin Franklin and later a fellow Loyalist, and he was admitted to the bar and began to practice law 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 ...
. Galloway married Grace Growdon on October 18, 1753. Her father, Laurence Growdon, was even wealthier than the Galloways, well placed in the political and social lives of Philadelphia. Both Galloway and his wife had strong personalities, and consequently, theirs was an unhappy union.


Political career

Galloway was a member of the
Pennsylvania Provincial Assembly The Province of Pennsylvania, also known as the Pennsylvania Colony, was a British North American colony founded by William Penn after receiving a land grant from Charles II of England in 1681. The name Pennsylvania ("Penn's Woods") refers to Wi ...
from 1756 to 1774 and served as speaker of the House from 1766 to 1774. He was a prominent member of the faction which opposed Pennsylvania being a
proprietary colony A proprietary colony was a type of English colony mostly in North America and in the Caribbean in the 17th century. In the British Empire, all land belonged to the monarch, and it was his/her prerogative to divide. Therefore, all colonial prop ...
of the
Penn family William Penn ( – ) was an English writer and religious thinker belonging to the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers), and founder of the Province of Pennsylvania, a North American colony of England. He was an early advocate of democracy an ...
, and he called for it to be turned into a
crown colony A Crown colony or royal colony was a colony administered by The Crown within the British Empire. There was usually a Governor, appointed by the British monarch on the advice of the UK Government, with or without the assistance of a local Counci ...
. He was a Loyalist, believing that most Americans would prefer to remain loyal to the Crown if only they were given a legitimate and effective government that would inspire their loyalty. Galloway was a member of the Continental Congress in 1774, where he proposed a compromise plan for Union with Great Britain which would provide the colonies with their own parliament subject to the Crown. The Continental Congress rejected it by one vote. He signed the
Continental Association The Continental Association, also known as the Articles of Association or simply the Association, was an agreement among the American colonies adopted by the First Continental Congress on October 20, 1774. It called for a trade boycott against ...
, while he was opposed to independence for the
Thirteen Colonies The Thirteen Colonies, also known as the Thirteen British Colonies, the Thirteen American Colonies, or later as the United Colonies, were a group of Kingdom of Great Britain, British Colony, colonies on the Atlantic coast of North America. Fo ...
and remained loyal to the king. He was a resident of Philadelphia and an associate of Benjamin Franklin with whom he corresponded over the issues of American independence. In 1768, he was elected to the
American Philosophical Society The American Philosophical Society (APS), founded in 1743 in Philadelphia, is a scholarly organization that promotes knowledge in the sciences and humanities through research, professional meetings, publications, library resources, and communit ...
, which Franklin founded, and served as vice president of the organization from 1769 to 1776. Galloway urged reform of the imperial administration and was critical of the trade laws, the Stamp Act of 1765, and the
Townshend Acts The Townshend Acts () or Townshend Duties, were a series of British acts of Parliament passed during 1767 and 1768 introducing a series of taxes and regulations to fund administration of the British colonies in America. They are named after the ...
enacted in 1767, and he had a conciliatory plan to end the disputes between Britain and the colonies. He believed that the British had the right to tax and govern the colonies, keep the peace, and help the colonies to survive and flourish. Congress voted to expunge Galloway's plan from their journal, so he published it himself in 1775, reprimanding Congress for ignoring his analysis of Parliament's powers and colonial rights. He proposed a written constitution and joint legislature for the whole British Empire.


American War of Independence

In 1775, the Assembly rejected Galloway's urging that it abandon its struggle for independence from Britain, so Galloway left the Assembly and the Congress. In the winter of 1777, he joined General William Howe and accompanied him on his
Philadelphia campaign The Philadelphia campaign (1777–1778) was a British effort in the American Revolutionary War to gain control of Philadelphia, which was then the seat of the Second Continental Congress. British General William Howe, after failing to draw ...
. During the British occupation of Philadelphia, he was appointed superintendent of police and headed the civil government. He efficiently organized the Loyalists in Philadelphia, but the British were driven out of the city in 1778 following France's entry into the war. The British retreated to New York, and Galloway went with them. When Benjamin Franklin departed for France in 1776, he left behind a chest of his papers, containing letters and manuscripts, and entrusted them to Galloway for safe keeping in his personal residence, Trevose Manor, just north of Philadelphia. At some point between 1776 and 1778, Trevose Manor was raided; some of Franklin's papers were stolen, while others were left scattered around as a result of the raid. The identities of the raiders were disputed, and modern historians note that no concrete information exists as to their identity.


Exile in Britain

In 1778, he fled to Britain with his daughter, never to return to the United States, becoming a leading spokesman of American Loyalists in London. The General Assembly of Pennsylvania convicted him of high
treason Treason is the crime of attacking a state authority to which one owes allegiance. This typically includes acts such as participating in a war against one's native country, attempting to overthrow its government, spying on its military, its diplo ...
and confiscated his estates, which included Trevose Manor, now known as Growdon Mansion, and much of the land that is now
Bensalem Township, Pennsylvania Bensalem Township is a township in Bucks County, Pennsylvania. The township borders the northeastern section of Philadelphia and includes the communities of Andalusia, Bensalem, Bridgewater, Cornwells Heights, Eddington, Flushing, Oakford, Sil ...
. In 1779, he appeared as a government witness in a parliamentary enquiry into the conduct of Lord Howe and
General Howe William Howe, 5th Viscount Howe, KB PC (10 August 172912 July 1814) was a British Army officer who rose to become Commander-in-Chief of British land forces in the Colonies during the American War of Independence. Howe was one of three brot ...
during the Philadelphia Campaign, of which he was deeply critical. When Galloway fled Philadelphia with the British, his wife Grace remained in the city with the hope of retaining the rights of their property. They expected that she would be able to join her daughter and husband afterwards, but
Charles Willson Peale Charles Willson Peale (April 15, 1741 – February 22, 1827) was an American Painting, painter, soldier, scientist, inventor, politician and naturalist. He is best remembered for his portrait paintings of leading figures of the American Revolu ...
evicted her.Kerber, p. 75 Galloway was influential in convincing the British that a vast reservoir of Loyalist support could be tapped by British initiatives, thus setting up the British invasion of the American South. After the war, he spent his remaining years in religious studies and writing. He died a widower in
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,
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on August 29, 1803; his wife had died on February 6, 1782.


Notes


References

* Bell, Whitfield J., and Charles Greifenstein, Jr. ''Patriot-Improvers: Biographical Sketches of Members of the American Philosophical Society''. 3 vols. Philadelphia: American Philosophical Society, 1997, 3:114–117. * Ferling, John ''The Loyalist Mind: Joseph Galloway and the American Revolution''. Pennsylvania State Univ Press, 1977; . * Kerber, Linda K., ''Women of the Republic: Intellect and Ideology in Revolutionary America'' (Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 1980), p. 75 * Middlekauff, Robert. ''Benjamin Franklin and His Enemies''. University of California Press, 1998; . * *


Further reading

* * * * * Boyd, J. P. ''Anglo-American union: Joseph Galloway's plans to preserve the British empire, 1774–1788'' (1941). * Calhoun, Robert M
"'I Have Deduced Your Rights'" Joseph Galloway's Concept of His Role, 1774-1775."
''Pennsylvania History: A Journal of Mid-Atlantic Studies'', Vol. 35, No. 4, Penn State University Press, 1968, 356–378. * Ferling, John
Compromise or Conflict: The Rejection of the Galloway Alternative to Rebellion."
''Pennsylvania History'' 43.1 (1976): 5-21. * Ferling, John E
"Joseph Galloway's Military Advice: A Loyalist's View of the Revolution."
''Pennsylvania Magazine of History and Biography'' 98.2 (1974): 171-188. * Newcomb, Benjamin H. ''Franklin and Galloway: A Political Partnership''. Yale U. Press, 1972. * Norton, Mary Beth. "The Important Crisis upon Which Our Fate Depends." ''Liberty's Daughters: The Revolutionary Experience of American Women, 1750–1800''. Cornell University Press, 1996; . 44–45. * Tait, James. "Galloway, Joseph (c. 1731–1803)" ''Dictionary of National Biography'' (2004)


External links



at the
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website
"A candid examination of the mutual claims of Great-Britain, and the Colonies, with a plan of accommodation on constitutional principles," by Joseph Galloway
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Galloway, Joseph 1731 births 1803 deaths 18th-century American politicians Continental Congressmen from Pennsylvania Converts to Anglicanism from Quakerism Former Quakers Members of the Pennsylvania Provincial Assembly Loyalists in the American Revolution from Pennsylvania People from Anne Arundel County, Maryland People of colonial Pennsylvania People of colonial Maryland Signers of the Continental Association