Robert Whitehill (July 21, 1738 – April 8, 1813) was an American politician who was elected to five terms 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 ...

from Pennsylvania, serving from 1805 until his death in 1813.

Biography

Robert Whitehill (brother of John Whitehill, uncle of

James Whitehill James Whitehill (January 31, 1762 – February 26, 1822) was a member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Pennsylvania. James Whitehill (son of John Whitehill and nephew of Robert Whitehill) was born in Strasburg, Pennsylvania. He studi ...

, and great-great-grandfather of

John Crain Kunkel John Crain Kunkel (July 21, 1898 – July 27, 1970) was a Republican member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Pennsylvania. He was the grandson of John Christian Kunkel, great-grandson of John Sergeant, and great-great-grandson of Jona ...

) was born in

Pequea, Pennsylvania Pequea is an unincorporated community located in Martic Township in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania. It is where Route 324 ends at the Susquehanna River 12 miles south of Lancaster. The Pequea Creek empties into the river in Pequea, which is p ...

. He settled in

Cumberland County, Pennsylvania Cumberland County is a county in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. As of the 2020 census, the population was 259,469. Its county seat is Carlisle. Cumberland County is included in the Harrisburg–Carlisle metropolitan statistical area. Histo ...

State legislature

He was a member of the Pennsylvania State Constitutional Convention in July 1776 that approved the Declaration of Independence. He was a member of the council of safety in 1777, and a delegate to the State constitutional convention in 1790. He served as a 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 ...

from 1797 to 1800. He served in 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 1801 to 1804 and was speaker of the Senate in 1804 during the impeachment trials of the judges of the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania.

Congress

Whitehill was elected to the Ninth Congress to fill the vacancy caused by the death of

John A. Hanna John Andre Hanna (1762July 23, 1805) was a United States representative from Pennsylvania. Biography Born in Flemington in the Province of New Jersey, he received a classical education and graduated from Princeton College in 1782. He was a s ...

. He was reelected to the Tenth and to the three succeeding Congresses and served until his death.

Death and burial

He died in 1813 at Lauther Manor,

. He was interred in Silver Spring Presbyterian Church Cemetery in Hampden Township, near Camp Hill, Pennsylvania.

Writings

Notable writings include the Pennsylvania Constitution of 1776, which he helped draft, and the Minority Dissent to the ratification of the US Constitution by Pennsylvania. This dissent included a number of proposed amendments to the US Constitution and is thought to have been used by James Madison when he drafted the United States Bill of Rights.Pennsylvania and The Federal Constitution 1787-1788 by James Wilson
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Sources

The Political Graveyard
* Crist, Robert Grant. ''Robert Whitehill and the Struggle for Civil Rights: A Paper Presented Before the Hamilton Library and Historical Association of Cumberland County,

Carlisle, Pennsylvania Carlisle is a Borough (Pennsylvania), borough in and the county seat of Cumberland County, Pennsylvania, United States. Carlisle is located within the Cumberland Valley, a highly productive agricultural region. As of the 2020 United States census, ...

., on March 20, 1958''.

Lemoyne, Pennsylvania Lemoyne is a borough in Cumberland County, Pennsylvania, United States, which lies across the Susquehanna River from Harrisburg, Pennsylvania's capital. It is part of the Harrisburg–Carlisle metropolitan statistical area. Lemoyne was incorpor ...

.: Lemoyne Trust Co., 1958. * Crist, Robert G. ed., Pennsylvania and the Bill of Rights (University Park:Pennsylvania Historical Association, 1990). *Pittman, R. Carter, "Jasper Yeates’s Notes on the Pennsylvania Ratifying Convention, 1787," William and Mary Quarterly, 3rd Ser. (22, 2 April 1965): 301–318.
Explore PA History
1738 births 1813 deaths American Presbyterians Members of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives Pennsylvania state senators Politicians from Lancaster, Pennsylvania People from Cumberland County, Pennsylvania People from colonial Pennsylvania Democratic-Republican Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Pennsylvania {{Pennsylvania-Representative-stub

Biography

State legislature

Congress

Death and burial

Writings

See also

Sources