Frederick Muhlenberg
Frederick Muhlenberg | |
|---|---|
| Delegate from Pennsylvania to the Continental Congress | |
| In office 1779–1780 | |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Frederick Augustus Conrad Muhlenberg January 1, 1750 Minister of religion |
| Signature |  |
| Official name | Frederick A. C. Muhlenberg (1750–1801) |
| Type | Roadside |
| Designated | April 12, 2008[1] |
| Location | 151 W Main St., Trappe, across from strip mall |
Frederick Augustus Conrad Muhlenberg (
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.[3]
In 1763, together with his brothers
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.[5]
Continental Congress
Muhlenberg was a member of the
U.S. House of Representatives
He served as a
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."[9] 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.[9]
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.[10]
Other offices
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.[11]
Personal life
On October 15, 1771, Muhlenberg married Catherine Schaeffer, the daughter of wealthy Philadelphia sugar refiner David Schaeffer. They had seven children.[12]
Death
On June 4, 1801, Muhlenberg died in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, at age 51. He was interred in Woodward Hill Cemetery in Lancaster.[6]
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
Notes
- ^ "PHMC Frederick A. C. Muhlenberg (1750–1801)". Retrieved April 2, 2017.
- ^ "House Restoration". The Speakers House. Archived from the original on May 20, 2019. Retrieved October 28, 2019.
- ^ Minardi, Lisa. "Frederick Muhlenberg." In Immigrant Entrepreneurship: German-American Business Biographies, 1720 to the Present, vol. 1, edited by Marianne S. Wokeck. German Historical Institute. Last modified May 31, 2016.
- ^ Archiv der Franckeschen Stiftungen, AF St/S B I 94 I, 575–577
- ^ "Muhlenberg, Frederick Augustus Conrad – US House of Representatives: History, Art & Archives". history.house.gov.
- ^ a b "Frederick Augustus Conrad Muhlenberg 1780–1783". legis.state.pa.us. Retrieved January 30, 2024.
- ^ Bomboy, Scott (April 1, 2019). "Did German almost become America's official language in 1795?". constitutioncenter.org. Retrieved January 30, 2024.
- ^ One or more of the preceding sentences incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Muhlenberg, John Peter Gabriel". Encyclopædia Britannica (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press.
- ^ a b Bastian Sick: German as the official language of the USA?
- ^ Powell, J. Mark (October 15, 2023). "Speaking of the Speaker ..." nwitimes.com. Retrieved January 30, 2024.
- ^ "Frederick Muhlenberg – The Speakers House". The Speakers House. Archived from the original on July 25, 2016. Retrieved June 11, 2018.
- ^ "Frederick Augustus Conrad Muhlenberg 1750–1801". archives.upenn.edu. Retrieved January 30, 2024.
External links
- . New International Encyclopedia. 1905.
- . 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.
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