Frederick Muhlenberg
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Frederick Augustus Conrad Muhlenberg (January 1, 1750 – June 4, 1801), was an American minister and politician who was the first Speaker of the United States House of Representatives. A delegate and a member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Pennsylvania and a Lutheran pastor by profession, Muhlenberg was born in Trappe, Pennsylvania.
According to an urban legend, Muhlenberg as House Speaker prevented German from becoming an official language of the United States.[1][2]
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Early life and ministerial career
Frederick Muhlenberg was the son of Henry Muhlenberg, an immigrant from Germany and considered the founder of the Lutheran Church in America. His brother, Peter, was a General in the Continental Army. Muhlenberg was born in Trappe, Pennsylvania.
He attended the University of Halle, Germany, where he studied theology, and was ordained by the Pennsylvania Ministerium as a minister of the Lutheran Church on October 25, 1770. He preached in Stouchsburg, Pennsylvania, and Lebanon, Pennsylvania, from 1770 - 1774, and in New York City from 1774 - 1776. When the British entered New York at the onset of the American Revolutionary War, he felt obliged to leave, and returned to Trappe. He moved to New Hanover Township, Pennsylvania, and was pastor there and in Oley and New Goshenhoppen until August 1779.
Political Career
Muhlenberg was a member of the Continental Congress in 1779 and 1780, and served in the Pennsylvania House of Representatives from 1780 to 1783. He was elected its speaker on November 3, 1780. He was a delegate to and president of the Pennsylvania state constitutional convention in 1787 called to ratify the Federal Constitution. He was the first signer of the Bill of Rights.
He served as a delegate to the First and to the three succeeding Continental Congresses (March 4, 1789–March 4, 1797). Muhlenberg was the also the first Speaker of the United States House of Representatives, including for the First Congress (1789-1791) and Third Congress (1793-1795) — he did not seek renomination in 1796.
In 1794, during Muhlenberg's second tenure as Speaker, the House voted 42-41 against a proposal to translate some of laws into German. Muhlenberg, who himself abstained from the vote, commented later, "the faster the Germans become Americans, the better it will be."[1] Despite not having voted for the bill, a legend called the Muhlenberg Legend developed in which he was responsible for prohibiting German as an official language of the United States.[1]
According to another legend, Muhlenberg also suggested that the title of the President of the United States should be "Mr. President" instead of "High Mightiness" or "His Elected Majesty."
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. He was interred in Woodward Hill Cemetery in Lancaster. After his death, the Township of Muhlenberg, Pennsylvania, was named for him.
See also
References
Notes
| Political offices | ||
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| Preceded by Jonathan Trumbull, Jr. | Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives December 2, 1793 – March 4, 1795 | Succeeded by Jonathan Dayton |
| Preceded by New seat | Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives April 1, 1789 – March 4, 1791 | Succeeded by Jonathan Trumbull, Jr. |
| United States House of Representatives
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| NAME | Muhlenberg, Frederick Augustus Conrad |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | |
| SHORT DESCRIPTION | first Speaker of the United States House of Representatives |
| DATE OF BIRTH | January 1, 1750 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Trappe, Pennsylvania |
| DATE OF DEATH | June 4, 1801 |
| PLACE OF DEATH | Lancaster, Pennsylvania |
