The Fighting Judge
If you drive up I-79 from Pittsburgh to Erie, Pennsylvania, the third-to-last exit is for a town named McKean, a small borough with about 300 residents. After many trips through the area, I decided to find out who this unassuming town was named after. A quick search led me into the world of an early patriot and founder who helped shape two states, a nation, and even a system of law. And he was not afraid of some combat along the way.
Son of a Tavernkeeper
Thomas McKean was born about twenty miles west of Wilmington, Delaware, in New London, Pennsylvania, on March 19, 1734. This connection is significant because McKean’s future was deeply linked to both Pennsylvania and the future state of Delaware, then known as the lower counties of the Keystone State. His parents were William McKean, a tavern keeper, and Letitia Finney. They had immigrated to Pennsylvania from Ballymoney, County Antrim, Ireland, when they were young, making McKean another first-generation patriot son of Ireland.
Reading the Law
The younger McKean did not become a tavernkeeper. Instead, he received an excellent education, starting at the New London Academy and later in New Castle, Delaware, where he studied law under David Finney, a cousin. His “dual-jurisdiction” career began when he was admitted to the bar in 1755 in both The Lower Counties (Delaware) and Pennsylvania. A year later, he was appointed deputy attorney general for Sussex County. Political life quickly intertwined with law, and McKean served several terms in the General Assembly of the Lower Counties during the 1760s and 1770s, including a stint as Speaker. His intellectual credentials were confirmed when, in 1768, the talented jurist was elected to the American Philosophical Society. Not to remain idle, he also served as a judge of the Court of Common Pleas, and in 1771, he was appointed Customs Collector in New Castle. His impressive resume and the path to rebellion had not yet reached their peak. But tensions were rising.
The Lower Counties Splinter
Politically, the Lower Counties were divided into an Anglican pro-British faction, the Court Party, and a Scots-Irish patriot faction, the Country Party. Most counties supported the Court Party. New Castle was Scots-Irish and patriotic, and McKean soon became its leader. He first gained political recognition outside of Delaware when he represented the Lower Counties at the Stamp Act Congress of 1765, helped draft the petition to Parliament, and publicly called out the opposition, Timothy Ruggles, almost leading to a duel.
Revolutionary Politico
When the First Continental Congress was convened in 1774, McKean, along with Caesar Rodney and George Read, represented Delaware. He returned in the same capacity for the Second Continental Congress in 1775 and 1776. It was during the latter that he passionately advocated for independence. When he and Read split the Delaware vote, Caesar Rodney was not present. McKean called for Rodney’s return, and the famous midnight ride of Caesar Rodney led to Delaware voting 2-1 in favor of independence. The Declaration was then approved.
Following the Drum
The ink was not dry on the Declaration when McKean suddenly left Philadelphia to take command as colonel of the Fourth Battalion of the Pennsylvania Associators, a militia unit. The battalion participated in the intense campaign to defend New York City in the summer and fall of 1776. It was later assigned to defend Perth Amboy, New Jersey. Due to his active military service, McKean missed signing the Declaration of Independence on August 2, 1776, and his signature was not on the printed copy that was authenticated on January 17, 1777. However, he signed the “death warrant” sometime afterward, and some believe he was the “last signer.”
Wartime Politico
Curiously, the Delaware Assembly did not elect either Rodney or McKean to Congress in October 1776. The firebrands had made some enemies, and many remained hesitant about full independence. However, the British victory at Brandywine in September 1777 came too close to home for comfort, prompting the election of both men in October. Despite relentless pursuit by the British and Loyalists, McKean continued to serve in Congress for the rest of the war. He helped draft the Articles of Confederation and was elected President of the Confederation Congress, serving from July through November 1781.
First Son of Delaware
McKean was active in Lower County politics throughout the period leading up to the war and beyond. He frequently participated at both the national and local levels. He led the effort to make the Lower Counties a separate state, and in August 1776, the assembly selected him to attend a convention dedicated to drafting a new state constitution.
McKean left his command and rode to Dover, Delaware, like a man possessed, and in one night, created the first draft of a Delaware Constitution, which the assembly accepted in September. This was the first state constitution drafted after the Declaration of Independence. He remained involved in the Delaware Assembly throughout the mid and late 1770s, even as he served in Congress. The British occupied Philadelphia and controlled the Delaware River from October 1777 through June 1778. During this time, both he and his family were at risk of capture by the British, and he had to change his residence about five times.
Keystone Judge
While still active in Delaware politics, McKean faced the unusual situation of being appointed a judge in Pennsylvania, serving as Chief Justice from 1777 until 1799. McKean was a leading advocate for a judiciary with the power to overturn a state law if it was deemed unconstitutional. He was a very assertive jurist and established judicial review—the power of a court to strike down laws—before John Marshall established it for the US Supreme Court. His influential 22 years on the bench set precedents adopted by all the state courts nationwide.
During this time, he served on the Pennsylvania convention, helping to ratify the new U.S. Constitution. Interestingly, since he helped draft the Articles of Confederation, which were later overturned. At the Pennsylvania State Constitutional Convention of 1789-90, he argued for a strong executive and supported the Federalists until 1796, when he became a vocal Democratic-Republican. He was unhappy with Federalist policies. As the Supreme Court justice of Pennsylvania, he supported suppressing the Whiskey Rebellion.
Chief Executive
McKean’s career on the bench ended when he was elected Governor of Pennsylvania in 1799. During his first term, he entered office as a partisan zealot, removing Federalists from their positions—the spoils system. By his third term, he had fallen out with his party and allied with the Federalists to fend off a challenge from a fellow Republican. He then replaced the republican officeholders with Federalists. McKean’s combative nature, his support for a strong state executive, and his willingness to turn against his opposition led the Pennsylvania House of Representatives to impeach him in 1807, but he remained in office until his term ended.
The Man
McKean was over six feet tall. He dressed stylishly in a cocked hat and a gold-knobbed cane. He had a quick temper, a thin face with a hawk-like nose and fiery eyes. He could be aloof and antagonistic, and by all accounts, he was a solitary man. He only socialized on public occasions. But he was undeniably brilliant and tireless.
In his correspondence, the not-so-liked himself, John Adams, paid him tribute by describing McKean as “one of the three men in the Continental Congress who appeared to me to see more clearly to the end of the business than any others in the body.”
The Family Man
The brilliant, active, but often acerbic McKean did find time for a family life. He married Mary Borden in 1763 and had six children with her: Joseph, Robert, Elizabeth, Letitia, Mary, and Anne. Mary died in 1773, and a year later, McKean married Sarah Armitage. He established his new household in Philadelphia, and they had four children: Sarah, Thomas, Sophia, and Maria. McKean and both of his wives were members of the Presbyterian Church.
Retirement and Legacy
He spent his retirement in Philadelphia, writing, discussing political issues, and enjoying the wealth he had earned through investments and real estate. In 1790, he co-published "Commentaries on the Constitution of the United States." McKean was a founding member of the controversial (too aristocratic) Society of the Cincinnati in 1785 and even served as its vice-president. He received many honors: an LLD from Princeton in 1781, from Dartmouth in 1782, and from the University of Pennsylvania in 1785. When a second war with Britain threatened in 1812, the man in his eighties, McKean, led a group of Philadelphia citizens to organize a strong defense during the War of 1812.
McKean died in Philadelphia and was buried in the First Presbyterian Church Cemetery there. In 1843, his body was moved to Laurel Hill Cemetery. McKean was a dedicated lawyer who worked tirelessly, often juggling multiple tasks, for his community, his state(s), and his country—both in war and peace. This son of Irish immigrants set a precedent for the future laws and governance of the United States and all the states that would join the union.
