Everything about Frederick Muhlenberg totally explained
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 the
official language of the United States.
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 and was elected its
speaker on
November 3 1780. He was a delegate to and president of the State constitutional convention in 1787 called to ratify the
Federal Constitution. He was the first signer of the "Bill of Rights".
Elected to the First and to the three succeeding Congresses (
March 4 1789–
March 4 1797), Muhlenberg was the
Speaker of the United States House of Representatives for the
First Congress (1789-1791) and
Third Congress (1793-1795). He didn't seek renomination in 1796.
During Muhlenberg's second tenure as speaker, the House voted 42-41 in 1794 against a proposal to translate some of the laws into
German. Muhlenberg, who himself abstained from the vote, commented later, "the faster the Germans become Americans, the better it'll be."
Despite not even voting for the bill, an
urban legend called the
Muhlenberg legend was started, stating that he was responsible for not letting German become an official language of the United States.
Muhlenberg was also president of the council of censors of Pennsylvania, and was appointed receiver general of the Pennsylvania Land Office on
January 8 1800, and served until his death in
Lancaster, Pennsylvania, on
June 4,
1801. He was interred in Woodward Hill Cemetery there. After his death, the
Township of Muhlenberg, Pennsylvania, was named for him.
Further Information
Get more info on 'Frederick Muhlenberg'.
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