 A
member of the fourth generation of a Pennsylvania Quaker family who
had emigrated from England, Mifflin was born at Philadelphia in
1744, the son of a rich merchant and local politician. He studied at
a Quaker school and then at the College of Philadelphia (later part
of the University of Pennsylvania), from which he won a diploma at
the age of 16 and whose interests he advanced for the rest of his
life.Mifflin then worked for 4 years
in a Philadelphia countinghouse. In 1764 he visited Europe, and the
next year entered the mercantile business in Philadelphia with his
brother. In 1767 he wed Sarah Morris. Although he prospered in
business, politics enticed him.
In the Pennsylvania legislature (1772-76),
Mifflin championed the colonial position against the crown. In 1774
he attended the Continental Congress (1774-76). Meanwhile, he had
helped to raise troops and in May 1775 won appointment as a major in
the Continental Army, which caused him to be expelled from his
Quaker faith. In the summer of 1775 he first became an aide-de-camp
to Washington and then Quartermaster General of the Continental
Army. Late in 1775 he became a colonel and in May 1776 a brigadier
general. Preferring action to administration, after a time he began
to perform his quartermaster duties perfunctorily. Nevertheless, he
participated directly in the war effort. He took part in the Battles
of Long Island, NY, Trenton, NJ, and Princeton, NJ. Furthermore,
through his persuasive oratory, he apparently convinced many men not
to leave the military service.
In 1777 Mifflin attained the rank of major
general but, restive at criticism of his quartermaster activities,
he resigned. About the same time, though he later became a friend of
Washington, he became involved in the cabal that advanced Gen.
Horatio Gates to replace him in command of the Continental Army. In
1777-78 Mifflin sat on the Congressional Board of War. In the latter
year, he briefly reentered the military, but continuing attacks on
his earlier conduct of the quartermastership soon led him to resign
once more.
Mifflin returned immediately to politics. He
sat in the state assembly (1778-79) and again in the Continental
Congress (1782-84), from December 1783 to the following June as its
president. In 1787 he was chosen to take part in the Constitutional
Convention. He attended regularly, but made no speeches and did not
play a substantial role.
Mifflin continued in the legislature (1785-88
and 1799-1800); succeeded Franklin as president of the Supreme
Executive Council (1788-90); chaired the constitutional convention
(1789-90); and held the governorship (1790-99), during which time he
affiliated himself with the emerging Democratic-Republican Party.
Although wealthy most of his life, Mifflin was
a lavish spender. Pressure from his creditors forced him to leave
Philadelphia in 1799, and he died at Lancaster the next year, aged
56. The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania paid his burial expenses at the
local Trinity Lutheran Church. |
