Joseph Galloway

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Joseph Galloway (1731–August 29, 1803) was an American Loyalist during the American Revolution, after serving as delegate to the First Continental Congress from Pennsylvania.

He was born at West River, Maryland and moved with his father to Pennsylvania in 1740, where he received a liberal schooling. He studied law, was admitted to the bar and began practice in Philadelphia. Galloway was a member of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives from 1757-1775 and served as Speaker of the House from 1766-1774.

Galloway was a member of the Continental Congress in 1774, where he proposed a compromise plan for Union with Great Britain which would provide the colonies with their own parliament subject to the crown. He signed the nonimportation agreement, but was opposed to independence of the Thirteen colonies and remained loyal to the King. Ferling (1977) argues that Galloway's conduct was motivated partly by opportunism, and partly by genuine philosophical principles. A resident of cosmopolitan Philadelphia and an associate of Benjamin Franklin, Galloway was throughout his career a British-American nationalist, believing that the British Empire offered a citizen greater liberties than any nation on earth. Galloway urged reform of the imperial administration and was critical of the trade laws, the Stamp Act of 1765, and the Townshend Acts enacted in 1767; and as early as 1765 he had a conciliatory plan to end the disputes between London and the colonies.

In December of 1776, Galloway joined the British General Howe and accompanied him on his capture of Philadelphia. During the British occupation, he was appointed Superintendent of Police, and headed the civil government. He had a reputation as a highly efficient administrator, but one who repeatedly interfered in military affairs. He aggressively organized the Loyalists in the city, but was dismayed when the British army decided to abandon the city. When the British army withdrew, he went with them, and, in 1778, he moved to London. He was influential in convincing the British that a vast reservoir of Loyalist support could be tapped by aggressive leadership, thus setting up the British invasion of the South. The Pennsylvania General Assembly convicted him of treason and confiscated his estates.

He died in Watford, Hertfordshire, England on August 29, 1803.

One of two alternate explanations is that Galloway Township, New Jersey was named for Galloway[History of Galloway Township], accessed July 4, 2006.

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