Thomas Fitzsimons (October 1741August 26, 1811) was an Irish-born American Founding Father, merchant, banker, and politician. A resident of Philadelphia, Fitzsimons represented Pennsylvania in the Continental Congress, was a delegate to Constitutional Convention, and served in U.S. Congress. He was a signatory of the Constitution of the United States. Although an owner of two slaves in 1790, Fitzsimons was an early proponent of abolishing the slave trade in the newly formed nation.

Biography

Fitzsimons was born in the Kingdom of Ireland in 1741. In 1760 his family immigrated to Philadelphia.

When Pennsylvania began mobilizing and organizing a militia to fight the British, Fitzsimons became involved. He served as captain of a company of home guards, which he raised under the command of Colonel John Cadwalader. Initially, his company served as part of the soldiers who manned posts along the New Jersey coast to defend against invasion. His unit later served as part of the reserve at the 1776 Battle of Trenton. Later in the war, he served on the Pennsylvania Council of Safety and headed a board to oversee the newly formed Pennsylvania Navy. Under this role, he helped organize the strategic resources of Pennsylvania and later provided supplies, ships, and money in support of Pennsylvanian and French forces.

Politics

Thomas Fitzsimons entered politics as a delegate to the Continental Congress in 1782 and 1783. He was a member of the United States House of Representatives from 1789 until 1795.

After the Constitution was established, he served in the first three sessions of the House of Representatives as a Federalist, where he favored protective tariffs and a strong navy, co-drafting the 1794 law authorizing the original six frigates of the United States Navy. He was one of nine representatives to vote against the Eleventh Amendment to the United States Constitution. Fitzsimons failed to win re-election in 1794, being defeated by John Swanwick, who carried seven of Philadelphia's twelve districts with 57% of the vote. This was partially attributed to public opinion turning against the Federalist Party over the forceful suppression of the Whiskey Rebellion. Although he never held elective office again, Fitzsimons served in 1798 as head of the committee of merchants overseeing the subscription loan to build a warship at private expense for use in the Quasi-War. FitzSimons, Innes, and, Samuel Sitgreaves, who replaced Innes upon the latter's death, became annoyed with the arguments used by their three British counterparts, Thomas Macdonald, Henry Pye Rich, and John Guillemard, to inflate the claims total, and FitzSimons and Sitgreaves angrily and permanently seceded from the board in July 1799. The claims were eventually disposed of by a lump-sum payment, agreed upon by United States Minister to Britain Rufus King with British Foreign Secretary Robert Banks Jenkinson and approved by President Thomas Jefferson and the Senate in 1802.

After withdrawing from politics, Fitzsimons remained active in civic and business affairs. He served as president of Philadelphia's Chamber of Commerce, as a trustee of the University of Pennsylvania, director of the Delaware Insurance Company, and a director of the Bank of North America from 1781 to 1803. He was a founder of the bank and supported efforts to found the College of Georgetown.

Legacy

  • The Thomas FitzSimons High School was named after Thomas Fitzsimons.
  • In 1946 a statue of Fitzsimons, commissioned by Friendly Sons of St. Patrick, was built in Philadelphia.
  • In 1965 Samuel Edelson and Ida Edelson discovered a portrait of Thomas Fitzsimons.

References

thumb|Statue of Fitzsimons in Philadelphia

  • Biography at the United States Army Center of Military History
  • Biography at the University of Pennsylvania Archives