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Nicholas Biddle
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==Ancestry and early life== Nicholas Biddle was born into a prominent family in [[Philadelphia]], in the [[Pennsylvania|Commonwealth of Pennsylvania]],{{sfn|Wilson|Fiske|1900}} on January 8, 1786.{{sfn|Hammond|1957|p=287}} Ancestors of the [[Biddle family]] had immigrated to the Pennsylvania colony along with the famous [[Quaker]] proprietor, [[William Penn]], and subsequently fought in the pre-[[American Revolutionary War|Revolutionary colonial struggles]].<ref>Lawmaking and Legislators in Pennsylvania, vol. 3, p. 338</ref> Young Nicholas's preparatory education was received at an academy in Philadelphia, where his progress was so rapid that he entered the class of 1799 at the [[University of Pennsylvania]]. At thirteen years old, Biddle had completed his coursework, but was not allowed to graduate due to his age.{{sfn|Hammond|1957|p=288}} His parents accordingly sent him to [[Princeton University|Princeton]] (then the “College of New Jersey”) where he entered the sophomore class, and graduated in 1801 as [[valedictorian]], dividing the first honor of the class with his only rival.{{sfn|Wilson|Fiske|1900}} Biddle was offered an official position before he had even finished his law studies. As secretary to former [[American Revolutionary War|Revolutionary War]] officer and delegate to the [[Continental Congress]], [[John Armstrong Jr.]], he went abroad in 1804 and was in [[Paris]] when [[Napoleon Bonaparte]] was crowned as emperor of the new [[First French Empire|French Empire]].{{sfn|Wilson|Fiske|1900}} Afterwards he participated in an [[audit]] related to the [[Louisiana Purchase]], acquiring his first experience in financial affairs. Biddle traveled extensively through Europe as secretary for [[James Monroe]], who was then serving as the United States minister to the [[Court of St. James]]. In Great Britain, Biddle took part in a conversation with [[Cambridge University]] professors involving comparisons between the modern Greek dialect and that of [[Homer]]; a conversation that captured Monroe's attention.{{sfn|Wilson|Fiske|1900}} In 1807, Biddle returned home to Philadelphia. He practiced law and wrote, contributing papers to different publications on various subjects, but chiefly in the fine arts. He became associate editor of a literary magazine called ''[[Port Folio (magazine)|Port-Folio]]'', which was published from 1806 to 1823. When editor [[Joseph Dennie]] died in 1812, Biddle took over the magazine and lived on 7th Street, near Spruce Street.{{sfn|Wilson|Fiske|1900}} That same year, Biddle was elected a member of the [[American Philosophical Society]].<ref>{{Cite web|title=APS Member History|url=https://search.amphilsoc.org/memhist/search?creator=&title=&subject=&subdiv=&mem=&year=1813&year-max=1813&dead=&keyword=&smode=advanced|access-date=April 2, 2021|website=search.amphilsoc.org}}</ref> ===Lewis and Clark=== Biddle also edited the journals of the [[Lewis and Clark Expedition]].{{sfn|Govan|1959|p=23}} He encouraged President [[Thomas Jefferson]] to write an introductory memoir of his former aide and private secretary, Captain [[Meriwether Lewis]] (1774–1809).{{sfn|Cutright|1982|p=34}} Biddle's work would be published as a book in 1814 and would become the standard account of the expedition for more than a century.{{sfn|Hammond|1957|p=289}} But because he had been elected to the Pennsylvania state legislature, Biddle was compelled to hand over editorial responsibilities to [[Paul Allen (editor)|Paul Allen]] (1775–1826), who supervised the project until its completion and appeared in print as the book's official editor.{{sfn|Cutright|1982|p=34}} ===Pennsylvania General Assembly=== Biddle was elected as a Republican member of the [[Pennsylvania House of Representatives]] in 1810, and then in the [[Pennsylvania State Senate]] for the [[Pennsylvania Senate, District 1|1st district]] from 1813 to 1815.{{sfn|Hammond|1957|p=290}}<ref>{{cite web |title=Nicholas Biddle |url=https://www.legis.state.pa.us/cfdocs/legis/bioshistory/MemBio.cfm?ID=5067&body=S |website=www.legis.state.pa.us |access-date=January 6, 2019}}</ref><ref>[http://www.anb.org/articles/03/03-00039.html American National Biography-Nicholas Biddle]</ref> He originated a bill favoring a free system of public schools—available to all Pennsylvanians regardless of their economic class—almost a quarter of a century in advance of the times.{{sfn|Govan|1959|pp=25-26}} Though the bill was initially defeated, it resurfaced repeatedly in different forms until, in 1836, the Pennsylvania [[public education|"common-school"]] system was inaugurated as an indirect result of his efforts.{{sfn|Wilson|Fiske|1900}} [[File:General Jackson Slaying the Many Headed Monster crop.jpg|thumb|left|400px|Seventh President [[Andrew Jackson]] slays the many-headed monster that symbolizes the revived [[second Bank of the United States]]. Nicholas Biddle is in the middle, in the top hat.]]
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