Editing Edward Biddle

{{short description|American politician}}

{{Other uses|Biddle (surname)}}
{{Infobox person
| name        = Edward Biddle
| image       = 
| birth_date  = 1738
| birth_place = 
| death_date  = {{death date and age|1779|09|05|1738}}
| death_place = Chatsworth, [[Baltimore County, Maryland]]
| occupation  = soldier, lawyer, statesman 
| parents     = William Biddle III<br />Mary Scull Biddle
| spouse      = {{marriage|Elizabeth Ross|June 6, 1761}}
| children    = 
| relatives   = ''See'' [[Biddle family]]

}}
'''Edward Biddle''' (1738 – 5 September 1779) was an American soldier, lawyer, and statesman from [[Pennsylvania]]. He was a delegate to the [[Continental Congress]] in 1774 and 1775 and a signatory to the [[Continental Association]], which was drafted and adopted by that Congress.<ref>{{cite web| last=Werther| first=Richard J.| title=Analyzing the Founders: A Closer Look at the Signers of Four Founding Documents| url=https://allthingsliberty.com/2017/10/analyzing-founders-closer-look-signers-4-founding-documents/| work=Journal of the American Revolution| date=October 24, 2017| access-date=May 2, 2019}}</ref><ref>[https://www.founderoftheday.com/continental-association-signers a Founder of the Day article entitled "Signers of the Continental Association"]</ref>

On June 6, 1761, Edward married Elizabeth Ross, the sister of [[George Ross (American politician)|George Ross]]. After the war, he [[Reading law|read law]] in the offices of her brother. By 1767, he had been admitted to the bar, and the couple moved to [[Reading, Pennsylvania|Reading]] where he began his practice. Although the couple had no children, they both came from large families. [[Betsy Ross]] who gained fame as the seamstress of the first American flag was the wife of her nephew.  He was the uncle of Congressman [[Richard Biddle]] and financier [[Nicholas Biddle]].

==Pennsylvania Provincial Assembly==
In 1767, Biddle began his career in the Pennsylvania Provincial Assembly as a representative for [[Berks County, Pennsylvania|Berks County]]. He served there until the colonial assembly went out of business during the [[American Revolution|Revolution]]. While a representative, in 1768, he was elected to the [[American Philosophical Society]].<ref>Bell, Whitfield J., and Charles Greifenstein, Jr. Patriot-Improvers: Biographical Sketches of Members of the American Philosophical Society. 3 vols. Philadelphia: American Philosophical Society, 1997, 2:280–283.</ref> He was also a member of the rebel provincial congress and later the state [[Pennsylvania General Assembly|General Assembly]] until 1778. He was a leader within that body of the [[Patriot (American Revolution)|Whig]] or radical group in the struggle to set Pennsylvania's course in the revolution.

In 1774, Pennsylvania was divided about the looming revolution. The loyalists and the supporters of the Penn family in the Assembly were joined by the [[Quakers]] who opposed any war. As a result, in July, the Assembly sent a split delegation to the Continental Congress: [[Joseph Galloway]], [[Charles Humphreys]], and [[Samuel Rhoads]] were all moderates, while Biddle, [[Thomas Mifflin]], [[John Morton (American politician)|John Morton]], and George Ross were radicals. That [[first Continental Congress]] produced a statement or [[Declaration and Resolves of the First Continental Congress|Declaration of Rights]], as well as a plan of union and pleas to [[George III|King George]] to resolve the issues that separated the colonies from [[Great Britain]]. They also produced a renewal of the [[Continental Association]], the non-importation agreement adopted in the wake of the [[Stamp Act 1765|Stamp Act]] protests. Biddle was a member of the committee that drafted the Declaration of Rights and later oversaw the printing of the resolutions the Congress had passed.

Early in 1775, Governor [[John Penn (governor)|John Penn]] called the Assembly into session, intent on having Pennsylvania send its own declarations to the crown. These would be based on the [[Galloway's Plan of Union|Galloway Plan]] that had been rejected by the Continental Congress, and would try to reconcile Pennsylvania with the British government. But the legislature mirrored the growing split within the colonies. The Whigs, led by Biddle, Ross and [[John Dickinson]] won the day. Biddle was elected speaker, replacing Galloway who had held the post the previous year. The actions of the Continental Congress were approved, and a more radical delegation was named to the next Congress.

Biddle died in Chatsworth, [[Baltimore County, Maryland]] on September 5, 1779. He is buried in St. Pauls Churchyard in [[Baltimore, Maryland|Baltimore]].

==References==
{{Reflist}}
*{{CongBio|B000440}}
*[http://politicalgraveyard.com/bio/biddle.html The Political Graveyard]

{{PAProvincialAssemblySpeakers}}
{{Signers of the Continental Association}}
{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Biddle, Edward}}
[[Category:1738 births]]
[[Category:1779 deaths]]
[[Category:People from Philadelphia]]
[[Category:People from Reading, Pennsylvania]]
[[Category:Continental Congressmen from Pennsylvania]]
[[Category:Members of the Pennsylvania Provincial Assembly]]
[[Category:Members of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives]]
[[Category:Pennsylvania lawyers]]
[[Category:People of Pennsylvania in the French and Indian War]]
[[Category:Biddle family|Edward]]
[[Category:People from colonial Pennsylvania]]
[[Category:American lawyers admitted to the practice of law by reading law]]
[[Category:Signers of the Continental Association]]
[[Category:Speakers of the Pennsylvania Provincial Assembly]]
[[Category:Members of the American Philosophical Society]]