Joseph Galloway was born in 1731 to a family of prominent merchants. He studied law in Philadelphia and became one of the city's most popular advocates. In addition to his legal practice, he took an interest in land speculation and politics. He was elected an assemblyman in 1756. In 1764 he lost his seat along with Ben Franklin, for their joint petition for royal instead of proprietary governorship. He returned in 1765 and from 1766 to 1775 was speaker of the assembly. At the same time he served as vice president of Franklin's American Philosophical Society. Galloway was a delegate to the First Continental Congress which convened on Sept. 5, 1774. His major contribution was the "Plan of Union" which was a plan for an imperial legislature and written constitution. Galloway called for a federation of colonies under a president-general appointed by the king. The idea was rejected, and Galloway did not return to the Congress. The plan was defeated by the vote of one colony. He adamantly opposed independence from England. In 1778, Galloway fled to England, becoming a spokesman for the Loyalists. His estates in America were seized, and he was forbidden to return. He died in England in 1803.
On April 4, 1774 King George III of England granted a Royal Patent for the creation of the Township of Galloway. The State of New Jersey Public Record Office in 1929 stated that they could not tell positively for whom the Township of Galloway was named but suspect it was named after Joseph Galloway.
Joseph Galloway was a successful lawyer and leading political figure in Pennsylvania for a generation before the American Revolution. He was ideological and a strict constitutionalist. For many years Galloway was Benjamin Franklin’s chief ally. They grew farther and farther apart as Franklin was pushed by events into a more radical stance. Years before the Revolution they formed a duo of conscientious conciliators. The two sought to secure greater autonomy for the colonists - as a constitutional right of British subjects. Both labored mightily for a generation to reconcile the colonies with the mother country. Since Franklin worked mostly in London, Galloway’s forum was in America, principally the Pennsylvania Assembly, where he was Speaker of the House for a decade, and ultimately the Continental Congress.
In 1774, Galloway’s Plan of Union lost in the Congress by only one vote - a loss that changed the course of history, since Galloway tried to avoid revolution by anticipating the British commonwealth system. In 1775, when the Assembly ignored Galloway’s recommendation that it abandon its defiance of Britain, Galloway quit the Assembly and the Congress.
Galloway remained steadfast in his belief that “ the most proper Plan for cementing the two countries together” would have been constitutional, granting “ America the same Rights and Privileges as are enjoyed by the Subjects in Britain”.
On April 4, 1774 King George III of England granted a Royal Patent for the creation of the Township of Galloway. The State of New Jersey Public Record Office in 1929 stated that they could not tell positively for whom the Township of Galloway was named but suspect it was named after Joseph Galloway.
Joseph Galloway was a successful lawyer and leading political figure in Pennsylvania for a generation before the American Revolution. He was ideological and a strict constitutionalist. For many years Galloway was Benjamin Franklin’s chief ally. They grew farther and farther apart as Franklin was pushed by events into a more radical stance. Years before the Revolution they formed a duo of conscientious conciliators. The two sought to secure greater autonomy for the colonists - as a constitutional right of British subjects. Both labored mightily for a generation to reconcile the colonies with the mother country. Since Franklin worked mostly in London, Galloway’s forum was in America, principally the Pennsylvania Assembly, where he was Speaker of the House for a decade, and ultimately the Continental Congress.
In 1774, Galloway’s Plan of Union lost in the Congress by only one vote - a loss that changed the course of history, since Galloway tried to avoid revolution by anticipating the British commonwealth system. In 1775, when the Assembly ignored Galloway’s recommendation that it abandon its defiance of Britain, Galloway quit the Assembly and the Congress.
Galloway remained steadfast in his belief that “ the most proper Plan for cementing the two countries together” would have been constitutional, granting “ America the same Rights and Privileges as are enjoyed by the Subjects in Britain”.
