Samuel Bryan (September 30, 1759 in

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...

October 6, 1821 in

Chester County, Pennsylvania Chester County (Pennsylvania Dutch: ''Tscheschter Kaundi''), colloquially known as Chesco, is a county in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. It is located in the Delaware Valley region of the state. As of the 2020 census, the population was 5 ...

) was a resident of

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; (Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, Ma ...

and Anti-Federalist

author An author is the writer of a book, article, play, mostly written work. A broader definition of the word "author" states: "''An author is "the person who originated or gave existence to anything" and whose authorship determines responsibility f ...

, who wrote during the Confederation Period. Historians generally ascribe to him the letters written under the

pseudonym A pseudonym (; ) or alias () is a fictitious name that a person or group assumes for a particular purpose, which differs from their original or true name (orthonym). This also differs from a new name that entirely or legally replaces an individua ...

Centinel between 1787 and 1789. Centinel attacked the proposed

Constitution of the United States The Constitution of the United States is the Supremacy Clause, supreme law of the United States, United States of America. It superseded the Articles of Confederation, the nation's first constitution, in 1789. Originally comprising seven ar ...

as a document in the interests of the "well-born few". He was the son of

George Bryan George Bryan (1731January 27, 1791) was an Irish/American Pennsylvania businessman, and politician of the Revolutionary era. He served as the first vice-president of Pennsylvania (analogous to lieutenant governor) and its second president (g ...

, a judge on the

Pennsylvania Supreme Court The Supreme Court of Pennsylvania is the highest court in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania's Unified Judicial System. It also claims to be the oldest appellate court in the United States, a claim that is disputed by the Massachusetts Supreme ...

and the principal Anti-Federalist in the state, to whom the essays were frequently attributed at the time they were written. Centinel wrote three series of essays. The first eighteen numbers appeared in late 1787 and early 1788, and reflected the Anti-Federalist opposition to the Constitution. Letters XIX through XXIV were produced toward the end of 1788. By this time, the Constitution had been adopted, and these essays sought to sway the election of representatives to the new government. In 1789, a final series of 69 papers appeared regarding proposed amendments to the Constitution.

Political career

In 1784, Bryan became the secretary of the Pennsylvania Council of Censors, and was elected clerk of the state assembly in 1785. In 1790 he ran for the office of clerk of the state senate, but lost. In 1795 he was appointed state register general by Gov.

Thomas Mifflin Thomas Mifflin (January 10, 1744January 20, 1800) was an American merchant, soldier, and politician from Pennsylvania, who is regarded as a Founding Father of the United States for his roles during and after the American Revolution. Mifflin was ...

. In 1801 he became state comptroller general. In 1807 he lost a race for state treasurer. From 1809 to 1821 he served as Philadelphia register of wills.

References

External links

Timeline and full text for Letters of Centinel
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bryan, Samuel 1759 births 1821 deaths People of colonial Pennsylvania Anti-Federalists Writers from Pennsylvania