William Moore (c. 1735 – July 24, 1793) was a

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, ...

statesman and

politician A politician is a person active in party politics, or a person holding or seeking an elected office in government. Politicians propose, support, reject and create laws that govern the land and by an extension of its people. Broadly speaking ...

of the Revolutionary era. He served as Vice-President of Pennsylvania from 1779 to 1781, and then as

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from 1781 to 1782. (The positions of President and vice-president of Pennsylvania are analogous to the modern offices of

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and Lieutenant Governor, respectively). Moore was the only man formally elected to both offices. He was also a judge,

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, director of the

Bank of Pennsylvania The Bank of Pennsylvania was established on July 17, 1780, by Philadelphia merchants to provide funds for the Continental Army during the American Revolutionary War. Its investors included George Meade & Co., with a £2,000 payment. Within a yea ...

and

trustee Trustee (or the holding of a trusteeship) is a legal term which, in its broadest sense, is a synonym for anyone in a position of trust and so can refer to any individual who holds property, authority, or a position of trust or responsibility to ...

of the

University of Pennsylvania The University of Pennsylvania (also known as Penn or UPenn) is a private research university in Philadelphia. It is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and is ranked among the highest-regarded universitie ...

Early life and family

William Moore was born in

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania#Municipalities, largest city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the List of United States cities by population, sixth-largest city i ...

in the Province of Pennsylvania. He was the son of Robert and Elizabeth Moore. Like his father, William became a successful merchant. In 1757 he married Sarah Lloyd, a member of one of Philadelphia's oldest and most powerful families. William and Sarah had at least one son. A daughter, Elizabeth married the French diplomat,

François Barbé-Marbois François Barbé-Marbois, marquis de Barbé-Marbois (31 January 1745 – 12 February 1837) was a French politician. Early career Born in Metz, where his father was director of the local mint, Barbé-Marbois tutored the children of the Marquis d ...

(1745–1837), in Philadelphia June 17, 1784.

Political life

Moore supported colonists' protests against the Stamp Act, imposed upon the American colonies by

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in 1765, but did not embrace some of the more radical ideas of the early Revolutionaries. It was only after his sixteen-year-old son joined the Continental Army's 1776

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campaign that William embraced the

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. Nonetheless, his reputation as a moderate brought him support from sometimes opposing political factions. In 1776 Moore was appointed to the

Council of Safety In the American Revolution, committees of correspondence, committees of inspection (also known as committees of observation), and committees of safety were different local committees of Patriots that became a shadow government; they took control ...

, which governed the State in the early days of the Revolution. The following year he was appointed to the Board of War. In 1778 he was elected to the Continental Congress but declined to serve, preferring a seat on the Supreme Executive Council of Pennsylvania. He became vice-president of the Council on November 11, 1779, defeating James Read. He was reelected November 14, 1780, garnering fifty three of the sixty votes cast and easily defeating James Potter and John Lacey. His second Vice-Presidential term expired November 14, 1781. On that day he was elected the fourth President of the Supreme Executive Council. Moore received sixty four of the sixty seven votes cast, easily defeating James Ewing, James Potter, and John Lacey, each of whom received a single vote. (Potter ''was'' elected to the Vice-Presidency that day, and would be succeeded by Ewing in 1782.) While most Presidents and Vice-Governors and Presidents of Pennsylvania took office immediately upon their election, Moore did not take the oath of office until the following day and did not begin his presidency until November 15. Moore served a single term as president, holding office through November 7, 1782. He was the only vice-president of Pennsylvania to be formally elected to the Presidency of the State. (Although George Bryan today is recognized as a former Governor of Pennsylvania he was never actually elected or elevated to the Presidency and was not addressed as such during his time in office.)

Later roles

As Vice-President, and then President of Pennsylvania, Moore served as an '' ex officio'' member of the Board of Trustees of the

, and as President of the Board from 1781 to 1782. After leaving the Presidency he served as an elected Trustee until 1789. In 1783 Moore was commissioned a judge of the Court of Errors and Appeals. In 1784 he was elected to the

General Assembly A general assembly or general meeting is a meeting of all the members of an organization or shareholders of a company. Specific examples of general assembly include: Churches * General Assembly (presbyterian church), the highest court of presb ...

. In that same year he became a director of the Bank of Pennsylvania.

Death

William Moore died in Philadelphia on July 24, 1793.

References

University of Pennsylvania
biography o

National Governors Association
biography o
William Moore

Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission
listing o
prior governors
{{DEFAULTSORT:Moore, William 1735 births 1793 deaths Governors of Pennsylvania Lieutenant Governors of Pennsylvania Politicians from Philadelphia People of Pennsylvania in the American Revolution Pennsylvania state court judges University of Pennsylvania people People of colonial Pennsylvania Colonial American merchants