John Andrew Shulze (July 19, 1775 – November 18, 1852) was a

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania, officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a U.S. state, state spanning the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern United States, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes region, Great Lakes regions o ...

political leader and the sixth

governor of Pennsylvania The asterisk ( ), from Late Latin , from Ancient Greek , , "little star", is a Typography, typographical symbol. It is so called because it resembles a conventional image of a star (heraldry), heraldic star. Computer scientists and Mathematici ...

. He was a member of the

Muhlenberg family The Muhlenberg family created a United States political, religious, and military dynasty that was primarily based in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, but which had also expanded into the State of Ohio by the early nineteenth century. The German ...

political dynasty.

Early life and education

Shulze was born in Tulpehocken Township in the

Province of Pennsylvania The Province of Pennsylvania, also known as the Pennsylvania Colony, was a British North American colony founded by William Penn, who received the land through a grant from Charles II of England in 1681. The name Pennsylvania was derived from ...

. He was the son of Eve Elizabeth ( Muhlenberg) and the Rev. Christopher Emmanuel Shulze. Shulze was the grandson of

Henry Muhlenberg Henry Melchior Muhlenberg (born Heinrich Melchior Mühlenberg; September 6, 1711 – October 7, 1787), was a Holy Roman Empire, German-born Lutheran clergyman and missionary. Born in Einbeck, Muhlenberg immigrated to the Province of Pennsylv ...

and the nephew of brothers

Peter Muhlenberg John Peter Gabriel Muhlenberg (October 1, 1746October 1, 1807) was an American clergyman and military officer who served during the American Revolutionary War. A member of Pennsylvania's prominent Muhlenberg family political dynasty, he became ...

and

Frederick Muhlenberg Frederick Augustus Conrad Muhlenberg (; January 1, 1750 – June 4, 1801) was an American minister of religion, minister and Politics of the United States, politician who was the first speaker of the United States House of Representatives from 1 ...

, who were leading politicians. Shulze grew up in the

Pennsylvania Dutch The Pennsylvania Dutch (), also referred to as Pennsylvania Germans, are an ethnic group in Pennsylvania in the United States, Ontario in Canada, and other regions of both nations. They largely originate from the Palatinate (region), Palatina ...

community speaking their

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...

dialect, and for his entire life would speak English with a noticeable accent. Shulze studied at Franklin College in

Lancaster, Pennsylvania Lancaster ( ) is a city in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, United States, and its county seat. With a population of 58,039 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, eighth-most populous ci ...

, and was ordained a minister in the

Lutheran Lutheranism is a major branch of Protestantism that emerged under the work of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German friar and Protestant Reformers, reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practices of the Catholic Church launched ...

church in 1796. He left the ministry due to poor health in 1802 and became a merchant in

Myerstown, Pennsylvania Myerstown (Pennsylvania Dutch language, Pennsylvania Dutch: ''Moyerschteddel'') is a borough (Pennsylvania), borough located in Lebanon County, Pennsylvania, Lebanon County, Pennsylvania. It is part of the Lebanon, Pennsylvania Metropolitan stati ...

. Shulze married Susan Kimmell and they had five children together.

Political career

Shulze was elected to the Pennsylvania General Assembly in 1806 and served three terms. From 1813 to 1821, he served in several low offices in Lebanon County. He served as a member of the

Pennsylvania Senate The Pennsylvania State Senate is the upper house of the Pennsylvania General Assembly, the Pennsylvania Pennsylvania, officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a U.S. state, state spanning the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mi ...

for the 8th district from 1821 to 1823. In

1823 Events January–March * January 22 – By secret treaty signed at the Congress of Verona, the Quintuple Alliance gives France a mandate to invade Spain for the purpose of restoring Ferdinand VII (who has been captured by armed revoluti ...

, he was elected

Governor of Pennsylvania The asterisk ( ), from Late Latin , from Ancient Greek , , "little star", is a Typography, typographical symbol. It is so called because it resembles a conventional image of a star (heraldry), heraldic star. Computer scientists and Mathematici ...

defeating former

U.S. Senator The United States Senate is a chamber of the bicameral United States Congress; it is the upper house, with the U.S. House of Representatives being the lower house. Together, the Senate and House have the authority under Article One of the ...

Andrew Gregg Andrew Gregg (June 10, 1755May 20, 1835) was an American politician. A Democratic-Republican, he served as a United States Senator for Pennsylvania from 1807 until 1813. Prior to that, he served as a U.S. Representative from 1791 until 1807. Fro ...

. A large crowd attended his inaugural ceremonies on December 16, 1823.Sheridan, Leo W.
Great Crowds Attended Ceremonies of Inaugurals As Capitol Was Filled
" Lock Haven, Pennsylvania: ''The Express'', November 30, 1934, p. 4 (subscription required). He was reelected in

1826 Events January–March * January 15 – The French newspaper ''Le Figaro'' begins publication in Paris, initially as a satirical weekly. * January 17 – The Ballantyne printing business in Edinburgh (Scotland) crashes, ruining noveli ...

over John Sergeant in one of the most lopsided victories in Pennsylvania political history. Together with Mayor Joseph Watson of Philadelphia, in the mid-1820s Schulze worked to recover young free blacks of a group of about 20 who had been kidnapped from Philadelphia in 1825 and sold into slavery in Mississippi, as well as to prosecute members of the Cannon-Johnson gang of Maryland/Delaware for the crimes. In 1826 he issued extradition notices related to them to the states of Virginia, Alabama and Mississippi. None of the white members were convicted. John Purnell, a mulatto member of the gang, was tried in Philadelphia County Court in 1826, convicted of two counts of kidnapping and sentenced to a fine and 42 years in prison. He died five years later in prison. Patty Cannon, considered the leader of the gang, evaded capture. She was indicted on four counts of murder in 1829 after the remains of four blacks were found buried on her land, but she died in jail before being tried, likely a suicide.John Henderson, Joseph Watson, Job Brown, Thomas Bradford Junr., R. L. Kennon, Joshua Boucher, H. V. Somerville and Eric Ledell Smith, "Rescuing African American Kidnapping Victims in Philadelphia as Documented in the Joseph Watson Papers"
''Pennsylvania Magazine of History and Biography'', Vol. 129 (2008), pp. 326–328, accessed April 16, 2015 Shulze pushed to establish free compulsory education in Pennsylvania. Although it failed to pass during his administration, he laid the groundwork for its adoption and funding under his successor, George Wolf. He also oversaw major

canal Canals or artificial waterways are waterways or engineered channels built for drainage management (e.g. flood control and irrigation) or for conveyancing water transport vehicles (e.g. water taxi). They carry free, calm surface ...

and road building projects in the state.

Later life and legacy

Shulze declined to run for a third term and retired to

Montoursville, Pennsylvania Montoursville is a Borough (Pennsylvania), borough in Lycoming County, Pennsylvania. The 2020 United States census, 2020 census reported its population as 4,745. It forms part of the Williamsport, Pennsylvania Metropolitan Statistical Area. The ...

. He returned to public life briefly to become a delegate to the first national convention of the Whig Party in 1839. In 1840, he served as President of Pennsylvania's

Electoral College An electoral college is a body whose task is to elect a candidate to a particular office. It is mostly used in the political context for a constitutional body that appoints the head of state or government, and sometimes the upper parliament ...

which elected

William Henry Harrison William Henry Harrison (February 9, 1773April 4, 1841) was the ninth president of the United States, serving from March 4 to April 4, 1841, the shortest presidency in U.S. history. He was also the first U.S. president to die in office, causin ...

as the ninth

President of the United States The president of the United States (POTUS) is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president directs the Federal government of the United States#Executive branch, executive branch of the Federal government of t ...

. He died in

, November 18, 1852, and was buried in Woodward Hill Cemetery. His widow and former First Lady of Pennsylvania, Susan Kimmell Shulze, died on October 4, 1860. She is also buried in Woodward Hill Cemetery in Lancaster. Shulze Hall, located on the campus of

Penn State University The Pennsylvania State University (Penn State or PSU) is a Public university, public Commonwealth System of Higher Education, state-related Land-grant university, land-grant research university with campuses and facilities throughout Pennsyl ...

, is named in his honor.

References

External links

* , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Shulze, John Andrew 1775 births 1852 deaths American Lutherans American people of German descent Burials at Woodward Hill Cemetery Democratic-Republican Party state governors of the United States Governors of Pennsylvania Muhlenberg family Pennsylvania state senators 1840 United States presidential electors People from Lebanon County, Pennsylvania Pennsylvania Democratic-Republicans Pennsylvania Whigs 19th-century members of the Pennsylvania General Assembly