Mifflin, Thomas

Mifflin, Thomas

(1744–1800) soldier, governor; born in Philadelphia. One of the most radical members of the First Continental Congress, he became quartermaster general of the Continental army (1775–78). After supporting a plot to replace George Washington with Gen. Horatio Gates, he disavowed it; but under criticism for his actions as quartermaster, he resigned. A Democratic-Republican in the Confederation Congress (1782–84), he attended the Constitutional Convention in 1787 and supported the new Constitution. He became governor of Pennsylvania (1790–99) and pursued Jeffersonian policies; reluctantly calling for action against those involved in the so-called Whiskey Rebellion (1794), he dealt leniently with its leaders.

The Cambridge Dictionary of American Biography, by John S. Bowman. Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1995. Reproduced with permission.