Untitled Essay, Research Paper

A Biographical Report on Thomas Fitzsimons

Thomas Fitzsimons, or Fitzsimmons as his last name was sometimes spelled,

was born during 1741 and died on August 26, 1811. Originally from Ireland,

as young man he immigrated to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania to start a career

as a merchant. On November 23, 1761, he married Catharine Meade. A few months

later, with his brother-in- law, he formed an extensive mercantile and commercial

business which traded chiefly with the West India Islands. In 1782 Fitzsimons

was elected to the congress created by the Articles of Confederation.

In 1787, Fitzsimons served as a member to the Constitutional Convention,

where he took an active role. While there he argued for a strong national

government, stiff restrictions on voting qualifications and office-holding,

against slavery, giving Congress the power to tax imports and exports, and

granting the House of Representatives and the Senate equal power in making

treaties. He was elected, in 1789, to the first national House of Representatives

for the state of Pennsylvania. Fitzsimons is counted among the ranks of Alexander

Hamilton’s Federalists. Fitzsimons was a congress man until his defeat in

1794, after which he returned to private life.