Henry A. P. Muhlenberg

Henry Augustus Philip Muhlenberg ( born May 13, 1782 Lancaster, Pennsylvania; † August 11, 1844 in Reading, Pennsylvania ) was an American politician. Between 1829 and 1838 he represented the State of Pennsylvania in the U.S. House of Representatives.

Career

Henry Muhlenberg came from an important political family in Pennsylvania. He was the father of Henry Augustus Muhlenberg (1823-1854) and nephew of Frederick Muhlenberg (1750-1801), who were both members of Congress. He was also a nephew of Peter Muhlenberg (1746-1807), who represented the state of Pennsylvania in both houses of Congress. After a classical education Henry Muhlenberg studied theology. After his ordination to the clergy he was 1803-1829 as pastor of Trinity Church in Reading operate. In the 1820s he joined the movement to the future President Andrew Jackson and became a member of the Democratic Party, founded in 1828 by this.

In the congressional elections of 1828 Muhlenberg was the seventh constituency of Pennsylvania in the U.S. House of Representatives in Washington DC chosen, where he became the successor of William Addams on March 4, 1829. After three re- elections he could remain until his resignation on February 9, 1838 in Congress. Since 1833, he represented the ninth district where his state. Since 1831 he was chairman of the Committee on Revolutionary Claims. Since the inauguration of President Jackson in 1829, was discussed inside and outside of Congress vehemently about its policy. It was about the controversial enforcement of the Indian Removal Act, the conflict with the State of South Carolina, which culminated in the Nullifikationskrise, and banking policy of the President.

In the years 1835 and 1837 Muhlenberg ran unsuccessfully for the office of Governor of Pennsylvania. From 1838 to 1840 he was the first American envoy in the Empire of Austria. In 1844 he was re- nominated by his party as a candidate for the upcoming gubernatorial election. He died on August 11 of this year in Reading, long before the election date.