Joseph Hiester

Joseph Hiester (* November 18, 1752 in Bern Township, Pennsylvania, † June 10, 1832 in Reading, Pennsylvania ) was an American politician and from 1820 to 1823 the fifth Governor of the State of Pennsylvania.

Early years

Joseph Hiester grew up in colonial Pennsylvania. He attended the local schools of his home and helped on the farm of his father. Even before the Declaration of Independence he had set up a militia, which he himself commanded. In June 1776, he was on the first free Congress from Pennsylvania (Pennsylvania Provincial Conference), who took power by the colonial government. During the Revolutionary War he served in various capacities in the Continental Army. In the meantime, he fell into British captivity and then released again as part of a prisoner exchange. In the army he returned to the Colonel and in the militia of Pennsylvania in 1807, he was even major general.

Political rise

In 1787 he was a member of the delegation from Pennsylvania, who ratified the U.S. Constitution, and in 1790 he was a delegate to the Constitutional Convention of Pennsylvania. Between 1787 and 1790 was Hiester to the House of Representatives from Pennsylvania; 1790 to 1794 he was in the state Senate. Between 1797 and 1805 and again from 1815 to 1820 he was a deputy in the U.S. House of Representatives in Washington. Originally Hiester member of the Federalist, he then moved on to the Democratic- Republican Party. There he became a follower of the so -called " Old School Group ".

In the years after 1810 there were within the Democratic-Republican Party a power struggle between two factions. The " New School " faction stood for protective tariffs, a federal bank and financed by the public sector infrastructure development. The other side, the "Old School" Group, campaigned for a limitation of governmental powers and was against the supported of the " New School " programs. Both sides faced each other bitterly. In 1817, candidate Hiester for the " Old School" and with the help of former Federalists for the office of governor. But he lost to William Findlay. In the next elections, which were held in 1820, the coalition of former Federalists and the "Old School" Findlay beat and Hiester was chosen as their candidate for the new governor.

Governor of Pennsylvania

Joseph Hiester took up his new post on 19 December 1820. In his three-year tenure, he met the demands of his faction and reduced the powers of the Governor. At that time, the new Capitol was completed in the capital, Harrisburg. After his three-year tenure renounced Hiester on a bid again. Thus he resigned from his post on 16 December 1823.

After the end of his governorship is Hiester moved back to Reading, where he pursued his private interests. There he ran several shops and farms. Joseph Hiester died in 1832. He was married to Elizabeth Witman, with whom he had six children. Joseph Hiester was a member of the influential politician in Pennsylvania family Muhlenberg - Hiester. Some of his relatives were working at the state and federal level in politics.