Supreme Executive Council of The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania - Vice-Presidents of Council - "Acting" Presidents

"Acting" Presidents

At least one source credits four Vice-Presidents with having served as Acting Presidents:

• George Bryan (Acting President 23 May 1778-1 December 1778)
• James Potter (Acting President 8 October-7 November 1782)
• Charles Biddle (Acting President 10–18 October 1785)
• David Redick (Acting President 14 October-5 November 1788)

With the exception of Bryan, the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania makes no such distinction, and its listing of the state's early Governors includes neither Potter, Biddle, nor Redick. (Presidents of Pennsylvania are sometimes included in the listing of former Governors.) None of these men (including Bryan) was given the title of Acting President during his time in office—each continued to be addressed as Vice-President and was titled Acting President only after the fact. (And, regarding all but Bryan, the honor is strictly unofficial.)

During George Bryan's "term" as Acting President the office of President was, in fact, vacant—Thomas Wharton died 23 May 1778 and an election to choose his successor was not held until 1 December—due perhaps to the Council's evacuation to Lancaster during that time. At over seven months, Bryan's tenure was such that today he is considered a full-fledged Governor by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.

The situations of the three other "Acting Presidents" is less clear, although there are some similarities. In each instance the President was replaced—or due to be replaced—as his county's Counsellor before the completion of his term as President. For example, Redick's supposed acting presidency spanned the final three weeks of Dr. Franklin's presidential term. Franklin's three-year term as Counsellor from the City of Philadelphia was to expire on or around 17 October 1788—two weeks before the conclusion of his final one-year Presidential term on 31 October. The 1776 Constitution is not specific on the matter, but as the President and Vice-President were chosen from among the members of the Council it appears that most Presidents chose to leave that office, or were replaced, prior to the expiration of their term as Counsellor, rather than have an executive preside over a body of which he was no longer a member. Thus, these "acting presidencies" may have spanned the period between the de facto end of one Presidency (due to term limits) and the formal election of a successor. Franklin, for instance, was succeeded as Counsellor for the City of Philadelphia by Samuel Miles on 20 October, but his Presidency officially did not end until 5 November. If Franklin did indeed continue to exercise the office during those final weeks not only would he have been presiding beyond the end of his term as Counsellor but also beyond the three-year term limit established by the 1776 Constitution. The official minutes of the Council contain no indication that the President in any of these situations (Moore, Dickinson and Franklin, respectively) had formally left, relinquished or been removed from office; nonetheless during these periods the President was absent from Council meetings, which were thus overseen by the Vice-President. This suggests that any "interim administration" was established quietly and "off the record".

A similar situation occurred at the end of Joseph Reed's presidency. Reed was succeeded as Counsellor from Philadelphia County by John Bayard on 16 October 1781 but ostensibly remained President until William Moore took office on 15 November. Yet no claims of an "acting presidency" have been made for Moore, who held the Vice-Presidency during this interim period, immediately prior to his election as President.

Similarly, Charles Biddle appears to have retained the Vice-Presidency—at least officially—even after leaving his seat on the Council. The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania reports that Biddle's Vice-Presidential term extended to 31 October 1787, at which time Peter Muhlenberg succeeded him in that office. However, Biddle's term as Counsellor from Berks County ended eighteen days earlier, on 13 October, when he was succeeded in that office by James Read. Furthermore, Biddle was elected Secretary of the Council on 23 October, a clerical position that likely would not have been assumed by one who was also an officer of the Council and a high State official.