Editing Thomas McKean (section)

==Career==
In 1755, he was admitted to the bar of the [[Delaware Colony|Lower Counties]], as Delaware was then known, and likewise in the Province of Pennsylvania the following year. In 1756, he was appointed deputy attorney general for [[Sussex County, Delaware|Sussex County]]. From the 1762–1763 session to the 1775–1776 session, he was a member of the General Assembly of the Lower Counties, serving as its speaker in 1772–1773. From July 1765, he also served as a judge of the Court of Common Pleas and began service as the customs collector at New Castle in 1771. In November 1765, his Court of Common Pleas became the first such court in the colonies to establish a rule for all the proceedings of the court to be recorded on [[Stamp Act 1765|unstamped paper]]. In 1768, McKean was elected to the revived [[American Philosophical Society]].<ref>Bell, Whitfield J., and Charles Greifenstein, Jr. ''Patriot-Improvers: Biographical Sketches of Members of the American Philosophical Society''. 3 vols. Philadelphia: American Philosophical Society, 1997, I:26, 32, 150–51, 218, 386, II: 343, 360, III: 65, 397–409, 398.</ref>

Delaware was politically divided in the 18th century into loose political factions known as the "Court Party" and the "Country Party". The majority Court Party was generally Anglican, was strongest in Kent and Sussex counties, worked well with the colonial Proprietary government, and supported reconciliation with the British government. The minority Country Party was largely Irish Presbyterian, also referred to as "Scotch-Irish", was centered in [[New Castle County, Delaware]], and quickly advocated independence from the British. The revolutionary slogan "[[no taxation without representation]]" had originated in the north of Ireland under the British Penal Laws, which denied Presbyterians and Catholics the right to vote for members of the parliament. McKean was the epitome of the Country Party politician and was, as much as anyone else, its leader.{{sfn|Fremont-Barnes|2007|p=467}} As such, he generally worked in partnership with [[Caesar Rodney]] from Kent County and in opposition to his friend and neighbor, [[George Read (American politician, born 1733)|George Read]].

At the [[Stamp Act Congress]] of 1765, McKean and Caesar Rodney represented Delaware. McKean proposed the voting procedure that the Continental Congress later adopted: each colony, regardless of size or population, would have one vote. That decision set the precedent, the [[Congress of the Confederation|Congress of the Articles of Confederation]] adopted the practice, and the principle of state equality has continued in the composition of the [[United States Senate]].

McKean quickly became one of the most influential members of the Stamp Act Congress. He was on the committee that drew the memorial to parliament and, with [[John Rutledge]] and [[Philip Livingston]], revised its proceedings. On the last day of its session, when the business session ended, [[Timothy Ruggles]], the president of the body, and a few other more cautious members refused to sign the memorial of rights and grievances. McKean arose and addressing the chair insisted that the president give his reasons for his refusal. After refusing at first, Ruggles remarked that "it was against his conscience." McKean then disputed his use of the word "conscience" so loudly and so long that a challenge was given by Ruggles and accepted in the presence of the Congress. However, Ruggles left the next morning at daybreak, and so the duel did not take place.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.colonialhall.com/mckean/mckean.php |title=Lives of the Signers to the Declaration of Independence |publisher=Colonial Hall |date=2005-09-27 |access-date=2017-07-05 |archive-date=December 1, 2005 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20051201142042/http://www.colonialhall.com/mckean/mckean.php |url-status=dead }}</ref>