Thomas Burke

Background

Thomas Burke was born in 1747 in County Galway, Ireland, of Norman-French descent. He was the son of Ulick Burke and his wife Letitia Ould.

Education

He attended one of the universities, probably Dublin, and after a family quarrel emigrated to America, settling first in Accomac County, Virginia, later in Norfolk.

Career

In Virginia he began the practise of medicine which he soon relinquished for law. In 1771 he removed to North Carolina and located in Orange County, about two miles north of Hillsboro, calling his estate "Tyaquin, " the name of the Burke family seat in Ireland.

He was licensed to practise law in the superior court of Orange in 1772 and soon became active in the political affairs of the county and of North Carolina. In Virginia Burke had written and spoken against the Stamp Act and in North Carolina he represented Orange County in all of the provincial congresses save the first.

In the third congress which met at Hillsboro in August 1775 he was very active, being a member of the committee which framed the test oath and also of the committees to prepare an address to the people, to conciliate the disaffected, and to provide ways and means. In the next congress, which met at Halifax in April 1776, he was a member of thirteen committees.

Of these the most important was that on Usurpations and Grievances, which on April 12 reported a resolution, unanimously adopted, empowering the delegates of North Carolina in the Continental Congress to concur with the delegates from the other colonies in declaring independence--a measure which gave North Carolina a distinct priority in the movement for separation from Great Britain.

Of barely less importance was the committee to report a frame of government for North Carolina. The committee, and also the congress, was divided into two groups, conservatives and radicals. Burke belonged to the latter group, advocating sovereignty of the people, annual elections, the separation of the organs of the government, the separation of church and state, and ratification by the people.

Division of opinion was so strong that no decision could be reached, and the problem of constitutional principles was referred to the next congress, called to meet at Halifax in November 1776. The ensuing election was warmly contested; Burke and other candidates of like political creed in Orange County were defeated, but the congress, when it assembled, unseated the delegates chosen and ordered a new election in which Burke was successful.

He then took his seat on December 16, 1776.

The constitution which was adopted was a compromise, but it embodied the principles of sovereignty of the people, separation of powers, separation of church and state, and annual elections. According to tradition the final draft of the Constitution and also of the bill of rights was the work of Burke, Richard Caswell, and Thomas Jones. Burke's prominence in these political agitations resulted in his election to the Continental Congress by the Halifax Convention in December 1776.

He appeared in Congress the following February and continued to represent North Carolina until June 1781, with the exception of the period from April to August 1778. He had no sympathy with the secrecy of the proceedings in Congress and was very critical whenever the military power seemed to infringe on civil rights. He was a severe critic of the Articles of Confederation while that document was in process of formation and after it was completed, and he was responsible for the final form of Article II of the Articles, which guaranteed to each state the powers not specifically delegated to Congress. In the spring of 1778 Burke gave a practical demonstration of his conception of state sovereignty.

A certain group in Congress hostile to Washington secured the adoption of instructions which interfered with a cartel which he was negotiating. Washington wrote Congress asking for a modification of the instruction and intimated that his sensibilities were wounded. The reply of Congress, as drafted by a committee, contained language which Burke did not approve, and, after a prolonged debate on the night of April 10, seeing that his presence was necessary to make a quorum, he left the hall. Congress then summoned him to return. Believing that the message was from an individual, Burke refused.

The next day when Congress attempted to discipline him, Burke declared that such action was an unwarranted exercise of power and that in his official actions he was responsible to the State of North Carolina. He therefore left Philadelphia, laid his case before the North Carolina Assembly, was exonerated and reelected. This incident probably saved his political career, for in April 1778 he had been defeated for reelection because he had favored the appointment of a Pennsylvania military officer as brigadier over North Carolina troops; but the issues of the instruction to Washington and responsibility to the state brought about his return to Congress in August.

In October 1779, Burke was officially thanked by the Assembly for his services in Congress. In the summer of 1780 he was in Hillsboro and he soon assumed a leadership in state affairs. In June 1781 he was elected governor of North Carolina.

It was a time of utmost demoralization because of the British invasion. Troops and supplies had to be mobilized quickly. Burke undertook the direction of this task with such vigor that he came into conflict with the board of war, to which state military administration had been entrusted in 1780; the outcome was the establishment of his authority as supreme executive. He was so active in rallying the people and in assembling soldiers and supplies that British and Tory leaders decided that he must be captured, and this was accomplished by a Tory raid on Hillsboro on September 12, 1781. He was taken first to Wilmington, North Carolina, where he was held as prisoner of state, then to Sullivan's Island in the harbor of Charleston, South Carolina, where he was placed in close confinement.

In November he was paroled to James Island. There he was treated with consideration and respect, but in a few weeks refugees were also admitted to the island and the resulting disorder became so great that Burke believed his life was in danger. He therefore asked for a parole to the American lines; the reply was that he was held as a hostage to secure the life of David Fanning, notorious Tory leader.

Acting on the theory that the British had violated the terms of parole and that he was thereby released from its obligation, he managed to escape and took refuge at the headquarters of General Greene.

On Greene's advice he notified General Leslie, British commander at Charleston, of his escape, and offered to secure an exchange or to return within the British lines if the terms of parole would be guaranteed. Receiving no reply, he returned to North Carolina and resumed his official duties, but refused to be considered for reelection in the spring of 1782. So ended his public career.

He died at "Tyaquin" the next year, being survived by his wife and by a daughter Mary. Burke County, North Carolina, created in 1777, was named for him.

Achievements

• Thomas Burke, right after he was licensed to practise law, became known for writing and speaking against the Stamp Act in North Carolina where he represented an Orange County. Burke was very active in Congress and by 1776 he was a member of thirteen committees participating in the movement for separation of the North Carolina state from Great Britain. Being a member of the latter group, he advocated sovereignty of the people, annual elections, the separation of the organs of the government, the separation of church and state, and ratification by the people. But probably his most noted achievement was in regards to the Articles of Confederation, which he was a severe critic of. Right after it was completed, Burke was responsible for the final form of Article II of the Articles, which guaranteed to each state the powers not specifically delegated to Congress. He even gave a practical demonstration of his conception of state sovereignty. His career accomplishments were recognized by the Assembly, so in October 1779 he was officially thanked for his services in Congress. Moving to Hillsboro in 1780 he undertook a leadership in state affairs and a year later he was elected governor of North Carolina.

Religion

It has been claimed that Burke was a practicing Roman Catholic who succeeded politically in an era when Catholics held little political power and were often discriminated against.

Connections

He was survived by his wife, Mary Freeman, whom he had married in 1770, and by a daughter Mary.

Father:

Ulick Burke

Mother:

Letitia Ould

daughter:

Mary Williams Burke

Wife:

Mary Freeman

References

• Thomas Burke, Restless Revolutionary John Sayle Watterson.