FRANCIS HOPKINSON

'Francis Hopkinson' (October 2, 1737–May 9, 1791), an American author, was one of the signers of the Declaration of Independence as a delegate from New Jersey. His supporters believe he played a key role in the design of the first American flag.

Contents

Education and public life

Cultural contributions

Flag controversy

Hopkinson's letter and response

Great Seal of the United States

Notes

External links

Education and public life

Francis Hopkinson was born at Philadelphia in 1737, the son of Thomas Hopkinson. He became a member of the first class at the College of Philadelphia (now University of Pennsylvania) in 1751 and graduated in 1757. He received his masters in 1760. He entered the legal profession under Pennsylvania attorney general Benjamin Chew and was admitted to the bar in 1761. He was secretary to a Provincial Council of Pennsylvania Indian commission in 1761 that made a treaty with the Delaware and several Iroquois tribes. He was appointed customs collector for Salem, NJ in 1763.
He spent from May 1766 to August 1767 in England in hopes of becoming commissioner of customs for North America. Although unsuccessful, he spent time with the future Prime Minister Lord North, the Bishop of Worcester Brownlow North (his half-brother^[1]), and painter Benjamin West.
After his return, he operated a dry goods business in Philadelphia and married Ann Borden on Sept. 1, 1768. They would have five children. He obtained a public appointment as a customs collector for New Castle, Delaware on May 1, 1772. He moved to Bordentown, NJ in 1774, became an assemblyman for the state's Royal Provincial Council, and was admitted to the New Jersey bar on May 8, 1775. He resigned his crown-appointed positions in 1776 and went on to represent New Jersey in the Continental Congress from June 22 to Nov. 30, 1776 where he signed the Declaration of Independence.
As part of the fledgling nation's government, he served on the Navy Board at Philadelphia in 1777; was treasurer of the Continental Loan Office in 1778; was appointed judge of the Admiralty Court of Pennsylvania in 1779 and reappointed in 1780 and 1787; helped ratify the Constitution during the constitutional convention in 1787; and was a judge in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania 1789-1791.
As a federal judge, Hopkinson died in Philadelphia at the age of 53 from a sudden epileptic seizure. He was buried in Christ Church Burial Ground in Philadelphia. He was the father of Joseph Hopkinson, member of the United States House of Representatives and Federal judge.

Cultural contributions

Hopkinson was the author of several songs to which he wrote popular airs, and of various political poems, pamphlets, and ''jeux d'esprit'', which from their humorous satire had a wide circulation, and powerfully assisted in arousing and fostering the spirit of political independence that issued in the American Revolution.
His principal writings are ''The Pretty Story'' (1774); ''The Prophecy'' (1776); ''The Political Catechism'' (1777). Among his songs may be mentioned ''The Treaty'', ''The Battle of the Kegs'', and ''The New Roof, a song for Federal Mechanics''; and the best known of his satirical pieces are ''Typographical Method of conducting a Quarrel'', ''Essay on White Washing'', and ''Modern Learning''. His ''Miscellaneous Essays and Occasional Writings'' were published at Philadelphia in three volumes in 1792.

Flag controversy

Hopkinson claimed to have designed the official "first flag" of the United States and sought compensation from Congress. Congress refused on the pretext that many people were involved in the flag's design, and that Hopkinson was already paid as a public servant. transcript Another consideration was that the Flag Resolution of 1777, which defined official United States flags, did not specify the arrangement of stars.^[2] Many designs were in use that complied with the flag resolution, with stars arranged in a square, a wreath, rows, patterns, or the familiar "Betsy Ross" circle.
The design of the first Stars and Stripes by Hopkinson had the thirteen stars arranged in a "staggered" pattern technically known as quincuncial because it is based on the repetition of a motif of five units. This arrangement inevitably results in a strongly diagonal effect. In a flag of thirteen stars, this placement produced the unmistakable outline of the crosses of St. George and of St. Andrew, as used together on the British flag. Whether this similarity was intentional or accidental, it may explain why the plainer fashion of placing the stars in three parallel rows was preferred by many Americans over the quincuncial style.
Hopkinson also designed a flag with stars arranged in a circle. It is similar to the familiar Betsy Ross Flag, except that it uses 6-pointed stars^[3]

Hopkinson's letter and response

On May 25, 1780, Hopkinson wrote a letter to the Continental Board of Admiralty mentioniong several patriotic designs he had completed during the previous three years. One was his Board of Admiralty seal, which contained a red-and-white striped shield on a blue field. Others included the Treasury Board seal, “7 devices for the Continental Currency,” and “the Flag of the United States of America.”
In the letter, Hopkinson noted that he hadn’t asked for any compensation for the designs, but was now looking for a reward: “a Quarter Cask of the public Wine.” The board sent that letter on to Congress. Hopkinson submitted another bill on June 24 for his “drawings and devices.” The first item on the list was “The Naval Flag of the United States.” The price listed was 9 pounds.
The Treasury Board turned down the request in an October 27, 1780, report to Congress. The Board cited several reasons for its action, including the fact that Hopkinson “was not the only person consulted on those exhibitions of Fancy, and therefore cannot claim the sole merit of them and not entitled to the full sum charged.”
Hopkinson’s itemized bill, moreover, is the only contemporary claim that exists for creating the American flag. Although no "Hopkinson flags" exist from the time period, it is believed that his flag contained 13 red and white stripes and 13 white stars arranged symmetrically on a field of blue. [2]

Great Seal of the United States

Francis Hopkinson provided assistance to the committee that designed the Great Seal of the United States. This is the seal impressed upon the reverse of the United States one-dollar bill. The seal contains Freemasonry images which are believed to have come from Hopkinson.

Notes

1. [1]
2. Mastai, pg. 49
3. Znamierowski says
Hopkinson also used 5-pointed stars. Pg 113.


★ Mastai, Boleslaw and Marie-Louise D'Otrange 'The Stars and the Stripes. The American Flag as Art and as History from the Birth of the Republic to the Present' ©1973. Alfred A. Knopf, New York. ISBN 0-394-47217-9

★ Znamierowski, Alfred ''The World Encyclopedia of Flags'' ©2002 Anness Publishing Limited ISBN 1-84309-042-2.

External links

★ Hopkinson's Congressional Biography

★ University of Penn. Archives on Hopkinson

★ Biography at FamousAmericans.net under his father, Thomas Hopkinson

★ image of stamp with Hopkinson's flag, stars in a circle, from the University of Georgia