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Thomas McKean (1734-1817), Signer of the Declaration of Independence from Delaware, has just won election as governor of Pennsylvania after serving 22 as chief justice of the Pennsylvania supreme court, during which time he had become increasingly conservative. He was to serve three terms as governor, the first two as a Republican, the last as a Federalist after switching parties. He is today perhaps best remembered for dismissing officials upon obtaining the governorship, and appointing new ones of his choice, gaining him the appellation of "the father of political proscription" and fastening the spoils system on Pennsylvania. In the letter, McKean responds to a congratulatory message on his electoral success: "...Your confidence in my Republican principles is not misplaced; I admire our present democratic form of government, am warmly attached to it by choice & habit, and will at all times be zealous in its support. The enemies of our glorious Revolution and happy Constitution can hope for no official power from me; no man should have a share in a government he wishes to destroy; a dagger ought not to be put into the hands of an assassin..." Provenance: A West Coast institution.