PHILIP LIVINGSTON

Albany, New York
January 15, 1716–June 12, 1778
Supreme Sacrifice Too Soon

Most of the signers of the Declaration of Independence lived to see what they had wrought. Philip Livingston, a successful New York merchant and politician, was one of the few who did not. Livingston experienced a lot of welcome and unwelcome political changes in his lifetime, but he never got to see the independent United States he had envisioned. He epitomized the family relationships that were so prominent in the Revolutionary era. Philip was one of three Livingstons who were members of the Continental Congress, although he was the only one who signed the Declaration. The others were his brother William and his first cousin once removed Robert L. Livingston.

From Albany to Philadelphia via New York City

Philip Livingston graduated from Yale in 1737, before some of the signers of the Declaration of Independence were born. He owned a house in Manhattan, a forty-acre farm in Brooklyn Heights, and a home in Albany. He also maintained a residence in Kingston, New York, where his family moved to escape the British army when it occupied New York City. Livingston’s first political position was assistant alderman in Albany. He held the position in 1743, 1744, and 1745. After completing his political apprenticeship in Albany, he moved to New York City to enter the import business. He became an alderman there in 1754, and held the post for nine years. His next step was the New York Provincial Assembly, where he served from 1759–68. He was highly critical of British tax policies, which directly affected his life as a merchant. Livingston, like so many of his contemporaries, was not against taxes or British governance per se. He just did not like taxation without representation, and acted to stop the practice.

Quotations to Live (and Die) By!

“DEPRESSED WITH THIS PROSPECT OF INEVITABLE RUIN … WHICH, IF CARRIED INTO EXECUTION, WILL OBLIGE US TO THINK THAT NOTHING BUT EXTREME POVERTY CAN PRESERVE US FROM THE MOST INSUPPORTABLE BONDAGE. WE HOPE YOUR HONOR [THE LIEUTENANT GOVERNOR OF NEW YORK] WILL JOIN WITH US IN AN ENDEAVOR TO SECURE THAT GREAT BADGE OF ENGLISH LIBERTY, OF BEING TAXED ONLY WITH OUR OWN CONSENT …”

—PHILIP LIVINGSTON

Livingston moonlighted as a political activist in New York City while he served in the colony’s Provincial Assembly by participating as a member of several local resistance committees.

When the Continental Army was mulling a withdrawal from New York City to New Jersey in 1776, officers met at Livingston’s house on August 29 to discuss their strategy.

The patriots of New York recognized his dedication to their cause. In 1774, Livingston was elected to the First Continental Congress. As a delegate to the Second Continental Congress in 1776, he signed the Declaration of Independence. Livingston was one of the oldest signers.

Quotations to Live (and Die) By!

“MR. LIVINGSTON IS A DOWNRIGHT, STRAIGHTFORWARD MAN.”

—JOHN ADAMS

A Change of Venue

The New York Assembly sent Livingston back to the Continental Congress in 1777 and 1778. In New York, the state was writing its own constitution and Livingston attended the meeting convened to draft the document, which was adopted in Kingston, New York, on April 20, 1777. A month later, Livingston was elected to the state Senate convened under the auspices of the new constitution. He represented the southern district.

In October 1777, the New York Senate elected representatives to the Continental Congress. By that time, it had become a habit to elect Livingston. Sure enough, he received an appointment to the 1778 Continental Congress. By the time the Congress convened in May, the British army had taken possession of Philadelphia, where the Congress usually met. The venue was changed to York, ninety-five miles west of Philadelphia.

REVOLUTIONARY REVELATIONS

Philip Livingston was experiencing health problems in the late 1770s. He was suffering from “dropsy,” the quaint term used at the time to describe the swelling of soft tissues due to the accumulation of excess water.

The Final Sacrifice

Philip Livingston knew he was dying, and that there was very little chance that he would recover from his illness. He could have stayed at home and died in peace with his loved ones at his side. That was not in his plans. He made a tour of New York state to say his final goodbyes.

First, he visited Albany to wish his friends farewell. Next, he traveled to Kingston to say goodbye to his family. Only then did he undergo the arduous trek to York.

Livingston’s health went downhill as soon as he reached York. Thirty-eight days after he started his duties with the Congress, he died. Congress observed Philip Livingston’s passing with a month of mourning.

The true tragedy of Livingston’s death was the fact that he did not live to see the aftermath of the signing of the Declaration of Independence. However, those who did thanked Philip Livingston, who dedicated his life to make sure his successors lived in freedom.