The Supreme Executive Council of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania was the collective directorial executive branch of the Pennsylvanian state government between 1777 and 1790. It was headed by a president and a vice president (analogous to a governor and lieutenant governor, respectively). The best-known member of the Council was Benjamin Franklin, who also served as its sixth president.
1776 Constitution
The 1776 Constitution of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania was framed by a constitutional convention called at the urging of the Continental Congress. The convention began work in Philadelphia on July 15, 1776, less than two weeks following adoption of the Declaration of Independence. The Constitution was adopted September 28 of the same year. The document included both A Declaration of the Rights of the Inhabitants of the Commonwealth and a Plan or Frame of Government. The latter includes 47 sections, several of which deal with the formation and function of the Supreme Executive Council.
Section 3: "The supreme executive power shall be vested in a president and council."
Section 19: "For the present the supreme executive council of this state shall consist of twelve persons chosen in the following manner..."
The city of Philadelphia and the eleven counties existing at that time each elected a representative to sit on the Council. These eleven counties were Philadelphia (at that time a governmental entity distinct from the City of Philadelphia), Chester, Bucks, Lancaster, York, Cumberland, Berks, Northampton, Bedford, Northumberland, and Westmoreland. Seats were added for Washington, Fayette, Franklin, Montgomery, Dauphin, Luzerne, Huntingdon, and Allegheny as those counties were established. Many of these counties occupied considerably different and often much larger territories in the late 18th century than they presently.
Counsellors were elected to three-year terms; the terms were staggered so that one third would be contested each year. (Counsellors is the spelling used in the Constitution itself, although the word is also rendered councillors, counsellors, and councilors in other documents.) The president and vice-president of the Council were chosen from those twelve counsellors, elected to one-year terms by an annual joint ballot of the Council and the General Assembly (the state legislature), usually held in November.
Section 20: The Council and its president were given power to
appoint judges, attorneys general, naval officers, and other officers
fill offices vacant due to death, resignation, removal, or disqualification
correspond with other states
prepare business to present to the General Assembly
serve as judges on cases of impeachment
grant pardons and remit fines (except in cases of impeachment) grant reprieves in cases of treason and murder ensure that the laws and other acts of the General Assembly were carried out lay embargoes and prohibit the export of any commodity (in certain circumstances)
Additionally:
the president of council was to serve as commander in chief of the military forces of the state the Council was ordered to keep an accurate record of its proceedings
Meeting place and time
The 1776 Constitution stipulated that the Council meet at the same time and location as the General Assembly. In practice, the Council sat year-round: there was no formal cycle of sessions (e.g. 110th United States Congress) and no specific date for the start of term of councilors or council officers.
The Supreme Executive Council formally convened March 4, 1777. The first president and vice-president were elected the following day. The Council sat in the Pennsylvania State House in Philadelphia, now known as Independence Hall. It met in what had been the Governor's Council Chamber during British rule. The Executive Council, along with the General Assembly, moved to Lancaster, Pennsylvania ahead of the British occupation of Philadelphia in the fall of 1777—the last meeting in Philadelphia took place on September 23 and the first in Lancaster on October 1. The Council returned to Philadelphia June 26, 1778.
The Council was replaced by a single governor on December 21, 1790.