John Wilkes Kittera

John Wilkes Kittera (November 1752 – June 6, 1801) was an American lawyer and Federalist politician from Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, who served a decade in the United States House of Representatives during the formative years of the federal government. He was born near Blue Ball, Pennsylvania, in what was then Lancaster County, a region of growing agricultural and commercial importance in colonial and early national Pennsylvania. Little is recorded about his early family background or youth, but his later professional standing suggests that he received a solid education for the period, sufficient to qualify him for the legal profession and public life.

Kittera pursued the study of law and was admitted to the bar, establishing himself as a practicing attorney in Lancaster County. As a lawyer, he became part of the emerging professional class that played a central role in local and state affairs in post-Revolutionary Pennsylvania. His legal practice and growing reputation in the community provided the foundation for his entry into politics at the national level, as the new federal institutions created by the Constitution of 1787 began to take shape.

Kittera’s national political career began with his election as a Representative from Pennsylvania to the United States House of Representatives. He was first elected to the Second Congress and took his seat on March 4, 1791. He was subsequently reelected and served continuously through the Third, Fourth, Fifth, and Sixth Congresses, remaining in office until March 3, 1801. During this period he aligned with the Federalist Party, which supported a strong national government and the financial and diplomatic policies associated with Alexander Hamilton and President John Adams. Representing Pennsylvania at a time of intense partisan development, Kittera participated in legislative debates over issues such as federal finance, foreign policy, and the scope of federal authority.

While serving in the House of Representatives, Kittera was selected for a prominent role in one of the earliest major constitutional confrontations between the legislative and executive branches. He was appointed one of the House’s impeachment managers in the impeachment proceedings against Senator William Blount of Tennessee, which began in 1797. In this capacity, he helped present the case of the House of Representatives before the Senate in what became the first impeachment trial of a United States senator. His appointment as an impeachment manager reflected the confidence his colleagues placed in his legal abilities and his understanding of constitutional questions.

In addition to his legislative work, Kittera also held a significant federal legal office. President John Adams appointed him as United States attorney for the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, a position that placed him at the center of federal law enforcement and litigation in one of the nation’s most important judicial districts. Serving in this capacity, he represented the federal government in prosecutions and civil matters, further reinforcing his role in the early federal legal system. His dual experience as both legislator and federal prosecutor marked him as a figure of considerable influence in Pennsylvania’s Federalist establishment.

Kittera remained active in public life until the end of his congressional service in 1801. He died on June 6, 1801, in Pennsylvania. His family continued to be involved in public affairs; he was the father of Thomas Kittera, who would later serve as a member of the United States House of Representatives from Pennsylvania in the early nineteenth century. Through both his own service and that of his son, John Wilkes Kittera contributed to the early political and legal development of the United States during the nation’s first decades under the Constitution.