Remembering John Dickinson: “One of the great worthies of the revolution”
“We cannot be happy without being FREE.”
Those words from John Dickinson, known as the “Penman of the Revolution,” reflect his belief that LIBERTY is the foundation of everything else.
Once almost as famous as Benjamin Franklin, Dickinson is almost totally forgotten today. He was a fierce defender of natural rights, the father of the Articles of Confederation, a leading opponent of the Stamp Act, an influential framer of the Constitution, and much more.
To honor his birthday – November 13, 1732 – we’re diving into the life and legacy of one of America’s most underrated and ignored founding fathers.
PROPERTY RIGHTS AND CONSENT
In the 12th and last of his Letters from a Farmer in Pennsylvania, first published in 1767 in response to the Townshend duties, the Quartering Act, the Declaratory Act and more – Dickinson put a heavy emphasis on liberty, property rights and consent.
“Let these truths be indelibly impressed on our minds – that we cannot be HAPPY, without being FREE – that we cannot be free, without being secure in our property – that we cannot be secure in our property, if, without our consent, others may, as by right, take it away.”
The letters were quickly published in pamphlet form and reprinted in almost all of the colonial newspapers. They were read widely both in the colonies, and in Europe as well, primarily Britain and France. This quickly made Dickinson possibly the 2nd most famous American after Benjamin Franklin. At least at the time.
The French philosopher Voltaire, after reading the Letters, compared Dickinson to Cicero, the celebrated Roman statesman and philosopher.
THE PENMAN
The celebrity he won through publication of the letters ensured that he would be the leading penman of both the first and second Continental Congresses of 1774 and 1775 – and he wrote a big majority of their major documents. This included petitions to the Parliament, the Crown, the British people, the Olive Branch Petition – and, with Thomas Jefferson, the incredibly important Declaration of the Causes and Necessity of Taking Up Arms.
Passed unanimously by the second Continental Congress on July 6, 1775, this explained to the world the reason why the people were fighting BACK against the British. Just over two months after Lexington and Concord and the “shot heard ‘round the world,”
With a strong natural rights foundation, they pointed out that despite dedication and allegiance to the mother country, “our attachment to no nation on Earth should supplant our attachment to liberty.”
BACKGROUND
Dickinson was born on Nov. 13, 1732 in Maryland, but his family soon after moved to Delaware, where you can still visit the family homestead. He was homeschooled, and was educated deeply in the classics – which is reflected in his many of his writings that cite people such as Aristotle, Cicero, Locke and others.
He went to London to study law, and returned home to win a seat in the Delaware Assembly at age 26. Since his law practice was in Philadelphia, he soon won a seat in the Pennsylvania Assembly as well, and that’s where his first important stand began.
At the time, both Benjamin Franklin and Joseph Galloway were pushing to revoke the Penn family’s charter, and turn Pennsylvania into a royal colony. Dickinson opposed it – not because the Penns were just awesome, but because despite all the problems with the proprietors, the people could not trust the king and his ministers to do the right thing either. And, a far off government would be even more dangerous.
This caused Dickinson’s popularity to take a big hit early on, as Franklin and Co were quite popular and influential. But it didn’t take long for his views to be seen as almost prophetic, as the British soon after passed the hated Stamp Act.
STAMP ACT
Dickinson became the primary drafter of Pennsylvania’s anti-Stamp Act resolutions and was sent as a delegate to the Stamp Act Congress. There, his writing and speaking skills got him the job of primary author of the resolutions of the Stamp Act Congress, the Declaration of Rights and Grievances, which was the first official document drawn up and agreed upon by a combination of American colonies.
Dickinson also provided opponents of the Stamp Act some of the first practical advice on how to stop it – mass non-compliance using the Quaker method of civil disobedience.
He made this case in his influential 1765 broadside urging non-compliance with the Stamp Act.
“IF you comply with the Act by using Stamped Papers, you fix, you rivet perpetual Chains upon your unhappy Country. You unnecessarily, voluntarily establish the detestable Precedent, which those who have forged your Fetters ardently wish for, to varnish the future Exercise of this new claimed Authority.”
INDEPENDENCE
Dickinson’s reputation suffered with modern historians mainly due to his refusal to sign the Declaration of Independence. However, he primarily opposed the timing – warning that such a momentous effort required an established constitution (he was chair of the committee drafting the Articles of Confederation) and strong foreign alliances – neither of which existed as of yet.
Despite knowing he was almost alone in his position, he stuck to his principles.
“I know that the tide of the passions and prejudices of the people at large is strongly in favor of independence. I know too, that I have acquired a character and some popularity with them – both of which I shall risk by opposing this favorite measure. But I had rather risk both than speak or vote contrary to the dictates of my judgments and conscience.”
-Speech against the motion of Independence
When the vote was taken, rather than voting against his conscience, or impeding the efforts of the cause, Dickinson absented himself from the proceedings, so the vote for Independence would still be unanimous.
TAKING UP ARMS
Despite his refusal to sign the Declaration of Independence, he was one of the few members of the First or Second Continental Congresses to take up arms in the American Revolution.
Dickinson had already organized the first battalion of troops raised in Philadelphia. In February 1776, he led a detachment of the so-called Associators to support colonial troops in New York. His unit was assigned to the Flying Camp, a mobile reserve that supported George Washington with around 10,000 men who could be called up to join the continentals holding New York City.
Just days after the signing of the Declaration of Independence, Dickinson resumed command and his regiment and marched to Elizabethtown, N.J. to help protect the area from a British incursion from Staten Island.
He later re-enlisted as a private in the Kent County militia. This was something almost unheard of at the time for a man of his stature. He was soon offered a promotion to brigadier-general, but turned it down as well.
Despite claims that he totally opposed independence, Dickinson’s actions as a private on the front lines challenge this notion and show it’s false, at best.
And if that wasn’t enough – the British thought Dickinson was enemy #1. Near the end of 1777, when they took Philadelphia, he narrowly escaped with his family before the British, believing Dickinson was “the ruler of America,” as John Adams put it, burned his estate to the ground.
Also in 1777, Dickinson took what was considered another highly unusual step at the time: he liberated all the people he enslaved. At first it was a conditional freedom, he eventually freed them all unconditionally. Dickinson was the only Founding Father to free his slaves prior to 1786 when others also began doing so, except for Benjamin Franklin, who freed his slaves by 1770.
ARTICLES AND CONSTITUTION
As mentioned above, on top of all these efforts, Dickinson also chaired the congressional committee that wrote the Articles of Confederation. Here, we call him the “Father of the Articles of Confederation, and the first draft of the document that survives today is in his handwriting.
Dickinson was also a highly influential framer of the Constitution during the Philadelphia Convention of 1787. Just three weeks in, Dickinson put together an outline of his proposal, which included a number of features the delegates adopted, including:
- Enumerated powers rather than general powers in the federal government
- Selection of Senators by the state legislatures
- Restrictions on the states issuing paper money
- Guarantees of trial by jury and habeas corpus
- Equal representation for states in the Senate
Dickinson also saw the people of the several states as an essential – and active – check on federal power through a process James Madison later referred to as interposition.
During the ratification debates, he wrote influential essays under the pen name FABIUS, after the Roman general known for resisting Hannibal. In his fourth essay, for example, he reiterated something we should all know – words on paper don’t enforce themselves.
“A good constitution promotes, but not always produces a good ad-ministration.”
Dickinson recognized some important maxims about human nature and the power of government. And no matter how good a constitution may be, you might still end up with a bad administration.
“But, notwithstanding, it must be granted, that a bad administration may take place. What is then to be done?”
The answer “is instantly found,” he wrote, “before the supreme sovereignty of the people.”
“IT IS THEIR DUTY TO WATCH, AND THEIR RIGHT TO TAKE CARE, THAT THE CONSTITUTION BE PRESERVED; Or in the Roman phrase on perilous occasions—TO PROVIDE, THAT THE REPUBLIC RECEIVE NO DAMAGE.” [caps and emphasis in original]
ONE OF THE GREATS
After ratification, it wasn’t long before Dickinson was involved in drafting another important document, where he was one of the main authors of the Delaware Constitution of 1792. But he soon after retired from most of public life. During his later years, he and his wife Polly were heavily involved in local philanthropy efforts, with a special emphasis on building and helping build schools for poor children.
He continued to follow the politics of the Union and kept a close correspondence with his long-time ally and friend, Thomas Jefferson. Most historians today seem to be surprised that a federalist supporter of the Constitution was such an ardent Jeffersonian Republican. But they shouldn’t be, with even an introductory understanding of his life’s work and his support for a structure of government based on federalism.
John Dickinson died on Feb. 14, 1808 – when news of his passing was made in Congress, members resolved to wear black armbands in his honor. And Pres. Thomas Jefferson wrote the following tribute:
“A more estimable man, or truer patriot, could not have left us. Among the first of the advocates for the rights of his country when assailed by Great Britain, he continued to the last the orthodox advocate of the true principles of our new government, and his name will be consecrated in history as one of the great worthies of the revolution.”
As historian Forrest McDonald put it, “the quantity, quality, and circulation of Dickinson’s writings on behalf of the American cause surpassed those of any others.”
A long-time advocate of non-compliance to keep government in check, Dickinson also recognized there were times when you need to fight back, and he put his own life on the line to do just that. He was a leader in freeing people from slavery, was the lead author of the Articles of Confederation, an influential framer and supporter of the Constitution, and much more.
But, he also recognized that constitutions don’t enforce themselves, which is why he strongly emphasized that it’s up to the people of the several states to interpose and get the job done.
Putting that all together, it’s no wonder the government-run schools never teach us much about John Dickinson, “one of the great worthies of the revolution.”
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