Virtual Museum of Art | Virtual Museum of History | Virtual Public Library | Virtual Science Center | Virtual Museum of Natural History | Virtual War Museum
   You are in: Museum of History >> Hall of USA >> US Constitution >> John Dickinson





The Seven Flags of the New Orleans Tri-Centennial

For More Information go to New Orleans 300th Birthday


 


John Dickinson

1732 - 1808

Delaware Delegate

John Dickinson Patriot - A Stan Klos Biography


Click on an image to view full-sized


 

John Dickinson

 

DICKINSON, John, publicist, born in Maryland, 13 November 1732; died in Wilmington, Del., 14 February 1808. He was the son of Samuel D. Dickinson, who removed to Delaware, became chief justice of the County of Kent, and died, 6 July 1760, aged seventy-one. John studied law in Philadelphia, and subsequently passed three years in reading in the Temple in London. On his return he practiced successfully in Philadelphia. His first appearances in public life were as a member of the Pennsylvania assembly in 1764, and of the Colonial congress convened in New York to oppose the stamp act in 1765. In the latter year he began to write against the policy of the British government, and, being a member of the 1st Continental congress (1774), was the author of a series of state papers put forth by that body, which won for him a glowing tribute from Lord Chatham. Among them were the " Address to the Inhabitants of Quebec," the first "Petition to the King," the "Address to the Armies," the second "Petition to the King," and the "Address" to the several states. Of the first "Petition," which has been credited to Lee, it has been said that "it will remain an imperishable monument to the glory of its author and of the assembly of which he was a member, so long as fervid and manly eloquence and chaste and elegant composition shall be appreciated." In June 1776, he opposed the adoption of the Declaration of Independence because he doubted the wisdom of the measure "without some precursory trials of our strength," and before the terms of the confederation were settled and foreign assistance made certain.

When the question came to be voted upon, he absented himself intentionally, but proved that his patriotism was not inferior to that of those who differed with him, by enlisting as a private in the army and remaining until the end of his term of service. He served again as a private in the summer of 1777 in Delaware, and in October of the same year was commissioned as a brigadier general. In April 1779, he was elected to congress from Delaware, and in May wrote another " Address to the States." In 1780 he was chosen a member of the Delaware assembly, and in the following year elected president of the state. From 1782 till 1785 he filled the same office in Pennsylvania, and served as a member of the convention that framed the Federal constitution, in 1788 he wrote nine letters over the signature of "Pabius," urging the adoption of the constitution, and these were followed in 1797 by a series of fourteen, written to promote a friendly feeling toward France. In 1783 he was influential in founding and largely endowed Dickinson College, Carlisle, Pennsylvania At this time he was living in Wilmington, Del., where he collected his political writings in 1801. The remaining seven years of his life were passed in retirement. Besides the writings mentioned, he was the author of "Letters from a Pennsylvania Farmer to the Inhabitants of the British Colonies" (Philadelphia, 1767; reprinted, with a preface by Dr. Franklin, London, 1768; French translation, Paris, 1769). In 1774 appeared his "Essay on the Constitutional Power of Great Britain over the Colonies in America." In 1796 he received the degree of LL. D. from the College of New Jersey.

His brother, Philemon Dickinson, soldier, born in Croisedore, Talbot County, Maryland, 5 April 1739; died near Trenton, New Jersey, 4 February 1809, went to Dover, Del., with his father in 1740, and studied under Dr. Allison in Philadelphia. He then went to live on his farm near Trenton, New Jersey, and, though possessed of an ample fortune. hazarded it by embracing the patriot cause. He entered the army as colonel of the Hunterdon County battalion in July 1775, and was commissioned brigadier general on 19 October In 1.776 he was a delegate to the provincial congress of New Jersey and member of a committee that drafted a constitution with a clause affirming the independence of New Jersey, which was adopted on 2 July 1776. On 20 January 1777, with about 400 raw troops, who had to wade waist deep through a River to make the attack, he surprised and defeated a large foraging party near Somerset Court House, New Jersey, capturing a few prisoners, forty wagons, and about a hundred English draught horses. He was made major general of the New Jersey forces on 6 June 1777, and on 27 November made an attack on Staten Island, for which Washington thanked him.

During the occupation of Trenton by the Hessians, the enemy plundered General Dickinson's estate. He led the New Jersey troops at the battle of Monmouth, where he displayed great bravery, and was specially mentioned by Washington in his report to congress. In 1778'9 he was chief signal officer for the middle department. On 4 July 1778, he was second to General Cadwalader in his duel with General Conway. He was a delegate to congress in 1782'3 from Delaware, where he owned property, and in 1783'4 was vice president of the New Jersey state council. He was a member of the commission appointed by congress in December 1784, to select a site for the national capital, and, on the resignation of William Patterson as U. S. senator from New Jersey, was chosen to fill his place, serving from 6 December 1790, till 2 March 1793. From this time till his death he lived quietly at his countryseat, "The Hermitage," which was the resort of all the distinguished men who passed through Trenton.


Start your search on John Dickinson.


The Congressional Evolution of the United States Henry Middleton


Unauthorized Site: This site and its contents are not affiliated, connected, associated with or authorized by the individual, family, friends, or trademarked entities utilizing any part or the subject's entire name. Any official or affiliated sites that are related to this subject will be hyper linked below upon submission and Evisum, Inc. review.

Research Links

  • National Archives Constitution
  • The U.S. Constitution Online
  • The US Constitution Past, Present, and Future

    Copyright© 2000 by Evisum Inc.TM. All rights reserved.
    Evisum Inc.TM Privacy Policy

  • Search:

    About Us

     

     

    Image Use

    Please join us in our mission to incorporate The Congressional Evolution of the United States of America discovery-based curriculum into the classroom of every primary and secondary school in the United States of America by July 2, 2026, the nation’s 250th birthday. , the United States of America: We The People Click Here

     

    Historic Documents

    Articles of Association

    Articles of Confederation 1775

    Articles of Confederation

    Article the First

    Coin Act

    Declaration of Independence

    Declaration of Independence

    Emancipation Proclamation

    Gettysburg Address

    Monroe Doctrine

    Northwest Ordinance

    No Taxation Without Representation

    Thanksgiving Proclamations

    Mayflower Compact

    Treaty of Paris 1763

    Treaty of Paris 1783

    Treaty of Versailles

    United Nations Charter

    United States In Congress Assembled

    US Bill of Rights

    United States Constitution

    US Continental Congress

    US Constitution of 1777

    US Constitution of 1787

    Virginia Declaration of Rights

     

    Historic Events

    Battle of New Orleans

    Battle of Yorktown

    Cabinet Room

    Civil Rights Movement

    Federalist Papers

    Fort Duquesne

    Fort Necessity

    Fort Pitt

    French and Indian War

    Jumonville Glen

    Manhattan Project

    Stamp Act Congress

    Underground Railroad

    US Hospitality

    US Presidency

    Vietnam War

    War of 1812

    West Virginia Statehood

    Woman Suffrage

    World War I

    World War II

     

    Is it Real?



    Declaration of
    Independence

    Digital Authentication
    Click Here

     

    America’s Four Republics
    The More or Less United States

     
    Continental Congress
    U.C. Presidents

    Peyton Randolph

    Henry Middleton

    Peyton Randolph

    John Hancock

      

    Continental Congress
    U.S. Presidents

    John Hancock

    Henry Laurens

    John Jay

    Samuel Huntington

      

    Constitution of 1777
    U.S. Presidents

    Samuel Huntington

    Samuel Johnston
    Elected but declined the office

    Thomas McKean

    John Hanson

    Elias Boudinot

    Thomas Mifflin

    Richard Henry Lee

    John Hancock
    [
    Chairman David Ramsay]

    Nathaniel Gorham

    Arthur St. Clair

    Cyrus Griffin

      

    Constitution of 1787
    U.S. Presidents

    George Washington 

    John Adams
    Federalist Party


    Thomas Jefferson
    Republican* Party

    James Madison 
    Republican* Party

    James Monroe
    Republican* Party

    John Quincy Adams
    Republican* Party
    Whig Party

    Andrew Jackson
    Republican* Party
    Democratic Party


    Martin Van Buren
    Democratic Party

    William H. Harrison
    Whig Party

    John Tyler
    Whig Party

    James K. Polk
    Democratic Party

    David Atchison**
    Democratic Party

    Zachary Taylor
    Whig Party

    Millard Fillmore
    Whig Party

    Franklin Pierce
    Democratic Party

    James Buchanan
    Democratic Party


    Abraham Lincoln 
    Republican Party

    Jefferson Davis***
    Democratic Party

    Andrew Johnson
    Republican Party

    Ulysses S. Grant 
    Republican Party

    Rutherford B. Hayes
    Republican Party

    James A. Garfield
    Republican Party

    Chester Arthur 
    Republican Party

    Grover Cleveland
    Democratic Party

    Benjamin Harrison
    Republican Party

    Grover Cleveland 
    Democratic Party

    William McKinley
    Republican Party

    Theodore Roosevelt
    Republican Party

    William H. Taft 
    Republican Party

    Woodrow Wilson
    Democratic Party

    Warren G. Harding 
    Republican Party

    Calvin Coolidge
    Republican Party

    Herbert C. Hoover
    Republican Party

    Franklin D. Roosevelt
    Democratic Party

    Harry S. Truman
    Democratic Party

    Dwight D. Eisenhower
    Republican Party

    John F. Kennedy
    Democratic Party

    Lyndon B. Johnson 
    Democratic Party 

    Richard M. Nixon 
    Republican Party

    Gerald R. Ford 
    Republican Party

    James Earl Carter, Jr. 
    Democratic Party

    Ronald Wilson Reagan 
    Republican Party

    George H. W. Bush
    Republican Party 

    William Jefferson Clinton
    Democratic Party

    George W. Bush 
    Republican Party

    Barack H. Obama
    Democratic Party

    Please Visit

    Forgotten Founders
    Norwich, CT

    Annapolis Continental
    Congress Society


    U.S. Presidency
    & Hospitality

    © Stan Klos

     

     

     

     


    Virtual Museum of Art | Virtual Museum of History | Virtual Public Library | Virtual Science Center | Virtual Museum of Natural History | Virtual War Museum