Cooperative Living July 2022 - 8

HOLIDA HABITATS
One in a series of holiday-inspired
destinations in co-op country.
This month: the Fourth of July
America's First
Political Celebrity
by Gregg MacDonald, Staff Writer
John Dickinson of Delaware
J
ohn Dickinson just might be the
most important Founding Father
you've never heard of.
Although in his day, he was one of the
most famous of them all, he is much less
known today primarily because he refused
to sign the Declaration of Independence.
Scholars have largely attributed Dickinson's refusal to
do so as cowardice, indecisiveness or Loyalism. Jane E.
Calvert, associate professor of history at the University
of Kentucky, has a different theory.
Calvert, founding director and chief editor of the John
Dickinson Writing Project, is writing a trilogy of books
about Dickinson, and she says the actual reason that he
refused to sign is likely a bit more complex.
Signatures from
The Constituition
A TRUE REVOLUTIONARY
Dickinson became known as the " Penman of the Revolution "
for his Farmer letters and his rewriting of the Articles of
Confederation, where for the first time, he named the new
government " The United States of America. "
But Calvert points out that scholars have largely missed
Dickinson's true message, which was one of attempting to
achieve freedom through peace and not war.
" Th y have failed to observe that, although his writings
led to the American Revolution, not one of them advocated
separation from Britain or violent protest of any sort, " she says.
Calvert says that Dickinson lived among Quakers his entire
life, but never became one. " Quakers call people like us 'fellow
travelers', " she says. " People who promote a lot of the same
causes and hold a lot of the same beliefs, but for some reason
or other, don't want to take the plunge. In his case, I believe
it was because he was not a thorough-going pacifist; he believed
in the lawfulness of defensive war. "
At the same time, Calvert says Dickinson wanted to resolve
the conflict between Britain and American colonists, without
separation or war of any sort, due to his Quaker-like sensibilities.
This, she says, is why he adamantly refused to sign the
CL
BEGINNINGS
Dickinson was born Nov. 8, 1732 in Talbot County,
Md. In 1741, he moved with his family to his father's
plantation, Poplar Hall, on the St. Jones Neck just southeast
of Dover, the present site of the Dickinson Plantation in
Kent County, Del.
Dickinson's political career began at age 27 in 1759
when he was elected to the Delaware Assembly representing
Kent County; his service lasted 34 years until his retirement.
In 1767-1768, he gained worldwide fame as an author
for his " Letters from a Farmer in Pennsylvania to the
Inhabitants of the British Colonies " in American newspapers.
In them, Dickinson protested the Townshend Acts,
saying they represented taxation without representation.
" 'Letters from a Farmer' was the first resounding call
for American unity in the face of British oppression, " says
Calvert. " And they propelled John Dickinson into becoming
America's first political celebrity. "
6 ● Cooperative Living ●
July 2022
Declaration of Independence, but later agreed to sign the
Constitution of the United States, though because of failing
health, friend and fellow delegate George Reed signed for him.
" Of all the Founding Fathers, he was the only one to free
all his slaves during his lifetime and work for abolition, " says
Calvert. " He was also the only one to advocate for women's
rights and for Native American rights. "
DICKINSON'S CHILDHOOD HOME TODAY
Th John Dickinson Plantation, where Dickinson grew
up and which he owned until his death, is in Kent County,
Del. The property is open to the public and admission
is free.
Site supervisor Gloria Henry says the plantation was
home to a variety of people. " In addition to Mr. Dickinson's
story, we also tell the stories of the tenant farmers, indentured
servants, free and enslaved Black men, women, and children
who lived, worked and died on the plantation. " 
For more information, go to history. delaware.gov/
john-dickinson-plantation.
co-opliving.com
PHOTOS COURTESY FRIENDS OF DICKINSON MANSION
PHOTO COURTESY DIVISION OF HISTORICAL AND CULTURAL AFFAIRS
http://www.delaware.gov/ http://www.co-opliving.com
Cooperative Living July 2022

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