This Day in History: July 2nd of 1776 and John Dickinson
Channel: Voyages in Time
Date: 03/07/2021

Welcome to a Voyage in Time!

On this day in history:

On July 2nd, 1776, John Dickinson, representative from the colony of Pennsylvania at the Continental Congress, abstains from voting for American Independence.

John Dickinson was a lawyer who achieved notoriety when he published the essays “Letters from a Farmer in Pennsylvania” in 1767. The letters were in response to the Townshend Acts, a series of acts passed by the British Parliament which did things from punishing New York Colony for earlier defiance, to making taxes for extra revenue on glass, tea, and more. 
In Dickinson’s letters, he argued that the British Parliament did not have the authority to raise revenue from the colony and that these acts were an attempt to create a precedent of increased imposition of British control over the colonies. Dickinson argued that these acts should be fought against via petitions  to the British and reduction in the purchase of British goods. These letters were one of the most significant documents in the buildup to the American Revolution. 
In 1775, at the 2nd Continental Congress, John Dickinson was the author of the Olive Branch Petition to King George III. It was attempt to reconcile the mother nation and colonies in an amicable way. It would be rejected following King George refusing to even read it. 
During the Continental Congress Session of 1776, Dickinson argued for reconciliation with the British Government and was against violence as a solution to the disputes. Due to these views, he would abstain from voting on American Independence on July 2nd, as following its passage, he would also abstain from voting on the wording of the declaration on July 4th. Following the Declaration of Independence, he left the Congress and would serve in the militias during the Revolutionary War despite his previous stances. Him and his wife’s property would be burned down during the Battle of Germantown. He also freed all his slaves.

Following the war, he would serve the new Republic in various ways including drafting the Articles of Confederation, serving as a congressmen, and serving as the president of Delaware.


Thank you for watching today’s video on this day in history. Happy technically Independence Day to my American Viewers! I’ll see you again tomorrow, in The Past!

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Music Used:

Winter Chimes by Kevin MacLeod Creative Commons — Attribution 3.0 Unported— CC BY 3.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/... Music provided by FreeMusic109 https://youtube.com/FreeMusic109