Of all the figures that intrigue me in American history, John Dickinson has always fascinated me the most. Widely known for his Letters from a Farmer in Pennsylvania, Dickinson helped to raise awareness and colonial sentiment against unfair taxation practices by the British. Dickinson would go on to be a signer of the Constitution, and serve as the President of both Delaware and Pennsylvania.
Click “Read More” to continue this article.
Dickinson’s greatest accomplishment was not leading Delaware and Pennsylvania, nor was it his donation of land for the creation of Dickinson College. Dickinson’s Letters were crucial in shaping the fight for fair and just taxation, but they were not his greatest gift to society either; Dickinson’s greatest contribution to our republic came during the summer of 1776, when the Pennsylvanian delegate to the Second Continental Congress refused to to sign the newly approved Declaration of Independence, in favor of a reconciliation with Britain.
Yet Dickinson, who believed that extending the hand to King George and his empire was the best solution for prosperity, left the congress and joined the Continental Army to fight under General Washington’s command against the mother country he held so near and dear to his heart.
In fighting for his new country, John Dickinson set the standard for all: he disagreed with the method or specific battle that his fellow citizens were fighting, but loved America as much as the fifty six other signers of the Declaration of Independence.
Dickinson understood that the members of the newly united thirteen colonies were all in the same crusade for the same principles: economic justice, fair representation, and security. He put his reservations on hold to stand with his country, and more importantly, his American brethren to fight for the same ideals.
I do not mean to suggest that dissent should be put on hold for love of country–I mean to suggest quite the opposite. John Dickinson made his disagreement known in the most public of ways, that history may never forgive him for. Yet the Farmer from Pennsylvania knew that the ideals his country was founded on, for which so many of our founding fathers lost their lives, were always worth fighting for.
I am often troubled by so many, particularly of my generation, who are conflicted on how they feel about America. They hold in high regard its Constitution, and the ideals on which it was founded–but have a trouble believing in the notion of American exceptionalism, when so many across our country suffer day in an day out. They have a hard time believing that we stand above the rest of the world when 47 million Americans live without health insurance. They can’t fathom a world where veterans return from war to live on the streets. They can’t understand the idea of a country whose most recent leadership was morally bankrupt–embarrassing us abroad and bringing our view in the world’s eyes to an all time low.
On the campaign trail, President Obama frequently quoted Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s famous statement, “The moral arc of the universe is long, but it bends towards justice.”
America has always moved towards equality and the right place to be; it’s part of our identity. Almost every struggle in our nation’s history, be it civil rights, gender equality, you name it–it cost us years and lives to reach equality, and in almost every case, we are still working to perfect the situation.
To be discouraged is understandable, but our country has always moved to a standard of justice and equality.
The genius of the framers was to institute a system of majority rule government with protections for the minority. In providing for competing interests, no sole group can take control, and interests must always work for a compromise. In the health care debate, neither Insurance Companies nor Labor Unions must dominate or can dominate the policy debate; our system provides for competition, always protecting the interests of every American, whether wealthy or destitute.
I believe that there is something fundamentally special about our county–perhaps something divine, our underdog battle for independence serving as a prime example. When it seems as if America’s flaws outweigh her ideals, we must look to John Dickinson who understood his new nation’s ideals, and fought for America in his own way.
America is not without its faults; but its fundamental ideals shall always stand above its errors. In each unjust situation, our country’s core principals have always brought us to an eventual reconciliation. It may take time, tears, sweat, and blood, but in every situation, America will remedy an unjustifiable situation.
Thomas Jefferson is given credit for the Declaration of the Causes and Necessity of Taking up Arms. But as Dickinson wrote, in a quote attributed to Jefferson, “Our cause is just, our union is perfect.”
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“Our cause is just, our union is perfect.”
In Commentary, Independence Day on July 4, 2009 at 2:43 amJohn Dickinson
Of all the figures that intrigue me in American history, John Dickinson has always fascinated me the most. Widely known for his Letters from a Farmer in Pennsylvania, Dickinson helped to raise awareness and colonial sentiment against unfair taxation practices by the British. Dickinson would go on to be a signer of the Constitution, and serve as the President of both Delaware and Pennsylvania.
Click “Read More” to continue this article.
Dickinson’s greatest accomplishment was not leading Delaware and Pennsylvania, nor was it his donation of land for the creation of Dickinson College. Dickinson’s Letters were crucial in shaping the fight for fair and just taxation, but they were not his greatest gift to society either; Dickinson’s greatest contribution to our republic came during the summer of 1776, when the Pennsylvanian delegate to the Second Continental Congress refused to to sign the newly approved Declaration of Independence, in favor of a reconciliation with Britain.
Yet Dickinson, who believed that extending the hand to King George and his empire was the best solution for prosperity, left the congress and joined the Continental Army to fight under General Washington’s command against the mother country he held so near and dear to his heart.
In fighting for his new country, John Dickinson set the standard for all: he disagreed with the method or specific battle that his fellow citizens were fighting, but loved America as much as the fifty six other signers of the Declaration of Independence.
Dickinson understood that the members of the newly united thirteen colonies were all in the same crusade for the same principles: economic justice, fair representation, and security. He put his reservations on hold to stand with his country, and more importantly, his American brethren to fight for the same ideals.
I do not mean to suggest that dissent should be put on hold for love of country–I mean to suggest quite the opposite. John Dickinson made his disagreement known in the most public of ways, that history may never forgive him for. Yet the Farmer from Pennsylvania knew that the ideals his country was founded on, for which so many of our founding fathers lost their lives, were always worth fighting for.
I am often troubled by so many, particularly of my generation, who are conflicted on how they feel about America. They hold in high regard its Constitution, and the ideals on which it was founded–but have a trouble believing in the notion of American exceptionalism, when so many across our country suffer day in an day out. They have a hard time believing that we stand above the rest of the world when 47 million Americans live without health insurance. They can’t fathom a world where veterans return from war to live on the streets. They can’t understand the idea of a country whose most recent leadership was morally bankrupt–embarrassing us abroad and bringing our view in the world’s eyes to an all time low.
On the campaign trail, President Obama frequently quoted Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s famous statement, “The moral arc of the universe is long, but it bends towards justice.”
America has always moved towards equality and the right place to be; it’s part of our identity. Almost every struggle in our nation’s history, be it civil rights, gender equality, you name it–it cost us years and lives to reach equality, and in almost every case, we are still working to perfect the situation.
To be discouraged is understandable, but our country has always moved to a standard of justice and equality.
The genius of the framers was to institute a system of majority rule government with protections for the minority. In providing for competing interests, no sole group can take control, and interests must always work for a compromise. In the health care debate, neither Insurance Companies nor Labor Unions must dominate or can dominate the policy debate; our system provides for competition, always protecting the interests of every American, whether wealthy or destitute.
I believe that there is something fundamentally special about our county–perhaps something divine, our underdog battle for independence serving as a prime example. When it seems as if America’s flaws outweigh her ideals, we must look to John Dickinson who understood his new nation’s ideals, and fought for America in his own way.
America is not without its faults; but its fundamental ideals shall always stand above its errors. In each unjust situation, our country’s core principals have always brought us to an eventual reconciliation. It may take time, tears, sweat, and blood, but in every situation, America will remedy an unjustifiable situation.
Thomas Jefferson is given credit for the Declaration of the Causes and Necessity of Taking up Arms. But as Dickinson wrote, in a quote attributed to Jefferson, “Our cause is just, our union is perfect.”
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