Congress abandoned reconciliation as events outpaced Dickinson’s framing

Evidence

On January 24, 1776, Congress duly formed a committee led by Dickinson and stacked with moderates to draft such an address, but they spent three weeks trying to craft an argument that could win majority approval. “We are desirous to continue Subjects: But we are determined to continue Freemen,” the final draft concluded. “That the Colonies may continue connected, as they have been, with Britain, is our second wish: Our first is—that America may be free.” During the weeks wasted in drafting language that should have come easily to a wordsmith such as Dickinson, Congress learned of the patriot defeat at Quebec, and more colonists read Common Sense and heard about the burning of Norfolk. In light of these developments, Dickinson’s address no longer fit the popular mood, and Congress tabled it indefinitely. — Edward J. Larson, Declaring Independence, 126