Dickinson opposed declaring independence as dangerously premature and provocative
Evidence
John Dickinson began the session with an extended, prepared address that he titled in his surviving notes as “Arguments against the Independance of these Colonies.” Listing the benefits of delay and the costs of “Rashness,” he spoke at length of the “dreadful” fate of an early “rupture” with Britain, warning that a “Declaration of Independence” would gain the colonies nothing and cause the British to fight “with more Severity.” “When our Enemies are pressing us so vigorously, When We are in so wretched a State of preparation, When the Sentiments & Designs of our expected Friends are so unknown to Us, I am alarm’d at this Declaration being so vehemently pres[en]t[ed],” Dickinson asserted. “Why not wait till [we are] better prepared?” — Edward J. Larson, Declaring Independence, 217
Categorization
- XREF: Dickinson’s caution-and-delay argument is the mirror image of the prudential-necessity frame the Declaration itself later deploys to justify immediate action. — connects to: Dickinson argued rupture from Britain would leave Americans bleeding and unmoored