Even in 1775, most delegates still sought reconciliation, not independence.

Evidence

When John Adams later depicted only about a third of the delegates at that first congress as “true Blue” patriots, he surely included among their number those reconciliation-minded delegates such as John Dickinson who demanded colonial rights under imperial rule, because Adams still put himself in that camp. By their own depiction of their conversion to the cause, John Adams and Thomas Paine embraced independence only after the blood shed at Lexington, Concord, and during the British march back to Boston on April 19, 1775, convinced them that, to use Paine’s words, the “agreeable dream” of reconciliation had “passed away.” — Edward J. Larson, Declaring Independence, 156

Categorization

• XREF: Challenges modern hindsight reading of 1774-75 congress delegates as early separatists; relevant to how the reader’s course frames founding-era first principles. — connects to: Jefferson’s 1774 Summary View sought reconciliation under a common monarch, not independence. — Edward J. Larson, Declaring Independence, 41; Leading patriots delayed independence until all colonies could agree — Edward J. Larson, Declaring Independence, 160; Outside New England many patriots still favored reconciliation in spring 1776
• QUESTION: Worth chasing: how late did reconciliation remain the live legal-political option among the ‘true Blue’ third?

Broader Connections

• Outside New England many patriots still favored reconciliation in spring 1776 #corroborates (0.90)
• Jefferson’s 1774 Summary View sought reconciliation under a common monarch, not independence. #corroborates (0.85) — Edward J. Larson, Declaring Independence, 41
• Leading patriots delayed independence until all colonies could agree #expands (0.75) — Edward J. Larson, Declaring Independence, 160