Born November 8, 1732
Talbot County, Maryland
Died February 14, 1808
Wilmington, North Carolina

Politician, lawyer, writer, soldier

"To escape from the protection we have in British rule by declaring independence would be like destroying a house before we have another in winter."
Portrait: John Dickinson. Reproduced courtesy of the Library of Congress.

John Dickinson helped guide American public opinion in the years before the American Revolution. He opposed British taxation of the colonies but also opposed the use of force against mother England. He was widely admired for his mastery of legal history and his writing skills, but he lost much of his influence when the Revolution got underway against his urging. Once it had begun, though, he worked to make his new nation stronger. He served in the legislatures of both Delaware and Pennsylvania, also serving as president of each state.

John Dickinson was born in Maryland in...