His position wasn't unreasonable. The Americans were very unlikely to win that war and every single person in that Convention had a real risk of being executed when they lost. The British (with American colonial help of course) had managed to beat the top power in the world at the time (France) on American soil only a couple decades prior and thus were very experienced in fighting there. Not to mention that there were still a good chunk of the population who wished to remain part of the British Empire; their feelings and wishes couldn't be neglected in a democracy. So his position was completely reasonable, and his delays and Olive Branch actually helped the American cause because it showed how completely unreasonable the British government was, and thus convinced more Americans to join the cause of Independence. So to criticize him for bringing up completely legitimate points is just unfair and is just 20/20 hindsight. It is foolish to rush into something that would result in many thousands of lives slaughtered. And once Independence was agreed to, he fought for the cause honorably.
Dickinson was just scared to lose his property and life if the war was lost!
son of an indentured servant -once free owned slaves ? ? - his family never evolved at all.
His position wasn't unreasonable. The Americans were very unlikely to win that war and every single person in that Convention had a real risk of being executed when they lost. The British (with American colonial help of course) had managed to beat the top power in the world at the time (France) on American soil only a couple decades prior and thus were very experienced in fighting there.
Not to mention that there were still a good chunk of the population who wished to remain part of the British Empire; their feelings and wishes couldn't be neglected in a democracy.
So his position was completely reasonable, and his delays and Olive Branch actually helped the American cause because it showed how completely unreasonable the British government was, and thus convinced more Americans to join the cause of Independence.
So to criticize him for bringing up completely legitimate points is just unfair and is just 20/20 hindsight. It is foolish to rush into something that would result in many thousands of lives slaughtered.
And once Independence was agreed to, he fought for the cause honorably.
Whomever refused to sign the DoI is a coward.