July 1st, 1776: The final debate began on whether to declare independence from Great Britain. Most delegates in the Continental Congress were in favor of it, but a few were still against it. They had postponed the debate for three weeks, but now the time was up, and the decision had to be made.
Why were some people still opposed to declaring independence? Here are some of the reasons they gave:
- The colonies weren’t prepared to face the kind of military might that Great Britain could throw at them.
- They didn’t really have a united government. Each colony had its own government, but they only government they shared (besides the British King and Parliament) was the Continental Congress, which didn’t have much power. This made it difficult for the colonies to act in unison.
- They were hoping for help from France, which was an age-old enemy of Britain, but they hadn’t gotten any promises of help yet. Surely it would be better to wait until France promised to help them, rather than striking out on their own with no friends in the world.
- Declaring independence wouldn’t do them any good at that point in time. They could keep fighting and working for liberty — or even for independence — without actually saying that they wanted to be independent. Declaring independence would make Britain more angry and would make it harder for the Americans to win the war.
- If they declared independence, they would destroy any chance of negotiating with Britain. If they waited, they might be able to make a peaceful agreement with Britain and maintain their liberty without continuing the war. And who knows? Maybe reconciliation (that was the word they used for it) would be better for the Americans than independence.
John Dickinson of Pennsylvania was one of the main people in the Continental Congress who still opposed independence. He said it would be like trying to “brave the Storm in a Skiff made of Paper” — in other words, like trying to sail through a storm in a paper rowboat.
During the debate on July 1, Dickinson presented his reasons against independence for one last time. It didn’t work, and I think he knew ahead of time that it wouldn’t work. He also knew that it would make him unpopular. “My Conduct, this Day,” he said, “I expect will give the finishing Blow to my once too great, and…now too diminish’d Popularity.” But he said it was his duty to speak up, no matter what might happen: “Thinking as I do on the subject of Debate,” he said, “Silence would be guilt.”
Before explaining all the reasons he thought they shouldn’t declare independence, he gave a sort of prayer:
It was a Custom in a wise and virtuous State, to preface Propositions in Council, with a prayer, that they might redound to the public Benefit. I beg Leave to imitate the laudable Example. And I do most humbly implore Almighty God, with whom dwells Wisdom itself, so to enlighten the Members of this House, that their Decision may be such as will best promote the Liberty, Safety and Prosperity of these Colonies—and for Myself, that his Divine Goodness may be graciously pleased to enable Me, to speak the Precepts of sound Policy on the important Question that now engages our Attention.
Then he went into the reasons, including the ones I listed earlier and several others. One thing he mentioned several times was his fear that France would take advantage of the situation and make the colonies worse off than before. He thought that they needed to be more careful and not rush into independence:
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 prest.
But all the arguments of Dickinson and others against independence were in vain. Others, such as John Adams, argued strongly in favor of it, and the majority was on their side. But there was still enough opposition that the vote was postponed for one more day…
As for John Dickinson, don’t think that he was a coward, or that he was not a patriot. He stayed out of Congress the next day, when they were voting on independence, so that the colonies would appear more united. He helped to create the Articles of Confederation, which was basically the first U.S. constitution. He wasn’t re-elected to Congress, but he served in the army, which most members of Congress never did. And years later, he helped to create the Constitution that we now have. He was a true patriot who wanted the best for his country.