John Dickinson: The Penman of the Revolution

Open Tuesday - Saturday, 10 a.m. - 3:30 p.m.; Sunday, 1:30 p.m. - 4:30 p.m.
Closed on Mondays and all holidays

No fee charged.

This 1740s brick home was built by Samuel Dickinson when his son John was eight years old. It has been restored to its original condition. Outbuildings have been added to reconstruct the original property. Lifestyle exhibits and a Colonial Revival garden are popular attractions. Docents in period costume are available for guided tours and to answer any questions.

John Dickinson
Known as the "Penman of the Revolution," Dickinson wrote many essays on colonial rights and liberty including an influential document calling for the overthrow of the Stamp Act.

Born on November 13, 1732, near the village of Trappe, Maryland. Dickinson was educated at home by hired tutors. He went on to study law in Pennsylvania and England. At the age of 25, he began a law practice in Philadelphia. He married Mary Norris in 1770; they had two children.

Dickinson served in several political positions representing Pennsylvania and Delaware. He was a delegate to the Constitutional Convention and served as governor of Delaware.

In 1765, he wrote The Late Regulations Respecting the British Colonies . . . Considered, an influential pamphlet promoting the repeal of the Stamp Act. Dickinson also wrote Letters from a Farmer in Pennsylvania, a series of articles that were published in the Pennsylvania Chronicle between 1767 and 1768. Through these articles, Dickinson argued against Britain's taxation laws. These articles were so influential that the College of New Jersey (now known as Princeton) presented Dickinson with an honorary LL.D.

In 1774 he chaired the Philadelphia committee of correspondence and briefly sat in the First Continental Congress as a representative from Pennsylvania.

Dickinson also served as a delegate to the Constitutional Convention of 1787. Although he was ill and even had to leave the convention early, Dickinson made several worthwhile contributions. He wrote influential public letters supporting constitutional ratification, served on the Committee on Postponed Matters, and helped engineer the Great Compromise. When his illness caused him to leave the convention early, he authorized fellow-delegate George Read to sign the Constitution for him.

Dickinson spent the rest of his life writing political essays, and in 1801, he published two volumes of collected works.

John Dickinson died in Wilmington, Delaware, on February 14, 1808, at the age of 75. He is buried in the Friends Burial Ground in Wilmington.

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