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Opinion

John Dickinson and the Case Against Independence

Dickinson, the ‘Penman of the Revolution,’ warned of the dangers of declaring independence prematurely.
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John Dickinson and the Case Against Independence
John Dickinson (1732–1808). Etching (1888) by Albert Rosenthal, after a painting by Charles Willson Peale. New York Public Library Digital Collections
Rob Natelson
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This is the second in a five-essay series on the Declaration of Independence, written for its 250th anniversary. Read part I here.
Commentary
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Rob Natelson
Rob Natelson
Author
Robert G. Natelson, a former constitutional law professor, is Senior Fellow in Constitutional Jurisprudence at the Mountain States Policy Center and the Independence Institute. He authored “The Original Constitution” (4th ed., 2025) and is a contributor to the Heritage Foundation’s “Heritage Guide to the Constitution.”