The Cost of Liberty

The Life of John Dickinson

William Murchison

• Publisher: Regnery Gateway
• Year: 2023
• Print ISBN: 9781933859941
• eBook ISBN: 9781684516094
• Topic: History
• Subtopic: Historical Biographies
• Index: History

The Cost of Liberty offers a sorely needed reassessment of a great patriot and misunderstood Founder. It has been more than a half century since a biography of John Dickinson appeared. Author William Murchison rectifies this mistake, bringing to life one of the most influential figures of the entire Founding period, a principled man whose gifts as writer, speaker, and philosopher only Jefferson came near to matching. In the ­process, Murchison destroys the caricature of ­Dickinson that has emerged from such popular treatments as HBO's John Adams miniseries and the Broadway musical 1776. Dickinson is remembered mostly for his reluctance to sign the ­Declaration of Independence. But that reluctance, Murchison shows, had nothing to do with a lack of patriotism. In fact, Dickinson immediately took up arms to serve the colonial cause—something only one signer of the ­Declaration did. He stood on principle to oppose declaring independence at that moment, even when he knew that doing so would deal the "finishing blow" to his once-great reputation. Dubbed the "Penman of the Revolution, " Dickinson was not just a scribe but also a shaper of mighty events. From the 1760s through the late 1780s he was present at, and played a significant role in, every major assemblage where the Founders charted America's path—a claim few others could make. Author of the landmark essays Letters from a Farmer in Pennsylvania, delegate to the Continental Congress, key ­figure behind the Articles of Confederation and the Constitution, chief executive of both Pennsylvania and Delaware: Dickinson was, as one esteemed ­historian aptly put it, "the most underrated of all the Founders." This lively biography gives a great Founder his long-overdue measure of honor. It also broadens our understanding of the Founding period, challenging many modern assumptions about the events of 1776 and 1787.

Table of contents

• Cover
• Title Page
• Dedication
• Introduction: “The Most Underrated of All the Founders”
• Chapter One: “The Fields Are Full of Promises”
• Chapter Two: “An Immense Bustle in the World”
• Chapter Three: “You Rivet Perpetual Chains upon Your Unhappy Country”
• Chapter Four: “My Dear Countrymen”
• Chapter Five: “In Freedom We’re Born, and in Freedom We’ll Live”
• Chapter Six: “There Is a Spirit of Liberty among Us”
• Chapter Seven: “The Force of Accumulated Injuries”
• Chapter Eight: “To Die Free-men Rather Than to Live Like Slaves”
• Chapter Nine: “War Is Actually Begun”
• Chapter Ten: “Let My Country Treat Me as She Pleases”
• Chapter Eleven: “The Finishing Blow”
• Chapter Twelve: “Willingly to Resign My Life”
• Chapter Thirteen: “The Sacred Voice of My Country”
• Chapter Fourteen: “Acting before the World”
• Chapter Fifteen: “Experience Must Be Our Only Guide”
• Acknowledgments
• About the Author
• Notes
• Index
• Copyright