43 - John Dickinson (DE)

#43 - John Dickinson (DE)
Birthplace: Talbot County, MD
Age at Convention: 54

1) Religion
-- "Kings or parliaments could not give the rights essential to happiness... We claim them from a higher source -- from the King of kings, and Lord of all the earth. They are not annexed to us by parchments and seals. They are created in us by the decrees of Providence, which establish the laws of our nature. They are born with us; exist with us; and cannot be taken from us by any human power, without taking our lives."
-- "As Congress is now to legislate for our extensive territory lately acquired, I pray to Heaven that they ...[c]urse not the inhabitants of those regions, and of the United States in general, with a permission to introduce bondage [slavery]."

2) Slavery
-- Freed his own slaves

3) Upbringing
-- Son of a prosperous farmer
-- Raised by private tutors

References:
1) http://www.teachingamericanhistory.org/convention/delegates/dickinson.html
2) http://history.delaware.gov/museums/jdp/jdpslave.pdf
3) http://www.christiananswers.net/q-wall/wal-g003.html
4) http://www.nhinet.org/ahern.htm
5) http://quotes.liberty-tree.ca/quote/john_dickinson_quote_9d75

Running tabulation:
1) Religiously Active (8) or Primarily Secular (5)
2) Abolitionist (5), Partial Abolitionist (5) or Non-Abolitionist (3)
3) Wealthy (5) or Middle-Class/Poor (8)