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John Dickinson

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Politician

The Resume

    (November 13, 1732-February 14, 1808)
    Born in Talbot County, Maryland
    Represented Pennsylvania (1774-76) and Delaware (1779-81) in the Continental Congress
    President of the General Assembly of Delaware (1781-83) and Pennsylvania (1782-85)
    Delegate from Delaware to the Constitutional Convention (1787)

Why he might be annoying:

    He owned slaves.
    He refused to sign the Declaration of Independence.
    Technically, he did not sign the US Constitution either: he left the Convention early due to illness and had another delegate sign on his behalf.

Why he might not be annoying:

    He was nicknamed the 'Penman of the Revolution' for his 'Letters from a Pennsylvania Farmer' (1766-67) protesting British tax policies.
    Despite having opposed independence, he served in the Revolution as a brigadier general in the militias of both Pennsylvania and Delaware.
    His Fairhill estate in Pennsylvania was burned by the British during the Battle of Germantown (1777) and his Poplar Hall estate in Delaware was looted by Loyalists (1781).
    He was the only founding father to free his slaves during the American Revolution (1777).
    At the Constitutional Convention, he helped engineer the 'Great Compromise' that established a Senate where each state has equal representation and a House with representation proportional to population.
    He and his wife donated their joint library to Dickinson College.

Credit: C. Fishel


Featured in the following Annoying Collections:

Year In Review:

    For 2024, as of last weekly ranking, Out of 1 Votes: 100% Annoying
    In 2023, Out of 8 Votes: 25.00% Annoying
    In 2022, Out of 2 Votes: 50.0% Annoying
    In 2021, Out of 8 Votes: 75.00% Annoying
    In 2020, Out of 5 Votes: 60.0% Annoying
    In 2019, Out of 4 Votes: 75.00% Annoying
    In 2018, Out of 2 Votes: 0% Annoying
    In 2017, Out of 3 Votes: 33.33% Annoying
    In 2016, Out of 5 Votes: 60.0% Annoying
    In 2015, Out of 6 Votes: 66.67% Annoying
    In 2014, Out of 18 Votes: 50.0% Annoying