The metropolis of Philadelphia during the Spring and Summer of 1776 brought together leaders and representatives from the 13 colonies to debate the most pressing and relevant issues of the day. In those fateful months, the topic creating the starkest divide was the question of independence, and the Continental Congress was split. But as a growing number of colonists consumed Thomas Paines landmark publication Common Sense, popular opinion from the members of the Second Continental Congress shifted away from reconciliation, and calls for independence from Great Britain intensified. One John Dickinson, a Pennsylvania farmer and recent author of the Olive Branch Petition desired a peaceful agreement with the mother country, opposed to the chaos and near certain violence breaking away from London would result in. The day preceding the vote for independence, Dickinson rose to address his colleagues of the Congress in an eloquent and powerful speech. He questioned the consequences of independence, the inevitability of foreign power interference in the new nation, Native Americans attacking with impunity, slaves rebelling in masse, and the certain defeat colonial boys would face at the hands of the seasoned British Army. Dickinson was not naive to the implications of his disesteemed argument, but rationalized: “thinking as I do on the subject of debate, silence would be guilt.” His famous articulation poignantly concluded that to declare independence at that time “would be to brave the storm in a skiff made of paper.” The next day, July 2, 1776, the colonial representatives to the Second Continental Congress voted unanimously to declare independence from Great Britain (Dickinson abstained). Weeks later the old and weakened John Dickinson, named as Brigadier General in the Pennsylvania militia led 10,000 troops to defend New Jersey from British troops.

This simple story of John Dickinson, a man who gloriously displayed moral courage while fighting for an unpopular cause tells a broader story of more than just a man, but a mindset during the birth of the nation. Following the referendum defeating his beliefs, Dickinson demonstrated complete devotion to a renewed purpose by leading men in battle. His actions represent subservience to democratic ideals, the rule of law, and the greater good. Dickinson’s story exemplifies merely one example of exceptional behaviors by American leaders throughout the nations history. These events accumulated define an intangible concept that has produced a very tangible product, American Exceptionalism.