News, Events, and
Resources
Coming July 2026 in the William & Mary Quarterly:
Forum:
“The narrow Path between British & American Passions”:
The Dickinson-Barclay Documents and the Last Attempts to Prevent American Independence
Read about Dickinson in the Associate Press: "The Declaration’s forgotten (non)signer: John Dickinson’s missing 1776 signature haunts his legacy"
This Forum presents four newly discovered Dickinson documents, two letters from Dickinson to David Barclay Jr. and two drafts of a bill, that shed light on the work of the Second Continental Congress in the summer of 1775. It also features interpretive essays by Jane E. Calvert, David Como, William B. Ewald, Jonathan Gienapp, and Jack N. Rakove. The Forum will be open-access for one month for the benefit of the public. To read it, click on the title. View the actual documents and read about them in The New York Times.
from Oxford University Press...
...the first complete and accurate biography of John Dickinson, made possible by the work of the JDP. See the Biography page for more detail.
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Winner of the James Kirby Martin History Prize
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Winner of the Herbert J. Storing Prize
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Winner of the Harry M. Ward Book Prize
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Winner of the American Revolution Round Table of Philadelphia Book Award
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Finalist for the George Washington Book Prize
Interviews with Dr. Calvert
Constitutional Conversations, James Madison Memorial Foundation, forthcoming.
Ben Franklin’s World, June 2026.
History & Culture series, Pennsylvania Cable Network, June 2026.
Writing Matters, Mercer University Press, April 2026.
BRI Scholar Talks, Bill of Rights Institute, September 2.
This Constitution, Center for Constitutional Studies, Utah Valley University, April 2025.
Civic Education, American Council of Trustees and Alumni, March 2025.
Great Books, National Review, February 2025.
Booknotes+, C-SPAN, January 2025.
Off the Deaton Path, Georgia Historical Society, December 2024.
“The Author’s Corner” series for “The Way of Improvement Leads Home,” December 2024.
Speaking of Writers, December 2024.
“How Religious Were the Founders?” National Constitution Center, December 2024.
Revolution 250, November 2024.
2 Complicated 4 History, November 2024.
Historically Thinking with Al Zambone, November 2024.
TIME Magazine, 1:44:23, November 2024.
Thee Quaker, October 2024.
The American Arc blog, The Jack Miller Center, December 2023.
“Pennsylvania Books: Founders’ Series,” Pennsylvania Cable Network, September 2022.
“Understanding the Legacy of John Dickinson,” The Real America Revolution, February 2022.
“Enlighten Men: The John Dickinson Writings Project,” Delaware Public Media, December 2021.
Ben Franklin’s World: Doing History: To the Revolution!, Omohundro Institute of Early American History and Culture, Fall 2019.
October 20–22, 2022, Philadelphia, Pa.
Scholars from around the country in a variety of disciplines and with early access to JDP materials presented papers at this first-ever symposium on Dickinson. Hosted jointly by the American Philosophical Society, the Historical Society of Pennsylvania, the Library Company of Philadelphia, and the McNeil Center for Early American Studies.
John Dickinson and the Making of the U.S. Constitution, 1776–1788
Hosted by the Library Company of Philadelphia, October-November 2020.
Session I with guest Liz Covart
Session II with guest Jack N. Rakove
Session III with guest John Kaminski
The first stand-alone edition of Dickinson's most famous publication in 27 years and the first annotated edition.
Publications on Dickinson and the JDP by Dr. Calvert
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“The Friendly Jurisprudence and Early Feminism of John Dickinson,” in Great Christian Jurists in American History ed. Daniel L. Dreisbach and Mark David Hall (New York: Cambridge University Press, 2019), 133–59.
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“An Expansive Conception of Rights: The Abolitionism of John Dickinson,” in When in the Course of Human Events: 1776 in America and Beyond ed. William R. Jordan (Macon, GA: Mercer University Press, 2018), 21–54.
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“Myth-Making and Myth-Breaking in the Historiography on John Dickinson,” The Journal of the Early Republic vol. 34, no. 3 (2014): 467–80.
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“John Dickinson’s Quaker Contributions to the Creation of the American Republic,” in Faith and the Founders of the American Republic, ed. Mark David Hall and Daniel L. Dreisbach. (Oxford University Press, 2014), 277–304.
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“The ‘Documentary Democracy’ of the Writings of John Dickinson, Then and Now,” Scholarly Editing 34 (2013).
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“Letter to Farmers in Pennsylvania: John Dickinson Writes to the Paxton Boys,” Pennsylvania Magazine of History and Biography vol. 136, no. 4 (2012): 475–77.
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“‘The Character of an Author’: Attribution and Misattribution of the Writings of John Dickinson,” The Papers of the Bibliographical Society of America vol. 104, no. 3 (2010): 341–46.
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Quaker Constitutionalism and the Political Thought of John Dickinson. Cambridge University Press, 2009. Or purchase it through Amazon.
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“Liberty without Tumult: Understanding the Politics of John Dickinson,” Pennsylvania Magazine of History and Biography vol. 132, no. 3 (2007): 233–62.
The first exposition of Dickinson's political thought, rooted in Quaker constitutional theory.
Lecturing to History Camp at Pursuit of History, April 2026.
With the Descendants of the Signers of the Declaration of Independence at Independence Hall, July 4, 2012.
Dr. Calvert's Public Lectures on Dickinson and the JDP
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New Jersey Revolution Roundtable, Morristown, NJ, June 2027.
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Dickinson College, Carlisle, PA, September 2026.
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Ashland University, Ashland, OH, September 2026.
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Museum of the Bible, Washington, DC, August 2026.
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Founding Forward, Union Club, Philadelphia, PA, July 2026.
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Lorenzo State Historic Site, Cazenovia, NY, June 2026.
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Summer Institute on the U.S. Constitution, James Madison Memorial Fellowship Foundation, Washington, DC, June 2026.
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Kendal at Longwood, Kennet Square, PA, May 2026.
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Pursuit of History, Christ Church, Philadelphia, PA, April 2026.
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Public Arts and Culture Commission, Village of Yellow Springs, OH, February 2026.
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Quaker Hill, Wilmington, DE, February 2026.
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Founding Forward, Union Club, Philadelphia, PA, February, 2026.
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Philadelphia Club, Philadelphia, PA, December 2025.
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Metropolitan Club, Washington, DC, November 2025.
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American Revolution Roundtable of Delaware, July 2025.
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The Right Angle Club, Philadelphia, PA, June 2025.
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Stenton, Philadelphia, PA, June 2025.
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Leadership Forum, Washington Memorial Heritage, Valley Forge, PA, April 2025.
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Revolutionary War Era Education Forum, School of Education, College of William & Mary, Williamsburg, April 2025.
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Center for America’s Founding Principles, Mercer University, Macon, GA, March 2025.
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Carpenters’ Hall, Philadelphia, PA, January 2025.
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Ford Evening Book Talk Series, Washington Presidential Library, Mount Vernon, VA, January 2025.
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The Friends of the John Dickinson Mansion Holiday Gathering, December 2024.
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American Revolution Round Table of Philadelphia, October 2024.
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Colonial Williamsburg, Professional Development Unit for Interpretive Staff, February 2024.
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Constitution Day Address, King’s College, Wilkes-Barre, PA, September 2023.
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Sons of the American Revolution, Lexington, KY, December 2021.
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“John Dickinson Manuscripts at the Historical Society of Pennsylvania,” Annual Meeting, Board of Directors of the Historical Society of Pennsylvania, December 2021.
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“‘Defending the Innocent & Redressing the Injurd’: Discovering the Rights Advocacy of Delaware’s John Dickinson,” University of Delaware, October 2019.
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“Founding Fathers and American Leadership Conference,” Tommy G. Thompson Center on Public Leadership, University of Wisconsin-Madison, WI, September 20, 2019.
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“Human Rights at the American Founding: The Unexpected Contributions of John Dickinson,” University of Kentucky, November 13, 2017.
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Constitution Day Address, University of South Carolina, Upstate, October 2017.
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Constitution Day Address, University of Kentucky, September 2017.
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A.V. Elliott Conference on Great Books and Ideas, Mercy University, Macon, GA, March 2016.
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Delaware Humanities Forum Joseph P. del Tufo Annual Lecture, Wilmington, DE, October 2014.
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Constitution Day Address, George Fox University, Newberg, OR, September 2013.
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“Discovering America’s First Political Hero: The Writings of John Dickinson.” The American Revolution Round Table of Delaware, Newark, DE, October 2013.
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The Descendants of the Signers of the Declaration of Independence, Philadelphia, PA, July 4, 2012.
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“John Dickinson: America’s First Political Hero,” at The Center for Visions and Values, Grove City College, Grove City, Pennsylvania, December 2011.
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Quaker Hill Historic Preservation Foundation, Wilmington, DE, October 2011.
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Saturday Symposium for University of Delaware Alumni, John Dickinson Plantation and The Old State House, Dover, DE, October 2011.
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David Library of the American Revolution, Washington’s Crossing, PA, January 2010.
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The Society for Colonial Wars in Delaware, Wilmington, DE, May 2010.
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The Society for Colonial Wars in the Commonwealth of Kentucky, Louisville, KY, June 2009.
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The Friends of the Dickinson College Library, Carlisle, PA, March 2008.