Delaware Leaders and Documents, 1775-1783

Delaware and the Congresses | Signers of Key Documents | Presidents (Governors) of Delaware

I  Further Study I

Delaware's Representation at the Various Congresses 

The Stamp Act Congress met in Albany, New York in October 1765. It was assembled to make evident and explicit the general concensus among the colonies that the Stamp Act (passed by Parliament in March 1765) was both unjust and illegal. The Stamp Act required that (printed) stamps be purchased and applied (glued-on) to many items (such as deeds, licenses, playing cards, and almanacs). It was essentially a tax that was levied by the British Parliament rather than by the colonial assemblies -- which had previously been the only bodies that levied taxes related to transactions internal to the colonies.

The First Continental Congress met in Philadelphia PA on Sept 5, 1774. It was assembled to develop and present a unified position on taxation and trade. It issued a Declaration of Rights in October, 1774, stating that colonial assemblies had the right to enact laws on all subjects except foreign (outside the British territories) trade. This group planned for a Second Congress to meet in May, 1775.

As delegates to the Second Continental Congress were gathering in April of 1775 the battles of Lexington and Concord (Massachusetts) occurred. The representatives turned their attention from fighting British-imposed taxes to providing a defense against further British military incursions and to evaluating the feasibility of declaring independence from Great Britain.

When the Second Continental Congress started Delaware was not a colony, but simply the "lower three counties" of Pennsylvania. However, Delaware had a long tradition of managing its own affairs, and on June 15, 1776 -- now known in Delaware as "Separation Day" -- Delaware declared independence from both Pennsylvania and Britain, thus gaining the right to its own vote in the Second Continental Congress. Each state had only one vote in this Congress, and the state's vote was determined by majority vote of the representatives sent from that state.

There was no legal basis (no Constitution or Bylaws) when the Second Continental Congress first met, and the colonial assemblies had not granted it any authority. Still, this Congress declared independence, raised an army and navy, secured income from the states, negotiated for foreign aid, and coordinated U.S. military, political, and economic activities for nearly six years (May 1775-March 1781) by mutual consent of the states.

On March 1, 1781, the Congress of the Confederation became the governing body under the Articles of Confederation. This unicameral (single-body) body governed for eight years.

The U.S. Constitution was approved by the delegates to the Constitutional Convention in September, 1787, but it would not become "the law of the land" until it was ratified by two-thirds of the states. In June of 1788 New Hampshire became the nineth state to ratify (making two-thirds of the states), and the states began the process of electing the first Congress and the first President and Vice President. When we speak about Congress of the United States we refer to the House of Representatives and the Senate together -- a bicameral (two-body), which was first sworn in on March 4, 1789.

Delaware is called "the First State" because it was the first state to ratify the U.S. Constitution -- doing so on December 7, 1787, known as "Ratification Day" in Delaware. The first motion passed by the Delaware Society SAR at its organizational meeting in January, 1890, was to hold an annual Ratification Day Dinner to commemorate this event.

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Signers of Key Documents 

Presidents (Governors) of Delaware 1777-1789 

I........................ do solemnly declare and affirm (or swear as the case may be) that I do not hold my self bound to yield any allegiance or obedience to the king of Great Brittain [sic], his heirs or successors and that I will be true and faithful to the Delaware State, and will support and maintain the freedom and independence and constitution thereof against all open and traitorous conspiracies, and will disclose and make known to the Commander-in-chief for the time being, or to some Judge or Justice of the Peace for this State all treasons or traiterous conspiracies, attempts or combinations against the same, or the government thereof, which shall come to my knowledge.

                    Aug. 19, 1778

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For Further Study 

Delaware's Governors [by Russ Pickett] has more information on these and later governors,

The Delaware Public Archives has Delaware's original copy of the Bill of Rights on public display for six months of the year.

Barratts Chapel Museum, near Dover DE, holds the archival records of the Methodist Church, many of which date from the time of the Revolution.

Revolutionary Patriots of Delaware, 1775-1783, by Henry Peden, contains information on 5,000 Delawareans who served the American cause. We presented the author (a member of the Maryland Society SAR) with an award for this service to the people of Delaware.

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