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Letters from a Farmer in Pennsylvania

Edited by: Jane E. Calvert
Product Code: P739
ISBN: 9798897360208
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John Dickinson's LETTERS FROM A FARMER IN PENNSYLVANIA (1767-1768) is one of the most consequential documents in American history. Written in response to Great Britain's unjust taxation policy, these twelve letters were first published serially in the newspapers and then in pamphlet form in multiple editions in several countries. With clear and compelling language directed to ordinary readers, the letters educated the colonists about their rights, galvanized them to resist Britain using only peaceful means, and implanted in them a sense of national unity and a distinct American identity. Dickinson drew on his training and experience as a lawyer, his connection to the land as a plantation owner, and his Quaker upbringing to discuss legal precedent, patriotism, and nonviolent resistance in eloquent and rousing terms. The response to the FARMER'S LETTERS was immediate and overwhelming. Soon they were known around the Atlantic world, making the Pennsylvania Farmer, as Dickinson was now known, America's first celebrity and the spokesman for the American cause. Although the FARMER'S LETTERS advocated reconciliation, not revolution, they prepared Americans to think of themselves as an independent people. Long after Dickinson's death, the Farmer remained a patriotic icon. His message of patriotism, unity, and peaceful resistance continues to resonate with modern readers. This new edition of LETTERS FROM A FARMER IN PENNSYLVANIA is the first republication in a quarter century and the first ever annotated by a team of experts on Dickinson, offering key information and historical context to make this patriot text fully accessible.
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Reviews

Review by: Carol Berkin, Presidential Professor of History Emerita, CUNY - December 27, 2025
"Jane Calvert has given us a genuine gift with this edition of John Dickinson's 1767-1768 essays, written to awaken colonists to the dangers British policies posed to their liberties and freedoms in the years before independence was declared. Calvert's annotations add context and depth to Dickinson's twelve FARMER'S LETTERS and demonstrate her profound knowledge not only of him but of his era. As readers will discover, Calvert has restored 'the penman of the Founding' to his rightful place in the patriot pantheon."
Review by: Jack Greene, Andrew W. Mellon Professor of the Humanities Emeritus, Johns Hopkins University - December 27, 2025
"Jane Calvert, the foremost authority on the Pennsylvania lawyer and political leader John Dickinson has here produced an impressive modern edition of Dickinson's most influential work: LETTERS FROM A FARMER IN PENNSYLVANIA, a response to the British Parliament's effort to establish its legislative authority over the American colonies through the Townshend Acts of 1767. Widely reprinted and circulated, these letters were crucial to the transatlantic effort to define the distribution of authority within the British Empire and to keep the empire intact. With an ample introduction and fully noted, this volume will be of interest to all readers who wish to understand the complex quarrel that ultimately led to the American Revolution."

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