CAESAR RODNEY

The Stamp Act had caused much consternation among the colonies. The Continental Congress had gone into session to draft a petition to the King asking that the Act not be enforced. This letter described the chalenge before them. See {589421} for one of the more contentious passages the delegates had to work out.

In Philadelphia, the state delegates had just started to vote for independence. The majority of each state delegation determined the vote for the state. Delaware had three delagates, but only two were in Philadelphia. Rodney, the third delegate from Delaware, had been attending a meeting in Dover when he received word that the other two Delaware delagates Thomas McKean and George Read were split—McKean for and Read against independence. Rodney immediately left for Philadelphia late on July 1. He rode all night in a thunderstorm to traverse the 80 miles to Philadelphia. He arrived in his spurs and riding boots and cast his famous vote and thus Delaware voted for Independence. After the vote, the next 2 days were spent drafting the Declaration of Independence and Rodney signed it on July 4. After Rodney returned to Delaware, he was ousted in the next election by conservative loyalists who felt that Rodney had betrayed them and England.

The Stamp Act had caused much consternation among the colonies. The Continental Congress had gone into session to draft a petition to the King asking that the Act not be enforced. This letter described the chalenge before them. See {589421} for one of the more contentious passages the delegates had to work out.

In Philadelphia, the state delegates had just started to vote for independence. The majority of each state delegation determined the vote for the state. Delaware had three delagates, but only two were in Philadelphia. Rodney, the third delegate from Delaware, had been attending a meeting in Dover when he received word that the other two Delaware delagates Thomas McKean and George Read were split—McKean for and Read against independence. Rodney immediately left for Philadelphia late on July 1. He rode all night in a thunderstorm to traverse the 80 miles to Philadelphia. He arrived in his spurs and riding boots and cast his famous vote and thus Delaware voted for Independence. After the vote, the next 2 days were spent drafting the Declaration of Independence and Rodney signed it on July 4. After Rodney returned to Delaware, he was ousted in the next election by conservative loyalists who felt that Rodney had betrayed them and England.