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Reverend James Finley correspondence
Two letters by Reverend James Finley regarding the Westsylvania dispute, a conflict regarding the creation of a new state west of Pennsylvania and Virginia. Settlers of the area west of the Allegheney Mountains petitioned the Second Continental Congress for recognition as a state separate from Penns...
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| Collection: | Historical Society of Pennsylvania autograph collection (#0022A) |
| Date: | 1783-03-13, 1783-04-28 |
| Location: | Dunlap Creek, PA Cecil County, MD |
| Format: | Electronic |
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| Copyright: | Please contact Historical Society of Pennsylvania Rights and Reproductions (rnr@hsp.org) |
| Online Access: | https://digitallibrary.hsp.org/index.php/Detail/objects/11743 |
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| Summary: |
Two letters by Reverend James Finley regarding the Westsylvania dispute, a conflict regarding the creation of a new state west of Pennsylvania and Virginia. Settlers of the area west of the Allegheney Mountains petitioned the Second Continental Congress for recognition as a state separate from Pennsylvania and Virginia--the Congress chose to ignore their petiton. While the dispute was "officially" settled in 1780, when the borders of Pennsylvania and Virginia were ratified, many settlers remained unsatisfied. James Finley acted as a kind of "secret agent" for the Pennsylvania governement, traveling around this area and testing the waters to see how residents felt about statehood. The March 1783 letter outlines his arguments against Westsylvania statehood, while the April letter, addressed to John Dickinson, then President of Pennsylvania, summarizes the sentiments of settlers in the Westsylvania area. |
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