Who was the other member of the Continental Congress, besides John Dickinson, to not sign the Dec. of Indep.?

Answer 1

I assume you are referring to John Jay.

But there is considerable disagreement about whether it is appropriate to refer to Jay as 'not signing' the Declaration, much less "refusing" to sign it, like John Dickinson. One key difference -- Dickinson was involved in the debate about declaring independence in the spring and early summer of 1776, as well as the discussion and vote on the text of the Declaration, then chose to retire from Congress when he could not, in good conscience sign this document. Jay, on the other hand, was not there for the discussion in May to July of 1776! So was he deliberately avoiding the independence discussion and vote, and using his election to New York's Fourth Provincial Congress as an excuse?

Actually, we have letters from Jay explaining his belief that he was more needed in New York at the time --both because of the the Provincial Congress needed more leadership (and Jay quickly emerged AS a key leader there), and because of the needs of his family (his wife Sarah had recently given birth).

While it is true that he had been one of the moderates and sought reconciliation with Britain longer than many others, I can find nothing other than obscure references to Thomas Jefferson's "noting" that he did not sign the Declaration (duh! he wasn't there!)

So when I read a statement like the following I see NO basis for it:
"He retired from the Congress in 1776 rather than sign the Declaration of Independence." ??
http://www.ushistory.org/declaration/related/jay.htm

repeated verbatim elsewhere, e.g.,
http://jay.thefreelibrary.com/

It is also widely acknowledged that immediately after the independence vote Jay was an ardent 'supporter of the new nation', serving in a number of capacities, including returning to Congress in November 1777 and being elected as its President.

In fact, he became an IMMEDIATE supporter. Oddly overlooked by those who allege he "refused" to sign, is the following tidbit:

"As a member of the fourth provincial congress he DRAFTED a resolution by which the delegates of New York in the Continental Congress were authorized to sign the Declaration of Independence!"
http://www.nndb.com/people/374/000049227/

(This was significant in that up to this point, including in the final vote, the New York delegation, lacking authorization, had been forced to abstain. They added their official vote FOR independence on July 9, upon hearing new of the vote in Philadelphia. Thus Jay's support came QUICKLY after the Declaration. And keep in mind that New York City was in great danger under British troops at the time.)

The wikipedia article on Jay contains the following explanation of his absence in 1776 -- which seems consistent with what we know of him, including the observations above:

"Jay did not attend the Continental Congress as it debated the independence; He was needed back in New York. There he was quite busy:

*He served in the New York Provincial Congress and drafted the first state constitution.
*He served on the committee of correspondence which was attempting to coordinate the rebellious activities of the various colonial states with the actual fighting in Massachusetts.
*He served on the committee to detect and defeat conspiracies. This committee was active in gathering intelligence on British actions and in counter-intelligence about "loyalist" activities.
*He served as the first chief justice of the New York Supreme Court from April 1777 to December 1778.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Jay#Roles_in_the_American_Revolution

Answer 2

McCain- Feingold (campaign finance reform). Do I win a prize? And, what precisely are you attempting to coach? how many individuals of Congress's accomplishments are you able to call with out looking it up. i'm going to guess you could not do 5. the certainty which you would be able to not call accomplishments offhand does not propose that he hasn't performed something.