Dulany, Daniel

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Dulany, Daniel

DULANY, DANIEL. (1722–1797). Lawyer, political leader. Maryland. Born in Annapolis, Maryland, on 28 June 1722, Dulany was schooled at Eton, Cambridge, and Middle Temple, and in 1747 was admitted to the Maryland bar. On the eve of the Revolution he was recognized by his political enemy, Charles Carroll, as "indisputably the best lawyer on this continent," but Carroll's son, Charles Carroll of Carrollton, found him simply "bizarre." Dulany entered the legislature in 1751, became a member of the Governor's Council in 1757, was commissary general from 1759 to 1761, and was secretary of the province from 1761 to 1774. After passage of the Stamp Act, he wrote a pamphlet entitled Considerations on the Propriety of Imposing Taxes in the British Colonies, for the Purpose of Raising a Revenue, by Act of Parliament (1765). Dulany argued that the theory of virtual representation did not apply to the colonies because members of the British Parliament were not affected by measures that might hurt America. He went on to say that, since the colonies were not represented and could not be, they could not be taxed. This thesis was more subtle than the mere charge that "taxation without representation is tyranny," for Dulany based his position on English law rather than a flat assertion of right. He also advocated that the colonists manufacture their own goods as a means of achieving economic independence and ending England's exploitation of the Americans. Dulany was no radical, however, and at the outbreak of the Revolution, fearing anarchy, he retired to Hunting Ridge, near Baltimore, remaining loyal to Britain but proclaiming his neutrality. His family divided over the Revolution, one son becoming a Loyalist, the other a Patriot. Half of his property was confiscated in 1781, while he was on a brief visit to England. He lived the rest of his life in Baltimore, where he died 17 March 1797.

SEE ALSO Taxation without Representation Is Tyranny.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Dulany Papers. Maryland Historical Society, Baltimore, Maryland.

Land, Aubrey C. The Dulanys of Maryland: A Biographical Study of Daniel Dulany, the Elder (1685–1753) and Daniel Dulany, the Younger (1722–1797). Baltimore: Maryland Historical Society, 1955.

                              revised by Michael Bellesiles