"We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness."
There were 56 men from each of the original 13 colonies who risked their reputations, fortunes, and their lives when boldly and publicly declaring their support for liberty and freedom by signing the Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776. As he signed his name, Benjamin Franklin professed, "We must all hang together, or most assuredly we shall all hang separately!"
Linked below are short biographies of all 56 signers of the Declaration.
According to the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress, 1774-1989 (Washington, D.C.: U.S. Government Printing Office, 1989):
· The average age of a signer was 45. Benjamin Franklin was the oldest delegate at 70. The youngest was Thomas Lynch Jr. of South Carolina at 27.
· Nine of the signers were immigrants - one was an orphan.
· Twenty-two of the signers were lawyers! Eighteen were merchants or businessmen, 14 were farmers, four were doctors and nine were judges - Stephen Hopkins had been governor of Rhode Island.
· John Witherspoon was the only active clergyman to attend. Almost all were Protestants. Charles Carroll of Maryland was the lone Roman Catholic.
· Seventeen signers fought in the American Revolution, five signers were captured by the British: Edward Rutledge, Thomas Heyward, Arthur Middleton, George Walton and Richard Stockton. Abraham Clark’s two sons were also captured. Francis Lewis's home was destroyed and his wife taken prisoner. Thomas McKean wrote John Adams that he was "hunted like a fox by the enemy - compelled to remove my family five times in a few months." John Hart's farm and mills were destroyed, and he died while fleeing capture.
· Fifteen of the signers participated in their states' constitutional conventions, and six - Roger Sherman, Robert Morris, Franklin, George Clymer, James Wilson, and George Reed - signed the U.S. Constitution.
· After the Revolution, 13 signers went on to become governors. Eighteen served in their state legislatures. Sixteen became state and federal judges. Seven became members of the U.S. House of Representatives. Six became U.S. Senators. James Wilson and Samuel Chase became Supreme Court justices. Jefferson, Adams, and Elbridge Gerry each became vice president. Adams and Jefferson later became president.
· Five signers played major roles in the establishment of colleges and universities: Franklin and the University of Pennsylvania; Jefferson and the University of Virginia; Benjamin Rush and Dickinson College; Lewis Morris and New York University; and George Walton and the University of Georgia.
· Adams, Jefferson, and Carroll were the longest surviving signers. Adams and Jefferson both died on July 4, 1826, the 50th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence! Carroll was the last signer to die in 1832 at the age of 95.
It is
estimated that there are over 1,473,900 active personnel and 1,458,500 reserve personnel in the US armed forces.
Freedom is not free! Please pray for our brave soldiers over this holiday weekend – a military that represents our incredibly diverse culture. Always remember…United We Stand Divided We Fall!
Happy 4
th of July! God Bless the United States of America!
Sources: Robert Lincoln, Lives of the Presidents of the United States, with Biographical Notices of the Signers of the Declaration of Independence (Brattleboro Typographical Company, 1839); John and Katherine Bakeless, Signers of the Declaration (Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1969); Biographical Directory of the United States Congress, 1774-1989 (Washington, D.C.: U.S. Government Printing Office, 1989).
