Signers of the Declaration of Independence

[Jambrea]

I "Stumbled" on to this. Pretty interesting.

http://www.tldlobby.com/decsigners.html

Have you ever wondered what happened to the 56 men who signed the Declaration of Independence?
-Five signers were captured by the British as traitors and tortured before they died.

-Twelve had their homes ransacked and burned.

-Two lost their sons serving in the Revolutionary Army, another had two sons captured.

-Nine of the 56 fought and died from wounds or hardships of the Revolutionary War. They signed and they pledged their lives, their fortunes, and their sacred honor.

What kind of men were they?
-Twenty-four were lawyers and jurists, eleven were merchants, nine were farmers and large plantation owners; men of means, well educated. But they signed the Declaration of Independence knowing full well that the penalty would be death if they were captured.

-Carter Braxton of Virginia, a wealthy planter and trader, saw his ships swept from the seas by the British Navy. He sold his home and properties to pay his debts, and died in rags.

-Thomas McKeam was so hounded by the British that he was forced to move his family almost constantly. He served in the Congress without pay, and his family was kept in hiding. His possessions were taken from him, and poverty was his reward.

-Vandals or soldiers looted the properties of Dillery, Hall, Clymer, Walton, Gwinnett, Heyward, Ruttledge, and Middleton.

-At the battle of Yorktown, Thomas Nelson, Jr., noted that the British General Cornwallis had taken over the Nelson home for his headquarters. He quietly urged General George Washington to open fire. The home was destroyed, and Nelson died bankrupt.

-Francis Lewis had his home and properties destroyed. The enemy jailed his wife, and she died within a few months.

-John Hart was driven from his wife's bedside as she was dying. Their 13 children fled for their lives. His fields and his gristmill were laid to waste. For more than a year, he lived in forests and caves, returning home to find his wife dead and his children vanished. A few weeks later, he died from exhaustion and a broken heart.

-Norris and Livingston suffered similar fates.

Such were the stories and sacrifices of the American Revolution. These were not wild-eyed, rabble-rousing ruffians. They were soft-spoken men of means and education strengthened by the love and support of equally courageous women. They had security and love, but they valued liberty for their families more.

Standing tall, straight, and unwavering, they pledged:

"For the support of this declaration, with firm reliance on the protection of the divine providence, we mutually pledge to each other, our lives, our fortunes, and our sacred honor."

They gave each of us a free and independent America.

The history books never told you a lot about what happened in the Revolutionary War. We didn't just fight the British. We were British subjects, or secondary citizens, at that time and we fought our own government!

Some of us take these liberties so much for granted, but we shouldn't. So, take a few minutes while enjoying your 4th of July Holiday and silently thank these patriots. It's not much to ask for the price they paid.

Remember: Freedom is never free.

It's hard to fathom what these people did so long ago. Ask yourself:


Could you sign your own death warrant in the name of freedom? Could you sign your children's death warrant? Could you stand to loose all that you had worked so hard for in the name of a dream, not even a guarantee, of freedom for your family and your neighbors? In these modern days, I doubt that such bravery, vision and thirst for freedom exists. We have become a society of takers believing that comfort is a given. In fact, our freedoms of today are as a direct result of these men and women, our forefathers, making a collective stand in the face of certain death in order to establish our birthright........freedom.

[Garr]

Amazing stuff. . .

I honestly don't believe that Americans today would make those sacrifices to change this nation for the better. We've been sacked into believing that the fear we face should keep us obedient.

[bassjones]

I tend to think we've come to believe that no cause is worth the sacrifice...

[Garr]

I tend to think we've come to believe that no cause is worth the sacrifice...

Seconded

[Oliver's Army]

I think that Seve would take one for the Smoking team to preserve their rights.

But only if the gun was allowed to smoke after executing him.


ba-daaa bump.

[bassjones]

I tend to think we've come to believe that no cause is worth the sacrifice...

Seconded

Okay then let me try again...

I think we've come to believe that fighting Islamofascists is not worth sacrificing, even a little bit, some of our freedom, nor is it worth sending our young men to the Middle East to fight them and establish moderate governments who are not intent on killing their Jewish neighbors and eventually all infidels who don't follow their murderous brand of Islam.

[Garr]

Why are you trying again? I seconded your statement. Sheesh. The other one was good too.

[bassjones]

I thought you were one of the anti-Bushies on here???

[sevesd93]

I think that Seve would take one for the Smoking team to preserve their rights.

But only if the gun was allowed to smoke after executing him.


ba-daaa bump.

Damn straight I would, this is just the first step for government to see how far they can go. There are plenty more things to ban after this. I am going to laugh my balls off when these people who are for the smoking ban lose something they enjoy. It is bullsh*t.

That is alright though, I am going to start contributing immensely to global warming, then we will all be smoking......

IN HELL!!!!!!!!!!

[Garr]

I thought you were one of the anti-Bushies on here???

I'm more of a pro-good-idea than an anti-anything. I am admittedly ignorant of a lot of things going on in Iraq, but I think that helping another government establish democracy and assisting them on the path to a better life is a good thing. I think our motivations for doing it are shrouded in lies and conspiracy.

If this were Nazi Germany where the motives were less obfuscated, people might have a chance to latch on and stand behind it. Sure, there were anti-war people during the time of WWII, but there was a stronger sense of solidarity and purpose because (for the most part) the people weren't lied to about why we were over there.

Viet Nam and Iraq are dipped and soaked in napalm lies.

[=^-..-^=]

I'm glad you found that piece. I read it years ago and wondered where I could find it again.

Not trying to rain on your parade, but. . .

Several abolitionist groups, slaves, and free blacks petitioned the 2nd Continental Congress pleading with ethem to not forget the plight of the American slaves, in their protestations of England curbing their liberty. They were largely ignored by the founding fathers.

"All men are created equal' writer Jefferson had nearly 200 slaves awaiting his return to Monticello, including his concubine, Sally Hemmings.

After the War, these great men, plagued by war debt and internal unrest, did the same thing to the classes below them that the British had done to them.
•Demanding repayment of debts - in specie coin, not in kind
•forbidding non-property owners (including veternas) to vote
•foreclosing on farms for debt, while refusing to print paper money to ease the crisis
When the farmers rebelled against the new tyranny in 1786, patriot Sam Adams led a private army of Boston merchants against them, saying "Rebellion against monarchy is one thing, but rebellion against democracy should be punishable by death."

[Jambrea]

Not trying to rain on your parade, but. . .
Several abolitionist groups, slaves, and free blacks petitioned the 2nd Continental Congress pleading with them to not forget the plight of the American slaves, in their protestations of England curbing their liberty. They were largely ignored by the founding fathers.
"All men are created equal' writer Jefferson had nearly 200 slaves awaiting his return to Monticello, including his concubine, Sally Hemmings.

You aren't raining on my parade. I just found the article interesting. I think that just about everyone knows that when they said "All men are created equal" they just meant the white MAN. I know there is a book out there about things that really happened in history. I think most people also know that history is written by the winners or those in power.

[=^-..-^=]

Yeah, I hated to write all that and make you thinkI was trying minimize their sacrifice; it's just that there wee economic forces at work motivating some of these men as well as philosophical. Where it shows up is in their blind spot on slavery, and in Shay's Rebellion.

For some of these men, their slaves were freed by the British and they fought with the Brits AGAINST their former owners. Many slaves were forcibly returned after Yorktown, though the Brits tried to evacuate many to the Indies..

[Jambrea]

I think there are always economic forces at work when it comes to war. If it isn't THE reason for a war, it is one of the reasons.

[subgenius88]

Oh lord, why do I even open this forum?