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He sacrificed a lot for our nation. It is reminiscent of our
Posted on: March 17, 2021 at 21:28:33 CT
JeffB MU
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Founding Fathers
https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2011/7/4/991181/-
We all know the stories of the most famous leaders of that momentous era - Washington, Jefferson, Franklin, and John/Abigail Adams will be remembered for time immemorial. Yet the 56 men who signed the Declaration of Independence in the summer of 1776 could not have known just how successful their effort would be.
Rather, all they knew was that they had committed High Treason against Great Britain and their sovereign, King George the 3rd, by signing their name to a document that renounced their allegiance to their mother country. "We mutually pledge to each other our lives, our fortunes, and our sacred honor" is Jefferson's final sentence; for over 20 of the signers, that pledge would take on a woeful meaning in the years after 1776.
9 signers paid the ultimate sacrifice - their lives - for the cause of Independence. 17 (almost 1 for every 3 who signed) lost every penny they had and every piece of property they owned. Yet not a single one reneged on their pledge to stand "for the support of this Declaration".
Let me repeat - not one man out of the 56 signers of the Declaration ever recanted or apologized for their brave act in 1776. As delegate William Ellery recalled years later, having stood next to the document while it was being signed, "in no face was able to discern real fear". That courage was sorely tested, but never faltered.
This was despite the terrible price many of them paid, and the hardships all of them endured during the Revolutionary War that followed. The ones we remember today survived and went to perform even greater service for their new nation. Many did not.
Going from North to South (as was the tradition then), here are some of the Founding Fathers who truly gave their lives and/or their well-being for the cause of Liberty:
William Ellery, Rhode Island: His house and entire estate was burned to the ground. He survived the war and later became a vocal opponent of slavery.
William Floyd, New York: He and his family escaped the British invasion of Long Island to Connecticut, but left behind their home and his entire income. The home was a charred ruin when they returned, penniless, a full 7 years later. He went on to become a U.S. Senator and Congressman from New York.
Francis Lewis, New York: His home and estates on Long Island were destroyed by the British. Even worse, Mrs. Lewis was captured and imprisoned, dying from complications stemming from her incarceration.
Lewis Morris, New York: Far from being a "courteous abstainer" during the debate (as the musical 1776 tells us), Morris literally put his money where his mouth (and signatures) was; the entire Morris financial fortune was put at the service of the Continental Army. Loyalist neighbors confiscated his property, forcing him apart from his family for the duration of the war. His brother Gouverneur (of Constitution fame) also lost most of his wealth during the Revolution.
Phillip Livingston, New York: One of the wealthiest men in American in 1776, Livingston lost every shilling he had as a result of signing the Declaration. His family was driven from their house by the British and his estate plundered. Livingston died impoverished just two years later, while still serving in the Continental Congress.
John Hart, New Jersey: Hart's wife was dying as he signed the Declaration. He hurried home in time to say goodbye, only to be forced to flee as the British approached. His 13 children never saw their father again: they were all forced to flee for their lives as well. He died in 1779.
Richard Stockton, New Jersey: Judge Stockton was arrested by the British in 1776 and imprisoned in a military stockade. He was released 5 years later, his health crippled, and died a pauper in Princeton. Richard Stockton College in New Jersey is named in his honor.
John Witherspoon, New Jersey: A native of Scotland, he earned his Doctorate in Divinity from the University of St. Andrews before immigrating to the colonies to serve as President of the College of New Jersey (better known today as Princeton University). The British responded to his signing the Declaration by burning the College library to the ground when they occupied Princeton a few months later, and pillaged the rest of the campus. Witherspoon returned after the British were expelled from the area by the Continental Army, and lived to see the College rebuilt.
Robert Morris, Pennsylvania: Morris earned a massive fortune as a banker and commercial magnate - and gave it all away to finance the Revolution. The "blockade runners" that brought provisions from Europe to the colonies were entirely paid for and provisioned by Morris. He also loaned the then-enormous sum of $10,000 to the Continental Congress when it was on the verge of bankruptcy in 1776. Unlike the global bankers of today, Morris didn't set any preconditions on a loan that literally kept the nation afloat; also unlike today's CEOs, he never got his money back. He died impoverished in 1806, but not before becoming the nation's first effective Secretary of the Treasury (before 1789, that is).
John Morton, Pennsylvania: Despite living in a Loyalist-dominated part of the colony, and personally preferring reconciliation with Great Britain, Morton signed the Declaration. His neighbors turned on him, and he was forced to remain in Philadelphia. Just before his death in 1777, he submitted to Congress what became known as the "Articles of Confederation".
Thomas Nelson, Virginia: Nelson lived in Yorktown, which of course saw the final showdown of the Revolutionary War. As American guns shelled the British defenses, an anguished Nelson (now a General in the Continental Army) saw that they were sparing his house, which was General Cornwallis' headquarters. As the story goes, Nelson personally turned a cannon towards his home and blew it up, to show that he was no less willing to sacrifice than his fellow Virginians. He loaned over $2 million to the Continental Congress, none of which was repaid, and died impoverished.
The entire South Carolina delegation: All four Palmetto State signatories paid dearly for joining the cause for Independence. Edward Rutledge (the pro-slavery aristocrat in 1776), Arthur Middleton and Thomas Heyward, Jr. were all imprisoned by the British when Charleston was taken in 1780. They were beaten and humiliated in prison, then released to their plantations a year later - which of course had been burned to the ground and completely pillaged. They were more fortunate than co-signatory Thomas Lynch - he disappeared at sea while seeking medical help in the West Indies, together with his young wife, at some point in 1779.
Lyman Hall, Georgia: a physician who had earned his degree from Yale, Dr. Hall helped to supply food and provisions for the Continental Army throughout the war. Despite living the furthest away from Philadelphia of all the signers, he returned to Georgia just once between 1775 and 1780 (when his friend and co-signer Button Gwinnett was killed in a duel). The British burned his property when they seized Savannah in 1780, and after escaping the siege of Charleston found refuge in Connecticut.
----------------------
Of the 56 men who signed the Declaration of Independence in the weeks and months after July 4, 1776, 9 did not live to see the success of the American Revolution. Many others suffered financial losses and - in some cases - total ruin. The men listed above were not the only ones to pay a stiff price for their courage. John Adams' Boston home was looted, as was Franklin's in Philadelphia, while Thomas Jefferson barely escaped with his life in 1779 when the British Navy raided Virginia. Josiah Bartlett's house was sacked by Loyalists in 1774, even before the "Shot Heard 'Round The World"!
They were, of course, far from alone. Thousands of ordinary Americans suffered as well, with many paying the ultimate sacrifice for their courage. It has been often noted that many (if not equally as many) colonists stayed loyal to Great Britain; they, too often lost everything, driven from their homes and the new nation itself (Nova Scotia was largely settled by Loyalists). For the men, women and children who lived through the American Revolution, it was not a pleasurable experience.
I will let James Elbrecht, who wrote a splendid commentary in 2000 that brutally dissected a myth propagated by (who else?) Rush Limbaugh about the Founding Fathers' fates, have the final word:
Much has been written about the motivations of the Signers and the Founders in general. From my study, I believe that as a body they were putting their country above their own personal gains. There is no doubt that they risked their own lives & property along with that of their countrymen.
I'm not sure whether I admire more the representative that voted no, but signed the Declaration or the representative that personally felt it was a bad idea, but voted yes because his constituents had expressed their wishes that he support independence.
I admire the Congress at large for, when it was inevitable that the vote would pass, doing everything in their power to make a united front. Both the delegates who stayed home and the new appointees, who were unable to take part in much more than a vote that had already been decided, are a tribute to a body who put the country and their countrymen above their personal egos...
...All of the Americans who lived in those times 'paid the price'. John Adams wrote years later that all through the Revolution he would have given anything to have things returned to the way they were. He wasn't lamenting his own losses. Any human who has ever seen the suffering of the soldiers and innocents in a war zone has to wonder if an armed conflict is ever a worthy price for change. But the clock can't be turned back. The deed was done. And from it a glorious country emerged.
So, as we celebrate the birth of the United States of America today, let's pause to remember our ancestors - those we remember and those who were forgotten - who pledged "our lives, our fortunes and our sacred honor" for a cause that was lucky to survive the next few months, let alone 235 years. 56 men suffered varying degrees of misfortune for placing their signature underneath John Hancock's - but none of them wavered, and none of them repudiated their pledge. For this, and despite all the difficulties we have faced - and will continue to face - here in America, we should always give our thanks.
https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2011/7/4/991181/-
We all know the stories of the most famous leaders of that momentous era - Washington, Jefferson, Franklin, and John/Abigail Adams will be remembered for time immemorial. Yet the 56 men who signed the Declaration of Independence in the summer of 1776 could not have known just how successful their effort would be.
Rather, all they knew was that they had committed High Treason against Great Britain and their sovereign, King George the 3rd, by signing their name to a document that renounced their allegiance to their mother country. "We mutually pledge to each other our lives, our fortunes, and our sacred honor" is Jefferson's final sentence; for over 20 of the signers, that pledge would take on a woeful meaning in the years after 1776.
9 signers paid the ultimate sacrifice - their lives - for the cause of Independence. 17 (almost 1 for every 3 who signed) lost every penny they had and every piece of property they owned. Yet not a single one reneged on their pledge to stand "for the support of this Declaration".
Let me repeat - not one man out of the 56 signers of the Declaration ever recanted or apologized for their brave act in 1776. As delegate William Ellery recalled years later, having stood next to the document while it was being signed, "in no face was able to discern real fear". That courage was sorely tested, but never faltered.
This was despite the terrible price many of them paid, and the hardships all of them endured during the Revolutionary War that followed. The ones we remember today survived and went to perform even greater service for their new nation. Many did not.
Going from North to South (as was the tradition then), here are some of the Founding Fathers who truly gave their lives and/or their well-being for the cause of Liberty:
William Ellery, Rhode Island: His house and entire estate was burned to the ground. He survived the war and later became a vocal opponent of slavery.
William Floyd, New York: He and his family escaped the British invasion of Long Island to Connecticut, but left behind their home and his entire income. The home was a charred ruin when they returned, penniless, a full 7 years later. He went on to become a U.S. Senator and Congressman from New York.
Francis Lewis, New York: His home and estates on Long Island were destroyed by the British. Even worse, Mrs. Lewis was captured and imprisoned, dying from complications stemming from her incarceration.
Lewis Morris, New York: Far from being a "courteous abstainer" during the debate (as the musical 1776 tells us), Morris literally put his money where his mouth (and signatures) was; the entire Morris financial fortune was put at the service of the Continental Army. Loyalist neighbors confiscated his property, forcing him apart from his family for the duration of the war. His brother Gouverneur (of Constitution fame) also lost most of his wealth during the Revolution.
Phillip Livingston, New York: One of the wealthiest men in American in 1776, Livingston lost every shilling he had as a result of signing the Declaration. His family was driven from their house by the British and his estate plundered. Livingston died impoverished just two years later, while still serving in the Continental Congress.
John Hart, New Jersey: Hart's wife was dying as he signed the Declaration. He hurried home in time to say goodbye, only to be forced to flee as the British approached. His 13 children never saw their father again: they were all forced to flee for their lives as well. He died in 1779.
Richard Stockton, New Jersey: Judge Stockton was arrested by the British in 1776 and imprisoned in a military stockade. He was released 5 years later, his health crippled, and died a pauper in Princeton. Richard Stockton College in New Jersey is named in his honor.
John Witherspoon, New Jersey: A native of Scotland, he earned his Doctorate in Divinity from the University of St. Andrews before immigrating to the colonies to serve as President of the College of New Jersey (better known today as Princeton University). The British responded to his signing the Declaration by burning the College library to the ground when they occupied Princeton a few months later, and pillaged the rest of the campus. Witherspoon returned after the British were expelled from the area by the Continental Army, and lived to see the College rebuilt.
Robert Morris, Pennsylvania: Morris earned a massive fortune as a banker and commercial magnate - and gave it all away to finance the Revolution. The "blockade runners" that brought provisions from Europe to the colonies were entirely paid for and provisioned by Morris. He also loaned the then-enormous sum of $10,000 to the Continental Congress when it was on the verge of bankruptcy in 1776. Unlike the global bankers of today, Morris didn't set any preconditions on a loan that literally kept the nation afloat; also unlike today's CEOs, he never got his money back. He died impoverished in 1806, but not before becoming the nation's first effective Secretary of the Treasury (before 1789, that is).
John Morton, Pennsylvania: Despite living in a Loyalist-dominated part of the colony, and personally preferring reconciliation with Great Britain, Morton signed the Declaration. His neighbors turned on him, and he was forced to remain in Philadelphia. Just before his death in 1777, he submitted to Congress what became known as the "Articles of Confederation".
Thomas Nelson, Virginia: Nelson lived in Yorktown, which of course saw the final showdown of the Revolutionary War. As American guns shelled the British defenses, an anguished Nelson (now a General in the Continental Army) saw that they were sparing his house, which was General Cornwallis' headquarters. As the story goes, Nelson personally turned a cannon towards his home and blew it up, to show that he was no less willing to sacrifice than his fellow Virginians. He loaned over $2 million to the Continental Congress, none of which was repaid, and died impoverished.
The entire South Carolina delegation: All four Palmetto State signatories paid dearly for joining the cause for Independence. Edward Rutledge (the pro-slavery aristocrat in 1776), Arthur Middleton and Thomas Heyward, Jr. were all imprisoned by the British when Charleston was taken in 1780. They were beaten and humiliated in prison, then released to their plantations a year later - which of course had been burned to the ground and completely pillaged. They were more fortunate than co-signatory Thomas Lynch - he disappeared at sea while seeking medical help in the West Indies, together with his young wife, at some point in 1779.
Lyman Hall, Georgia: a physician who had earned his degree from Yale, Dr. Hall helped to supply food and provisions for the Continental Army throughout the war. Despite living the furthest away from Philadelphia of all the signers, he returned to Georgia just once between 1775 and 1780 (when his friend and co-signer Button Gwinnett was killed in a duel). The British burned his property when they seized Savannah in 1780, and after escaping the siege of Charleston found refuge in Connecticut.
----------------------
Of the 56 men who signed the Declaration of Independence in the weeks and months after July 4, 1776, 9 did not live to see the success of the American Revolution. Many others suffered financial losses and - in some cases - total ruin. The men listed above were not the only ones to pay a stiff price for their courage. John Adams' Boston home was looted, as was Franklin's in Philadelphia, while Thomas Jefferson barely escaped with his life in 1779 when the British Navy raided Virginia. Josiah Bartlett's house was sacked by Loyalists in 1774, even before the "Shot Heard 'Round The World"!
They were, of course, far from alone. Thousands of ordinary Americans suffered as well, with many paying the ultimate sacrifice for their courage. It has been often noted that many (if not equally as many) colonists stayed loyal to Great Britain; they, too often lost everything, driven from their homes and the new nation itself (Nova Scotia was largely settled by Loyalists). For the men, women and children who lived through the American Revolution, it was not a pleasurable experience.
I will let James Elbrecht, who wrote a splendid commentary in 2000 that brutally dissected a myth propagated by (who else?) Rush Limbaugh about the Founding Fathers' fates, have the final word:
Much has been written about the motivations of the Signers and the Founders in general. From my study, I believe that as a body they were putting their country above their own personal gains. There is no doubt that they risked their own lives & property along with that of their countrymen.
I'm not sure whether I admire more the representative that voted no, but signed the Declaration or the representative that personally felt it was a bad idea, but voted yes because his constituents had expressed their wishes that he support independence.
I admire the Congress at large for, when it was inevitable that the vote would pass, doing everything in their power to make a united front. Both the delegates who stayed home and the new appointees, who were unable to take part in much more than a vote that had already been decided, are a tribute to a body who put the country and their countrymen above their personal egos...
...All of the Americans who lived in those times 'paid the price'. John Adams wrote years later that all through the Revolution he would have given anything to have things returned to the way they were. He wasn't lamenting his own losses. Any human who has ever seen the suffering of the soldiers and innocents in a war zone has to wonder if an armed conflict is ever a worthy price for change. But the clock can't be turned back. The deed was done. And from it a glorious country emerged.
So, as we celebrate the birth of the United States of America today, let's pause to remember our ancestors - those we remember and those who were forgotten - who pledged "our lives, our fortunes and our sacred honor" for a cause that was lucky to survive the next few months, let alone 235 years. 56 men suffered varying degrees of misfortune for placing their signature underneath John Hancock's - but none of them wavered, and none of them repudiated their pledge. For this, and despite all the difficulties we have faced - and will continue to face - here in America, we should always give our thanks.
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He sacrificed a lot for our nation. It is reminiscent of our - JeffB MU - 3/17 21:28:33