07/05/2024
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 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 or both, looted the properties of Ellery, Clymer, Hall, 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. The owner 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. They had security, but
they valued liberty 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.’” ~Michael W.
Smith
> Though connected in spirit, the Constitution and the Declaration of
> Independence are separate, distinct documents. The Declaration of
> Independence was written in 1776. It was a list of grievances against
> the king of England intended to justify separation from British rule.
> The US Constitution is a charter (set of laws) that was set to limit
> the power of the federal government, mostly by dividing it into 3
> branches
