Declaration of Independence Patriots

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The courage of the patriots made their Declaration a magic moment

BY RON FAUCHEUX Jul 3, 2022 - 6:00 pm

After 246 celebrations of American independence, it’s easy to forget the circumstances of that landmark event.

The Declaration of Independence, adopted July 4, 1776, was not actually signed until August 2. John Hancock signed it first and did so with such a flourish that a giant insurance company still uses his bold signature as its logo.

Rhode Island had the fewest signers, at two, and Pennsylvania had the most, at nine. Two signers were in their 20s and seventeen were in their 30s. Only seven were over 60.

The 56 signers lived interesting and consequential lives, some with unhappy endings. Twenty-four were lawyers, 17 merchants and 14 plantation owners. Four were physicians and two ministers.

A majority of the signers held slaves, a harsh truth of history that would contradict the self-evident truth on which the Declaration was based — “that all men are created equal.”

Two signers would become U.S. presidents, John Adams and Thomas Jefferson. These two opposed one another for the presidency and would die on the same day, July 4, 1826.

Another signer, planter and legislator Benjamin Harrison, was the father of the nation’s ninth president, William Henry Harrison, and the great-grandfather of the twenty-third president, also named Benjamin Harrison.

The oldest signer was 70-year-old Benjamin Franklin, America’s original wise man, a noted printer, inventor, diplomat and playful sage. The youngest, at 26, was Edward Rutledge of South Carolina; he would become that state’s governor.

Second youngest, also a 26-year-old South Carolinian, was Thomas Lynch Jr., who took his ill father’s place in the Continental Congress. He and his wife set sail for the West Indies a few years later, and the ship was lost at sea. He died at 30, the youngest of the signers.

Charles Carroll of Maryland was the last surviving signer. He died in 1832, 56 years after the Declaration was adopted. He lived to be 95. His longevity beat out Adams (90), Franklin (84) and Jefferson (83). Not bad considering that the average life expectancy was then under 40.

Careers of the signers were diverse, filled with ups and downs, important events and odd happenings.

Lyman Hall of Georgia was a physician and clergyman. Though the British burned Hall’s property and accused him of treason, he went on to become governor of Georgia. Lawyer Francis Hopkinson of New Jersey wrote music, poetry and satire and claimed to have designed the American flag.

George Wythe of Virginia was forced to drop out of college for lack of money. He would become the nation’s first professor of law and counted among his students two future presidents (Jefferson and James Monroe), a future speaker of the House and secretary of state (Henry Clay) and the longest-serving chief justice of the Supreme Court (John Marshall). Wythe died of poisoning, likely by a family member.

Samuel Chase would serve on the U.S. Supreme Court. He was impeached by the House for allowing partisan leanings to bias his judicial rulings but was later cleared by the Senate. James Wilson of Pennsylvania, a legal theorist and principal architect of the executive branch of government, spent part of his eventual tenure as a Supreme Court justice in debtor’s prison.

Thomas McKean, the last signer, was president before George Washington — that is, president of the Continental Congress. He lived something of a double life. While he served in Congress as a representative from Delaware, he was also chief justice of the Pennsylvania Supreme Court.

Other signers bequeathed their names to modern culture. The name of Samuel Adams, the Massachusetts statesman and propaganda master, lives on as a popular brand of beer. Elbridge Gerry, also from the Bay State, became the fifth U.S. vice-president under President James Madison and the second to die in office. His name survives — ever heard of gerrymandering?

The Declaration of Independence set forth bedrock principles of equality, life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness for the new nation. The signers were imperfect men. But when they mutually pledged their lives, fortunes and sacred honor in support of these principles, they provided an example of courage for leaders of any era.

Ron Faucheux is a nonpartisan political analyst based in New Orleans. He publishes LunchtimePolitics.com, a nationwide newsletter on polls and public opinion.

I would take exception to the idea that living past 40 was unusual. Yes, 40 was the average if you combine child who died before reaching adult status. Kind of like counting aborted child into the statistical records. It skews the result. If a man (not necessarily women) made it to adulthood, then they could be expected to live to see 70 in most cases.

The sad fact that most of the signers had slaves would tend to validate the 3/5ths rule in the Constitution later on. With a large advantage due to population, the slave owning south ran the federal government for the next 40 years by sheer numbers. When the north and newer states started to tip the balance, the south became unhappy. The first attempt to save themselves was the Missouri Compromise but the north did not live up to their agreement. This was followed by an attempted coup in Cuba and Central America to create more slave states. The final straw was the election of Lincoln.

What you can say was that those men had the courage to put their names on a document that could be used to hang them if caught. Compared to our modern mealy-mouthed politicians of today who change their tunes from one day to another.