  The
High Personal Cost
of signing
The Declaration of Independence
Historical
Background:
On July 2, 1776, in Philadelphia, the Continental Congress adopted
the resolution, introduced by Richard Henry Lee and John Adams,
which actually declared independence from Great Britain.
The
Declaration, which explained why the Colonies (now States) declared
their independence, was adopted by the Continental Congress July
4, 1776. The leading draftsman was Thomas Jefferson, assisted by
John Adams, Benjamin Franklin, Robert R Livingston, and Roger
Sherman.
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.
John Q. Adams, son of John Adams, a signer of the
Declaration of Independence, wrote: “Posterity!
You will never know how much it cost the present generation to preserve your
freedoms. I hope you will make good use of it.”
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.
In early September 1776, the British burned the home of Francis
Lewis and seized his wife. Held in prison with no bed and no
changes of clothing, she was finally released after two years of
suffering and her health gone. She died soon after her release.
Thomas McKean 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.
John Hart
was driven from his wife’s
bedside as she was dying. Their 13 children fled for their lives.
His fields and his grist-mill 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.
Lewis Morris’ New Jersey home was looted and burned and his
grist mills destroyed. While he eluded capture by sleeping in caves
and forest, his ailing wife died and his 13 children were scattered.
His failing health forced him to leave the New Jersey legislature in
1779, and he died less than three years after the Declaration was
signed.
Richard Stockton rushed home to Princeton, New Jersey, in
1776 to rescue his family from approaching British troops. He was
captured and thrown into prison, where he was repeatedly beaten and
kept near starvation. The British also destroyed his home and burned
his papers. As a result of mistreatment, he became an invalid and
died in 1781.
John Morton was criticized by many of his Pennsylvania neighbors
for breaking the tie vote of the Pennsylvania delegation in favor of
independence. The criticism depressed him deeply. Early in 1777 he
became ill and died.
Philip Livingston’s 150,000 acre estate was seized by the
British, but he continued to contribute his dwindling fortune to
Congress for the war effort. The strain of the revolutionary
struggle also depleted his health, and he died less than two years
after signing.
Robert Morris issued over one million dollars of personal
credit to finance the war effort, and raised $200,000 to defeat the
British at Yorktown. In 1798, his personal finances collapsed. Never
reimbursed by the country, he spent three years in debtor’s
prison.
Joseph Hewes of North Carolina gave tirelessly of himself to
create a navy and help General Washington. Working long hours
without adequate food and rest, he lost his health and died in 1779
at age 49.
Philip Livingston’s 150,000 acre estate was seized by the
British, but he continued to contribute his dwindling fortune to
Congress for the war effort. The strain of the revolutionary
struggle also depleted his health, and he died less than two years
after signing.
Carter Braxton of Virginia, a wealthy planter and trader, saw his
ships sunk or captured by the British Navy. Although he lost his
wealth and was forced to sell his land, he continued to serve in the
Virginia Legislature. He sold his home and
properties to pay his debts and died in poverty.
Thomas Heyward, Jr. served in the army and was taken prisoner.
The British raided his plantation while he was in prison and burned
his buildings. His wife became ill and died before he was released.
Williams Hooper of North Carolina was hunted by the British.
He fled, and they burned his home and lands.
Thomas Nelson, Jr. served as governor of Virginia and
distributed large sums of his money to the families of his soldiers.
At the Battle of Yorktown, he led 3,000 Virginia militia against the
British. Although the British took refuge in homes belonging to
Virginians, Nelson’s troops shelled them away.
At the battle of Yorktown, he 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.
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.
Please note that some of the above information is the subject of
debate. However, the limited information we do have serve as vital
reminders of the heart-breaking sacrifices these patriots made to
establish uncommon freedom and justice in this land.
Not all were genuine
Christians; many were deists and other wavered between those two
camps. But God has used their courage and suffering to raise up a
nation that has spread God's Word and love around the world.
The
following articles give us glimpses of what might lie ahead as
mainstream America trades Truth for imagination -- and God's moral
guidelines for depravity:
Purging the Memory of Our
Christian Roots
Unalienable
Rights? From God? |
Trusting God as
Freedom Fades
Squeezing America into a
Socialist World System
 A
Warning for Today:
“...if My people who are called by My name will
humble
themselves, and pray and seek My face, and turn from their
wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive
their sin and heal their land....
“But if you turn away and
forsake My statutes and My commandments which I have set
before you, and go and serve other gods, and worship them, then I will uproot them from My
land which I have given them; and this house which I have
sanctified for My name I will cast out of My sight, and will
make it a proverb and a byword among all peoples."
2 Chronicles 7:14,
19-20
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