With the 4th of July right around the corner many of us take time to reflect on our freedoms and what this country means to us. We all know that the official start of this country occurred by the signing of the Declaration of Inependence.  How many of us though know anything about the signers of this document.

Most people know that John Hancock signed the Declaration, and probably most of you know Ben Franklin and Thomas Jefferson were signers as well. Here are a few more interesting facts about the signers of this historical document.

Pennsylvania was where the most signers haled from. Nine of the signers of the Declaration came from this state (then a colony) Virginia had the second highest number of signers. Seven came from that state. 

The oldest signer of the Declaration of Independence was Ben Franklin at the age of 70.

Average age of the men signing the declaration of Independence was 45.

Twenty- Two of the signers were lawyers, 14 farmers, and 4 were doctors. 9 of the signers were immigrants, 1 was an orphan.

Two of the signers would later become President of the United States, John Adams, and Thomas Jefferson.

Of the 56 people who signed the Declaration of Independence only 17 actually fought in the Revolutionary war. Five of those who fought were captured by the British.

Eleven of the signers of this document had their homes burned by the British.

Charles Carroll was the only member of the Catholic religion to sign the Declaration of Independence all the rest were Protestants.

19 of these men had attended Ivy league colleges. Seven had attended Harvard, Yale and William and Mary’s college each had 4 alumni sign the Declaration and Princeton had three alumni signers.

Both Adams and Jefferson died on the 50th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence.

Much has been made through out history about the fact that most if not all of the signers of the Declaration of Independence were men of wealth. They were in fact some of the wealthy men in the colonies at the time. Despite this wealth, which gave them every reason to accept the status quo and continue to live a comfortable lifestyle these men knowingly signed a document that branded them as traitors.

They risked their homes, their families, and their wealth for an ideal. The ideal of freedom.

It is easy to take such risks when you have nothing to lose and every thing to gain. These men however, had everything to lose and only freedom to gain when they put pen to paper and declared that they believed in something far more precious than money or comfort. They believed in America.

Now it is our turn. For the last few years, most of us in this country have been struggling with the economy and many homes have been jeopardized or lost. Not from an enemy beyond our borders but from within. Bad decisions by our leaders in business and government have taken their toll. Economists are now predicting that the recession has bottomed out. However, the climb back up for this country is going to be a slow and difficult one.

The task ahead is going to be a hard one for all of us. We are going to all have to reach out and help one another, stand by one another, and work as we have never worked before to put this country back on top. It is time we took the lead from our founding fathers and show that we too believe in America.

We can start by celebrating this coming 4th of July holiday with all the joy it deserves. Gather together for back yard cook outs, fly our nations flag with pride, break out all those great patriotic songs old and new, celebrate all that makes this country great. Then let’s all buckle down to work and make this country what it was, and what it can be.