Even as the Congress was meeting, the fighting continued. Key battles included the Battle of Bunker hill in Boston on June 17, 1775, which was a defeat for the colonial militia but gave the colonists confidence that they could fight the better-trained and better-equipped British army. At the Battle of Dorchester Heights, the Continental Army under George Washington recaptured Boston.

The event of 1775 pushed more colonists to support independence. One such colonist was Thomas Paine. Paine issued an influential pamphlet called Common Sense in which he called for a declaration of independence. His argument, based on Enlightenment thinking, said that under the theory of the social contract, the British government had failed to protect the rights and liberties of its citizens in North America.

In 1776 a committee of the Continental Congress began to draft the Declaration of Independence. The Declaration formally announced the colonies’ break with Britain and expressed three main ideas. First, it stated that men possessed certain “inalienable rights” including “life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.” Next, the Declaration said that King George had passed unfair laws and taxed the colonies unfairly. Finally, it declared that the colonies had the right to break away from Great Britain because King George had violated the conditions of the social contract  when Britain passed these unfair laws.

1776

June 7 — Congress, meeting in Philadelphia, receives Richard Henry Lee’s resolution urging Congress to declare independence.

June 11 — Thomas Jefferson, John Adams, Benjamin Franklin, Roger Sherman, and Robert R. Livingston appointed to a committee to draft a declaration of independence. American army retreats to Lake Champlain from Canada.

June 12-27 — Jefferson, at the request of the committee, drafts a declaration, of which only a fragment exists. Jefferson’s clean, or “fair” copy, the “original Rough draught,” is reviewed by the committee. Both documents are in the manuscript collections of the Library of Congress.

June 28 – A fair copy of the committee draft of the Declaration of Independence is read in Congress.

July 1-4 — Congress debates and revises the Declaration of Independence.

July 2 — Congress declares independence as the British fleet and army arrive at New York.

July 4 — Congress adopts the Declaration of Independence in the morning of a bright, sunny, but cool Philadelphia day. John Dunlap prints the Declaration of Independence. These prints are now called “Dunlap Broadsides.” Twenty-four copies are known to exist, two of which are in the Library of Congress. One of these was Washington’s personal copy.

July 5 — John Hancock, president of the Continental Congress, dispatches the first of Dunlap’s broadsides of the Declaration of Independence to the legislatures of New Jersey and Delaware.

July 6 – Pennsylvania Evening Post of July 6 prints the first newspaper rendition of the Declaration of Independence.

July 8 — The first public reading of the Declaration is in Philadelphia.

July 9 – Washington orders that the Declaration of Independence be read before the American army in New York

July 19 — Congress orders the Declaration of Independence engrossed (officially inscribed) and signed by members.

August 2 — Delegates begin to sign engrossed copy of the Declaration of Independence. A large British reinforcement arrives at New York after being repelled at Charleston, S.C.

1777

January 18 — Congress, now sitting in Baltimore, Maryland, orders that signed copies of the Declaration of Independence printed by Mary Katherine Goddard of Baltimore be sent to the states.

Britain is not the only country that settled in what is now the United States. In the 1500s, the Spanish founded the fort in Saint Augustine, Florida. French settled in Canada and the region around the Great Lakes. The Dutch established a colony in New York, which they called Nieuw Nederland. Dimukimi other regions by the Scots-Irish, German, and Swedish.

Development of the colony is a bad thing for Native Americans. They lost their country, and many of those who died of variola, a disease that brought Europeans to America.

In the early 1700s, the emerging religious movement called the Awakening Movement. Awakening Movement is one of the first event in American history that is a “big move”, or something that involves a lot of Americans. Awakening Movement, along with Salem Witch Judgement, a response to the American situation at the time, and may affect the rationale used in the American Revolution.In 1733, there were thirteen colonies. Colonies are usually grouped into New England (New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Rhode Island and Connecticut), Middle colonies (New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware), and the South (Maryland, Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Georgia). New England had small farms, and are more reliant on fishing, shipbuilding, and small industries. Southern Colonies have tobacco and cotton plantations. The gardens were originally worked by workers who are willing to work a few years to pay the entrance to America and the ground, then by the slave. The colony was a small-sized farms, and is known to have diverse cultures and beliefs.

Thirteen colonies are bound to the “Atlantic economy”, which involves the use of ships for the slave trade, tobacco, rum, sugar, gold, spices, fish, timber, and manufactured goods, between the United States, West Indies, Europe, and Africa. New York, Philadelphia, Boston, and Charleston is a city and major port at that time.

From 1754 until 1763, Britain and France engaged in a war called the Seven Years’ War. England won the war. French surrender to the British colony in Canada, and gave Louisiana to Spain, Spain gave Florida to England. Furthermore, Britain issued the Proclamation of 1763, which states that people living in the thirteen colonies can not be settled in the west of the Appalachians.

Awakening Movement (The Great Awakening) was pioneered by the development of the Pietism which plagued Europe and America. This movement is described as a unique wave that also color the rise of countries colony in 1740-1742. This movement became known as the beginning of the evangelical movement. There are four periods of this revival movement. Each has a characteristic spread very rapidly, led by the evangelical pastor, gave a very sharp increase in interest in religion and had a huge impact for the guilt and forgiveness toward someone. This has resulted in the evangelical church experienced a great leap forward in terms of number and bring a new religious movements and denominations (including Baptists).

Salem Witch Punishment is punishment of persons accused of witchcraft in Essex County, Suffolk, and Middlesex, in the colony of Massachusetts in the period between February 1692 until May 1693. This event is described as the danger of religious extremism and the accusation is wrong.

American RevolutionAfter the Seven Years’ War, colonists began to feel they do not obtain their rights. Besides the Proclamation of 1763, they felt unfairly treated because of the tax levied by the British government. Colonists declared “No taxation without representation”, which means they have requested that they have a voice in the Parliament of Britain. The taxes include the Sugar Act (1764), Stamp Act (1765), Townsend Duties (1767), and the Tea Act (1773). In 1770, the Boston Tea Party event occurs. Colonists in Boston throwing hundreds of boxes of tea from ships in Boston Harbor, in response to the Tea Act. British troops then took over Boston, which resulted in the establishment of the Continental Congress, composed of leaders of all 13 colonies. Important figures in the Congress was Benjamin Franklin, John Adams, Thomas Jefferson, John Hancock, Roger Sherman, and John Jay.

In 1776, Thomas Paine wrote the pamphlet Common Sense, which states that the colonies should be independent from Britain. On July 4, 1776, thirteen colonies agreed on the Declaration of Independence of the United States. Colonists have been engaged in battle with the British in the American Revolutionary War. The war started in 1775 at Lexington and Concord. Although American troops under the leadership of George Washington’s many defeats, they won the war after the victory at Yorktown, assisted by France. Treaty of Paris was signed, and Britain pull all its troops from the United States.

Declaration of Independence was an act of the Second Continental Congress adopted on July 4, 1776 stating that the Thirteen Colonies independent of Great Britain. This declaration, which is mostly written by Thomas Jefferson, explained the justification or justification to escape, and the development of Lee’s Resolution dated July 2 that for the first time the U.S. declared independence. A copy of the declaration is signed by the delegates on August 2 and is currently on display at the National Archives and Records Administration in Washington, DC The Declaration is considered as one of the founding of the United States and the document dated July 4 celebrated as Independence Day.

Continued to Federal Periods of 1781–1815 – The History of the United States Part III (Final)

The Continental Congress elected one of its members as president but the position was not what we consider a president to be. His role was more of a moderator for the discussions in the congress. So the first true president of the United States would be George Washington, right? Not so, because before the Constitution there was something called the Articles of Confederation. This document was finally ratified in 1781. Between that time and the time of Washington’s election as the first president under the Constitution, ten men were President of the United States.

Samuel Huntington was president of the Congress when the Articles of Confederation were ratified, but he was not elected to that office after ratification. The first elected president under the Articles of Confederation was Thomas McKean. He served in that office form July, 1781, until November, 1781. He had a long and storied political career, including serving as Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania and three terms as governor.

John Hanson was next, serving almost a year. He was a Maryland planter with an illustrious family. His relatives included the military secretary to George Washington, a signer of the Declaration of Independence, a signer of the constitution, and a governor of Maryland. He vigorously opposed the Constitution because he thought it gave too much power to the federal government.

Elias Boudinot then served a year (the term under the Articles of Confederation). He was a skilled statesman and a classical scholar. One of his grandchildren eventually became a leader of the Cherokee nation.

Thomas Mifflin served from 1783 to 1784. He served as George Washington’s aide-de-camp in the Revolutionary War and later as Quartermaster General of the army. He was a colorful character, often involved in secret cabals aiming to change this or that. At one point he was involved in a scheme to remove Washington from command. Despite opposition from those he had offended and the accusations of being a drunk, Mifflin served, and served well, in a number of posts. As governor of Pennsylvania, he helped to improve the roads and reformed the state’s judicial and penal systems.

Richard Henry Lee was president from 1784 to 1785. He wrote and proposed the resolution “that these United Colonies are, and of right ought to be, free and independent States.” He was a wealthy Virginia planter who was vehemently opposed to slavery. Lee was involved in the process of breaking away from British rule from the beginning. He was appointed by the Continental congress to the committee charged with drafting a declaration of independence, but his wife became ill and he had to go home. He was replaced on the committee by Thomas Jefferson. When the Constitution was being considered for ratification, he opposed it as anti-democratic. He pushed for passage of amendments that corrected some of what he considered to be serious faults in the main document. We call those amendments the Bill of Rights. He was the great-uncle of Robert E. Lee.

John Hancock took office as president in 1785. He had also served as president of the Continental Congress from 1775 to 1777, so he served two non-consecutive terms more than a century before Grover Cleveland. Well, that is not exactly true. He was elected president in 1785 but he was not interested in the office and he never served. He sent in his resignation in 1786. Hancock was in the shipping business and was a very wealthy man. He is well-known for being the first to sign the Declaration of Independence.

After Hancock resigned, Nathaniel Gorham was chosen as president. He was another of those successful Boston merchants who became actively involved in the quest for independence from the British. He had the idea that the federal union he helped to create would not and should not continue for more than about a hundred years. Regional interests would become increasingly more powerful and eventually new nations would arise.

Arthur St. Clair was president from 1787 to 1788. He was from Edinburgh, Scotland. He is the only U.S. president who was born and raised in another country. He joined the Royal Navy and was stationed in the American theater during the conflict commonly known as the French and Indian War. After that ended he settled in Pennsylvania. He helped to organize the New Jersey militia and the militia in Pennsylvania, led the Continental Army’s Canadian expedition, and was elected to congress. After serving as president, he was governor of the Northwest Territory and the founder of Cincinnati. He predicted that government power would expand until it eventually would confiscate as much as a quarter of the income of citizens—a concept which was considered laughable at the time.

Cyrus Griffin served as president from 1788 until George Washington was sworn in on March 4, 1789. He was a staunch anti-federalist, but eventually accepted the new Constitution. He viewed the Bill of Rights a hedge against total control by the federal government.

None of these guys appear in lists of presidents, but they all served as President of the United States. 

My life began on January 1, 1752 in Philadelphia Pennsylvania.  At an early age my skill for needlework emerged while att3ending the Friend’s School on South Fourth Street.  I opened an upholstery shop with my husband , also a soldier in the militia, but on January 21 1776, he was killed while on patrol.  The times were hard but I continued the business on my own.  I remarried two more times but with the same result.  Nineteen years (January 30, 1836) after my third husband’s death, I died in Philadelphia.

Who am I?

• 1.      I was born January 1, 1752 in Philadelphia Pennsylvania.

• 2.      I opened an upholstery shop with my husband, but was forced to run the business by myself when he was killed on January 21, 1776.

• 3.      On January 30, 1836 in Philadelphia Pennsylvania I died.

• 4.      While attending the Friends’ School my skill for needlework emerged.

• 5.      I was commissioned by George Washington, George Ross and Robert Morris to sew the “Stars and Stripes”.  On June 14, 1977, the “Stars and Stripes” was adopted as our national flag by a resolution issued by the Continental Congress.

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With the celebration of Independence Day for the United States of America just around the corner, it seemed like a good time to review the United States Constitution and other documents.   A constitution is defined as a set of rules for a government that establishes principles of an autonomous political entity. It defines fundamental political principles, the structure, procedures, powers, and duties of a government.  It also normally outlines the rights of the people governed by that government.

Was our country founded upon the principles of an Almighty God?

The Declaration of Independence was written by Thomas Jefferson, with the input of John Adams and Benjamin Franklin, in June of 1776. It is a declaration of the political ideals of individual liberty that John Locke and the Continental philosophers had stated, and to which the majority of Americans ascribed.  It then listed for the world the grievances America held against the British, and their justification in breaking political ties with them.

In the preamble of the Declaration it states; “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights….”  In the conclusion it affirms that “for the support of this Declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of Divine Providence….”  The document was ratified by twelve of the thirteen existing colonies and declared accepted on July 4, 1776, signaling the official birth of a nation. By August the official draft was complete, the thirteenth colony had approved, and the document was signed by a majority of the representatives of the Continental congress.

The United States constitution was not written until 1787. Its purpose was mostly to define both the responsibilities and the limits of government over the people it served.  It also included a bill of rights which listed the rights of the people that were considered to be unalienable.

There is no reference in the United Sates Constitution to God. There is, in the Bill of Rights, the establishment of the right to religious freedom, and the responsibility of the government to have no power or control over any specified religion. Of the 55 representatives who drafted the original constitution at least four were self-proclaimed atheists. The rest came from predominantly Christian, Quaker, and Mennonite backgrounds.

 From perusing these documents, one has to assume that this country consisted predominantly of folks who considered God to be so self-evident that He did not require specific address when writing in a political forum.

The State Constitutions

Perusal of the constitutions of the individual states both upholds this view, and expands upon the generally held belief in God.  These documents were ratified individually by state; the first three being Pennsylvania, Virginia, and Georgia in 1776. In viewing the constitutions with regard to their statements of faith, listed below are the results.

34 of the 50 United States wrote into their preamble that their constitution was written out of their gratefulness to the Almighty God.  Those states are; Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Connecticut, Florida, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Jersey, Mew Mexico, New York, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, South Dakota, Texas, Utah, West Virginia, Wisconsin, and Wyoming.

2 more, Alabama and Oklahoma, invoked the favor or guidance of the Almighty God.

1, Georgia, stated their reliance on the Almighty God.

4 states — Colorado, Maine, Missouri, and Washington – give credit to the Supreme Ruler of the Universe.

Iowa names the Supreme Being.

Delaware recognizes the natural right of all men to worship their Creator.

Massachusetts names the Great Legislator of the Universe.

4 states say nothing of God in the preamble. However they protect the right of worship elsewhere in their constitutions.  New Hampshire states “Every individual has a natural and unalienable right to worship God….” Oregon states in its bill of rights, “All men shall be secure in the natural right to worship Almighty God….” Tennessee states in its article XI, “That all men have a natural and indefeasible right to worship Almighty God….” And Virginia states in its bill of rights, “Religion, or the duty which we owe our Creator, can be directed only by reason and it is the mutual duty of all to practice Christian forbearance, love, and charity towards each other….

1 state, Vermont, acknowledges the right of men to worship the Author of Existence.

Of the 50 states, Hawaii is the only one whose constitution does not give credit to a single deity. In its preamble, it names Divine Guidance.  It is interesting to note that Hawaii was the last state to ratify a constitution, not joining the union until 1959.

Summary

In no document is the name of Jesus Christ mentioned, although He was referred to repeatedly by many of the founding fathers and legendary speakers throughout history.  Indeed, in a later inaugural address, George Washington stated that this form of government would only be successful as long as it was manned and peopled by men of Christian principles.  

Strictly from the documents above, a case could not be made that this nation was founded upon Christian beliefs – except for the state of Virginia. It can be stated, quite clearly, that it was founded upon belief in God.  Indeed, God was considered so natural and self-evident that specific reference to Him was not considered particularly necessary.  That in itself is valid proof of the foundational religious convictions of the founders of this country.

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On September 5, 1774 the First Continental Congress met in Carpenters Hall in Philadelphia. The main figures of the meeting included: George Washington, Samuel Adams, his cousin John Adams, Patrick Henry, Richard Henry Lee, and John Jay. Their main objective for the meeting was to come up with complaints against Britain such as the Declaration of Rights and Grievances. All of the colonies attended with the exception of Georgia.

The Second Continental Congress met with greater intentions than to lodge complaints. Their primary goal was to secede from Britain and to form an entirely new nation. All of the notable delegates from the last meeting were present, with the addition of a few big names such as Benjamin Franklin, Thomas Jefferson, and John Hancock. Hancock was elected the president of this congress. A new post office and printing press were formed and given to Franklin to control. Jefferson was asked to write the constitution. In July of 1775, The Oak Branch Petition told George III that the colonies wanted peace in return for their rights. When George said no, he sent thousands of troops over to fight. Thus, the Revolution started.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        

Early Militias were formed earlier than the First Continental Congress. When the time of the Second came around, there was greater need for more troops. George Washington was placed in charge of the brand new Continental Army, which was composed of normal men, who had no experience or training but the will and desire to break away from their British counterparts. On May 10, 1775, Ethan Allen formed another group of soldiers known as the Green Mountain Boys, who were another faction broken off of the original state militias.

The Boston Massacre took place on March 5, 1770. In a Boston Square a group of colonists were throwing snowballs at the British troops stationed there; so the British fired into the crowd of colonists. When the smoke from the gunpowder settled, three citizens lay dead, and eight were wounded (two which would die soon after). The colonists found this unforgivable and considered it the first step of a revolution. Tensions soon grew in the colonies and after the Tea Act in 1773 the colonists came to the conclusion that King George III was abusing their natural rights. They decided that it was time to take back those rights in a small scale rebellion; The Boston Tea Party. In December of 1773 the Sons of Liberty dumped 342 chests of tea into the harbor. After this rebellion occurred the British introduced the Intolerable Acts. They included the Coercive Acts and the Quebec Act. As you guessed from the name these acts were the push that was needed to put the colonists over the edge. These acts resulted in the angered of the colonists because of the injustice of the king. The Quebec Act angered them because they did not want to move west where they would not have elected assemblies. A man by the name of Thomas Paine convinced most peoples of the corruption of the British government through his pamphlet, “Common Sense” (January 1776). Paine says, “We have the power to begin the world again!” Paine is saying that united, the colonies could overthrow the lobster-backs, and be free from British tyranny ( Paine). A great public speaker and lawyer, Patrick Henry, roused the emotions of the delegates at the Second Virginia Convention on March 23, 1775.

 He firmly showed his patriotism and desire to rebel when he yelled in the courtroom, “Give me liberty, or give me death!” (Patrick Henry). Henry would rather fight to the death than live under the rule of the British. Perhaps one of the greatest minds of the time, John Adams, supported the cause for liberty. He followed what Locke had expressed and he believed that a neglected colonial body did indeed have the right to overthrow its government and set up their own in its place. John Adams says, “Liberty must at all hazards be supported. We have a right to it, derived from our Maker. But if we had not, our fathers have earned and bought it for us, at the expense of their ease, their estates, their pleasure, and their blood.” (John Adams 1775). When Adams says that, “… have a right to it, derived from our Maker” he is talking about Locke’s natural rights. These natural rights are life, liberty, and property (later changed to the pursuit of happiness). The injustices enacted upon them and the acts forced upon them finally convinced the colonists to mount a full scale rebellion against the British government. On July 4, 1776 the Second Continental Congress finally declared independence from Britain in the from of The Declaration of Independence. The ideas of Locke and many other philosophes helped contribute to the feeling of patriotism in the colonies and the rebellion. At the signing of the Declaration, Ben Franklin stated, “We must all hang together, or assuredly we shall all hang separately.” He meant that united, the colonies had a fighting chance, but separated they were doomed to fail.

Some of these men are well-known, others faded into obscurity. It’s tempting to talk about our more famous signers, but a handful of these remarkable men died in poverty and obscurity, and they should not be forgotten.

The Unfortunates

Carter Braxton

Carter Braxton was born to a wealthy family in Virginia. In 1760, after a visit to England, he was appointed as a representative of the Virginia House of Burgesses. He became convinced that the colonies should become independent and never wavered in that belief. He assumed a place in the Continental Congress in 1775. He donated much of his wealth to the war effort, loaning large sums of money that were not paid back, and financing shipping and privateering during the conflict. His ships were destroyed and he was forced to sell his lands and property. He died in poor circumstances at the age of 61.

John Hart

A contemporary portrait shows John Hart as a handsome, strong man, with the long flowing hair that was popular at the time. He was a self-made man, a successful New Jersey farmer who served in the New Jersey Assembly for ten years, then in the Continental Congress. During the war, the British looted his property, and he fled and remained in hiding for a year. He had to leave his ill wife while avoiding capture, and when he returned to his devastated farm, his wife was dead and his thirteen children had disappeared. He never found out what had happened to them. Later in the war, in 1778, he invited the American Army to encamp on his farm. Ten thousand men did so, during the growing season, destroying his crops. Hart died in 1779, at the age of 66, having lost his family and most of his wealth in support of the American cause.

Francis Lewis

Born in Wales, orphaned at an early age, Francis Lewis apprenticed to a merchant and became a businessman in London. At the age of twenty-one he came into an inheritance from his father and sailed to New York, setting foot in America in 1735. Quickly becoming a successful businessman, he traveled extensively in Europe. An adventurous man, he was shipwrecked twice, returned to North America and became involved in the war with the French in Canada. He was captured by Indians, but, remarkably, was treated well. He was a prisoner of war in France, and was freed in a prisoner exchange. Honored by the British for his services, he was nevertheless a staunch American patriot, becoming a delegate to provincial congress of New-York in 1775, and a signer of the Declaration of Independence in 1776.

Francis suffered for his beliefs. His estate and belongings on Long Island were destroyed by the British, and his wife was imprisoned under appalling conditions for over two years. Finally released, she died shortly after from her ordeal. Alone and in comparative poverty, Francis Lewis died, at the age of 90, on December 30th, 1803.

Thomas Lynch

The son of a prosperous South Carolina plantation owner, Thomas studied at Georgetown University, South Carolina, and later Cambridge, England. By all reports he was a good scholar and was expected to take up law. He returned to the Colonies in 1772 and immediately settled down as a gentleman about town. He didn’t practice law, and, restless and lacking direction, he turned to the military, and was commissioned to command a regiment of South Carolina militiamen in 1775, when relations with Britain were becoming increasingly strained. His military career was from the beginning marred by ill-health, and when his father became ill, Thomas Jr. took over the patriarchs’ duties in the Continental Congress.

His health continued to worsen, and he retired shortly after signing the Declaration. Towards the end of 1776, he and his wife sailed for the West Indies, on a voyage that was planned to eventually end in the South of France. They were never heard from again. At the age of thirty, Thomas, together with his wife, was presumed drowned.

Arthur Middleton

Like Thomas Lynch, Arthur Middleton was the son of a prominent and wealthy South Carolinian. Also like Lynch, he studied in England, at Hackney, and later Cambridge, where he took classics. He was an excellent scholar and gained a reputation for steadiness and hard work. He traveled widely in Europe, initially as a single man, later with his wife. In 1773, the young couple returned to the Colonies for good. Both Arthur and his father knew that their fortunes were put at risk by their outspoken support of Independence, but they did not hesitate to speak and act with their principles. It was in these tense times that Arthur became a military organizer. He was an effective administrator, and largely on the strength of his organizational success, he was appointed representative of South Carolina in the congress of the United States at Philadelphia, where he signed the Declaration of Independence.

In 1778, he returned to South Carolina, and was elected Governor, but turned down the position because he did not agree with the newly drawn-up State Constitution. In 1779, the war with Britain came home with a vengeance. His estates were plundered, and the family narrowly escaped the invading army. The following year, Arthur Middleton was not so lucky. He was captured while helping defend the City of Charleston. He was imprisoned for almost a year, and although he later returned and became a member of the South Carolina state legislature, he never recovered his fortune.

Richard Stockton

Richard Stockton was a distinguished lawyer, with large holdings in New Jersey. In 1766 and 1767, he visited England, Ireland, and Scotland. The British took to him, and he mingled with Royalty and academics. On his return to the Colonies, he was a favorite of British Royalty. However, as tensions mounted between Britain and her dominions, his patriotism for America became apparent. Initially, he tried to support a middle-of-the road position, but eventually, and with some regret he renounced his allegiance to his sovereign, in the full knowledge that he was embarking on a dangerous and uncertain course. He was elected as delegate to the General Congress in Philadelphia. There he was welded to the cause of Independence by the eloquence of John Adams.

Just a few months later, he was taken prisoner by the British and their supporters, and was treated so badly that his health was permanently damaged. When he was finally released, he found his lands devastated and his possessions destroyed. He died after a long period of ill health at the age of fifty-three, poor and dependent on the charity of his friends.

Diversity

Each of these men was highly intelligent, remarkably able and energetic. From different backgrounds, with differing views, they came together with the other fifty signers to launch the birth of the United States of America. The War of Independence affected all of them. The unfortunates suffered for their beliefs, but they were not the only ones. The rich and powerful American leaders of 1776 were willing to risk their lives and wealth in support of their newborn country.

It is instructive to note that ordinary Americans were also willing to suffer in their quest for Independence, and many did.

Portrait of the Six