Good Mornin’! Good Mornin’!
I’ve been re-watching the series, 24 and all the adventures of Jack Bauer bringing the US from the edge of extinction and back to life several times over.
Throughout each season, someone will yell at Bauer that they are a patriot and are “doing what’s best for our country.”
But they are wrong and eventually die.
It’s all make believe and how close the misadventures are to the truth is a mystery to most.
But back in 1776, there were 56 men who put it all on the line when they signed the Declaration of Independence. Each one a true patriot as they were forming the foundations of our country and putting their own lives at stake.
These men came from the 13 colonies at the time, from different backgrounds.
Six of them would go on and sign the Constitution. Interestingly enough, there were those who signed it but then voted against it.
Of the 13 colonies, nine voted in favor of the Declaration, Pennsylvania and South Carolina voted No, Delaware was undecided and New York abstained.
We all know that Thomas Jefferson wrote it and then edited it, he was only 33 years old. Lawyer Edward Rutledge was only 26 when he signed as was lawyer Thomas Heyward Jr. Benjamin Rush, a doctor and writer was only 30. The Continental Congress actually declared their Independence on July 2 but the Declaration was still being edited and they all began signing it on July 4, 1776. Other signatures would be added over the next several months.
If the plan for independence and the war with Mother England fell short, the King certainly would have each one hung for treason. I was 32 before I signed anything as important as a mortgage. I can’t even imagine signing a document that could spell out life or death. There was a price to pay for each signer.
Five were captured by the British as traitors and tortured and died. Twelve had their homes ransacked and burned.
Nine of the 56 fought and died from wounds or hardships of the Revolutionary War. Twenty-four were lawyers and jurists.
Eleven were merchants, nine were farmers and large plantation owners, men of means and well educated. But they signed the Declaration of Independence knowing full well that the penalty would be their life if they were captured.
Today, we shoot fireworks, have parades and cookouts and celebrate our independence that was framed by these brave young men.
Some would go on to to serve in the Continental Army, become envoys, judges and hold down occupations that would further continue to cement the United States of America.
“We hold these truths to be self-evident; that all men are created equal; that they are endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable rights; that among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness; that to secure these rights, governments are instituted among men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed.”
Well done, Mr. Jefferson and the rest of the original United States Patriots.
