E 157: Independence Day: The untold, less known, POST Independence Day stories of our Founders

ONE DAY CLOSER with Mark & Dave

It's Hotdogs, boating, and a day off from work. Flags, Patriotic tee-shirts and fireworks. So what's the big deal?
Well for starters, a lot.
Fifty-six men stepped up and united around a cause that would afford you and I, and all those that came before us, a document of conviction and freedom for all that would establish the foundation for this great nation of ours.
It would cost them dearly.
Join us as we take a look at who the Signers of our Declaration were, the costs they and their families paid, for us to live and continually pursue the Freedom they envisioned and sacrificed everything for.
Show Notes:
Fifty-six men from each of the original 13 colonies signed the Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776. Nine of the signers were immigrants, two were brothers and two were cousins. One was an orphan. The average age of a signer was 45. Benjamin Franklin was the oldest delegate at 70. The youngest was Thomas Lynch Jr. of South Carolina at 27.

Eighteen of the signers were merchants or businessmen, 14 were farmers, and four were doctors. Twenty-two were lawyers and nine were judges. Stephen Hopkins had been governor of Rhode Island. Forty-two signers had served in their colonial legislatures.

Almost all were Protestants. Charles Carroll of Maryland was the lone Roman Catholic.

Seventeen signers fought in the American Revolution. The British captured five signers during the war.
Thomas McKean of Delaware wrote John Adams that he was "hunted like a fox by the enemy — compelled to remove my family five times in a few months …". Abraham Clark of New Jersey had two of his sons captured by the British during the war.

Eleven signers had their homes and property destroyed. Francis Lewis's New York home was razed and his wife taken prisoner. John Hart's farm and mills were destroyed when the British invaded New Jersey, and he died while fleeing capture.
Thanks for joining us. We all have job to do...until we don't.
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