July 4, 2011 - 3:45 pm
Fifty-six men signed the Declaration of Independence, and they went to war. Five were captured, tortured, and executed by the Brits. Nine others died during the war, some because they were wounded, some because of the terrible circumstances in which they found themselves.
Have a look at this good essay on the fifty-six revolutionaries who gave birth to the modern world. They gave us our freedom, and many of them participated in the Constitutional Convention more than a decade later, thereby giving us a republic we are still fighting to preserve.
Exceptional, indeed. Somebody tell the president.
They meant it when they pledged their “lives, fortunes, and sacred honor.”
And here is a plaque from one of the signer’s property, Benjamin Harrison of Virginia.
http://tinyurl.com/3cg98v2
Except of course that body count is wrong.
Phillip Livingston died suddenly at age 62 while attending the 6th session of Congress.
John Hart died at 68 after suffering from kidney stones for 6 months.
John Morton died at 52, most likely from tuberculosis.
George Taylor died at 65, shortly after losing the lease for his iron mill which he ran for several years after signing the Declaration, despite his failing health.
George Ross died at 49, having been in failing health for several years from severe gout.
Joseph Hewes died at 49, having been ill when he signed the Declaration.
Thomas Lynch Jr. disappeared at sea at 29, traveling to the West Indies because of his health.
Button Gwinett died at 42, as a result of a dual with a fellow Colonial officer.
It would be difficult to demonstrate any of them died as a result of “hardship” of war given their ages, general health before signing the Declaration, or (most outrageous) dueling.
Caesar Rodney died at 55, his health having failed, the year after the war ended. He had served throughout the war.
Richard Stockton was imprisioned and his health broken as a result of the ill treatment, but it is difficult to assess whether it was worse than any other prisoner of war. He was exchanged, and died at home at age 50 during the war.
These are the only two who qualify as having died as a result of conditions, and as noted, one died after the war ended.
Four others were captured, and did suffer the usual mistreatment of prisoners, but all survived the war.
The author also praises the education of the signers, noting that several graduated from major universities while casually glossing over that over a fourth were never attended college at all, or picked up law or medicine through private study or apprenticeships. (Three were simply college drop outs.)
Those men were certainly exceptional; exceptional enough to deserve their real histories being told.
@SAM
Real history *was* told.
Unfortunately you haven’t the foggiest regarding Prof. Eidelberg’s “A Fourth of July Message: American Exceptionalism” (http://i-ari.org/a-fourth-of-july-message-american-exceptionalism).
To the point: Prof. Eidelberg’s “A Fourth of July Message: American Exceptionalism” was *not* meant to serve as commentary on the demise of each and every one of the Declaration’s 56 signers, nor an in-depth report of their scholastic achievements, rather, to underscore their self-sacrifice (an important point made abundantly clear by the author but clearly missed by you). Regardless of how these great men died, when they signed the Declaration, they put both life and property at risk.
Instead of Exceptionalism, you trivialize the memory of these great men while belittling the Professor’s splendid scholarship with “kidney stones” and “tuberculosis” (after all, all men die from something sooner or later).
And if you want to learn a thing or two, try Prof. Eidelberg’s “On the silence of the Declaration of Independence,” which, as I have learned, was praised by America’s top scholars. Perhaps in the future you’ll spare the readers of this fine forum your faulty reasoning and amateur cut-and-paste scholarship meant to resemble real erudition.
Joe