Standing before the original Declaration at the National Archives, I felt the quiet gravity of the moment—56 pens poised to risk everything to birth a nation.
It’s Summer, 1776. The signers of the Declaration of Independence gather for an overwhelming task. What kind of guts does it take to start a nation that puts The People truly in charge while separating from a king with “a decent respect” as they listed their grievances, one by one. Where does such courage come from?
I saw it at the National Archives. I could almost feel the tension, nerve, resolve, steady hand, and team spirit of the signers. To this day, I wonder what the moment of adoption and signing was like. It’s easy to say, “Hear! Hear!”—quite another to sign the parchment.
Imagine What It Was Like for the Signers
The average age of the 56 signers was 44, with 12 under 30. I understand the guts of a young person with a cause. I understand the elderly signers who have lived a life dreaming of freedom and are willing to sacrifice to the last measure. It’s the middle-aged signers, the ones in the prime of life, who would be called upon to lead and to stay banded together with these 56 signers. Their courage amazes me. Imagine leaning over a desk with an inkwell and a pen in hand, pledging your life, your fortune, and your sacred honor as you look around the room. Maybe you got along well with some of the others there. Maybe you disagreed with a few, but surely there was a deep resolve and solid respect for those who were about to pledge with you. You found common ground as you forged ahead, hoping, yes, praying for the best outcome. Yet, in the pit of your stomach, you knew what lies ahead, in the words of Thomas Paine, just six months later, “These are the times that try men’s souls.”
Imagine What It was Like for the Families
What about spouses, children, and employees? Imagine what the families thought about this statement and how it would affect them: “When in the course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another, and to assume among the powers of the earth, a separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature’s God entitle them..” Wow. The mood, the feelings are unimaginable. Oh, to be a fly on the wall of each home!
Imagine What It was Like for the Foreign Signers
And how about the foreigners who were among the signers? Lewis, Wilson, Witherspoon, Taylor, Thornton, and Smith were from Liverpool, Wales, Gloucester, Ireland, and Scotland. Imagine thinking about the extra punishment you would receive as a traitor on foreign soil if caught.
One would think the signers were all military. They were not. Some of them were physicians, lawyers, merchants, ministers, and plantation owners. All of them-ALL OF THEM- signed a document that says, “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, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness” (which includes property that you own ). Then and now, Americans steadfastly hold the words of the Declaration of Independence as the foundation for life as a citizen of this nation.
“And for the support of this declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of Divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our lives, our fortunes and our sacred honor.” And so they did. Many of them lost their lives and their fortunes, but not their sacred honor. They remained true to their mission.
I am deeply indebted to these Signers and Divine Providence to Whom they made their appeal. I am proud to be an American.
This is Common Sense Civics and Citizenship! 🇺🇸
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