4th of July...what's the big deal?

[dh50]

What's the big deal???  Sure, the fireworks, food and fun are great.  But the really big deal, especially this 4th of July, is that we are still free men and women!  As such, along with the festivities, we will revisit the document that serves as the basis for our celebration, The Declaration of Independence.  http://www.ushistory.org/Declaration/document/



As importantly, we will also remember the 56 Signers of this declaration, their courage and the price they paid for our freedom...lest we forget that Freedom is not, has never been and will never be free!  Happy Birthday, USA, and may God's grace continue to shine on thee!



[font size="3"]Much To Lose
[/font]


What kind of men were the 56 signers who adopted the Declaration of Independence and who, by their signing, committed an act of treason against the crown? To each of you, the names Franklin, Adams, Hancock and Jefferson are almost as familiar as household words. Most of us, however, know nothing of the other signers. Who were they? What happened to them?



I imagine that many of you are somewhat surprised at the names not there: George Washington, Alexander Hamilton, Patrick Henry. All were elsewhere.



Ben Franklin was the only really old man. Eighteen were under 40; three were in their 20s. Of the 56 almost half – 24 – were judges and lawyers. Eleven were merchants, nine were landowners and farmers, and the remaining 12 were doctors, ministers, and politicians.



With only a few exceptions, such as Samuel Adams of Massachusetts, these were men of substantial property. All but two had families. The vast majority were men of education and standing in their communities. They had economic security as few men had in the 18th Century.



Each had more to lose from revolution than he had to gain by it. John Hancock, one of the richest men in America, already had a price of 500 pounds on his head. He signed in enormous letters so that his Majesty could now read his name without glasses and could now double the reward. Ben Franklin wryly noted: "Indeed we must all hang together, otherwise we shall most assuredly hang separately."



Fat Benjamin Harrison of Virginia told tiny Elbridge Gerry of Massachusetts: "With me it will all be over in a minute, but you, you will be dancing on air an hour after I am gone."



These men knew what they risked. The penalty for treason was death by hanging. And remember, a great British fleet was already at anchor in New York Harbor.

 They were sober men. There were no dreamy-eyed intellectuals or draft card burners here. They were far from hot-eyed fanatics yammering for an explosion. They simply asked for the status quo. It was change they resisted. It was equality with the mother country they desired. It was taxation with representation they sought. They were all conservatives, yet they rebelled.



It was principle, not property, that had brought these men to Philadelphia. Two of them became presidents of the United States. Seven of them became state governors. One died in office as vice president of the United States. Several would go on to be US Senators. One, the richest man in America, in 1828 founded the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad. One, a delegate from Philadelphia, was the only real poet, musician and philosopher of the signers. (It was he, Francis Hopkinson not Betsy Ross who designed the United States flag.)



Richard Henry Lee, a delegate from Virginia, had introduced the resolution to adopt the Declaration of Independence in June of 1776. He was prophetic in his concluding remarks: "Why then sir, why do we longer delay? Why still deliberate? Let this happy day give birth to an American Republic. Let her arise not to devastate and to conquer but to reestablish the reign of peace and law.



"The eyes of Europe are fixed upon us. She demands of us a living example of freedom that may exhibit a contrast in the felicity of the citizen to the ever-increasing tyranny which desolates her polluted shores. She invites us to prepare an asylum where the unhappy may find solace, and the persecuted repost.



"If we are not this day wanting in our duty, the names of the American Legislatures of 1776 will be placed by posterity at the side of all of those whose memory has been and ever will be dear to virtuous men and good citizens."



Though the resolution was formally adopted July 4, it was not until July 8 that two of the states authorized their delegates to sign, and it was not until August 2 that the signers met at Philadelphia to actually put their names to the Declaration.



William Ellery, delegate from Rhode Island, was curious to see the signers' faces as they committed this supreme act of personal courage. He saw some men sign quickly, "but in no face was he able to discern real fear." Stephan Hopkins, Ellery's colleague from Rhode Island, was a man past 60. As he signed with a shaking pen, he declared: "My hand trembles, but my heart does not."

 "Most Glorious Service"



Even before the list was published, the British marked down every member of Congress suspected of having put his name to treason. All of them became the objects of vicious manhunts. Some were taken. Some, like Jefferson, had narrow escapes. All who had property or families near British strongholds suffered.



· Francis Lewis, New York delegate saw his home plundered — and his estates in what is now Harlem — completely destroyed by British Soldiers. Mrs. Lewis was captured and treated with great brutality. Though she was later exchanged for two British prisoners through the efforts of Congress, she died from the effects of her abuse.



· William Floyd, another New York delegate, was able to escape with his wife and children across Long Island Sound to Connecticut, where they lived as refugees without income for seven years. When they came home they found a devastated ruin.



· Philips Livingstone had all his great holdings in New York confiscated and his family driven out of their home. Livingstone died in 1778 still working in Congress for the cause.



· Louis Morris, the fourth New York delegate, saw all his timber, crops, and livestock taken. For seven years he was barred from his home and family.



· John Hart of Trenton, New Jersey, risked his life to return home to see his dying wife. Hessian soldiers rode after him, and he escaped in the woods. While his wife lay on her deathbed, the soldiers ruined his farm and wrecked his homestead. Hart, 65, slept in caves and woods as he was hunted across the countryside. When at long last, emaciated by hardship, he was able to sneak home, he found his wife had already been buried, and his 13 children taken away. He never saw them again. He died a broken man in 1779, without ever finding his family.



· Dr. John Witherspoon, signer, was president of the College of New Jersey, later called Princeton. The British occupied the town of Princeton, and billeted troops in the college. They trampled and burned the finest college library in the country.

 · Judge Richard Stockton, another New Jersey delegate signer, had rushed back to his estate in an effort to evacuate his wife and children. The family found refuge with friends, but a Tory sympathizer betrayed them. Judge Stockton was pulled from bed in the night and brutally beaten by the arresting soldiers. Thrown into a common jail, he was deliberately starved. Congress finally arranged for Stockton's parole, but his health was ruined. The judge was released as an invalid, when he could no longer harm the British cause.

 He returned home to find his estate looted and did not live to see the triumph of the Revolution. His family was forced to live off charity.



· Robert Morris, merchant prince of Philadelphia, delegate and signer, met Washington's appeals and pleas for money year after year. He made and raised arms and provisions which made it possible for Washington to cross the Delaware at Trenton. In the process he lost 150 ships at sea, bleeding his own fortune and credit almost dry.



· George Clymer, Pennsylvania signer, escaped with his family from their home, but their property was completely destroyed by the British in the Germantown and Brandywine campaigns.



· Dr. Benjamin Rush, also from Pennsylvania, was forced to flee to Maryland. As a heroic surgeon with the army, Rush had several narrow escapes.



· John Martin, a Tory in his views previous to the debate, lived in a strongly loyalist area of Pennsylvania. When he came out for independence, most of his neighbors and even some of his relatives ostracized him. He was a sensitive and troubled man, and many believed this action killed him. When he died in 1777, his last words to his tormentors were: "Tell them that they will live to see the hour when they shall acknowledge it [the signing] to have been the most glorious service that I have ever rendered to my country."



· William Ellery, Rhode Island delegate, saw his property and home burned to the ground.

 · Thomas Lynch, Jr., South Carolina delegate, had his health broken from privation and exposures while serving as a company commander in the military. His doctors ordered him to seek a cure in the West Indies and on the voyage, he and his young bride were drowned at sea.



· Edward Rutledge, Arthur Middleton, and Thomas Heyward, Jr., the other three South Carolina signers, were taken by the British in the siege of Charleston. They were carried as prisoners of war to St. Augustine, Florida, where they were singled out for indignities. They were exchanged at the end of the war, the British in the meantime having completely devastated their large landholdings and estates.



· Thomas Nelson, signer of Virginia, was at the front in command of the Virginia military forces. With British General Charles Cornwallis in Yorktown, fire from 70 heavy American guns began to destroy Yorktown piece by piece. Lord Cornwallis and his staff moved their headquarters into Nelson's palatial home. While American cannonballs were making a shambles of the town, the house of Governor Nelson remained untouched. Nelson turned in rage to the American gunners and asked, "Why do you spare my home?"

They replied, "Sir, out of respect to you." Nelson cried, "Give me the cannon!" and fired on his magnificent home himself, smashing it to bits. But Nelson's sacrifice was not quite over. He had raised $2 million for the Revolutionary cause by pledging his own estates. When the loans came due, a newer peacetime Congress refused to honor them, and Nelson's property was forfeited. He was never reimbursed. He died, impoverished, a few years later at the age of 50.

 Lives, Fortunes, Honor



Of those 56 who signed the Declaration of Independence, nine died of wounds or hardships during the war. Five were captured and imprisoned, in each case with brutal treatment. Several lost wives, sons or entire families. One lost his 13 children. Two wives were brutally treated. All were at one time or another the victims of manhunts and driven from their homes. Twelve signers had their homes completely burned. Seventeen lost everything they owned. Yet not one defected or went back on his pledged word. Their honor, and the nation they sacrificed so much to create is still intact.



And, finally, there is the New Jersey signer, Abraham Clark.



He gave two sons to the officer corps in the Revolutionary Army. They were captured and sent to that infamous British prison hulk afloat in New York Harbor known as the hell ship Jersey, where 11,000 American captives were to die. The younger Clarks were treated with a special brutality because of their father. One was put in solitary and given no food. With the end almost in sight, with the war almost won, no one could have blamed Abraham Clark for acceding to the British request when they offered him his sons' lives if he would recant and come out for the King and Parliament. The utter despair in this man's heart, the anguish in his very soul, must reach out to each one of us down through 200 years with his answer: "No."



The 56 signers of the Declaration Of Independence proved by their every deed that they made no idle boast when they composed the most magnificent curtain line in history. "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."





http://drtimwhite.com/what-happened-to-the-56-signers-of-the-declaration-of-independence/

[whoofit]

[p]Nice post, GW.

I fear the founders would hardly recognize, nor would they be so dedicated to, the nation today though. There is much to love still yet today. And so much more to despise too.

I wonder how they would accept the news of their very likenesses being slated for demolition, their words erased from the public square, the civics for which they fought and died being buried and ignored, the morality taking a back seat to pop culture, the citizenship being exploited ... the people of faith being suspected and accused.[/p][p]
[/p][p]I could go on and on and on here. Fact is, it would change nothing. So, I guess what I am trying to say is this. Although it is great to hold the Founding Fathers in such high regard I feel this nation has not shown itself to be worthy of such sacrifice and divinely inspired actions of them. It seems the way to effect change here is through revolutionary tactics and strategies only ever to have graced our shores by the likes of them.

I dunno. Every year I seem to be more and more in it for the hotdogs.[/p]

[kath]

[font size="3"]@whoofit , your post has touched me deeply. I'm sad that our country's direction is making you feel this way and hope the best for your happiness. 

I read your post with particular interest because today, of all days, I am feeling so very proud of my country. The news from the Supreme Court this morning has rekindled my belief in the system set up by our forefathers and mothers so very long ago. Today, my wife and I awakened to the news that we are no longer second-class citizens in our nation. The news that we can now sit at the same lunch counter as those who would have us eat in the back room. 

It is difficult to put into adequate words what this means to me. But here is my effort: 

I am 63 years old and have lived the majority of my years enduring treatment many people in this country can only imagine. I have been spit on, beaten up, had my very character and humanity assailed in newspapers, been denied health benefits by my employer, been outcast by members of my family, been forced to live in secrecy for fear of losing my job, and suffered many more indignities that, thanks to my age, have been pushed to some unreachable part of my memory banks. 

But I have also sung the Star Spangled Banner with a hundred other couples, waiting in line for our marriage licenses, to obliterate the obscenities our fellow Americans were hurling at us. I have flown a flag behind our motorcycle in a parade of pride to help inspire others to hopefulness. And I have been the recipient of great love and kindness from friends and other members of my wife's family and mine on the day of our much anticipated wedding ceremony here in Oregon last year. 

So, you see, today I am feeling a special pride in my country and in our system of justice that allows a woman of my age to sit here with tears of joy streaming down my face as I write this post. My fourth of July this year will be so much more than our barbecue. It will be a celebration of an idea that has stood the test of time:  that all are created equal. And that, in the end, gives us all the simple freedom to sit around our campfires and toast those men and women who got us here:  the founders, the fighters, the activists, the prayers. I toast them all. 

I leave you with these two photos. The first is of the words of Thomas Jefferson, a visionary if ever there was one. The second is of two people, just married, who never thought it would happen. I am on the right. My beautiful and loving wife is on the left. Two people couldn't possibly be happier nor more grateful for the privileges we now share in common with all of you.[/font]


[img style="max-width:100%;" src="https://c1.staticflickr.com/1/363/19189932121_4c9b710192_z.jpg"]

[whoofit]

Kath, make no mistake about it. I have no adverse feelings toward the SCOTUS decision handed down today. When I spoke of "today" above it was in a generational sense of the word. I think that came across well enough.

I live in one of the first states to provide same sex marriage. I voted for Romney then and again in 2008. I believe everyone should be left alone with regards to this matter. If it harms no one then "no harm no foul". For instance, as a Christian, my belief set compels me to be married in church. I do not desire to force everyone to be married in a church. But we believe that the real marriage happens there. The rest of it is "this worldly' and none of our concern though we abide by it as everyone else does.

I am  very happy to hear of your excitement and wish well to the both of you! I am equally sad, disappointed and distressed to hear of your personal struggle. But this ruling/decision does not even begin to address the vast magnitude of the problems our nation faces. It is a huge weight lifted from your shoulders, not a small and insignificant justice to those who are affected by it, but it is small potatoes in the greater picture in my opinion

I need not question you or [strike]anyone else[/strike]  any legal citizen on their patriotism nor would I deserve an answer if I did. I have my reasons for feeling this way and they have been going on for about a decade. They include sweeping epic wrong doings in proportions never ever seen before in this nation. These deeds affect more than the 1% of the population that is of your persuasion. The fine person that you have portrayed yourself to be here. I am glad you came along to join us.

I could rip a list a mile long right now but I won't. I doubt we would solve anything and might dare to say we would probably make things worse for this forum...

Great Picture!

[kath]

[font size="3"][/font]@whoofit , Thank you for your thoughtful note. I made no assumption that you were referring to the Supreme Court decision in your post. I only wanted to share my delight in this joyful, national movement forward, despite the many problems we still face in our country. 

I am a huge believer in the power of small steps forward and in the notion that a person, or a country, can and should constantly take actions that move in the direction of good, no matter how many steps we slide back in the interim. It is this belief that has allowed me to celebrate my citizenship in this country despite much effort on the part of some to dishearten me and make me a cynic. 

I appreciate your good wishes for my family and me. I am proud that our son will grow up in a world made better by the small but powerful steps of those who went before him. And that includes your beliefs that don't seek to harm me, nor mine harm you. I consider us all family here who can share in the joy of the outdoors and the freedom to go where and how we please. Aren't we incredibly lucky to be us!

[dh50]

Really do appreciate the candor and kind expression of personal beliefs thus far.  In that same spirit, I choose now not to express personal convictions that would be best suited elsewhere..like face to face around a warm campfire.  

However, the article linked below just now crossed the newswires and has prompted a troubling question that I will choose to ask now:  Could perceived 'small steps forward' actually prove to be a dangerous, slippery slope?   


http://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2015/06/gay-marriage-decision-polygamy-119469_full.html#.VY3w317D9lY

[dh50]

Would somebody please pass the mustard???

[whoofit]

Would somebody please pass the mustard???

What? Mustard? I'm still waiting for my freaking HOTDOG!

[whoofit]

[quote source="/post/12706/thread" timestamp="1435369242" author="@gwbushhog"]Really do appreciate the candor and kind expression of personal beliefs thus far.  In that same spirit,[strong] I choose now not to express personal convictions that would be best suited elsewhere[/strong]..like face to face around a warm campfire.  

However, the article linked below just now crossed the newswires and [strong]has prompted a troubling question that I will choose to ask now[/strong]:  Could perceived 'small steps forward' actually prove to be a dangerous, slippery slope?   


http://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2015/06/gay-marriage-decision-polygamy-119469_full.html#.VY3w317D9lY[/quote][p]Oh, sure![/p][p]
[/p][p]Nice duck, cover and roll, GW! [/p][p]
[/p][p]GRENADE!!!
[/p]

[whoofit]

[p] Alright, I'll throw myself onto this grenade.... (rofl)[/p][p]
[/p][p]I would venture to guess that within 20 years polygamy will be legalized because of this decision.[/p][p]
[/p][p]SPLAT!![/p][p]
[/p][p]I mean, they already got the Holy Matrimony thing for it so what's the biggie about the marriage license?[/p][p]
[/p][p]Social Security will need to be revamped in a large way!!....heh heh heh[/p]

[whoofit]

[p]And OK, since I took the hit with the first round, I get to choose the return volley... 8-)[/p][p]
[/p][p]This comparison is in no way intended to compare ANY class of citizen to another. Certainly not intended to compare it to the new found rights of the LGBTQ community. It is not reflective of their relationships as I have experienced them to be.[/p][p]
[/p][p]But what about consenting incest?[/p][p]
[/p][p]So far I have heard the arguments about how incest is still taboo. How it isn't a factor. But what if it was consensual? What if it was consensual between two adult brothers or sisters? There is no chance of that bloodline going awry and causing birth defects (if it's even the case). If love is present should it be allowed? Should they be allowed to marry?[/p][p]
[/p][p]So what say you, GW? Wanna take one for the team?[/p][p]
[/p][p]INCOMING!![/p]

[whoofit]

Just embrace the awkwardness, and where the heck are those HOTDOGS!

[dh50]

Since it's just us now, will lob one....but just for you, Whoofit.  Here goes:  Should activists that have been trying to put hard-working mom-and-pop bakers and pizza makers out of business be more concerned about what's happening here? ( http://www.ibtimes.co.uk/isis-executioners-kill-gays-by-hurling-them-off-roofs-mosul-1482198)

Our southern and northern borders go unprotected while I S I S operates a camp 8 miles from El Paso...and not an RV camp either.  This hits waaay too close to home for us since El Paso was our home before coming to FL.  These guys are very handy with technology, Go-Pro cameras, swimming pools, gasoline, rocks, knives and fence posts, to name a few.  To call them pure evil falls short.  At the very least should not gays, women and Christians be very concerned?  Seems like we all better learn to duck, cover and roll.  Better yet, we can come together as 'One Nation Under God', pray (II Chronicles 7:14 is a good start) and in courageous fashion akin to our Founding Fathers, we can stand as today's defending fathers while we yet remain free men and women.  Or we can, along with our children and grandchildren, grovel before tyrants.

Since this thread is first and foremost about America's independence from tyranny 239 years ago, I'll conclude with Benjamin Franklin's sobering words:

[font size="5"]"We must all hang together, or most assuredly we shall all hang separately."
[/font]


Alright, duck.....................BOOM!  

    

[dh50]

[quote source="/post/12715/thread" timestamp="1435375213" author="@whoofit"][p]And OK, since I took the hit with the first round, I get to choose the return volley... 8-)[/p][p]
[/p][p]This comparison is in no way intended to compare ANY class of citizen to another. Certainly not intended to compare it to the new found rights of the LGBTQ community. It is not reflective of their relationships as I have experienced them to be.[/p][p]
[/p][p]But what about consenting incest?[/p][p]
[/p][p]So far I have heard the arguments about how incest is still taboo. How it isn't a factor. But what if it was consensual? What if it was consensual between two adult brothers or sisters? There is no chance of that bloodline going awry and causing birth defects (if it's even the case). If love is present should it be allowed? Should they be allowed to marry?[/p][p]
[/p][p]So what say you, GW? Wanna take one for the team?[/p][p]
[/p][p]INCOMING!![/p][/quote]We live in Florida!  Of course we have problems with insects!  

[dh50]

[quote timestamp="1435375869" author="@whoofit" source="/post/12716/thread"]Just embrace the awkwardness, and where the heck are those HOTDOGS![/quote]Some people prefer hamburgers, and quite frankly, it's okay. - Ronald [strike]Reagan[/strike] McDonald