The 56 Signers Of The Declaration Of Independence

John Adams

Samuel Adams

Josiah Bartlett

Carter Braxton

Charles Carroll of Carrollton

Samuel Chase

Abraham Clark

George Clymer

William Ellery

William Floyd

Benjamin Franklin

Elbridge Gerry

Button Gwinnett

Lyman Hall

John Hancock

Benjamin Harrison

John Hart

Richard Henry Lee

Joseph Hewes

Thomas Heyward Jr.

William Hooper

Stephen Hopkins

Francis Hopkinson

Samuel Huntington

Thomas Jefferson

Francis Lewis

Francis Lightfoot Lee

Philip Livingston

Thomas Lynch Jr.

Thomas McKean

Arthur Middleton

Lewis Morris

Robert Morris

John Morton

Thomas Nelson Jr.

William Paca

John Penn

George Read

Caesar Rodney

George Ross

Benjamin Rush

Edward Rutledge

Roger Sherman

James Smith

Richard Stockton

Thomas Stone

George Taylor

Matthew Thornton

Robert Treat Paine

George Walton

William Whipple

William Williams

James Wilson

John Witherspoon

Oliver Wolcott

George Wythe

Francis Scott Key - Author of "The Star-Spangled Banner"

Quotes

Christian History Institute

I don't believe there are any new objections to be discovered to the truth of Christianity, though there may be some art in presenting old ones in a new dress. My faith has been greatly confirmed by the infidel writers I have read. Men may argue ingeniously against our faith, as indeed they may against anything -- but what can they say in defense of their own -- I would carry the war into their own territories, I would ask them what they believe -- if they said they believed anything, I think that they might be shown to be more full of difficulties and liable to infinitely greater objections than the system they oppose and they were credulous and unreasonable for believing it. If they said they did not believe anything, you could not, to be sure, have anything further to say to them. In that case they would be insane, or at best ill qualified to teach others what they ought to believe or disbelieve.

Tibits

Christian History Institute

When the United States went to war with Great Britain in 1812, Key was opposed to the war and thought his country’s action was precipitous; yet he joined the Georgetown Field Artillery Co. in 1813 and performed volunteer duty to defend his home. The times were tense, as the British successfully attacked and burned Washington, D.C., and moved towards Baltimore. Key had been sent to the British to negotiate the release of Dr. William Beanes, a civilian taken prisoner during the British march north from Washington. The British began their attack on Fort McHenry just as Key successfully finished his negotiations for the release of Dr. Beanes, but Key and his friends had to remain with the British throughout the battle. They intensely watched Fort McHenry's large flag to determine the outcome. As he watched and waited, Key wrote out the phrases to a song on the back of an envelope. Later the song was published as "The Defense of Fort McHenry" and enjoyed immense popularity when set to the English tune of "Anacreon in Heaven." Soon it was retitled "The Star-Spangled Banner." The title of the song became the name of the country’s flag, and because of the song, the country itself would ever after be known as the "Land of the free and the home of the brave."

Richard Bassett - Signer of the Constitution

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Tibits

National Park Service

Bassett was a well-to-do planter and lawyer who also enjoyed careers as soldier, judge, legislator, and Governor. At the Constitutional Convention, he played a silent role and confined himself to casting votes on the issues as they arose.

Twice married, to Ann Ennals and a woman named Bruff, Bassett fathered several children. He was a devout Methodist, held religious meetings at Bohemia Manor, and financially supported the church.

Bio

Congressional Biographical Directory

BASSETT, Richard, (grandfather of Richard Henry Bayard and James Asheton Bayard, Jr.), a Senator from Delaware; born in Cecil County, Md., April 2, 1745; pursued preparatory studies; studied law; admitted to the bar and practiced in Delaware; captain of a Delaware troop during the Revolutionary War; member of the State constitutional conventions in 1776 and 1792; member, State senate 1782; member, State house of representatives 1786; delegate to the convention which framed the Constitution of the United States in 1787; member of the Delaware convention which ratified the Federal Constitution in 1787; elected to the United States Senate and served from March 4, 1789, to March 3, 1793; chief justice of the court of common pleas 1793-1799; Governor of Delaware 1799-1801; appointed United States circuit judge by President John Adams in 1801; died on his estate, ‘Bohemia Manor,’ in Cecil County, Md., August 15, 1815; interment Brandywine Cemetery, Wilmington, Del.

Abraham Baldwin - Signer of the Constitution

Quotes

Carl Vinson Institute of Government

When the minds of the people in general are viciously disposed and unprincipled and their conduct disorderly a free government will be attended with greater confusions and evils more horrid than the wild uncultivated state of nature. It can only be happy where the public principles and opinions are properly directed and their manners regulated. This is an influence beyond the reach of laws and punishments and can be claimed only by religion and education. It should therefore be among the first objects of those who wish well to the national prosperity to encourage and support the principles of religion and morality and early to place the youth under the forming hand of society that by instruction they may be molded to the love of virtue and good order.

Tibits

After attending a local village school, Abraham studied at Yale, in nearby New Haven. He graduated in 1772. Three years later, he became a minister and tutor at the college. He held that position until 1779, when he served as a chaplain in the Continental Army. Two years later, he declined an offer from his alma mater of a professorship of divinity. Instead of resuming his ministerial or educational duties after the war, he turned to the study of law and in 1783 gained admittance to the bar at Fairfield, CT.

Bio

Congressional Biographical Directory

BALDWIN, Abraham, (half-brother of Henry Baldwin of Pennsylvania), a Delegate, a Representative, and a Senator from Georgia; born in North Guilford, Conn., November 22, 1754; moved with his father to New Haven, Conn., in 1769; attended private schools; graduated from Yale College in 1772; subsequently studied theology at the college and was licensed to preach in 1775; served as a tutor in that institution 1775-1779, when he resigned to enter the Army; chaplain in the Second Connecticut Brigade, Revolutionary Army, from 1777 until 1783, when the troops disbanded; studied law during his service in the Army; admitted to the bar in 1783 and practiced at Fairfield; moved to Augusta, Ga., in 1784 and continued the practice of law; member of the State house of representatives 1785; originator of the plan for, and author of, the charter of the University of Georgia and served as president 1786-1801; member of the Continental Congress 1785, 1787, and 1788; member of the United States Constitutional Convention 1787; elected to the First and to the four succeeding Congresses (March 4, 1789-March 3, 1799); elected to the United States Senate in 1799; reelected in 1805 and served from March 4, 1799, until his death on March 4, 1807; served as President pro tempore of the Senate during the Seventh Congress; died in Washington, D.C.; interment in Rock Creek Cemetery.

John Morton - Signer of the Declaration

Quotes

From the Will of John Morton, as reported by WallBuilders

With an awful reverence to the great Almighty God, Creator of all mankind, I, John Morton . . . being sick and weak in body but of sound mind and memory-thanks be given to Almighty God for the same, for all His mercies and favors-and considering the certainty of death and the uncertainty of the times thereof, do, for the settling of such temporal estate as it hath pleased God to bless me with in this life . . .

Tibits

John Morton cast the decisive ballot that swung his State over to an affirmative vote for independence in the Continental Congress.

He was the first of the signers to die in 1777.

Bio

Congressional Biographical Directory

MORTON, John, a Delegate from Pennsylvania; born near the old Morris Ferry (now the Darby Creek Bridge), Ridley Township, Delaware County, Pa., in 1724; attended the common school for about three months and received some tutoring in surveying; a land surveyor for many years; became justice of the peace in 1757; member of the colonial general assembly 1756-1766 and 1769-1775 and served as speaker 1771-1775; member of the Stamp Act Congress in 1765; high sheriff 1766-1770; appointed as a judge in 1770, serving as president judge of the court of general sessions and common pleas of the county, and in April 1774 was appointed an associate justice of the supreme court of appeals of Pennsylvania; member of the Continental Congress 1774-1776; was a signer of the Declaration of Independence; died in Ridley Park, Delaware County, Pa., in April 1777; interment in St. Paul’s Burial Ground, Chester, Pa.

Noah Webster - Leading educator of our Founding Fathers

Bio

Read more at Wikipedia

Noah Webster (October 16, 1758 – April 28, 1843) was an American lexicographer, textbook author, spelling reformer, political writer, and editor. He has been called the "Father of American Scholarship and Education." His Blue-backed Speller books taught five generations of children in the United States how to spell and read, and in the U.S. his name became synonymous with "dictionary," especially the modern Merriam-Webster dictionary which was first published in 1828 as An American Dictionary of the English Language.

Tidbits

Webster's 1828 American Dictionary is thought to contain the greatest number of Biblical definitions given in any reference volume.

Webster is largely responsible for Article 1, Section 8, Paragraph 8 of the Constitution of the United States. This is the copyright and patent protection clause which states:

To promote the progress of science and useful arts, by securing for limited times to authors and inventors the exclusive right to their respective writings and discoveries

Quotes

Preface to the 1828 edition of Webster's American Dictionary of the English Language

In my view, the Christian religion is the most important and one of the first things in which all children, under a free government ought to be instructed...No truth is more evident to my mind than that the Christian religion must be the basis of any government intended to secure the rights and privileges of a free people.

Noah Webster, Letters to a Young Gentleman Commencing His Education to which is subjoined a Brief History of the United States (New Haven: S. Converse, 1823), pp. 18, 19.

In selecting men for office, let principle be your guide. Regard not the particular sect or denomination of the candidate - look to his character.... When a citizen gives his suffrage to a man of known immorality he abuses his trust; he sacrifices not only his own interest, but that of his neighbor, he betrays the interest of his country.

Noah Webster, History of the United States (New Haven: Durrie & Peck, 1832), pp. 336-337

When you become entitled to exercise the right of voting for public officers, let it be impressed on your mind that God commands you to choose for rulers, "just men who will rule in the fear of God." The preservation of government depends on the faithful discharge of this duty; if the citizens neglect their duty and place unprincipled men in office, the government will soon be corrupted; laws will be made, not for the public good so much as for selfish or local purposes; corrupt or incompetent men will be appointed to execute the laws; the public revenues will be sqandered on unworthy men; and the rights of the citizens will be violated or disregarded. If a republican government fails to secure public prosperity and happiness, it must be because the citizens neglect the divine commands, and elect bad men to make and administer the laws.

Charles Grandison Finney - Leader in the Second Great Awakening

Bio

Read more at Wikipedia

Charles Grandison Finney (1792–1875), often called "America's foremost revivalist," was a major leader of the Second Great Awakening in America that had a profound impact on the history of the United States.

Tibits

For the purposes of this blog I think Finney is appropiate because he was one of the most influential men in helping turn the nation back to God in the Second Great Awakening. For that I call him a Founding Fathers. Beside that, I really like the quote below.

Quotes

Lectures on Revivals of Religion By CHARLES G. FINNEY

The church must take right ground in regard to politics. Do not suppose, now, that I am going to preach a political sermon, or that I wish to have you join and get up a Christian party in politics. No, I do not believe in that. But the time has come that Christians must vote for honest men, and take consistent ground in politics, or the Lord will curse them. They must be honest men themselves, and instead of voting for a man because he belongs to their party, Bank or Anti-Bank, Jackson, or Anti-Jackson, they must find out whether he is honest and upright, and fit to be trusted. They must let the world see that the church will uphold no man in office, who is known to be a knave, or an adulterer, or a Sabbath-breaker, or a gambler, or a drunkard. Such is the spread of intelligence and the facility of communication in our country, that every man can know for whom he gives his vote. And if he will give his vote only for honest men, the country will be obliged to have upright rulers. All parties will be compelled to put up honest men as candidates. Christians have been exceedingly guilty in this matter. But the time has come when they must act differently, or God will curse the nation, and withdraw his spirit. As on the subject of slavery and temperance, so on this subject, the church must act right or the country will be ruined. God cannot sustain this free and blessed country, which we love and pray for, unless the church will take right ground. Politics are a part of religion in such a country as this, and Christians must do their duty to the country as a part of their duty to God. It seems sometimes as if the foundations of the nation were becoming rotten, and Christians seem to act as if they thought God did not see what they do in politics. But I tell you, he does see it, and he will bless or curse this nation, according to the course they take.

George Wythe - Signer of the Declaration

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Tibits

Bio

Congressional Biographical Directory

WYTHE, George, a Delegate from Virginia; born near Back River, Elizabeth City County, Va., in 1726; privately instructed by his mother and attended the College of William and Mary, Williamsburg, Va.; studied law; was admitted to the bar in 1746 and commenced practice in Elizabeth City County in 1755; moved to Williamsburg about 1755; member of the house of burgesses 1758-1768; appointed a member of the committee of correspondence in 1759; moved to his estate in Elizabeth City County in 1763 and returned to Williamsburg in 1768; clerk of the house of burgesses 1768-1775; Member of the Continental Congress 1775-1776; a signer of the Declaration of Independence; speaker of the house of delegates in 1777; judge of the Virginia Chancery Court in 1777; appointed sole chancellor of Virginia in 1778; professor of law at the College of William and Mary from 1779 to 1791, when he resigned and moved to Richmond, Va.; conducted a private school in Richmond and continued teaching until his death; delegate to the Federal Convention at Philadelphia, Pa., in 1787; a member of the State ratification convention in 1788; died in Richmond, Va., June 8, 1806; interment in St. John’s Churchyard.

Oliver Wolcott - Signer of the Declaration

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Tibits

Bio

Congressional Biographical Directory

WOLCOTT, Oliver, a Delegate from Connecticut; born in Windsor, Conn., November 20, 1726; was graduated from Yale College in 1747; commissioned a captain by the Governor of New York in 1747; raised a company of Volunteers and served on the northwestern frontier until the peace of Aix-la-Chapelle; returned to Connecticut and settled in Litchfield; studied medicine, but did not practice; elected sheriff of the newly organized county of Litchfield, Conn., in 1751; member of the State council 1774-1786 and at the same time judge of the county court of common pleas; judge of probate for the Litchfield district many years; major general of militia; appointed by the Continental Congress in 1775 as one of the commissioners of Indian affairs for the northern department, intrusted with the task of inducing the Iroquois Indians to remain neutral; Member of the Continental Congress 1776-1778 and 1780-1783; a signer of the Declaration of Independence; commander of the fourteen Connecticut regiments sent for the defense of New York in 1776, and divided his time between Army service and service in Congress; commanded a brigade of militia which took part in the defeat of General Burgoyne in 1777; Lieutenant Governor of Connecticut 1786-1796; elected Governor in 1796 and served until his death in Litchfield, Conn., December 1, 1797; interment in the East Cemetery.

John Witherspoon - Signer of the Declaration

Quotes

John Witherspoon May 1776 - The Dominion of Providence Over the Passions of Men

"If your cause is just, you may look with confidence to the Lord, and intreat him to plead it as his own. You are all my witnesses, that this is the first time of my introducing any political subject into the pulpit. At this season, however, it is not only lawful but necessary, and I willingly embrace the opportunity of declaring my opinion without any hesitation, that the cause in which America is now in arms, is the cause of justice, of liberty, and of human nature. ... There is not a single instance in history, in which civil liberty was lost, and religious liberty preserved entire. If therefore we yield up our temporal property, we at the same time deliver the conscience into bondage."

John Witherspoon, The Works of John Witherspoon Edinburgh: J. Ogle, 1815), Vol. IV, pp. 266, 277.

"Those who wish well to the State ought to choose to places of trust men of inward principle, justified by exemplary conversation. . . .[And t]he people in general ought to have regard to the moral character of those whom they invest with authority either in the legislative, executive, or judicial branches."

John Witherspoon, The Works of John Witherspoon (Edinburgh: J. Ogle, 1815), Vol. IX, p. 250, “The Druid,” Number III.

"On the part of America, there was not the most distant thought of subverting the government or of hurting the interest of the people of Great Britain; but of defending their own privileges from unjust encroachment; there was not the least desire of withdrawing their allegiance from the common sovereign [King George III] till it became absolutely necessary — and indeed, it was his own choice."

Tibits

Bio

Congressional Biographical Directory

WITHERSPOON, John, a Delegate from New Jersey; born in Gifford, Haddingtonshire, Scotland, February 5, 1723; completed preparatory studies; was graduated from Edinburgh University in 1739; studied theology at Edinburgh; was licensed in 1743 and ordained minister of the parish of Beith in 1745; was the author of various religious pamphlets; installed pastor at Paisley June 16, 1757; moderator of the synod of Glasgow and Ayr in 1758; became president of the College of New Jersey (now Princeton University) in 1768; member of the committee on correspondence from Somerset County July 28, 1775; member of the Provincial Congress of New Jersey from June 10 to June 22, 1776; Member of the Continental Congress from 1776-1782; a signer of the Declaration of Independence; member of the secret committee of the Congress on the conduct of the war and member of the board of war in 1778; member of the State council in 1780; drafted the instructions of June 1781 to the American peace commissioners; served in the State general assembly in 1783 and 1789; member of the State ratification convention in 1787; after the war returned to Princeton, where he continued his duties as president; died on his farm near Princeton, N.J., November 15, 1794; interment in the Princeton Cemetery, Princeton, N.J.

James Wilson - Signer of the Declaration

Quotes

James Wilson, The Works of the Honourable James Wilson (Philadelphia: Bronson and Chauncey, 1804), Vol. I, p. 106.

"Far from being rivals or enemies, religion and law are twin sisters, friends, and mutual assistants. Indeed, these two sciences run into each other. The divine law, as discovered by reason and the moral sense, forms an essential part of both."

Of the General Principles of Law and Obligation, reprinted in 1 James Wilson, The Works of the Honorable James Wilson 104-105 (Bird Wilson, ed., Philadelphia: Lorenzo Press, 1804).

"Human law must rest its authority ultimately upon the authority of that law which is Divine."

James Wilson, The Works of the Honorable James Wilson, Bird Wilson, editor (Philadelphia: Bronson and Chuncey, 1804), Vol. II, pp. 495-497.

"Man does not exist for the sake of government, but government is instituted for the sake of man."

Tibits

Bio

Congressional Biographical Directory

WILSON, James, a Delegate from Pennsylvania; born in Carskerdo, near St. Andrews, Scotland, September 14, 1742; attended the Universities of St. Andrews, Glasgow, and Edinburgh; immigrated to the United States in 1765; resided in New York City until 1766, when he moved to Philadelphia, Pa.; tutor in the College of Philadelphia (now the University of Pennsylvania); studied law; was admitted to the bar in 1767; practiced in Reading and Carlisle, Pa., and for a short time, during Howe’s occupation of Philadelphia, in Annapolis, Md.; also engaged in literary pursuits; member of the Provincial Convention of Pennsylvania in 1774; Member of the Continental Congress 1775-1777, 1783, and 1785-1786; chosen colonel of the Fourth Battalion of Associators in 1775; advocate general for France in America and guided that country’s legal relations to the Confederation; member of the board of war; brigadier general of the State militia; a signer of the Declaration of Independence; a delegate from Pennsylvania to the Federal Convention in 1787 and a delegate to the State ratification convention; settled in Philadelphia in 1778 and resumed the practice of law; Associate Justice of the United States Supreme Court 1789-1798; first professor of law in the College of Philadelphia in 1790 and in the University of Pennsylvania when they were united in 1791; died in Edenton, N.C., August 21, 1798; interment in the Johnston burial ground on the Hayes plantation near Edenton, N.C.; reinterment in Christ Churchyard, Philadelphia, Pa., in 1906.

William Williams - Signer of the Declaration

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Bio

Congressional Biographical Directory

WILLIAMS, William, a Delegate from Connecticut; born in Lebanon, Conn., March 29, 1731; completed preparatory studies; was graduated from Harvard College in 1751; studied theology for a year; engaged in mercantile pursuits; town clerk of Lebanon 1753-1796; member of a military expedition to Lake George in 1755; member of the State house of representatives 1757-1762, 1763-1776, and 1780-1784, serving as speaker in 1775 and 1781-1783; Member of the Continental Congress in 1776 and 1777; a signer of the Declaration of Independence; member of the council of safety during the Revolution; judge of the county court of Windham 1776-1804; judge of probate for the Windham district 1776-1808; became an assistant councilor in 1780 and served as assistant and as councilor for twenty-four years; member of the Connecticut ratification convention in 1787; died in Lebanon, Conn., August 2, 1811; interment in the Trumbull Tomb, East Cemetery.

William Whipple - Signer of the Declaration

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Bio

Congressional Biographical Directory

WHIPPLE, William, a Delegate from New Hampshire; born in Kittery, York County, Maine, January 14, 1730; became a sailor and engaged in the slave trade; freed his slaves and engaged in mercantile pursuits in Portsmouth, N.H.; delegate to the Provincial Congress at Exeter in 1775; Member of the Continental Congress 1776-1779; declined to be a candidate for renomination; one of the signers of the Declaration of Independence; commissioned a brigadier general in 1777; member of the State assembly 1780-1784; participated in several battles in the Revolutionary War; appointed judge of the State supreme court in 1782; financial receiver for New Hampshire 1782-1784; died in Portsmouth, N.H., November 28, 1785; interment in the Old North Burial Ground.