![]() ![]() Though he owned slaves and initially believed that blacks were inferior to white Europeans, his views evolved and he became a major supporter of the abolitionist cause. A major force in the rebellion against the British, he helped Jefferson draft the Declaration of Independence. He was the first postmaster general of the United States and a minister to the French court. The protean Boston-born Franklin, one of the most famous of the signers, was a businessman, inventor, writer, printer, publisher, scientist, diplomat, and legislator. His family's estate is now part of the Fire Island National Seashore. He became a soldier in the Suffolk County Militia, and was later elected to the first U.S. William Floyd (1734-1821)įloyd was born into a prosperous farm family of Welsh descent. After the Revolutionary War, he became an outspoken anti-slavery activist. His acquittal by the Senate was considered a victory for judicial independence.īorn in Newport and educated at Harvard College, graduating at the age of 15, Ellery worked as a merchant, a customs collector, and the clerk of the Rhode Island General Assembly before settling on a career in law. In the course of his tenure, he became the only Supreme Court justice to ever face impeachment proceedings, brought by Thomas Jefferson and his followers after he resisted Jefferson's attempt to weaken federal judicial powers. He held that post from 1796 until his death in 1811. ![]() ![]() ![]() Samuel Chase (1741-1811)Ĭlassically educated in Baltimore, Chase had a long and distinguished legal career in Maryland, becoming chief justice of the state supreme court and then an associate justice of the U.S. He was the last survivor of the signers, dying at the age of 95. He signed the Declaration of Independence as "Charles Carroll of Carrollton," a form of his name that he used to distinguish himself from a number of other Maryland Charles Carrolls. He held numerous offices in Maryland, both before and after independence, and helped frame the Maryland constitution. He returned to America 20 years later, after subsequent studies in London, and promptly became active in the patriot cause. Department of State Office of the Historian, and the Encyclopedia Britannica.Ĭarroll was born into a wealthy Annapolis family, and shipped off to be educated in France at the age of 8. Information about the signers of the Declaration of Independence was drawn from, which is the website of the non-profit Philadelphia-based Independence Hall Association, as well as from the websites of The Society of the Descendents of the Signers of the Declaration of Independence, the Massachusetts Historical Society, the U.S. Whoever they were, one thing is certain: These 56 signers put their lives and livelihoods on the line for the cause of American independence, and without their actions we’d have nothing to celebrate as a nation – on the Fourth of July or any other date. Some came to bad ends one lived to the age of 95. The majority owned slaves – 41 of the 56, according to one study – though there were also ardent abolitionists among their number. Some of the signers are world famous – among them Thomas Jefferson, Benjamin Franklin, and John Adams – and some are obscure. Most were well-to-do, though some lost their fortunes during the Revolutionary War or subsequently. Many were gentleman farmers, and many – sometimes the same ones – were attorneys. The majority of the delegates – all of them men – who signed the Declaration had been born in one of the 13 colonies, though a few were native to Great Britain or Ireland. It was on July 4, however, that the Continental Congress approved the final text of the Declaration – after jointly making some 86 changes in the draft composed by Thomas Jefferson and four colleagues. We drew on sources such as, the website of the non-profit Philadelphia-based Independence Hall Association to compile our list. is taking a look at who the 56 signers of the Declaration were. The colonists formally declared their independence on July 2, which John Adams promptly called “the most memorable Epocha, in the History of America,” predicting that it “will be celebrated, by succeeding Generations, as the great anniversary Festival.”Īs Independence Day draws near, 24/7 Wall St. Everybody knows that the Fourth of July celebrates the signing of the Declaration of Independence, the historic document by means of which the 13 American colonies severed their political connections with Great Britain and declared themselves to be the United States of America.Įxcept that the Declaration wasn’t signed on the Fourth of July. ![]()
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