Celebrate the 234th Birthday of our United States of America, it is fitting to reflect on the heroic acts of our 56Founding Fathers that signed the Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776. Those 56 men freely and willingly committed treason. It is easy to visualize an antique document, concluded with 56 signatures, and those names are only ink on paper. But the 56 men who put quill and ink to paper made a larger impact than signing their names. They chose to do what was noble and righteous, regardless of the consequences.
The second and third Presidents of the United States, John Adams and Thomas Jefferson, were among those 56 brave who signed. The remaining names are of simple men, chosen by their fellow colonists to represent them. No presidents, war heroes, or politicians, but merchants, farmers, lawyers, ministers, doctors, men who jeopardized everything for the cause of freedom. Never mentioned in classrooms, books, or films, but, none the less, are our 56 Founding Fathers. On that day July 4, 1776, they became fugitives and traitors, and all were subsequently hunted and punished for their courageous defiance.
What was their cost for freedom? Edward Rutledge, Arthur Middleton, and Thomas Heyward, Jr. were held as POWs, treated cruelty in the Revolutionary War. William Ellery, Louis Morris, Francis Lewis, George Clymer, among others, saw their home estates burned, damaged, or destroyed. What some spent their entire lives building and working for was ripped from them by the British Crown. Others paid an even higher price. John Hart, Francis Lewis, Abraham Clark and other signers saw their families receive brutal treatment, children kidnapped and mistreated, wives horribly abused, even killed.
These 56 men gave their estates, their families, their sanity, ultimately their lives. They did so because they knew they were fighting towards a cause greater than themselves. They remained steadfast in their beliefs, brave in the face of persecution, devoted to their cause.
May you celebrate and pay tribute to the common men who believed in freedom so deeply that they put their lives in danger and took part in the birth of a new nation. This nation was founded on liberty, and these 56 men were willing to sacrifice everything for that. We should lead our lives with pride and gratitude for the courageous 56, who demonstrated how precious our liberty truly is. Happy Fourth of July.

Most of these great men of vision and moral courage would be appalled at the state of the union as it stands at this moment.

Happy July 4th -- Thanks to 56 Men from our past.

Don't forget to give God the thanks for this freedom.

Have you ever wondered what happened to the 56 menwho signed the Declaration of Independence ?

Five signers were captured by the British as traitors,
and tortured before they died.

Twelve had their homes ransacked and burned.
Two lost their sons serving in the Revolutionary Army;
another had two sons captured.

Nine of the 56 fought and died from wounds or
hardships of the Revolutionary War.

They signed and they pledged their lives, their fortunes,
and their sacred honor.

What kind of men were they?

Twenty-four were lawyers and jurists.
Eleven were merchants,
nine were farmers and large plantation owners;
men of means, well educated,
but they signed the Declaration of Independence
knowing full well that the penalty would be death if
they were captured.
Carter Braxton of Virginia, a wealthy planter and
trader, saw his ships swept from the seas by the
British Navy. He sold his home and properties to
pay his debts, and died in rags.

Thomas McKeam was so hounded by the British
that he was forced to move his family almost constantly.
He served in the Congress without pay, and his family
was kept in hiding.. His possessions were taken from him,
and poverty was his reward.

Vandals or soldiers looted the properties of Dillery, Hall, Clymer,
Walton, Gwinnett, Heyward, Ruttledge, and Middleton.

At the battle of Yorktown , Thomas Nelson, Jr., noted that
the British General Cornwallis had taken over the Nelson
home for his headquarters. He quietly urged General
George Washington to open fire. The home was destroyed,
and Nelson died bankrupt.

Francis Lewis had his home and properties destroyed.
The enemy jailed his wife, and she died within a few months.

John Hart was driven from his wife's bedside as she was dying.
Their 13 children fled for their lives. His fields and his gristmill
were laid to waste. For more than a year he lived in forests
and caves, returning home to find his wife dead and his
children vanished.
So, take a few minutes while enjoying your 4th of July holiday and
silently thank these patriots. It's not much to ask for the price they paid.

Remember: freedom is never free nor easy to maintain


What are you willing to do to keep our freedom today?