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Mya Angel Special Assistant California 1396 Posts |
Wishing everyone a Happy Independence Day/4th of July.
July 4, 1776 - Philadelphia: They gathered to sign the Declaration of Independence Have you ever wondered what happened to the 56 men who 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, Rutledge, 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. A few weeks later he died from exhaustion and a broken heart. Norris and Livingston suffered similar fates. Such were the stories and sacrifices of the American Revolution. These were not wild-eyed, rabble-rousing ruffians. They were soft-spoken men of means and education. They had security, but they valued liberty more. Standing tall, straight, and unwavering, they pledged: "For the support of this declaration, with firm reliance on the protection of the divine providence, we mutually pledge to each other, our lives, our fortunes, and our sacred honor." They gave you and me a free and independent America. The history books never told you a lot about what happened in the Revolutionary War. We didn't fight just the British. We were British subjects at that time and we fought our own government! Some of us take these liberties so much for granted, but we shouldn't. 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! Mya
There is nothing that remains so constant as change. Don't end up like concrete, all mixed up and permanently set.
He who slings mud will surely lose ground. |
THOR New user No. California 69 Posts |
That's a great post, Mya!
We have so much to be thankful for in the U.S. I hope everyone has a safe July 4th. Blessings, thor |
Wallace Loyal user Bangor, Northern Ireland 208 Posts |
May I wish all Americans a happy and peaceful Fourth of July from the 'Land of the Leprechaun'!
Wallace B
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Wallace Loyal user Bangor, Northern Ireland 208 Posts |
Perhaps I should add for all you Irish Americans!
Wallace B
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BroDavid Inner circle America’s North Coast, Ohio 3176 Posts |
Thank you Mya for that wonderful reminder of the price of Peace and Liberty!
It seems that we easily accept the payment of the purchase price by others, for our Peace and Liberty. And that price was/is indeed a high price. But then we fail to accept, or even consider about our own responsibility in maintaining those principals. Voting, obeying the law, paying taxes, speaking out on right and wrong? If we dont do these things, how will Peace and Liberty ever be sustained in America? BroDavid
If you stand for nothing, you will fall for anything.
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Peter Marucci Inner circle 5389 Posts |
A wonderful piece, Mya.
Your northern neighbors, up here in Canada, wish you a Glorious Fourth! And remember, the Declaration of Independence is one of the great political documents of all time! You would have to think as they did 250 years ago to understand what an enormous breakthrough that declaration was. It was forged in blood and defended with the blood of everyday Americans for much of that time. So don't EVER take it for granted. It was truly something that changed the course of history for all time! God Bless America! cheers, Peter Marucci showtimecol@aol.com |
Wallace Loyal user Bangor, Northern Ireland 208 Posts |
Just a little postscript Mya to that wonderful and thought provoking list.
I understand that 5 of those signatories were orignally from the North of Ireland. Ulster-Scots Presbyterians!
Wallace B
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Dan Farmer Loyal user Northern Nevada 235 Posts |
Irony: Did anyone else notice that our grammar hostess spelled independence wrong in the subject. Interesting if depressing post to give a little insight into the old "at what price, freedom?" Be safe and don't play with fireworks if it's not legal where you live (I'm still waiting to get paged for brush fires this evening.)
-Dan |
Mya Angel Special Assistant California 1396 Posts |
Oh my gosh! I just found out, I'm human!
Thanks for the heads up Dan.
There is nothing that remains so constant as change. Don't end up like concrete, all mixed up and permanently set.
He who slings mud will surely lose ground. |
Peter Marucci Inner circle 5389 Posts |
Don't worry about it, Mya Angel.
After all, look at the spelling mistakes in the Declaration of Independence: "chuse" for "choose" is one example. cheers, Peter Marucci showtimecol@aol.com |
Mya Angel Special Assistant California 1396 Posts |
There is nothing that remains so constant as change. Don't end up like concrete, all mixed up and permanently set.
He who slings mud will surely lose ground. |
Peter Marucci Inner circle 5389 Posts |
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Harry Murphy Inner circle Maryland 5444 Posts |
Isn’t it interesting that we will spend pages of this board arguing about the proper history of magic trick or slight. That we will fight over who should be properly credited for some obscure move. We argue about the ethics of proper credit and getting our magic history right. Yet we allow misstatements and inaccurate facts about things non-magical to fly right by unquestioned.
The above “history” of the Signers of the Declaration of Independence of the English Colonies from England is something that has been floating around the Internet for years. It is inaccurate and misleading! The Signers of the Declaration of Independence knew they could have been targeted by the British as Traitors. They showed tremendous courage and bravery by willingly putting their names on a document that could bring about their deaths. They were remarkable men. We do not need to embellish the truth! NO signer was killed outright by the British, and only ONE, Richard Stockton, was imprisoned solely for having signed the Declaration of Independence. The others were captured while fighting in the army and were treated as Officers (all were officers) and Prisoners of War (harshly to be sure!) they were NOT tortured. Of the 56 signers, 17 (not 9) held commissions in the army or did medical duty during the war. Many of those whose property was looted or destroyed managed to re-establish themselves financially after the war. Carter Braxton, a signer from Virginia, did suffer financial hardships because of the British, but he retained other holdings. Mr. Braxton sold much of his property and loaned the money to the Congress to help finance the revolution. The debt was NEVER REPAID! He lost his lands after the war as a result! The US caused his finical ruin not the British. He never in his life complained. That is a true patriot! Thomas McKean did NOT die in poverty. In fact, he was quite wealthy when he died at the age of 83 in 1817 after serving as Governor of Pennsylvania for 9 years. No one knows for sure if Thomas Nelson’s home was fired upon (the source of the story seems to be family legend), but he heard the home was turned into a tourist attraction after the war, and additional cannonball holes were added for “authenticity.” Three were born in Ireland, two in England, one in Wales, and one in Scotland. The rest were born in the colonies. Button Gwinnett a signer from Georgia died in 1777 as a result of a duel with a political opponent! Thomas Lynch, Jr. a signer from South Carolina, and his wife left this country to live in the West Indies and sort of disappear from history! A family member murdered George Wythe a signer from North Carolina in 1806 when he was 80 years old. He was killed because he had willed some of his property to former slaves. By and large the majority of these men ended up well off, The majority of the signers survived the war and rebuilt their fortunes. Many served in the federal government or in their state governments. Three served as Vice Presidents of the US and two of those became President of the United States, at least three became Justices of the Supreme Court of the United States and several more served in Federal Judgeships. About one forth of the signers went on to become the Governors of their respective states and several served as Senators in their home states. The son of one signer, Benjamin Harrison from Virginia became the 9th president. The majority were men of substance, position, and wealth following the war. Yet all men were of unquestionable courage. For those interested in biographies of these men go to: http://www.ushistory.org/declaration/signers/index.htm The actual history and accomplishments of these men before, during, and after the war is fascinating! Of final note, Charles Carroll a signer from Maryland was the last surviving member of those who signed the Declaration. He died a wealthy man, in 1832 at the age of ninety-six.
The artist formally known as Mumblepeas!
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swamigimmick Regular user England 187 Posts |
As a Brit may I wish everyone a happy Independence Day and let me thank mumplepeas for correcting most people's view of the events.
Also the Declaration of Independence was actually signed on July 2nd. It wasn't adopted by Congress until July 4th. See this link below for the timescale: - http://www.dcn.davis.ca.us/vme/vo/8.html I adore the US and would like all you US citizens to know that I am a Persian Gulf War vet. The British 1st Armoured Division was brought under the command of the US VII Corps so not only did I fight alongside US troops but I actually worked for them. I do feel that Hollywood is to blame for some of these misconceptions due to Hollywood's constant revisionist history. My concern about Hollywood's portrayal of the War of Independence in such films as "The Patriot" is based on the fact that Hollywood is in the entertainment business but exploits the past as a means of telling a profitable story. Scriptwriters in Hollywood shamelessly blur fact and fiction so that the latter assumes, however unintentionally, the authority of the former. There is a website on the internet that comments on the revisionist aspects of Hollywood at: - http://www.patriotresource.com/insights/article1/page1.html The film "The Patriot" was singled out for criticism. One review printed in the London Sunday Telegraph written by Jonathan Foreman called the film 'as fascist a film as made in decades'. The article even argued that by portraying the British, in the guise of villain Colonel Tavington, as committing such atrocities as burning down a church with all the town's inhabitants locked inside back in the 1780's, made 1940's Nazi brutality 'look normal'. The church burning in the movie bears resemblance to the infamous massacre at Oradour sur Glane, France. In 1944, as the Germans were retreating from Allied forces, the Nazi SS shot all the men and boys of the town, and then locked all the women and children in the church and burned it down. Some critics sarcastically suggested that the scene was left over from Saving Private Ryan, screenwriter Robert Rodat's World War II script. Such a massacre did not happen in the American Revolution, but by scripting a similar event, the British become brutal precursors of the Nazis through the film's revisionist history. This Sunday Telegraph article held Director Roland Emmerich, and screenwriter Robert Rodat responsible, while letting Gibson off the hook for being 'only an actor' who naïvely did 'not consider the political or historical implications of such a portrayal of the British'. The Patriot had a subdued run at the box-office, although it did gross about $85 million in the United States. In Britain it met with such strong protests that the American ambassador to Britain came out with several public statements distancing the US government from the movie's portrayal of the British. Gibson himself did not shy away from the spotlight and appeared at the London premier. Regards, Eric.
Corinius
Mentalist and Hypnotist "You cannot teach a man anything, you can only help him discover it within himself." - GALILEO |
Illusionist Regular user Earth 121 Posts |
Happy july 4th. we here in western Canada are plauged with drought. Its +35 right now in Edmonton alberta. Even on our July 1st celebration the fire works were banned almost country wide. we are still fire and in some parts water banned. Hope your celebration is exellent!
MMMMM... Hamburger |
Dolini Loyal user 217 Posts |
Here is to all the Irish Americans. May God Bless the USA
Dolini
John O'Shea Dolan
johnosheadolan@hotmail.com |
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