Happy 4th!

And with 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.  – last line of the Declaration of Independence

And they did. Nine of the fifty-six signers of the Declaration of Independence would give their lives for the signature they placed on that document. Seventeen would sacrifice their fortunes, loaning all their money to see the United States through a war and never seeing a penny of it returned. Men of fortune at the start of the war, they would die in poverty…but their nation would prosper.

Many of these men had their houses burned down by the British. They often had to flee for their lives, leaving behind wives and children they would never see again. They knew they could be arrested at any moment and hung for treason, yet not one of them ever regretted the signature they placed on that document. Ever.

These men weren’t soldiers. And though they probably wouldn’t call themselves politicians, that’s the job they were doing when they signed that document. But to them there was no difference. They were fighting for freedom – and any price was worth the cost.

Thank you.

Happy 240^th Birthday, America!