10 things you may not know about the Declaration of Independence
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By Nick Rogers
As school children, we all learn of the significance of the Declaration of Independence.
We learned that the plucky colonists took on the tyrannical George III after the king heaped much abuse on the long-suffering colonies. However, as we know, history is never as cut and dried as that. Britain wasn't as evil as we learned and the colonists weren't guiltless. If anything, the story of independence is the story of two peoples who had grown apart.
Nevertheless, the colonies' push for independence was one of the most significant historical events, which led to a new player on the world stage, one that would rapidly rise to prominence.
But what of the document itself? Thomas Jefferson's Declaration of Independence was a remarkable piece of work, beautifully written and laying out, point-by-point, the colonies' reasons for leaving Britain.
Yet, despite all we have heard about and learned of the Declaration of Independence, the momentum of history can often carry with it myths and inaccuracies.
Here are 10 things you may or may not have known about this fascinating document:
1. It was Richard Henry Lee of Virginia who proposed the resolution "That these United Colonies are, and of right ought to be, free and independent states, that they are absolved from all allegiance to the British Crown, and that all political connection between them and the State of Great Britain is, and ought to be, totally dissolved." Lee's resolution was submitted on June 7, 1776.
2. The day that Continental Congress voted for independence was July 2, not July 4. They debated Thomas Jefferson's document for two days before agreeing to the final version on July 4, when it was also read to the public for the first time.
3. On July 3, John Adams wrote to his wife, Abigail, that "The Second Day of July 1776, will be the most memorable Epocha in the History of America. I am apt to believe that it will be celebrated, by succeeding generations, as the great anniversary festival."
The document wasn't signed by members of the congress until Aug. 2, and some members didn't sign until months later.
5. The vote for independence was not unanimous. Only 12 of the 13 state delegations to the Continental Congress voted for declaring independence. New York abstained. (The colony eventually supported the measure a week later).
6. Are our rights "unalienable" or "inalienable?" The final version of the Declaration uses "unalienable," whereas Jefferson's handwritten draft uses "inalienable." Actually, it doesn't matter. Both are correct and both mean the same thing.
7. The beautifully handwritten and signed copy that we all recognize as the Declaration of Independence wasn't physically written by Jefferson, but, historians believe, by Timothy Matlack. Matlack became a member of the Second Continental Congress.
8. Is there anything on the back of the document? Yes. It reads, upside down, "Original Declaration of Independence dated 4th July 1776."
In the original draft, Jefferson, a slave owner, lists the commerce of slavery as one of the violations that justify a break from England. The passage was stripped from the final version at the demand of the southern states, who would not vote for independence otherwise.
Britain didn't learn of her colonies' new-found independence until Aug. 30, 1776.
Comments
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, 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!
July 4, 2009 at 1:47 p.m.