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Just Interesting Information! Richard
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!
Comments
Peace
Hi
One interesting point ... how would America act now if say Alaska decided they wanted to be free and declared their independance? Would it be allowed to happen or would it be treason (or similar terms).
Hugs
Karen
If Alaska succeded now from
If Alaska succeded now from the United States then I think it would be no different than what happened during the Civil War here in America. The US depends too much on the resources of Alaska to allow that happen plus this country has not changed our governmental views that much since the Civil War so I imagine it would be the same.
Our cultural views in the US has changed greatly but our way of Governing has hardly changed or grown since the Civil War.
Hugs,
Jenna From FL
Moderator/Editor
TopShelf BigCloset
Hugs,
Jenna From FL
Moderator/Editor
TopShelf BigCloset
It is a long road ahead but I will finally become who I should be.
There's a difference ...
... between a colony and a state, you know. Alaska has a voice in the Federal Government, and can't claim taxation without representation as an impetus for secession. In fact, I can't really see a valid reason for wanting to secede from the Union (and no, I don't think sheer ornery cussedness counts).
I can think of a pretty good reason to remain one of these United States. I mean, there's a whole lot of oil up there, and Russia is clearly visible from the Alaskan Governor's (er, President's) mansion. *snicker* I'd be curious to see how Alaska would manage to defend itself from invasion without the other 49 watching her back ... you know, considering that the sovereign country of Alaskania doesn't have itself a standing army or navy. *grin*
Randa
Alaska
The argument of whether or not a state could leave the Union was more or less settled in 1865. The only state that could get away with it now would be the former Republic of Texas, which joined under special circumstances. I'd say that there's a better chance of the EU breaking up than Alaska attempting to leave the Union, but if it tried to do so, would the US Armed Forces actually obey orders to fight Alaskans?
Harry Turtledove, where are you? :)
Aardvark
"Happiness is when what you think, what you say, and what you do are in harmony."
Mahatma Gandhi
"Happiness is when what you think, what you say, and what you do are in harmony."
Mahatma Gandhi
They'd have lots of volunteers...
...against both Alaska and Texas, Texas for precipitating the Civil War, and Alaska for extracting boatloads of cash from the rest of us, and then jeering about their self-sufficiency.
Cheers,
Puddin'
-
Cheers,
Puddin'
A tender heart is an asset to an editor: it helps us be ruthless in a tactful way.
--- The Chicago Manual of Style
Please explain?
Alaska gets monies from the rest of the United States?
Tanstaafl,
FrACTured FrIEND
Tanstaafl,
FrACTured FrIEND
federal spending
Setting aside the districts in and around Washington, DC, where *lots* of people work for the government, and *lots* of US tax dollars are spent, Alaska has the highest federal per capita outlays, with US$12,339 received for each man, woman, and child in that state.
On top of that, they extract taxes on Alaskan oil paid directly to the citizens of Alaska in the amount of US$1000 each, including children and a few lucky dogs.
This means that a family, of say, two adults and two children, could earn up to $53,356 per annum without contributing a dime toward the general productivity of the country.
In last place in the pecking order is the area in and around Tyler, in eastern Texas, whose lucky residents received only US$4,989 each, about 40% of what Alaska residents received, and well below the poverty line.
The interesting thing is that the good citizens of Tyler, along with all the rest of us, ponied up the money that purchased Alaska from the Russians which, if we hadn't done, would have allowed Sarah Palin to walk out her front door onto Russian sidewalks, and read Pravda instead of the Bible.
Is she grateful? Not a bit.
How sharper than a serpent's tooth,
Liobhan
-
Cheers,
Liobhan
Federal income
I don't think that income from federal jobs is included in those statistics, not for the military or letter carriers or judges, nor are receipts by companies for federal contracts. It is the payment made to the state in the form of aide (for highways, Medicaid, et c., et c.), and over which the states have discretion, and that made to residents in the form of subsidies. I admit, I haven't looked at the stats lately, and other things might be included (I don't know about land management, for instance).
Maryland and Virginia both have negative over all 'takes', however, sending more money to in than the state gets back. DC is a different problem, and since almost half the land is owned or administered or protected by the federal government, and their cops spend a lot of time guiding motorcades, I think they can be forgiven (and maybe even be allowed a vote or two in Congress).
Interestingly, every stated that voted for McCain except one, has a positive ballance, getting more from the Feds they is collected in the state, and the one exception is the state with the highest proportion of uninsured residents of all the states.
Harry Turtledove
One of my favourite authors! A true master of storycraft, e'en under one of his myriad pseudonyms. The best, in my humble but honest opinion, is The Road Not Taken written as Eric G. Iverson.
Tanstaafl,
FrACTured FrIEND
Tanstaafl,
FrACTured FrIEND
Secession
The Civil War started not when some states voted to secede but when they took up arms against the Federal government. So if Alaska decided to secede, it would require congressional action and a treaty to make it legal. This was what was settled by the Civil War, you don't sever the Federal Union by force.
Texas, Hawaii and Vermont negotiated entry into the Union but Vermont did not ask for any clauses about exit options in return for stable borders and an end to claims by New York, Massachusets and New Hampshire. We've already violated the treaty that made Hawaii a territory more than a century ago several times and it could be argued that Texas lost all those special rights from the original annexation treaty when rejoining the Union during Reconstruction, more or less at gunpoint.
California had the opportunity for an annexation treaty but was simply ceded to the US by Mexico, making it unnecessary to negotiate with the fractured and not quite legitimate government of the Bear Republic. Same for New Mexico. Florida was ceded by Spain and the various claims for Floridian independence ignored, the Bonnie Blue Flag of the West Florida Republic be damned. Louisiana, Kentucky (as Transylvania), and various other parts of the US also had some claims on independence or self-rule, also pretty much ignored rather than fought over.
International law would give the US the right to hold any rebellious territory by force of arms if necessary. But the First Amendment of the Constitution does give the people the right to petition for redress of grievances and this ought to include the right of states to negotiate secession. Just don't start shooting at a Federal fort before Congress and the courts have had a go at it.
And yeah, it would be cool if Turtledove took a whack at writing something on this idea. :)
Hugs,
Erin
= Give everyone the benefit of the doubt because certainty is a fragile thing that can be shattered by one overlooked fact.
= Give everyone the benefit of the doubt because certainty is a fragile thing that can be shattered by one overlooked fact.
The argument that Texas has special status...
The idea that Texas somehow has a special status because of the way it joined the union is utterly bogus, and comes from some blatant untruths spread by populist Texas politicians. Texas does not have the right to secede from the Union.
In fact Texas tried to secede (to the Confederate States) in 1861, and failed. The matter was settled in the US Supreme Court in 1869 in Texas v White. Wikipedia has a good article on the case. As ever in Texas, the issue was less about principle than it was about money.
If the Confederacy had won the war, Texas would have been part of the Confederacy. But they lost. In doing so any claims they might ever have had about "special status" went out the window.
It's hard for Texans to admit that they got done over in a fight. It's hard for the British, too.
not as think as i smart i am
Populist?
Just, please, don't call Perry a populist! Ugggh. Bryan, Henry Wallace, Huey Long, OK. Teddy Roosevelt? Umm, often. I don't agree with them on everything, and wouldn't have then, but their hearts were the peoples'. Please, don't let words like these be co-oped, too many have been made meaningless.
Well, this is a funny answer
There's a humorous take on what America would look like if various states seceded here:
http://www.newyorker.com/talk/comment/2009/05/04/090504taco_...
For "Federated States" read "Confederacy". For "Old Country" think the saner, gentler part of the nation.
For the old country, the benefits would be obvious. A more intimately sized Congress would briskly enact sensible gun control, universal health insurance, and ample support for the arts, the humanities, and the sciences. Although Texas itself has been a net contributor to the Treasury—it gets back ninety-four cents for each dollar it sends to Washington—nearly all the other potential F.S. states, especially the ones whose politicians complain most loudly about the federal jackboot, are on the dole. (South Carolina, for example, receives $1.35 on the dollar, as compared with Illinois’s seventy-five cents.) Republicans would have a hard time winning elections for a generation or two, but eventually a responsible opposition party would emerge, along the lines of Britain’s Conservatives, and a normal alternation in power could return.
The Federated States, meanwhile, could get on with the business of protecting the sanctity of marriage, mandating organized prayer sessions and the teaching of creationism in schools, and giving the theory that eliminating taxes increases government revenues a fair test. Although Texas and the other likely F.S. states already conduct some eighty-six per cent of executions, their death rows remain clogged with thousands of prisoners kept alive by meddling judges. These would be rapidly cleared out, providing more prison space for abortion providers. Although there might be some economic dislocation at first, the F.S. could remedy this by taking advantage of its eligibility for OPEC membership and arranging a new “oil shock.†Failing that, foreign aid could be solicited from Washington. But the greatest benefit would be psychological: freed from the condescension of metropolitan élites and Hollywood degenerates, the new country could tap its dormant creativity and develop a truly distinctive Way of Life.
Not every Southerner would be eager to go along with the new order, so delicate diplomacy would be a must. New Orleans might have to be made a “free city,†like Danzig (now Gdańsk) between the world wars. If partitioning Austin along the lines of Cold War Berlin proved unfeasible, peacekeeping troops might have to be sent in. But, before long, living side by side in peace and tranquillity, we could all say either “God bless the United States of America†or “God bless the Federated States,†as the case may be.
not as think as i smart i am
As A Brit
I might have a different perspective, especially after they wasted all that bloody tea! And they wouldn't have won without the help of the French.
Angharad
Angharad
In the olden days...
...they remembered that.
http://www.unc.edu/depts/diplomat/AD_Issues/amdipl_16/edit16...
It's only in recent years that they've become ingrates, poisoned by the serpent's venom of hatred and greed.
Cheers,
Puddin'
-
Cheers,
Puddin'
A tender heart is an asset to an editor: it helps us be ruthless in a tactful way.
--- The Chicago Manual of Style
boston tea
But from my history class on Boston I understand at least it was not the PG Tips Tea Brand. That would have been a real crime.
Hugs,
Jenna From FL
Moderator/Editor
TopShelf BigCloset
Hugs,
Jenna From FL
Moderator/Editor
TopShelf BigCloset
It is a long road ahead but I will finally become who I should be.
Not to be ignorant, but...
... aren't they all dead?
Tanstaafl,
FrACTured FrIEND
Tanstaafl,
FrACTured FrIEND
Chain Letters, Feel-Good Nonsense, Propaganda, and Internet Spam
God, I hate posts like this. Yes, the sentiments are fine. But patriotism based on fiction and hyperbole and feeling good isn't really patriotism at all.
No offense. I am an American, own a flag, love our country and have sworn allegiance to it. But, I have zero tolerance for internet chain letters, and a great pain in my heart that there are so many people so gullible that they'll pass on any gibberish that "sounds right" to their friends without verifying any of it.
Let's fact-check what we can of this chain-letter. Now, wikipedia isn't the be-all, end-all of authoritative sources, but people do get to examine and amend the entries.
First, let's take the last guy, John Hart. His real history doesn't resemble the contents of the chain letter. At all. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Hart Yes, he was a patriot, and an important leader, and he did some great things, but the description in the post above is fiction. While he did indeed have to flee when the British invaded New Jersey in December, 1776, his wife had already died in October.
Thomas Nelson, Jr.: The legend of urging either General Washington or in some versions, the Marquis de Lafayette, to fire on his home to kill Cornwallis isn't historically confirmed. Cornwallis lived to 1805, so it certainly didn't work, if it happened at all. Nelson held several offices, in the Continental Congress and succeeding Thomas Jefferson as the Governor of Virginia. He was also a General in the war. While he died in 1789 at the home of his son, of natural causes, there is no indication that he was penniless. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_Nelson,_Jr.
Francis Lewis was one of the grand elder statesman of the Revolutionary period, living to age 90. His wife was indeed arrested by the British in 1776 when they destroyed his home. But, she was later exchanged as part of a swap for wives of British officials, and didn't die until 1779, although indeed after long illnesses attributed to her hardships. http://www.nps.gov/history/history/online_books/declaration/... http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Francis_Lewis
"Thomas McKeam" is a typo. The correct name is Thomas McKean. He had a long and illustrious career in politics and government, culminating in state Chief Justice and then three terms as Governor of Pennsylvania until 1808. He died in 1817. If he died in poverty, which is doubtful, it evidently had nothing to do with his signing of the Declaration of Independence. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_McKean
Carter Braxton was a wealthy plantation owner who funded a number of efforts for the Revolutionary War, including privateering. The Continental Congress censured him, though, for siezing a neutral Portuguese vessel in his operations. Yes, the British destroyed his ships, but not for signing the Declaration -- for sinking or siezing British shipping vessels as part of the war effort. He did indeed end up having to sell off most of his estate after the war to pay his debts, but he finished out his life in a comfortable row-house in Richmond, Virginia, and his descendants remain in continuous possession of his Chericoke plantation. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carter_Braxton
There may be more half-truths, or even some whole truths in the above post, but I'm bored now, and I feel like I've done enough research to show that it's full of hyperbole, myth, poor scholarship and random wishful thinking to not be worthy of passing on to anyone.
If you're an American, you have plenty to be proud of about our country, and our Founding Fathers, without making up stuff.
It's a never ending battle
Thanks for setting the record straight. I really don't understand why people feel the need to make up stuff about American history. The truth is so extraordinary it's hardly necessary.
not as think as i smart i am
snopes says not exactly....
FWIW: This has been going around for a while, and it fits easily into the "nice story, but..." category.
According to snopes.com, it is somewhat true/somewhat false: http://www.snopes.com/history/american/pricepaid.asp
Causes
I have seen some interesting thoughts on the American Revolution and the Civil War. It reminds me of that old program James Burke's Connections. How everything is tied together. The beginning goes back to the French and Indian War where Britain and France fought over who would control the vast area about the Ohio valley. It was also part of the 7 years Wars fought in Europe. The Brits won but just like with Iraq and every war ever fought it had to be paid for. Taxes. Yep the whole Boston Tea Party deal. The King believed that the colonies should pay for the costs that occurred in the New World, while of course some folks in Boston disagreed. Thus the very beginning of the Revolution.
The nature of the coming War also laid the ground work for the Civil War. Large portions of the South were occupied territories where, as shown in The Patriot a nasty guerrilla war, waged. Businesses, homes and infrastructure suffered, not to mention the destruction that civilians always face in War time. In comparison the North came out as a whole in much better condition.
This is important because the political power of the nation to come was based off of population. The North came off as the winner. The Constitution from the start addressed the issue of slavery but had a problem with three states over it. Georgia, South Carolina, and wait for it... Massachusetts. In other words, Savannah, Charleston, and Boston the biggest harbors importing slaves. Remember, money talks!
The South being more agrarian depended on slaves for the grunt work, while the North became more industrialized. Rice was the cash corp before cotton became profitable, but the North was seeing that it was cheaper to pay immigrant workers next to nothing rather than own slaves, lease over ownership. (Later on in history that mistreatment gave rise to labor unions and other protests, but that is another story.)
When cotton grew into the the big cash crop of the South one must remember that like large corporations there only a relative few large plantations making a profit from slavery. Most southerns had nothing to do with it. What sparked off the thing again was you guessed it, money. There were abolitionists, but they were regarded as religious fanatics.
England and France were completing with the North for the cotton to be made into textiles. As always with competition it drove up the price making the plantation owners very rich. We are know the key to being rich is to buy low and sell high. Northern Big Business pushed for tariffs, which added a tax to the exported cotton making Europe pay more, driving down the price and taking money out of the growers pockets.
This turned into a back and forth fight for control of congress, the law making body. Both sides funded special interest groups. IE. Abolitionists and Pro-slavery groups that weren't shy at all over spilling each others blood. The Free State vs Slave State political conflicts were more of the same, votes to control congress.
Strangely enough the Republican Party was formed to address the issue of Slavery. About this time more laws were being passed against the better interests of the rich Southern growers. Needless to say they weren't happy with this and with the election of Abe Lincoln they could see the writing on the wall.
Like Erin said it wasn't succeeding from the Union that started the war. Up to that time, numerous states had threatened to do the same up to and including northern states. The States' Rights cry spoke of perceived rights of States to leave the Union. More than anything else it was a protest against the North using its greater population to gain at the South's expense. This time the threat of secession passed as it was ratified by state governments.
The next 5 years were bloody beyond description. More died in single battles than from both Gulf Wars combined. However we did once again become a single nation although I'm still not sure about that undivided bit sometimes.
Please bear in mind this is a gross simplification of a hugely complicated situation. The one key factor here is money. Slavery was doomed anyways from all kinds of upcoming inventions such as the farm tractor and other economic factors.
Greed made our forefathers forget about the very statement they made in the beginning, "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness."
Is it any wonder that money is called the root of all evil?
Hugs!
grover
Great story; too bad it is mostly false
Every year this same "what ever happened" story circulates. While some of the signers suffered losses- family property and their own lives- so did many other colonists who supported independence. I am grateful that the founding fathers of this country risked their lives and fortunes to break free from Britain. I appreciate the opportunities that I have as an American. At the same time, I recognize that there is no freedom until there is equality for all. Freedom is an evolving concept; it took America a long time to end slavery and even longer to outlaw segregation. Asian immigration was severely limited for a long time and they had no right to own property in some states. After WWI laws were passed to severely limit Slavs, Jews and Catholics from immigrating. How long were mixed race marriages illegal? Gays, lesbians and transgendered individuals aren't equal in the eyes of Federal and most state laws when it comes to marriage.
Although many of the heroes of civil rights for racial, religious and gender minority groups have paid with their lives or their livelihoods, very few of them are known and, unfortunately, their numbers continue to grow.
The problem with the story that "new author" posted is that it is essentially a propaganda piece and it is usually initially circulated by folks of a very conservative bent in an attempt to get it accepted as a mainstream truth; I can only presume that "new author" got it from someone he trusted and didn't fact check it. I don't believe it would have been posted here if he knew it to be false.
I grew up in the segregated south where public schools taught a very sanitized history that glorified white Christian (Protestant) male history to the exclusion of everything else. There is no self reflection or acknowledgment of mistakes and because we are the beneficiaries of the sacrifices of all the patriots who went before us, we must never question our leaders, accept the status quo and be willing to fight and die without questioning our government. The "Whatever happened to" piece is part of that same mindset.
And now that I have stepped off my soapbox, if you want to have a more factual look at what happened to the founding fathers read the article I have copied below.
The url for the page is: http://www.heritage.org/Research/AmericanFoundingandHistory/...
A NOTE ON THE SIGNERS OF
THE DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE
"...we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes and our sacred Honor."
(Each year information about those who signed the Declaration of Independence is circulated, not all of which is accurate. The following note is based on research in several established sources, which are noted below.)
Fifty-six individuals from each of the original 13 colonies participated in the Second Continental Congress and signed the Declaration of Independence. Pennsylvania sent nine delegates to the congress, followed by Virginia with seven and Massachusetts and New Jersey with five. Connecticut, Maryland, New York, and South Carolina each sent four delegates. Delaware, Georgia, New Hampshire, and North Carolina each sent three. Rhode Island, the smallest colony, sent only two delegates to Philadelphia.
Nine of the signers were immigrants, two were brothers, two were cousins, and one was an orphan. The average age of a signer was 45. The oldest delegate was Benjamin Franklin of Pennsylvania, who was 70 when he signed the Declaration. The youngest was Thomas Lynch, Jr., of South Carolina, who was 27.
Eighteen of the signers were merchants or businessmen, 14 were farmers, and four were doctors. Forty-two signers had served in their colonial legislatures. Twenty-two were lawyers--although William Hooper of North Carolina was "disbarred" when he spoke out against the Crown--and nine were judges. Stephen Hopkins had been Governor of Rhode Island.
Although two others had been clergy previously, John Witherspoon of New Jersey was the only active clergyman to attend--he wore his pontificals to the sessions. Almost all were Protestant Christians; Charles Carroll of Maryland was the only Roman Catholic signer.
Seven of the signers were educated at Harvard, four each at Yale and William & Mary, and three at Princeton. John Witherspoon was the president of Princeton and George Wythe was a professor at William & Mary, where his students included the author of the Declaration of Independence, Thomas Jefferson.
Seventeen of the signers served in the military during the American Revolution. Thomas Nelson was a colonel in the Second Virginia Regiment and then commanded Virginia military forces at the Battle of Yorktown. William Whipple served with the New Hampshire militia and was one of the commanding officers in the decisive Saratoga campaign. Oliver Wolcott led the Connecticut regiments sent for the defense of New York and commanded a brigade of militia that took part in the defeat of General Burgoyne. Caesar Rodney was a Major General in the Delaware militia and John Hancock was the same in the Massachusetts militia.
Five of the signers were captured by the British during the war. Captains Edward Rutledge, Thomas Heyward, and Arthur Middleton (South Carolina) were all captured at the Battle of Charleston in 1780; Colonel George Walton was wounded and captured at the Battle of Savannah. Richard Stockton of New Jersey never recovered from his incarceration at the hands of British Loyalists and died in 1781.
Colonel Thomas McKean of Delaware wrote John Adams that he was "hunted like a fox by the enemy--compelled to remove my family five times in a few months, and at last fixed them in a little log house on the banks of the Susquehanna . . . and they were soon obliged to move again on account of the incursions of the Indians." Abraham Clark of New Jersey had two of his sons captured by the British during the war. The son of John Witherspoon, a major in the New Jersey Brigade, was killed at the Battle of Germantown.
Eleven signers had their homes and property destroyed. Francis Lewis's New York home was destroyed and his wife was taken prisoner. John Hart's farm and mills were destroyed when the British invaded New Jersey and he died while fleeing capture. Carter Braxton and Thomas Nelson (both of Virginia) lent large sums of their personal fortunes to support the war effort, but were never repaid.
Fifteen of the signers participated in their states' constitutional conventions, and six--Roger Sherman, Robert Morris, Benjamin Franklin, George Clymer, James Wilson, and George Reed--signed the United States Constitution. Elbridge Gerry of Massachusetts attended the federal convention and, though he later supported the document, refused to sign the Constitution.
After the Revolution, 13 of the signers went on to become governors, and 18 served in their state legislatures. Sixteen became state and federal judges. Seven became members of the United States House of Representatives, and six became United States Senators. James Wilson and Samuel Chase became Justices of the United States Supreme Court.
Thomas Jefferson, John Adams, and Elbridge Gerry each became Vice President, and John Adams and Thomas Jefferson became President. The sons of signers John Adams and Benjamin Harrison also became Presidents.
Five signers played major roles in the establishment of colleges and universities: Benjamin Franklin and the University of Pennsylvania; Thomas Jefferson and the University of Virginia; Benjamin Rush and Dickinson College; Lewis Morris and New York University; and George Walton and the University of Georgia.
John Adams, Thomas Jefferson, and Charles Carroll were the longest surviving signers. Adams and Jefferson both died on July 4, 1826, the 50th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence. Charles Carroll of Maryland was the last signer to die--in 1832 at the age of 95.
Sources: Robert Lincoln, Lives of the Presidents of the United States, with Biographical Notices of the Signers of the Declaration of Independence (Brattleboro Typographical Company, 1839); John and Katherine Bakeless, Signers of the Declaration (Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1969); Biographical Directory of the United States Congress, 1774-1989 (Washington, D.C.: U.S. Government Printing Office, 1989).