Happy 4th of July.

Terry O'Keefe · Jul 4, 2007

It's a rainy day here in Houston. That'll dampen some of the celebrations for sure, but I'm still looking forward to my Hotdogs, Brats, Beer and Apple Pie!!

Quiz: Where was the Declaration of Independence Signed?

Bear Down Rick · Jul 4, 2007

At the bottom!

Seriously, at Veterans Stadium.

Tennessee Tom · Jul 4, 2007

I always thought it was signed in Philadelphia but I may be wrong. It could have been signed in multiple places. I do remember that all the signatures were not collected on the same date.

Tennessee Tom · Jul 4, 2007

I was searching to see if I was correct on the location. I didn't find 100% confirmation of the location, but I did find something EXTREMELY IMPORTANT for all Americans to remember on this day and all other days of the year.

Today, our country is at war. There are differences in this war and the Revolutionary war, that is a given. The similarities are that we are fighting against an enemy that wants to take away any freedoms that we have, or may have in the future.

Men risked their lives for our freedom back then. Our troops are doing the same thing today. They need and deserve our 100% support.

The Men that signed

Fifty-six men, appointed by their fellow citizens of each Colony, meeting in Congress assembled, determined that the only logical course of action by which they could throw off the yoke of tyranny was to declare the independence and sovereignty of the individual colonies, and join together in a firm league of friendship with each other, for their common defense, the security of their Liberties, and their mutual and general welfare, binding themselves to assist each other, against all force offered to, or attacks made upon them, or any of them, on account of religion, sovereignty, trade, or any other pretence whatever.

In so doing, these fifty-six men, on the authority of the good people of the colonies, signed the Declaration of Independence, mutually pledging to each other their lives, their fortunes and their sacred honor.

Have you ever wondered what happened to the fifty-six 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 in the Revolutionary War, another had two sons captured.

Nine of the fifty-six fought and died from wounds or the hardships of the Revolutionary War.

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 his properties to pay his debts, and died in rags.

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

Vandals or soldiers or both, looted the properties of Ellery, Clymer, Hall, 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. The owner 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 of New Jersey was driven from his wife's bedside as she was dying. Their 13 children fled for their lives. His fields and 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.

Lewis Morris and Philip Livingston suffered similar fates.

Such are 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.
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DodgerDog · Jul 4, 2007

8)

Knotts Berry Farm

http://www.lottaliving.com/knotts/independence.shtml

Terry O'Keefe · Jul 4, 2007

Of course BDR saw through my ruse...the answer is that it was signed at the bottom of the document!! Yeah I know pretty weak!! :? :?

Terry O'Keefe · Jul 4, 2007

Ever look at the list of men who signed. Not a single O'Malley, O'Keefe, O'Connor, Rossi, Columbo,Costa, MacTavish, or Mac anything, no names that end in ski, itch,etc. Definitely a WASP group of men.

Sid · Jul 4, 2007

I think we've talked about this before. My ancestor, Col. Timothy Matlack, actually penned the document. Here is an excerpt from the National Archives:

On July 1, 1776, Congress reconvened. The following day, the Lee Resolution for independence was adopted by 12 of the 13 colonies, New York not voting. Immediately afterward, the Congress began to consider the Declaration. Adams and Franklin had made only a few changes before the committee submitted the document. The discussion in Congress resulted in some alterations and deletions, but the basic document remained Jefferson's. The process of revision continued through all of July 3 and into the late morning of July 4. Then, at last, church bells rang out over Philadelphia; the Declaration had been officially adopted.

On July 9 the action of Congress was officially approved by the New York Convention. All 13 colonies had now signified their approval. On July 19, therefore, Congress was able to order that the Declaration be "fairly engrossed on parchment, with the title and stile [sic] of 'The unanimous declaration of the thirteen United States of America,' and that the same, when engrossed, be signed by every member of Congress."

Engrossing is the process of preparing an official document in a large, clear hand. Timothy Matlack was probably the engrosser of the Declaration. He was a Pennsylvanian who had assisted the Secretary of the Congress, Charles Thomson, in his duties for over a year and who had written out George Washington's commission as commanding general of the ContinentalArmy. Matlack set to work with pen, ink, parchment, and practiced hand, and finally, on August 2, the journal of the Continental Congress records that "The declaration of independence being engrossed and compared at the table was signed." One of the most widely held misconceptions about the Declaration is that it was signed on July 4, 1776, by all the delegates in attendance.
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Terry O'Keefe · Jul 4, 2007

So you are from a Fighting Quaker background! No wonder you were so successfull in the Bengal Bouts!

DodgerDog · Jul 5, 2007

Its true that unfortunate circumstances prevented the immediate departure of the O'Connors, O'Keefe's, O'Malley's, O'Neils, Hoolihans and Sullivans from the Emerald Isle...

...but we can assure all here, that our ancestors disloyalty toward Great Britain was exceeded by no group on this side of the Atlantic...

mrsjoco · Jul 6, 2007

Good morning to you all.. I am off this week so I thought I would stop by and see what you where all up to .... Did you know I am related to a signer . Charles Carroll of Carrollton on my moms side of the family .. out of family respect at least 1 woman in each generation carries the carroll name as a middle name my mom.me our daughter Jennifer and her daughter Megan and Megan sd she will continue it to .... just a little history Joco isnt the only one in the family into history, we may not be obessed with it like he is ... gotta love him... D

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