August 2, 1776, is one of the most important but least celebrated days in American history when 56 members of the Second Continental Congress started signing the Declaration of Independence in Philadelphia.

The Declaration of Independence was to present a compelling case that King George III and the British Parliament had broken their own laws, leaving the American colonists no choice but to cut ties and “throw off” British rule.

After sighing The Declaration of Independence they were declared by the British Government as felons.

Marvin L. Simner of Western University wrote,

The penalty for committing an act of treason against the Crown in 1775, as read by British judges sentencing Irish rebels, was as follows:

You are to be drawn on hurdles to the place of execution, where you are to be hanged by the neck, but not until you are dead; for, while you are still living your bodies are to be taken down, your bowels torn out and burned before your faces, your heads then cut off, and your bodies divided each into four quarters, and your heads and quarters to be then at the King’s disposal; and may the Almighty God have mercy on your souls.

Those who signed the Declaration of Independence were well aware of the fact that, by virtue of their signatures, they would be endorsing a treasonous act and, if caught, their punishment would be as described above. Because of the horrendous nature of this punishment, it is not surprising that over the years the 56 delegates who signed this document were often said to be among the most heroic of the early patriots.

Five signers were captured by the British as traitors, and tortured before they died. Twelve had their homes ransacked and burned.

By signing the document, the 56 men risked high treason against the King of England. In essence, they signed their death warrants because that was the penalty.

British officials commissioned propagandists to highlight the declaration’s flaws and rebut the colonists’ complaints. The Declaration divided British domestic opposition, as some American sympathizers thought the Declaration had gone too far, although in British-ruled Ireland it had many supporters.

Fast forward 248 years and we now find that President Donald J. Trump is now a convicted felon and he joins and is counted, with our Founding Fathers, as a convicted felon.

Eugene O’Neill said, “There is no present or future – only the past, happening over and over again – now.”

Karl Marx said, “History repeats itself, first as a tragedy, second as a farce.”

George Santayana said, “Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.”

Donald J. Trump, like our Fore Fathers, is an American patriot. Therefore today, courtesy of the traitors from the court house to the White House, he is a felon.

November 5th, 2024 is the last chance for we the people to save our beloved nation from the traitors and return power back to us.

©2024. Dr. Rich Swier. All rights reserved.

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The Signers of the Declaration of Independence

Name	State Rep.	Date of Birth	Birthplace	Age at Signing	Occupation	Number of Marriages	Number of Children	Date of Death	Age at Death
Adams, John	MA	10/30/1735	Quincy, MA	40	Lawyer	1	5	7/4/1826	90
Adams, Samuel	MA	9/27/1722	Boston, MA	53	Merchant	2	2	10/2/1803	81
Bartlett, Josiah	NH	11/21/1729	Amesbury,MA	46	Physician	1	12	5/19/1795	65
Braxton, Carter	VA	9/10/1736	Newington, VA	39	Plantation	2	18	10/10/1797	61
Carroll, Charles of Carrollton	MD	9/19/1737	Annapolis, MD	38	Merchant, Plantation	1	7	11/14/1832	95
Chase, Samuel	MD	4/17/1741	Somerset Co., MD	35	Lawyer	2	4	6/19/1811	70
Clark, Abraham	NJ	2/15/1726	Elizabethtown, NJ	50	Lawyer, Surveyer	1	10	9/15/1794	68
Clymer, George	PA	3/16/1739	Philadelphia, PA	37	Merchant	1	8	1/24/1813	73
Ellery, William	RI	12/22/1727	Newport, RI	48	Lawyer, Merchant	2	16	2/15/1820	92
Floyd, William	NY	12/17/1734	Brookhaven, NY	41	Land Speculator	2	3	8/4/1821	86
Franklin, Benjamin	PA	1/17/1706	Boston. MA	70	Scientist, Printer	1	3	4/17/1790	84
Gerry, Elbridge	MA	7/17/1744	Marblehead, MA	32	Merchant	1	7	11/23/1814	70
Gwinnett, Button	GA	c. 1735	Gloucester, England	41	Merchant, Plantation	1	3	5/15/1777	42
Hall, Lyman	GA	4/12/1724	Wallingford, CT	52	Physician, Minister	2	1	10/19/1790	66
Hancock, John	MA	1/12/1737	Quincy, MA	40	Merchant	1	2	10/8/1793	56
Harrison, Benjamin	VA	4/7/1726	Charles City Co., VA	50	Plantation, Farmer	1	7	4/24/1791	65
Hart, John	NJ	c. 1711	Hunterdon Co, NJ	65	Land owner	1	13	5/11/1779	68
Hewes, Joseph	NC	1/23/1730	Kingston, NJ	46	Merchant	–	–	10/10/1779	49
Heyward Jr., Thomas	SC	7/28/1746	St. Helena Parish, SC	30	Lawyer, Plantation	2	8	3/6/1809	62
Hooper, William	NC	6/17/1742	Boston, MA	34	Lawyer	1	3	10/14/1790	48
Hopkins, Stephen	RI	3/7/1707	Providence, RI	69	Merchant	2	7	4/13/1785	78
Hopkinson, Francis	NJ	10/2/1737	Philadelphia, PA	38	Lawyer, Musician	1	5	5/9/1791	53
Huntington, Samuel	CT	7/3/1731	Windham. CT	45	Lawyer	1	2	1/5/1796	64
Jefferson, Thomas	VA	4/13/1743	Albemarle Co, VA	33	Lawyer, Plantation, Scientist	1	6	7/4/1826	83
Lee, Francis Lightfoot	VA	10/14/1734	Mt. Pleasant, VA	41	Plantation	1	0	1/11/1797	62
Lee, Richard Henry	VA	1/20/1732	Stratford, VA	44	Plantation, Merchant	2	6	6/19/1794	62
Lewis, Francis	NY	3/21/1713	Llandaff, Wales	63	Merchant	1	7	12/30/1802	89
Livingston, Philip	NY	1/15/1716	Albany, NY	60	Merchant	1	9	6/12/1778	62
Lynch Jr., Thomas	SC	8/5/1749	Prince George’s Parrish, SC	26	Lawyer	1	0	c. 1779	30
McKean, Thomas	DE	3/19/1735	Chester Co., PA	42	Lawyer	2	11	6/24/1817	83
Middleton, Arthur	SC	6/26/1742	Charleston, SC	34	Plantation	1	9	1/1/1787	44
Morris, Lewis	NY	4/8/1726	West Chester Co.,NY	50	Plantation	1	10	1/22/1798	71
Morris, Robert	PA	1/31/1734	Liverpool, England	42	Merchant, Land Speculator	1	7	5/8/1806	72

 

Name	State Rep.	Date of Birth	Birthplace	Age at Signing	Occupation	Number of Marriages	Number of Children	Date of Death	Age at Death
Morton, John	PA	c. 1724	Ridley Township, PA	52	Farmer	1	8	c. 1777	53
Nelson Jr., Thomas	VA	12/26/1738	Yorktown, VA	37	Merchant, Plantation	1	13	1/4/1789	50
Paca, William	MD	10/31/1740	Abington, MD	35	Lawyer, Plantation	2	5	10/13/1799	58
Paine, Robert Treat	MA	3/11/1731	Boston, MA	45	Lawyer, Scientist	1	8	5/12/1814	83
Penn, John	NC	5/6/1740	Carolina Co, VA	36	Lawyer	1	3	9/14/1788	48
Read, George	DE	9/18/1733	Northeast MD	42	Lawyer	1	5	9/21/1798	65
Rodney, Caesar.	DE	10/7/1728	Dover, DE	47	Plantation, Military	0	0	6/29/1784	55
Ross, George	PA	5/10/1730	New Castle, DE	46	Lawyer	1	3	7/14/1779	49
Rush, Benjamin Dr.	PA	1/4/1746	Philadelphia, PA	30	Physician	1	13	4/19/1813	67
Rutledge, Edward	SC	11/23/1749	Christ Church Parish, SC	26	Lawyer, Plantation	2	3	1/23/1800	50
Sherman, Roger	CT	4/19/1721	Newton, MA	55	Lawyer	2	15	7/23/1793	72
Smith, James	PA	c. 1719	Northern Ireland	57	Lawyer	1	5	7/11/1806	87
Stockton, Richard	NJ	10/1/1730	Princeton, NJ	45	Lawyer	1	6	2/28/1781	50
Stone, Thomas	MD	c. 1743	Charles Co., MD	33	Lawyer	1	3	10/5/1787	44
Taylor, George	PA	c. 1716	Ireland	60	Merchant	1	2	2/23/1781	65
Thornton, Matthew	NH	c. 1714	Ireland	62	Physician	1	5	6/24/1803	89
Walton, George	GA	c. 1741	Cumberland Co, VA	35	Lawyer	1	2	2/2/1804	63
Whipple, William	NH	1/14/1730	Kittery, ME	46	Merchant	1	0	11/28/1785	55
Williams, William	CT	4/18/1731	Lebannon, CT	45	Merchant	1	3	8/2/1811	80
Wilson, James	PA	9/14/1742	Carskerdo, Scotland	33	Lawyer ?	2	7	8/21/1798	55
Witherspoon, John	NJ	2/5/1723	Gifford, Scotland	53	Minister	2	12	11/15/1794	71
Wolcott, Oliver	CT	11/20/1726	Windsor, CT	49	Lawyer	1	4	12/1/1797	71
Wythe, George	VA	c. 1726	Elizabeth City Co, VA	50	Lawyer	2	1	6/8/1806	80

Information obtained from:

American Council of Learned Societies. American National Biography. New York: Oxford University Press, 1999.

Who Was Who in America: Historical Volume 1607-1896. Chicago: The A.N. Marquis Company, 1963.