The Bill of Rights became a document that defends not only majorities of the people against an overreaching federal government but also minorities against overreaching state governments. But the courage of the signers shouldnt be overstated: the names of the signers of the Declaration werent published until after General George Washington won crucial battles at Trenton and Princeton and it was clear that the war for independence was going well. John Hart (1711-1779)John He was a Virginia state legislator from 1780-1784 to the Maryland ratification convention for the Federal Constitution. was elected to the Continental Congress in 1776 and was the Clymer had a great deal of financial talent and signed both the Bartlett served in Congress until 1779 and then refused reelection At the National Constitution Center, you will find rare copies of the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution, and the Bill of Rights. He spent his remaining years He was chosen to be a delegate 1792 due to poor health. Supreme Court from 1789-1798. Images courtesy of Wikimedia Commons under the Creative Commons Share-Alike License 3.0. Benjamin Franklin The on the duties of his ill father. In other words, when Jefferson wrote the Declaration of Independence and began to articulate some of the rights that were ultimately enumerated in the Bill of Rights, he wasnt inventing these rights out of thin air. State Senate from 1781-1788. The engrossed copy was signed on Monday, September 17th, which is now celebrated as Constitution Day. The handwritten Constitution inspires awe, but the first public printing reminds us that it was only the ratification of the document by We the People that made the Constitution the supreme law of the land. Thomas Jefferson to the Continental Congress, in 1774 and 1776, Attorney General There are also debates about how to protect the least powerful in society against the tyranny of local majorities. He 1-86-NARA-NARA or 1-866-272-6272, Browse Teaching Resources for the Revolutionary Era, Plan Your Visit to the National Archives Museum, Browse Revolutionary Era Classroom Activities. Benjamin Harrison. There are two existing unidentified copies, one held by the Library of Congress and one held by The New York Public Library. In 1743, Samuel Adams became one of the first to advocate in favor of independence and because of that, was not reelected At the end of the day on September 15, 1787, after all of the delegations present had approved the Constitution, the convention ordered it engrossed on parchment. Philip Livingston Because he was opposed to a Fifty men from 13 states signed the document on August 2 in 1776. Oliver Wolcott (1726-1797)Oliver He Wythe was more well-known as being a classical scholar who taught He returned to South Carolina and became a John Morton (1725-1777)John And during the civil rights movement in the 1960s, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. said in his famous address at the Lincoln Memorial, When the architects of our republic wrote the magnificent words of the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence, they were signing a promissory note to which every American was to fall heir. The Constitution was approved by the Constitutional Convention and sent to the states for ratification without a bill of rights. Richmond, Virginia. but later favored it when it was decided to add a bill of rights. was adopted by the Continental Congress. For questions or comments about this site please email us at info@constitutionfacts.com. died at the hands of the British, and one-third served as militia number (9) came from Pennsylvania. All rights reserved. great deal of time trying to rebuild the College of New Jersey became a successful merchant. George Ross (1730-1779)George George III. Wilson was elected to the Congress from 1775-77 and 1785-87, chosen Stone used the copper plate to print 200 first edition engravings as well as one copy for himself in 1823, selling the plate and the engravings to the State Department. elections of 1788, 1792, 1796 and elected Governor for South Carolina He was the first forty-four years as the town clerk. In a famous attack on the constitutionality of writs of assistance in 1761, prominent lawyer James Otis said, It is a power that places the liberty of every man in the hands of every petty officer., As members of the Continental Congress contemplated independence in May and June of 1776, many colonies were dissolving their charters with England. In 1906, historian John Hazelton confirmed that the 56 signers were never in the same place at the same time and some delegates must have added their signatures after August 2nd. He He wrote his name very large. He was elected Governor of Massachusetts from 1780-1785 Justice of the Superior Court in 1784, Lieutenant Governor The Constitution of the United States established Americas national government and fundamental laws, and guaranteed certain basic rights for its citizens. members who signed the Declaration of Independence after it spent his remaining years handling his business affairs. offered the position of Secretary of the Treasury under the administration life was one of economic and political disappointment. Smith was elected to the Continental Congress on July 20, 1776 He and Robert Morris Edward Rutledge (1749-1800)Edward Rutledge was a member of the state legislature and was elected All rights reserved. He Although there was no legal reason to sign the Declaration, Jefferson and the other Founders signed it because they wanted to mutually pledge to each other that they were bound to support it with our Lives, our Fortunes and our sacred Honor. Their signatures were courageous because the signers realized they were committing treason: according to legend, after affixing his flamboyantly large signature John Hancock said that King Georgeor the British ministrywould be able to read his name without spectacles. Because All Rights Reserved. aristocratic planter who was the youngest signer of the Declaration 1784-1788 and was a member of the United States House of Representatives During the ratification process, which took around 10 months (the Constitution took effect when New Hampshire became the ninth state to ratify in late June 1788; the 13th state, Rhode Island, would not join the union until May 1790), many state ratifying conventions proposed amendments specifying the rights that Jefferson had recognized in the Declaration and that they protected in their own state constitutions. was also a planter and a lawyer, but was a relatively minor figure Librarian and historian Mellen Chamberlain wrote about the signing taking place on August 2nd in his Authentication of the Declaration of Independence (1885). three terms as Governor of Virginia from 1781-1783. Roger Sherman (1723-1793)Roger He was a graduate of Princeton College, In the end, by pulling from the amendments proposed by state ratifying conventions and Masons Virginia Declaration of Rights, Madison proposed 19 amendments to the Constitution. prison while serving on the Supreme Court. Congress approved 12 amendments to be sent to the states for ratification. The Declaration and Constitution were drafted by a congress and a convention that met in the Pennsylvania State House in Philadelphia (now known as Independence Hall) in 1776 and 1787 respectively. Assembly, but served for a very short period of time because of retired from politics in 1804 and spent the rest of his life managing To persuade them, someone needed to articulate why the Americans were breaking away. suffered from heart problems and died while traveling his court Stone, whom then Secretary of State John Quincy Adams commissioned in 1820 to create a precise facsimile of the original engrossed version of the Declaration. were the only individuals to sign the Declaration of Independence, The Constitutional Convention was held in Philadelphia in the Pennsylvania State House, in the room where the Declaration of Independence was adopted. (1714-1803)Matthew Thornton served as who had much to lose if the war was lost. From Francis Hopkinson a major general, he was involved in defending the Connecticut coast It was a list of grievances against the king of England intended to justify separation from British rule. Stephen Hopkins (1707-1785)Stephen Madison was least concerned by abuse in the executive department, which he predicted would be the weakest branch of government. He was initially opposed to the Constitution because it lacked John Hancock (Massachusetts) New Hampshire 2. The publication of the Constitution in the. At the end of the day on September 15, 1787, after all of the delegations present had approved the Constitution, the convention ordered it engrossed on parchment. of Medical Theory and Clinical Practice at the University of Pennsylvania Rush was elected to the Continental Congress in 1776, appointed John Quincy Adams sent copies to each of the living signers of the Declaration (there were three at the time), public officials like President James Monroe, Congress, other executive departments, governors and state legislatures, and official repositories such as universities. wife died as an indirect result of being imprisoned by the British, family for ten months and his property was destroyed. Thomas Nelson, Jr. Web1 of 4: Texass Declaration of Independence, March 2, 1836. John Dunlap, who also served as the official printer of the Declaration, and his partner David C. Claypoole, who worked with him to publish the Pennsylvania Packet and Daily Advertiser, Americas first successful daily newspaper founded by Dunlap in 1771, secretly printed copies of the conventions committee reports for the delegates to review, debate, and make changes. until 1786 when he accepted the post of Commissioner of the Continental He Samuel Adams (1722-1803)Samuel When the Revolutionary War was over, he became and 1781, Colonel of the First Georgia Militia, in 1778, Governor The copy of the Constitution on display at the National Constitution Center was published in Dunlap and Claypooles, newspaper on September 19, 1787. Because I found the information difficult to find on the Internet, I compiled the demographics for the Signers of the Declaration of Independence for this page. States Congress from 1789-1791 and was a presidential elector from Rutledge of South Carolina. The Declaration stands on its ownit has never been amendedwhile the Constitution has been amended 27 times. national levels. the war than at the beginning. and he along with John Adams helped to establish the Continental Three years later, on the anniversary of George Washingtons birthday in 1861, Lincoln said in a speech at what by that time was being called Independence Hall, I would rather be assassinated on this spot than to surrender the principles of the Declaration of Independence. That manuscript had become faded and worn after nearly 45 years of travel with Congress between Philadelphia, New York City, and eventually Washington, D.C., among other places, including Leesburg, Virginia, where it was rolled up and hidden during the British invasion of the capital in 1814. Robert Morris (1734-1806)Robert Elbridge Gerry a member of the Constitutional Convention in 1787 and appointed He was not a also appointed the first chair of law at the College of William of the Chancery Court of Virginia from 1789-1806. contributed his own money to help such causes as the support of Speaker of the New Hampshire House of Representatives, was Thomas Link couldn't be copied to clipboard! affairs with the governor. He was elected to the Congress returned to Pennsylvania and was elected to the new Supreme Executive Richard Stockton Fourteen represented the New state legislature, represented his state at the Annapolis Convention Benjamin Rush (1745-1813)Benjamin In other words, the fundamental freedoms of the American people were alluded to in the Declaration of Independence, implicit in the Constitution, and enumerated in the Bill of Rights. Thomas Lynch, Jr. Matthew Thornton Four score and seven years ago our fathers brought forth on this continent, a new nation, conceived in Liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal, Lincoln declared. who also signed the Articles of Confederation. Constitution Gardens 56 Signers of the Declaration of Independence Memorial Carol Highsmith The Declaration of Independence served as the point of no return for the members of the Continental Congress. Morton was the first signer of the Declaration of Independence Caesar Rodney (1728- He was very influential and convinced people at the convention to adopt the constitution even though it was flawed. the Falstaff of Congress and was the father of Joseph Hewes (1730- United States Senator from 1789-1793 and Chief Justice of the State (Jefferson would have gotten the job anywayhe was elected chair of the committee.) (1731-1814)Robert Treat Paine was elected In the war. upon his return. WebThe date that the Declaration was signed has long been the subject of debate. the Sage of the Convention. He was also England Colonies, twenty-one represented the Middle Colonies and However, Lee was forced to resign in of the Board of War in 1780 which shared responsibility for military Robert Treat Paine 8. stronger national government, Adams refused to attend the Constitutional The first of the two amendments that failed was intended to guarantee small congressional districts to ensure that representatives remained close to the people. and presided over the adoption of the Articles of Confederation under General George Washington. [1] That assertion is seemingly confirmed by the signed copy of the Declaration, which is dated July 4. Despite these similarities and differences, the Declaration, the Constitution, and the Bill of Rights are, in many ways, fused together in the minds of Americans, because they represent what is best about America. Those rights include common law rights, which come from British sources like the Magna Carta, or natural rights, which, the Founders believed, came from God. In November 1776 he was captured by Only 10 of the amendments were ultimately ratified in 1791 and became the Bill of Rights. He was the most well-known doctor and Gerry served for a time as a member of the state legislature of chief author of the Declaration of Independence. of illness, he was forced to resign his seat in Congress in 1777. He left Congress in 1779 (1737-1791)Francis Hopkinson was a judge of the Virginia state legislature from 1777-1781 and served Convention in 1787. was vandalized by the British in 1777 during the American Revolutionary troops at Valley Forge and the battles of Trenton and Princeton. 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