Signers of Declaration of Independence (Part 2) Quiz

Answer:

The delegates representing Virginia, who signed the Declaration of Independence, were Carter Braxton, Benjamin Harrison, Thomas Jefferson, Francis Lightfoot Lee, Richard Henry Lee, Thomas Nelson, Jr., and George Wythe:

=== Carter Braxton (1736-1797) was a wealthy landowner of many plantations, and was not part of the original Virginia delegation to the Second Continental Congress. He was appointed in late 1775 to fill the role after the sudden death of politician Peyton Randolph. Braxton was at first hesitant to vote for separation for personal and business reasons as well as concern about destruction. But he did sign after a change of heart and in fact, lost most of his fortune funding American ships during the war.
=== Benjamin Harrison V (1726-1791) was also a wealthy plantation owner, and was the chairman of the Committee of the Whole, an organized system of informal debate, which in this case debated the Declaration of Independence. He was the father of the 9th U.S. President William Henry Harrison, and the great-grandfather of the 23rd President Benjamin Harrison.
=== And of course Thomas Jefferson (1743-1826) signed as he was the primary author of the Declaration, amongst the Committee of Five who worked on it. He later became the 3rd U.S. President (1801-1809) and founded of the University of Virginia.
=== Francis Lightfoot Lee (1734-1797) and his older brother Richard Henry Lee (1732-1794) both signed the Declaration, one of two pairs of brothers to do so. Richard Henry Lee was pivotal role in the move toward independence, kicking off the process by introducing the Lee Resolution on June 7, 1776, which formally proposed that "these United Colonies are, and of right ought to be, free and independent States." That motion that led directly to the drafting and adoption of the Declaration of Independence. He would later oppose the Constitution without a Bill of Rights, whereupon he then supported it. Francis Lightfoot Lee continued to serve in Congress after signing, and was also one of the signers of the Articles of Confederation.
=== Patrick Henry left the Second Continental Congress, returning to Virginia to command the 1st Virginia Regiment. His military duties from that point on prevented him from attending the Congress to vote on and sign of the Declaration, and so Thomas Nelson Jr. (1738-1789) was elected to fill Patrick Henry's spot. Nelson also was a military man, and after signing the Declaration his commitment to the cause manifested in many ways: As a general, he ordered troops to fire on his own home during the Siege of Yorktown (1781) when it was occupied by British officers. Furthermore, Nelson died bankrupt after spending his fortune to fund the Revolution.
=== George Wythe (1726-1806), mentor to Thomas Jefferson, James Monroe, and John Marshall, was known as the "Father of American Jurisprudence". Wythe had to go back to Williamsburg, for the Virginia Convention that drafted the state's first constitution, so he wasn't able to sign the Declaration until September 1776, over a month after most everyone else signed. Out of respect for him, his fellow Virginias left a space for him to sign, so he's be listed first among members of the Virginia delegation.

The delegates representing North Carolina, who signed the Declaration of Independence, were Joseph Hewes, William Hooper, and John Penn:

=== Joseph Hewes (1730-1779) was a wealthy merchant, and a leading member of the Naval Affairs Committee, where he helped found the Continental Navy, earning the moniker "Father of the American Navy." Despite reluctance to separate, he did become an important person in securing North Carolina's votes for independence. He left his fortune to the Revolution's efforts after he died exhausted from the war.
=== William Hooper (1742-1790) gave a speech in 1774 called "Colonial Rights" in which he predicted a revolution on the horizon: "The Colonies are striding fast to independence." He sat on the Marine Committee and the committee for secret intelligence, and although the Harvard-educated lawyer was away on business during the July 2, 1776 vote, he returned in time for the signing on August 2nd.
==== John Penn (1741-1788) was a self-taught lawyer who supported backcountry farmers. He is one of 16 people who signed both the Declaration of Independence and the Articles of Confederation.

The delegates representing South Carolina who signed the Declaration of Independence were Thomas Heyward, Jr., Thomas Lynch, Jr., Arthur Middleton, and Edward Rutledge:

=== When John Rutledge had to vacate his seat in the Second Continental Congress to help establish South Carolina's representative government, Thomas Heyward Jr. (1746-1809) was elected to fill the spot. He was a plantation owner and a judge and was another person who signed both the Declaration and the Articles of Confederation. The British confiscated his plantations and imprisoned Heyward in St. Augustine, Florida from 1780 to 1781.
=== Thomas Lynch had been a delegate in the Continental Congress, but became too ill to participate any longer at some point, at which his son Thomas Lynch Jr. (1749-1779) was appointed to fill his father's seat. Thomas Lynch, Jr. was actually ill himself, but despite that, was able to travel to Philadelphia and sign the Declaration, one of the youngest to do so, at age 27. The elder Lynch died that year, never able to sign, and as the younger Lynch's health still declining, he and his wife took a boat to the West Indies, but the ship was lost at sea in 1779.
=== Arthur Middleton (1742-1787) was another wealthy plantation owner who despite the risks to that position signed the Declaration of Independence, and that same year designed South Carolina's first state seal featuring a palmetto tree. He served in the war in the defense of Charleston, which fell to the British in 1780, whereupon Middleton was held prisoner.
Edward Rutledge (1749-1800) was the youngest signer of the Declaration, at age 26. He was a lawyer, and was also one of the delegates who was reluctant at first to sign, but later voted in unison with the Congress to separate as Revolution fever grew. At the 1780 Siege of Charleston, he too was captured by the British and held prisoner along with his delegate compatriots Heyward and Middleton, in St. Augustine. Later, he became Governor of South Carolina (1798-1800).

In addition to Patrick Henry and Thomas Lynch being wrong answers, John Dickinson, Charles Humphreys, John Murray, and Banastre Tarleton also were not signers.

John Dickinson argued that it was premature to declare independence, so he abstained from voting on July 2nd and 4th, and refused to sign it on August 2nd. Though it cost him his seat as a Pennsylvania delegate in the Congress, he nevertheless supported the cause by serving in the militia, and later drafting a version of the Articles of Confederation. He was the only Congressional delegate who fought in the war but didn't sign the Declaration.

Charles Humphreys was also a delegate from Pennsylvania that did not sign the Declaration of Independence because he voted against it. During the debates, Humphreys opposed it due to concern that he and others would be endangered.
John Murray, aka Lord Dunmore, was the royal governor of Virginia, remaining loyal to the British Crown, and was not a member of the Continental Congress. In 1775, he declared martial law in Virginia, offering freedom to enslaved people and indentured servants if they allied with British troops against the rebel colonists.

Banastre Tarleton was a British army officer, so nah, he wouldn't sign the Declaration. He fought against the American revolutionaries commanding the British Legion in the Southern Campaigns.