Signers of the Declaration of Independence (Pt. 4) Quiz

Answer:

From the Massachusetts Bay colony, John Hancock served as President of the Continental Congress which debated the issue of independence, voted for it on July 4, 1776, and signed The Declaration of Independence on August 2, 1776. As President, Hancock was the first to sign, in order to authenticate the document. His signature was bold and large, and supposedly he said something along the line of: "There! John Bull can read my name without spectacles," but there really isn't verifiable historical evidence to support that legend. Nevertheless, his signing is so significant, that his name "John Hancock" has become a colloquial term for signing one's name in the USA: "Just put your John Hancock here and we'll send these papers forward sir."

The other Massachusetts Bay delegates were Samuel Adams, John Adams, Robert Treat Paine, and Elbridge Gerry.

Robert Treat Paine (1731-1814) was a lawyer, jurist, and statesman who at first opposed independence, hoping for reconciliation with Britain. He signed the Olive Branch Petition in 1775, but King George III rejected it, prompting Paine to see that revolution would be necessary.

Elbridge Gerry (1744-1814) is the man that the redistricting political tactic of gerrymandering is named after. He advocated strongly for independence, voting for it, but was one of the handful of late signers. He was out of Philadelphi, but came back and signed on September 3, 1776.

Nicknamed "The Father of The Revolution", Samuel Adams (1722-1803) orchestrated the Boston Tea Party in 1773, and wrote many inflammatory essays protesting British rule. John Adams (his second-cousin) called him "the most tireless, fearless, and principled revolutionary of them all," and speaking of John Adams (1735-1826), he called the July 2nd vote for independence by the Continental Congress "the most memorable Epocha in the History of America." John Adams was part of the Committee of Five that drafted the Declaration. Later, he helped negotiate the Treaty of Paris in 1783, ending the Revolutionary War. The future 2nd President of the United States, John Adams died on July 4, 1826, exactly 50 years after the Declaration's signing, the exact same day that Thomas Jefferson died. John Adams last words were, "Jefferson still lives". He was wrong however. Jefferson had died a few hours earlier.

The delegates representing Delaware who signed the Declaration of Independence were Caesar Rodney, George Read, and Thomas McKean.

Suffering from asthma and facial cancer, Caesar Rodney (1728-1784) nevertheless rode 80 miles on horse overnight during a thunderstorm in order to break the tie in Delaware's vote for independence on July 2, 1776. He signed the document in August, and later served as President of Delaware (1778-1781) during the Revolutionary War.

George Read (1733-1798) actually voted against independence when it came to a vote. But after Caesar Rodney broke the tie, giving Delaware the go-ahead to support the Declaration, George Read joined his fellow delegates in signing, making him the only delegate to sign who voted against independence. He would later help draft Delaware's 1776 constitution (the first post-independence state constitution), and served as U.S. Senator (1789-1793) and Chief Justice of Delaware.

Thomas McKean (1734-1817) was the other yes vote, however he was absent on the August 2nd signing day due to military duties. He was the very last person to sign the Declaration of Independence, with historians mostly agreeing that he signed it sometime after January 18, 1777, and possibly as late as 1781.

The delegates representing Georgia who signed the Declaration of Independence were Button Gwinnett, Lyman Hall, and George Walton.

Button Gwinnett (1735-1777) was one of eight signers who were born in Britain instead than in the American colonies. His signature is one of the rarest and most valuable among collectors because its existence outside the signing of the Declaration is very rare, and he died shortly after signing, killed by Lachlan McIntosh in a duel. In 2021, a letter signed by Button Gwinnett sold for $722,500; this is why so many forgeries of his signature have been attempted.
Lyman Hall (1724-1790) is one of four physicians to sign the Declaration of Independence. British authorities then accused him of treason and burned his property. He later served as governor of Georgia in 1783 and helped establish the University of Georgia.

George Walton (1741-1804) was from the beginning a member of Georgia's revolutionary government, as secretary of its Provincial Congress and president of its Council of Safety. At age 26, he was one of the Declaration's youngest signers. As a militia colonel he was captured by the British in 1778 at the Battle of Savannah. Post Revolution, he served Georgia as governor, chief justice, and U.S. senator.

The delegates representing New Hampshire who signed the Declaration of Independence were Josiah Bartlett, William Whipple, and Matthew Thornton.

Physician and statesman Josiah Bartlett (1729-1795) was the first delegate to be asked what his vote on independence was. He answered in the affirmative, and when the call for signing came on August 2nd, he was the second person to sign the Declaration, right after John Hancock. He later signed the Articles of Confederation and served as New Hampshire's first governor and chief justice of its highest court,

William Whipple (1730-1785) was a sea captain who entered politics when tensions with Britain grew as their taxes cut into Whipple's profits. He was elected to the New Hampshire Provincial Congress, then appointed to the Continental Congress. Whipple freed his enslaved servant, Prince Whipple, when he turned radical and realized that freedom-fighting was incompatible with holding slaves.

Another physician, Matthew Thornton (1714-1803) was another of the only six signers who affixed their names after August 2, 1776. As there was very little room to sign beneath his felloe New Hampshire delegates, he signed beneath the Connecticut delegates.

And these folks did not sign:
Thomas Willing was a Pennsylvania delegate in the Continental Congress, however he voted against the resolution for independence. So did his fellow delegate Charles Humphreys. Willing was subsequently replaced in the Pennsylvania delegation before the signing on August 2, 1776.

Henry Wisner was a delegate from New York to the Second Continental Congress and voted for independence on July 4, 1776, but he had to leave Philadelphia before the signing on August 2nd, because his duties in New York with essential wartime activities required his presence. He had gunpowder mills to oversee, and other military supplies to produce in the service of defending the Hudson River.

Joseph Galloway was a delegate from Pennsylvania, but he was very much loyal to the British. He prepared a plan for reconciliation rather than separation. But his plan was rejected, so shortly thereafter he fled to the British-occupied part of New York and became a Loyalist advisor to the British.

Jonathan Boucher was an Anglican clergyman, teacher, and writer who was a Loyalist who opposed the American Revolution. He fled back to England before the Declaration was even drafted.

Titus Cornelius was an enslaved African American in New Jersey who escaped in 1775 and joined the British forces the American Revolution. He changed his name to Tye and became Colonel Tye as he led the Black Brigade, a guerilla force of Loyalists who conducted raids against Colonialist homes, militia, and New Jersey supply lines.

Mellen Chamberlain (1821-1900) was a 19th-century historian and librarian, born almost a half century after the signing. He is known for his on the scholarly focus on the American Revolution, and on the circumstances of the Declaration of Independence's signing. He argued in 1884 that the famous signed version was created and signed after July 4, 1776-not on that date as was commonly believed. We now recognize august 2nd as the actual date of its signing.