It’s been 248 years since a group of men in Philadelphia signed the Declaration of Independence and started a revolution. The document was adopted on July 4, 1776, although it wasn’t signed until August 2, 1776. Most of the 56 delegates to the Second Continental Congress who signed the document were small business owners, lawyers, doctors, and farmers; 14 were plantation owners. These men risked it all: “we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes, and our sacred Honor.” Each year, I like to reprint a blog marking the date and noting the people to whom we owe so much.
Here’s a list from the National Archives of the signers and their occupations to remind us that our businesses, our jobs, and our lives can be on the line when freedom is at stake.
Signers |
Occupation |
| John Adams | Lawyer |
| Samuel Adams | Merchant |
| Josiah Bartlett | Physician |
| Carter Braxton | Plantation owner |
| Charles Carroll | Merchant, plantation owner |
| Samuel Chase | Lawyer |
| Abraham Clark | Lawyer, surveyor |
| George Clymer | Merchant |
| William Ellery | Lawyer, merchant |
| William Floyd | Land speculator |
| Benjamin Franklin | Scientist, printer |
| Elbridge Gerry | Merchant |
| Button Gwinnett | Merchant, plantation owner |
| Lyman Hall | Physician, minister |
| John Hancock | Merchant |
| Benjamin Harrison | Plantation owner, farmer |
| John Hart | Landowner |
| Joseph Hewes | Merchant |
| Thomas Heyward Jr. | Lawyer, plantation owner |
| William Hooper | Lawyer |
| Stephen Hopkins | Merchant |
| Francis Hopkinson | Lawyer, musician |
| Samuel Huntington | Lawyer |
| Thomas Jefferson | Lawyer, plantation owner, scientist |
| Francis Lightfoot Lee | Plantation owner |
| Richard Henry Lee | Plantation owner, merchant |
| Francis Lewis | Merchant |
| Philip Livingston | Merchant |
| Thomas Lynch Jr. | Lawyer |
| Thomas McKean | Lawyer |
| Arthur Middleton | Plantation owner |
| Lewis Morris | Plantation owner |
| Robert Morris | Merchant, land surveyor |
| John Morton | Farmer |
| Thomas Nelson Jr. | Merchant, plantation owner |
| William Paca | Lawyer, plantation owner |
| Robert Treat Paine | Lawyer, scientist |
| John Penn | Lawyer |
| George Read | Lawyer |
| Caesar Rodney | Plantation owner, military officer |
| George Ross | Lawyer |
| Dr. Benjamin Rush | Physician |
| Edward Rutledge | Lawyer, plantation owner |
| Roger Sherman | Lawyer |
| James Smith | Lawyer |
| Richard Stockton | Lawyer |
| Thomas Stone | Lawyer |
| George Taylor | Merchant |
| Matthew Thornton | Physician |
| George Walton | Lawyer |
| William Whipple | Merchant |
| William Williams | Merchant |
| John Witherspoon | Minister |
| Oliver Wolcott | Lawyer |
| George Wythe | Lawyer |
Interesting factoids about July 4th
According to History.com:
- John Adams thought the correct date to be observed was July 2nd and would not partake of July 4th
- Both Adams and Thomas Jefferson, both signers of the Declaration of Independence, died on the 50th anniversary of the event…July 4, 1826.
- James Monroe, the 5th President of the U.S., died on July 6, 1831. He did not sign the Declaration of Independence.
- July 4th became a Federal holiday in 1870; it became a paid holiday for federal workers in 1941.
