When in the course of human events.....

Jul 4, 2024, 5:08 PM

So began a document (after the famous Preamble, of course) which, when signed by 56 men in attendance at a meeting of colonial leaders, became an official instrument of High Treason against the Crown of England. And make no mistake about it, every man who signed it knew that if they did not prevail in this pursuit of Independence from England, their very lives were forfeit. In fact Benjamin Franklin made the quip, after signing, “We must indeed, all hang together, or most assuredly we shall hang separately.”

Several of them were, in fact captured, and slowly tortured during the years of conflict that followed, ending officially on September 3, 1783 with the Treaty of Paris. The penalty for High Treason was known to be death, but that did not say the British had to make it a quick or easy death. An excerpt from the Connecticut Sons of the American Revolution document "The Price They Paid" says the following:

"Five signers were captured by the British as traitors, and tortured before they died. Twelve had their homes ransacked and burned. Two lost their sons in the Revolutionary Army, another had two sons captured. Nine of the 56 fought and died from wounds or the hardships of the Revolutionary War.

What kind of men were they? Twenty-four were lawyers and jurists. Eleven were merchants, nine were farmers and large plantation owners, men of means, well educated. But they signed the Declaration of Independence knowing full well that the penalty would be death if they were captured.

They signed and they pledged their lives, their fortunes, and their sacred honor."

Freedom has never been free, right from the very beginning. The Founding Fathers knew and accepted this. We must continue to do so, else their sacrifice will someday be in vain. Happy Birthday, United States of America. You deserve it.

flag link

military_tech

thumb_down

thumb_up

The Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History

www.gilderlehrman.org

“Preamble” of the Declaration of Independence

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal,
that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights,
that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. That to
secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving
their just powers from the consent of the governed. That whenever any
Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right
of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government,
laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in
such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and
Happiness. Prudence, indeed, will dictate that Governments long
established should not be changed for light and transient causes; and
accordingly all experience hath shown that mankind are more disposed
to suffer, while evils are sufferable, than to right themselves by
abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed. But when a long
train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object
evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their
right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new
Guards for their future security.

When in the course of human events.....

Re: When in the course of human events.....

Look it up, Siri.

Re: Look it up, Siri.

Re: Look it up, Siri.

Doggone if Lewis Grizzard wasn't right, they evidently DO throw a Jawja diploma

Re: When in the course of human events.....

And as of the last Supreme Court rulings, we

Re: When in the course of human events.....

THX 76er

TigerBoard POTD