Michael W Smith Declaration Of Independence (2024)

FAQs

What happened to the 56 men who signed the Declaration of Independence? ›

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 hardships of the revolutionary war.

As President of the Second Continental Congress, John Hanco*ck was the first to sign this historic document. He used large bold script and signed under the text in the center of the page. At that time, a general practice was to sign below text on the right and by geographic location.

Future presidents Thomas Jefferson and John Adams were among the signatories. Edward Rutledge (age 26) was the youngest signer and Benjamin Franklin (age 70) the oldest. John Hanco*ck's now-iconic signature on the Declaration is nearly 5 inches (13 cm) long.

About the signers

Two 26-year-olds from South Carolina were the youngest to sign the Declaration of Independence (Thomas Lynch Jr., and Edward Rutledge). Benjamin Franklin, 70, was the oldest.

Signing the Declaration proved to be very costly. Five signers were captured by the British and brutally tortured as traitors. Nine fought in the Revolutionary War and died from wounds or hardships. Two lost their sons in the war, and two others had sons captured.

Edward Rutledge (age 26) was the youngest signer, and Benjamin Franklin (age 70) was the oldest signer.

John Hanco*ck - Massachusetts: John Hanco*ck's signature on the Declaration of Independence is so famous that now everyone's signature is colloquially referred to as a “John Hanco*ck.” The story that he signed his name larger than the others to irk King George III is unfounded.

The details sometimes change, but the dramatic story arc remains the same: that John Hanco*ck signed his name so large so that “someone can read my name without spectacles.”

1. President Washington never lived in Washington, D.C. George Washington is the only US president to have never occupied the White House.

Who was the youngest founding father? ›

If you mean a more general sense of the term “founding father,” then there are more answers. Jonathan Dayton was the youngest signer of the Constitution and Edward Rutledge was the youngest signer of the Declaration, both at just 26 years of age.

When Nixon resigned on August 9, 1974, Ford automatically assumed the presidency, taking the oath of office in the East Room of the White House. This made him the only person to become the nation's chief executive without being elected to the presidency or the vice presidency.

The exceptions were Alexander Hamilton (from the West Indies), James Wilson (Scotland), William Richardson Davie and Robert Morris (England), and the four delegates born in Ireland. Here's a look at the four men who played varying roles in the Constitution's creation.

Who was the youngest Signer? Two of the Signers were 26 at the time of the signing. Edward Rutledge (November 23, 1749) edged out Thomas Lynch Jr. (August 5, 1749) by just over three months to be the youngest Signer.

How old were the Founding Fathers when the Declaration of Independence was signed in 1776? Some were older, like Thomas Jefferson who was 33, John Hanco*ck who was 39, or Benjamin Franklin who was 70. Others were shockingly young — even teenagers. James Monroe, for example, was 18 and Alexander Hamilton was 21.

If the colonists had lost the war, there probably wouldn't be a United States of America, period. A British victory in the Revolution probably would have prevented the colonists from settling into what is now the U.S. Midwest.

Few dates in American history have been so profound. On July 4, 1826, as the nation celebrated the 50th anniversary of its independence, both John Adams and Thomas Jefferson died.

Historians believe seven of the 56 signatures on the document were placed there later. Two prominent delegates passed up the chance to sign: John Dickinson of Pennsylvania and Robert R. Livingston of New York.

When John Adams and Thomas Jefferson died in 1826, Charles Carroll of Carrollton, Maryland's "First Citizen," became America's last surviving Signer of the Declaration of Independence.