Who Were the Signers of the Declaration of Independence? Tammy Gagne

Home , Caesar Rodney, Oliver Wolcott, Thomas McKean

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The First Continental Congress The Story of the Declaration of The French and Indian War Independence Life in the Original 13 Colonies An Overview of the American The Second Continental Congress Revolution Stamp Act Congress Who Were The Signers of the Declaration of Independence?

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Names: Gagne, Tammy, author. Title: Who were the signers of the Declaration of Independence? / by Tammy Gagne. Description: Hallandale, FL : Mitchell Lane Publishers, 2018. | Series: Young America | Includes bibliographical references and index. | Audience: Grades 7-8. | Audience: Ages 9-13. Identifiers: LCCN 2017009117 | ISBN 9781612289830 (library bound) Subjects: LCSH: United States. Declaration of Independence—Signers— Biography—Juvenile literature. | Statesmen—United States—Biography— Juvenile literature. | United States—History—Revolution, 1775–1783— Biography—Juvenile literature. Classification: LCC E221 .G43 2018 | DDC 973.3092/2 [B] —dc23 LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2017009117 eBook ISBN: 978-1-61228-984-7 CONTENTS

Introduction...... 5 CHAPTER 1: The Signers from Connecticut...... 6 CHAPTER 2: The Signers from Delaware...... 8 CHAPTER 3: The Signers from Georgia...... 10 CHAPTER 4: The Signers from Maryland...... 12 CHAPTER 5: The Signers from Massachusetts...... 14 CHAPTER 6: The Signers from New Hampshire...... 18 CHAPTER 7: The Signers from New Jersey...... 20 CHAPTER 8: The Signers from New York...... 22 CHAPTER 9: The Signers from North Carolina...... 24 CHAPTER 10: The Signers from Pennsylvania...... 26 CHAPTER 11: The Signers from Rhode Island...... 32 CHAPTER 12: The Signers from South Carolina...... 34 CHAPTER 13: The Signers from Virginia...... 36

Chapter Notes...... 40 Further Reading...... 43 Primary Sources Consulted...... 43 Additional Sources Consulted...... 43 Glossary...... 45 Index...... 47

Words in bold throughout can be found in the Glossary. 4 INTRODUCTION

n June 7, 1776, Richard Henry Lee of Virginia stood Obefore the Continental Congress, which was meeting in Philadelphia. He proposed a daring resolution: the 13 American colonies should declare independence from Great Britain. Some delegates weren’t sure how to vote. They went home to see what their fellow colonists wanted them to do. At the same time, a committee headed by Thomas Jefferson began working on what would become the Declaration of Independence. Debate on Lee’s resolution resumed on July 1. The fol- lowing day, 12 of the colonies approved it (New York abstained for a week). On July 4, the delegates approved the final wording of the Declaration. Printer John Dunlap made hundreds of copies of the document. It contained just two printed names: John Hancock, president of Congress, and Charles Thomson, the secretary. Most delegates signed it on August 2. A handful of others signed even later. Eventually the document contained the signatures of 56 men. Who were they? Some, such as Jefferson, Benjamin Franklin, and John Adams, remain famous. Most of the others have fallen into obscurity. Yet they all knew they were placing themselves in grave danger. If the Revolution failed, the vengeful British would almost certainly hang them for treason. They took the risk. For their courage, all deserve to be remembered.

5 The Signers from Connecticut Samuel Huntington (1731–1796) Samuel Huntington was born into a farming family, but his passion was for the law. Largely self-educated, he became a lawyer in 1754. By 1773, he was a Connecticut Superior Court judge. After signing the Declaration of Independence, Huntington was elected president of Congress in 1779. He was still serving this role when Congress adopted the Articles of Confederation in 1781. This agreement between the first 13 states helped establish the United States of America and became the new country’s first constitution. Upon the ratification of the document, Huntington wrote, “We are happy to congratulate our Constituents on this important Event, desired by our Friends but dreaded by our Enemies.”1 After retiring from Congress, Huntington returned to Connecticut and later served as governor of the state.

Roger Sherman (1721–1793) Roger Sherman didn’t just sign the Declaration of Independence. He also helped write it. He was one of five men on the committee appointed to create the document. Sherman earned his living in many different ways during his early adult years. But he eventually found his calling in law and government. In addition to the Continental Congress, he served as judge of the Superior Court of Connecticut and as a delegate to the Constitutional Convention. Sherman is best known for proposing the Connecticut Compromise during the Constitutional Convention. This plan made large states happy because they would be represented in the House of Representatives according to their population. It also pleased small states because each state would have two members in the Senate. Sherman is the only man who signed all four of what are termed

6 America’s founding documents:1 Declaration of Independence, Continental Association (adopted in 1774 to coordinate a trade boy- cott of British goods), Articles of Confederation, and the Constitution.

William Williams (1731–1811) After fighting in the French and Indian War (1754-63), William Williams began to see British soldiers in a different light. He noticed that many of them looked down on the colonists. Because of this he believed that the colonies would be better off without their British rulers. Williams began his career in politics as the town clerk for Lebanon, Connecticut. Then he served in the Continental Congress and as judge of the Windham County Courthouse. Williams was a very patriotic man. “I have always thot [thought] this was a just & righteous Cause in which We are engaged,” he wrote in a letter to his father-in-law. “O New England, O my dear native Land, how does my Soul Love thee.”2

Oliver Wolcott (1726–1797) Oliver Wolcott was the son of the royal governor of Connecticut. In June 1776, he wrote a letter to his wife Laura about the outcome of the war. “We seem at present to be in the Midst of a great Revolution, which will probably be Attended with most important consequences,” he said. “Every Thing is leading to the lasting Independancy of these Colonies.”3 He did his best to help this “lasting Independancy.” He served in the Connecticut militia and rose to the rank of major general. He became governor in 1796. Twenty years later, his son rose to the same office. The Wolcotts are the only U.S. family to have three consecutive generations of governors.

7 The Signers from Delaware Thomas McKean (1734–1817) Thomas McKean worked as a lawyer and judge before becoming a delegate in the Continental Congress. In 1765, as a judge in the Court of Common Pleas, he made a bold ruling. Earlier that year, the British Parliament had passed the Stamp Act, requiring a stamp on all court documents and cer- tain other papers. The stamp was proof that tax had been paid. McKean ruled that all future actions of the court would be recorded on unstamped paper, which clearly went against the Stamp Act. John Adams called McKean, “one of the three men in the Continental Congress who appeared to me to see more clearly to the end of the business than any others in the body.”1 He was the only delegate to serve in the Continental Congress from its origins in 1774 to its disbandment on March 1, 1781.

George Read (1733–1798) George Read was the only signer who voted against Richard Henry Lee’s proposal for independence on July 2, 1776. At that time, Read still hoped that a compromise could be reached between the colonies and Great Britain. But he eventually came to agree with the other members of Congress that independence was the only acceptable solution to the conflict. He went on to serve Delaware in many ways. He represented the state in the Constitutional Convention, and later became a Delaware Court of Appeals judge, a United States senator, and the chief justice of the Supreme Court of Delaware. He is best known today as the president of the committee that created Delaware’s first constitution.

8 Caesar Rodney (1728–1784)2 Caesar Rodney was back home when Congress voted on the issue of independence. With McKean in favor of independence and Read against it, the Delaware representatives were in a stalemate. When he received this news, Rodney rode through a dark, rainy night even though he was seriously ill. He arrived in Congress in time to vote for independence and break his state’s tie. In a letter to his brother, Rodney wrote, “I arrived in Congress . . . time Enough to give my Voice in the matter of Independence.”2 This wasn’t the first time Rodney had taken a stand in favor of freedom. In 1769, he had tried to pass a law to stop the importation of slaves into Delaware.

A statue of Caesar Rodney by James E. Kelly stands in Rodney Square in Wilmington, Delaware.

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