OT: Declaration of Independence Fun Facts (or at least facts)

[Doctor Worm]

The original July 4, 1776 version of the Declaration of Independence had only two signers: Continental Congress President John Hancock, and Secretary Charles Thomson. (The full signing did not occur until August 2.) About 200 copies of the July 4 version were printed and distributed. 26 are known to still exist. Most are in museums, universities, and libraries, Three are privately owned - one of which by TV mogul Norman Lear, who purchased it for $8.1 million.

Other bits of Declaration of Independence minutiae:

• According to John Adams, our celebrations are two days late. It was on July 2 that the Congress passed the resolution for independence. Adams later wrote: "The Second Day of July, 1776 will be the most memorable Epocha, in the History of America".
• There were 56 signers, all wealthy (or at least relatively wealthy) white men. Benjamin Franklin was the oldest at age 70, John Rutledge the youngest as age 26.
• 41 of the signers were slaveholders.
• Six signers (George Clymer, Benjamin Franklin, Robert Morris, George Read, Roger Sherman, and James Wilson) later went on to sign the Constitution. Of these. Morris and Sherman pulled the trifecta, as they also signed the Articles of Confederation.
• One signer, Benjamin Harrison of Virginia, not only had a son who became President, but also a great-grandson.
• Five of the signers were imprisoned by the British during the war. One of them, New Jersey's own Richard Stockton, was so brutally treated that he died before war's end.

The below linked article provides a nice summary of the steep price paid by many of the signers.

http://www.nhccs.org/destiny.html

Today is (soon to be was) a day for celebration, not for sobriety - in any sense of the word. Nonetheless, let's take a moment to remember these 56 men who put their names and their lives on the line for the sake of posterity. That would be us.

 

[RULoyal]

 

[RobertG]

A firect decendant of Roger Sherman is a member of this board

 

[Upstream]

The original July 4, 1776 version of the Declaration of Independence had only two signers: Continental Congress President John Hancock, and Secretary Charles Thomson. (The full signing did not occur until August 2.)

The July 4 version and Aug 2 version are actually separate documents, and slightly different.

The July 4 version, known as the Dunlap Broadsides, are the 200 printed copies that Congress had printed on July 4, after the text was adopted. Hancock did not handsign this document. His name was printed at the bottom.

The engossed version, handwritten on parchment by Timothy Matlock, and now on display at the National Archives, is the version handsigned by Hancock and the other members of Congress on Aug 2.

 

[Upstream]

A firect decendant of Roger Sherman is a member of this board

AshHeap?

 

[dconifer]

Thanks, that *was* fun!

 

[T2Kplus10]

The July 4 version and Aug 2 version are actually separate documents, and slightly different.

The July 4 version, known as the Dunlap Broadsides, are the 200 printed copies that Congress had printed on July 4, after the text was adopted. Hancock did not handsign this document. His name was printed at the bottom.

The engossed version, handwritten on parchment by Timothy Matlock, and now on display at the National Archives, is the version handsigned by Hancock and the other members of Congress on Aug 2.

More details on the physical history of the Declaration of Independence:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Physical_history_of_the_United_States_Declaration_of_Independence

 

[Source]

The only clergyman to sign the Declaration of Independence was the Reverend John Witherspoon. He was also the only college president since he was the head of the College of New Jersey (1768-1794) that we know today as Princeton University.

 

[Source]

How many official flags have there been in United States history?

How many are considered legal flags of the U.S. today?

What is the official birthday of every state in the Union after April, 1818?

Since 1818, what is the most amount of states ever admitted on the same day?

Were there always 13 stripes on the flag?

Which flag had the most U.S. Presidents serve under it and how many?

 

[Upstream]

How many official flags have there been in United States history?

How many are considered legal flags of the U.S. today?

What is the official birthday of every state in the Union after April, 1818?

Since 1818, what is the most amount of states ever admitted on the same day?

Were there always 13 stripes on the flag?

Which flag had the most U.S. Presidents serve under it and how many?

Official flags: I guess that depends on how you define "official". Some consider the Grand Union flag as the first flag of the US, but the first flag adopted by Congress, on June 14, 1777 (the day now known as Flag Day) was the 13-star, 13-stripe flag. This flag was first flown by the Continental Army at the Middlebrook encampment in Bridgewater. Also, counting official flags depends on how you count different versions of the flag. The June 14, 1777, resolution didn't specify a particular design for the 13-star, 13-stripe flag. So many different versions were made. Some were designed with the stars in rows or in a circle. There was also versions with 6-pointed stars, as well a 5-pointed stars. But if you count different versions all as the same flag, then there have been 27 flags.

Legal flags: None of them are illegal. But only the current 50-star flag is the official flag of the US.

Birthday: I think you are referring to July 4. But states have been admitted to the Union on various days. For example, Hawaii was admitted to the Union on August 21, 1959, and its 2 senators took office that day. But Hawaii's star wasn't added to the flag until the following July 4.

Most states: Excluding the original 13 colonies (which weren't actually admitted, but which ratified the Constitution on different dates), the most states admitted on one day was two, on Nov 2, 1889, when North Dakota and South Dakota were made states. Montana and Washington followed on Nov 8 and Nov 11.

13 stripes: No. The 15 star flag also had 15 stripes.

Most Presidents: The current 50-star flag has flown over 12 presidents, starting with Eisenhower. The 48-star flag flew over 8 presidents, from Taft to Eisenhower. With 4 flags, James Polk had the most flags fly over him.

 

[Bagarocks]

Neat stuff guys!
What a GREAT country!
How lucky I am, to have been born here!

 

[Doctor Worm]

Neat stuff guys!
What a GREAT country!
How lucky I am, to have been born here!

Amen to that! Regardless of our political differences, we are united in that we are all winners in the birth lottery. Let each of us be thankful for that!

 

[LevaosLectures]

"Why is it that we hear the loudest yelps for liberty from the drivers of Negroes?" -Samuel Johnson, 1775.

 

[GoodOl'Rutgers]

"Five of the signers were imprisoned by the British during the war. One of them, New Jersey's own Richard Stockton, was so brutally treated that he died before war's end."

And for a few dollars, New Jersey renamed a college that honored his name.

 

[GoodOl'Rutgers]

Amen to that! Regardless of our political differences, we are united in that we are all winners in the birth lottery. Let each of us be thankful for that!

Take another look at that "birth lottery".. it is little different than inheriting wealth... your ancestors made that for your benefit.. same for everyone born here.. it is to your benefit AND responsibility. And the way things are going, every child born an American inherits.. what is it now.. $160K of debt?

 

[Source]

Official flags: I guess that depends on how you define "official"........

You're a Yankee Doodle Dandy Upstream! Well done. Here's your patriotic bonus question.

In a sentence or two, what is the opening lyrics of "Yankee Doodle" about?

Yankee Doodle went to town,
A-riding on a pony,
He stuck a feather in his cap,
And called it macaroni...

 

[LevaosLectures]

Independence fun fact: When the Treaty of Paris was being negotiated to end the Revolution, one of the things that the American peace commission demanded from the British was the return of all the slaves that had run off to join the redcoats. The British Imperial government initially objected but then agreed.

After the treaty, when the Continental army came for the handover of New York, the British commander in New York, General Carleton, refused to hand over freed slaves in his charge to the Americans. He said that they were no longer any man's property, and that to return them to their masters would be "A dishonorable violation of the public faith pledged to the Negroes" who chose to fight for Britain.

This stance so incensed George Washington and Madison (who called it "scandalous") that Congress threatened to withhold British prisoners of war. But the British government supported Carleton and many slaves were evacuated to Nova Scotia (where many died of disease, hunger, and exposure.)

U-S-A! U-S-A!

 

[Upstream]

You're a Yankee Doodle Dandy Upstream! Well done. Here's your patriotic bonus question.

In a sentence or two, what is the opening lyrics of "Yankee Doodle" about?

Yankee Doodle went to town,
A-riding on a pony,
He stuck a feather in his cap,
And called it macaroni...

 

[Source]

View embedded media

And the Americans eventually won their independence. However, to this day, the whoring and drinking problem in New Brunswick was never solved.

 

[Source]

You would never know it, but across the front entrance to Rutgers stadium and a coupla hundred yards down in Johnson Park, and hidden by tall bushes and trees, is the restored Indian Queen Tavern where John Adams and Ben Franklin stayed. The house is part of a collection of historical houses known as East Jersey Olde Towne. You can tour it when it's open for visiting (see article below).

"When the three men arrived in New Brunswick, they found the inns crowded. Franklin and Adams had to share a tiny room, barely bigger than the bed, in the Indian Queen Tavern. As they prepared to retire, Adams shut the one......."

http://www.newenglandhistoricalsociety.com/when-john-adams-slept-with-ben-franklin/

 

[dconifer]

"Five of the signers were imprisoned by the British during the war. One of them, New Jersey's own Richard Stockton, was so brutally treated that he died before war's end."

And for a few dollars, New Jersey renamed a college that honored his name.

GoodOl'Rutgers, I don't understand the last part (hey, I'm a transplant). Isn't there still a Richard Stockton University?

 

[LevaosLectures]

Take another look at that "birth lottery".. it is little different than inheriting wealth... your ancestors made that for your benefit.. same for everyone born here.. it is to your benefit AND responsibility. And the way things are going, every child born an American inherits.. what is it now.. $160K of debt?

My ancestors are from Italy and Poland. They didn't make jack squat. I'm just lucky there were almost no immigration laws when they came .

 

[RUnTeX]

My ancestors are from Italy and Poland. They didn't make jack squat. I'm just lucky there were almost no immigration laws when they came .

I'm not sure why GOR remarked on the lottery part of that commentary in terms of monetary implications (wealth or debt). American citizenship by birth is a gift, regardless.

 

[MCY]

"Five of the signers were imprisoned by the British during the war. One of them, New Jersey's own Richard Stockton, was so brutally treated that he died before war's end."

And for a few dollars, New Jersey renamed a college that honored his name.

Huh? Wasn't it always named Stockton State College, now University?

By the way, during a quick Google search of Stockton State I noticed a "famous" alum - Katrina Law. Wow. She could be Olivia Munn's sister.

 

[MCY]

I'm not sure why GOR remarked on the lottery part of that commentary in terms of monetary implications (wealth or debt). American citizenship by birth is a gift, regardless.

The birth part is a gift, but make no mistake we are sinking ourselves with debt ....

 

[rutrack]

A firect decendant of Roger Sherman is a member of this board

Yes G, good trivia actually. Roger Sherman
was the only person to sign all four of America’s founding documents. His grandson, a US senator from NY, led the committee that raised money for the Statue of Liberty base.

• Articles of Association – 1774
• Declaration of Independence – 1776
• Articles of Confederation – 1777
• U.S. Constitution – 1787

 

[Doctor Worm]

Yes G, good trivia actually. Roger Sherman
was the only person to sign all four of America’s founding documents. His grandson, a US senator from NY, led the committee that raised money for the Statue of Liberty base.

• Articles of Association – 1774
• Declaration of Independence – 1776
• Articles of Confederation – 1777
• U.S. Constitution – 1787

I had no idea that Articles of Association was an actual thing.