We know Jefferson and Franklin, but what about the other signers – John Hart, John Penn, William Williams, Richard Stockton, William Whipple, John Morton, William Floyd, George Read and others. In this long episode, stories of the Signers, including:
- A man who had to hide in a cave while his property was ransacked. Another whose house was burned.
- A man who nearly drowned on a British ship.
- A man whose signature is so faint, it revealed is ill-health.
- A young, last-minute alternate to the convention who ended up making history.
- A man who lost his trading fleet when it was converted for the cause.
- A man who planted a tree to coincide with his signing the Declaration. It’s still there.
- A man whose house was fired upon, and maybe he ordered it, since the British had occupied it.
- The iron men who saw the practice of iron founding, reduced by British laws, as a patriotic act.
- The Radical Baristas of yore, drinking really strong coffee and organizing the city of Philadelphia for revolution.
- The truth about Caesar Rodney’s ride, and how he pulled it off.
- The British baron who may have inspired the whole movement.
- A very rich man who signed, and some middle class-to cash-poor signers.
- One man who everyone thought was a Loyalist who ended up signing.
- The pop musician of his time who sang and signed for the cause.
I released this series as its own podcast in 2012. It was in reaction to the chain emails going around that I felt were overselling the accomplishments and sacrifices of the Signers with untrue stories. That does them no justice, I thought. Some listeners may have listened to it, but there’s some new listeners. I have combined it into one volume.
My History Can Beat Up Your Politics 