Saturday, June 30, 2018

America's Story (part 22): Our Lives, Our Fortunes, and Our Sacred Honor

Independence Day/everystockphoto.com

Did George Washington sign the Declaration of Independence?

Short answer. No.

Actually, he was very busy at the time. As Commander of the the Continental Army, General Washington was defending New York City in July 1776. But on July 9, 1776, as directed by John Hancock,  Washington read The Declaration of Independence to the Army.

 [reference: Did any of our "Founding Fathers" NOT sign the Declaration of Independence? ]

Here is the reenactment:

Note the last line:

“And for the support of this Declaration, 
with a firm reliance on the protection
of Divine Providence, 
we mutually pledge to each other 
our Lives, 
our Fortunes, 
and our sacred Honor.”


So what happened to the 56 signers and their families?

The late Paul Harvey tells us the rest of the story:


The signers were prosperous men, with everything to lose. But they considered liberty much more important than security. So they pledged--

Their lives,
their fortunes,
and their sacred honor

Today, may we remember what they were fighting for
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. 


-- Thomas Jefferson, 1776


Have a Blessed Independence Day!


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Other posts in this series:



America's Story (part 19) - Trinity and "The Long Peace"  (2015)

America's Story (part 20) - Patton's Weather Prayer (2015)

 America's Story (part 21) - Is America Great?  (2017)


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