Have you ever wondered what happened to the 56 men who signed the Declaration of Independence ?
Freedom has a price !
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 serving in the Revolutionary Army; another had two sons captured.
Nine of the 56 fought and died from wounds or hardships of the Revolutionary War.
They signed and they pledged their lives, their fortunes, and their sacred honor.
What kind of men were they ?
Twenty-four were lawyers and jurists.
Eleven were merchants, nine were farmers and large plantation owners; men of means, well-educated, but they signed the Declaration of Independence - knowing full well that the penalty would be death if they were captured !
Carter Braxton of Virginia, a wealthy planter and trader, saw his ships swept from the seas by the British Navy. He sold his home and properties to pay his debts, and died in rags.
Thomas McKeam was so hounded by the British that he was forced to move his family almost constantly. He served in the Congress without pay, and his family was kept in hiding. His possessions were taken from him, and poverty was his reward.
Vandals or soldiers looted the properties of Dillery, Hall, Clymer, Walton, Gwinnett, Heyward, Ruttledge, and Middleton.
At the battle of Yorktown, Thomas Nelson, Jr., noted that the British General Cornwallis had taken over the Nelson home for his headquarters. He quietly urged General George Washington to open fire. The home was destroyed, and Nelson died bankrupt.
Francis Lewis had his home and properties destroyed. The enemy jailed his wife, and she died within a few months.
John Hart was driven from his wife's bedside as she was dying. Their 13 children fled for their lives. His fields and his gristmill were laid to waste. For more than a year he lived in forests and caves, returning home to find his wife dead and his children vanished.
So, take a few minutes while enjoying your 4th of July holiday and silently thank these patriots.
It's not much to ask for the price they paid.
Remember: freedom is never free! We thank these early patriots, as well as those patriots now fighting to KEEP our freedom !
I hope you will show your support by sending this to as many people as you can, please.
It's time we get the word out that patriotism is NOT a sin, and the Fourth of July has more MEANING to it than beer, fireworks, HOT DOGS, and picnics...

CAN YOU THINK OF A SINGLE CURRENT POLITICIAN THAT WOULD SACRIFICE WHAT THESE MEN DID FOR THEIR COUNTRY…?

NO! And to be brutally honest I don't know for a fact that I would risk everything I have to do what they did. I think that few would but I can only answer for myself.

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Have you ever wondered what happened to the 56 men who signed the Declaration of Independence ?

While the men were some of America's first and finest patriots, this collection of tales is mostly bullshit with some truth scattered about.

http://www.snopes.com/history/american/pricepaid.asp

I prefer the bullshit version myself and have little interest in asswipes that feel it is their duty to point out how men, much greater than they will ever be, stumbled and almost fell. I guess it makes them feel big.

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I prefer the bullshit version myself and have little interest in asswipes that feel it is their duty to point out how men, much greater than they will ever be, stumbled and almost fell. I guess it makes them feel big.

What an absolutely ridiculous response. You are a fool.

So, if an obviously brave man wins a Silver Star and recounts the story of how he won it but somehow "upgrades" the story to where he won the Medal of Honor that would be fine with you? '

To begin with, the Silver Star and the Medal of Honor are not awarded on the man's say so, but rather, on the observations and recommendations of third parties. The are not awarded lightly. I have known some Silver Star winners and a single Medal of Honor winner. If anything, they were reluctant to discuss their award instead of embellishing it.
Foolish or not, I prefer my heroes to be bigger than life; more perfect than us ordinary folks. I like to think that George Washington never told a lie. I don't care to know that Thomas Jefferson was banging a slave when he wasn't writing the Declaration of Independence nor that General Eisenhower was making whoopee with his driver when he wasn't busy winning the war in Europe. I am sure Queen Elizabeth goes to the bathroom, I just don't want to hear about it. And I am offended by the National Enquirer writers that pander to the pruient.
If we did not make our heroes larger than life, more perfect than reality, toward what would we strive?

Wow.

Also-
Those people you know with Silver Stars and CMOHs are recipients, not winners. There is no contest for them.

true, my bad.