Independence, as Americans know it today, didn’t come in an inexpensive nature. In fact, our freedoms might well be the costliest element of our lives. Since the signing of the Declaration of Independence right through current time as we get ready to observe July 4th this year, people have made sacrifices that are above and beyond what many might realize.

There are definite concerns the days and our future, that we will have to wait for months to come to learn what America might be so far as Democracy is concerned.

Those signers of the Declaration of Independence, right through today’s receipt of calls concerning injury or death of service people anywhere in the world, share the true meaning of giving their all for the country they loved.

The men who took pen in hand and made it clear we were going to be independent from England, share the dedication of those in the military who have become casualties in real and trumped-up wars for the past 237 years.

Signers’ fate

Here’s what happened to those men who signed the document making our nation.

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 in the Revolutionary Army, and another had two sons captured. Nine of the 56 fought and died from wounds or the hardships of the war.

Who they were

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 document 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 McKean 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 or both, looted the properties of Ellery, Clymer, Hall, Walton, Gwinnett, Heyward, Rutledge and Middleton.

Home destroyed At the Battle of

At the Battle of Yorktown, Thomas Nelson, Jr., noted that British General Cornwalli had taken over the Nelson home for his headquarters. The owner quietly urged General George Washington to open fire, which was done. 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 grist mill were laid waste. For more than a year he lived in forests and caves, returning home after the war to find his wife dead, his children vanished. A few weeks later he died from exhaustion and a broken heart. Norris and Livingston suffered similar fates.

Sacrifices were made

Such were the stories and sacrifices of the American Revolution. These were not wild-eyed, rabble-rousing ruffians. These were soft-spoken men of means and education. They had security, but they valued liberty more. Standing tall, straight and unwavering, they pledged: “For the support of this declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of the Divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other, our lives, our fortunes and our sacred honor.”

They gave us an independent America. Can we keep it?

The answer

Hopefully, the answer to that question will never be necessary. The thoughts of those who originally gave us our independence and those who have held it over all these years, each time the country was either challenged or chose to enter a conflict in a country across the broad waters, will surely cement Americans sufficiently to overcome even the most trying of times.

Remember So, this July 4th, it

So, this July 4th, it would be only fitting that sacrifices over more than 200 years by Americans who stand tall in our nation, be remembered.

America can be only as strong as her people will permit. Those come at such a high price are doing nothing but a disservice to both themselves and the nation.

Independence Day, July 4, 2022, which was last Saturday, could well be a turn-around for those who are on the wrong route toward keeping our cherished freedoms.

What is the essence of America? Finding and maintaining that delicate balance between freedom “to” and freedom “from.”

Bob Mitchell is the former editor and publisher of the Cassville Democrat. He is a 2017 inductee to both the Missouri Press Association Hall of Fame and Missouri Southern State University’s Regional Media Hall of Fame.