signers Declaration Independence

July 4th Special Edition Podcast: Signers of the Declaration Who Gave All

America’s Founders emphatically placed their honor and duty ahead of their private rights.

The Declaration of Independence says, in its second paragraph, that when a people is subjected to a long train of abuses aiming at absolute despotism, “it is their right, it is their duty,” to change the government. This duty is higher than one’s own personal survival or selfish interest. It may in fact require the sacrifice of one’s own life. That is why the Declaration concludes with these noble words: “We pledge to each other our lives, our fortunes, and our sacred honor.”

In the July 4th Special Edition of my podcast Hidden Headlines you will learn about three signers of the Declaration, and their wives, whose fortunes and lives were destroyed because of their decision to sign  this precious document.  Their’s was the ultimate act of maintaining “sacred honor.”

Honor and duty are superior to rights and self-interest. Those who consider The Founders’ to be a bunch of white supremacists should consider a statement of this conviction found in the “Declaration of the Causes and Necessity of Their Taking up Arms,” co-authored by Jefferson and John Dickinson, and approved by the Continental Congress in 1775:

“We have counted the cost of this contest, and find nothing so dreadful as voluntary slavery. Honor, justice, and humanity, forbid us tamely to surrender that freedom which we have received from our gallant ancestors. . . . We cannot endure the infamy and guilt of resigning succeeding generations to that wretchedness which inevitably awaits them, if we basely entail hereditary bondage upon them. . . . [We are] with one mind resolved to die freemen rather than to live slaves.”

If The Founders were really racists,  they would never have believed that slavery and dishonor are worse than death.

Hidden Headlines July 4th Edition: the radical left’s reckless perception of history

Karl Marx once declared, “History means nothing.” Such a view of history creates a pathway to tyranny, and that’s just what the leaders of today’s radical left are doing. They are guilty of “historical presentism;” in other words they are glancing at history through a present lens and in the process gaining momentum for their ultimate goal: the destruction of America as we know it.

In this Special Independence Day Edition of Hidden Headlines (Episode 65) you will discover facts about some of America’s founders, facts which will make you want to take action to proclaim the truth regarding those gave all for the freedoms we enjoy today. The men and their wives you will learn about were not racists, they are definition of courageous patriots.

Enjoy the podcast here, or wherever you listen to quality podcasts.

Thank you, and may God richly bless your Independence Day weekend.

Brian

 

Many of the signers to the Declaration of Independence signed their lives away

The following is an excerpt from my book, “Eco-Tyranny: How the Left’s Green Agenda Will Dismantle America” (2012, WND Books).  I’ve also shared this story in Episode 40 of my Hidden Headlines Podcast (July 4, 2019).

Francis Lewis was born in Wales in 1713.  He was orphaned at the age of five and raised by relatives. After a college education in London, he became a business apprentice and earnestly saved his money.  At the age of 21, he set sail for New York where he established an importing business.

In 1756, during the French and Indian War, Lewis was a special aid to the British forces, supplying them with uniforms and other critical supplies.  He was on business at Fort Oswego, when a bloody battle broke out against the French aggressors.  Lewis was taken prisoner and sent to France aboard a ship, cruelly housed in a wooden box.  Upon his release at the close of the war, Lewis was rewarded for his service to the crown with 5,000 acres of land in New York.

Again, while one might think that such a man would be forever loyal to Great Britain, such was not the case for Lewis.  He saw how the edicts from England were strangling freedom in the colonies, and, according to Lossing, Lewis held dearly to “his republican views.”

Lewis’ wife Elizabeth was also a devout patriot and fervently supported her husband when he was elected a delegate to the General Congress in 1775 and signed the Declaration of Independence in Philadelphia the following year.  Once the Declaration was signed, the British placed a price upon the head of Francis Lewis.  Before he was able to reach his home on Long Island, ground troops and a warship were sent to seize his wife and destroy his property.  Elizabeth watched from a balcony as a cannon ball crashed into a wall immediately next to her.  Immediately a servant shouted, “Run, Mistress, run!”[1]

Mrs. Lewis calmly replied, “Another shot is not likely to strike the same spot,” and she did not budge.

The soldiers soon entered the home and destroyed all books, papers, and ruthlessly pillaged the entire property.  Elizabeth Lewis was taken to New York and thrown into prison.  She was not allowed a bed or a change of clothing, and given little to eat.  A former family African servant discovered her location and was able to smuggle some small articles of clothing and some food to her.  He also reported her whereabouts and condition to Congress.  Demands were made for her better treatment, but the British were determined to make an example of Mrs. Lewis’ prominence and wealth.

Finally, General Washington was able to broker a prisoner exchange, and Elizabeth was able to join her husband in Philadelphia. However, it was plain to everyone that because of her mistreatment, she was broken in health and was slowly sinking into the grave.  Francis Lewis soon asked for a leave of absence from Congress to devote his whole time to his wife.  She died in 1779.

Grief-stricken, Lewis retired from Congress to live with his sons.  This great patriot died in 1802 at the age of 89 in New York City.  He was buried in an unmarked grave in the yard of Trinity Church.

[1]Harry Clinton, Mary Wolcott Green, The Pioneer Mothers of America, Volume 3 (New York: G.P. Putnam’s Sons, 1912), p. 121.