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The New Jersey Contingent Who Signed the Declaration of Independence

The significant aspect of the Declaration of Independence is that it changed the American “rebellion” against Great Britain into a “revolution.” From April 19, 1775 until July 2, 1776 the war was being fought so the colonists could regain their rights as Englishmen that had been taken away by the British from 1763-1775. 

On July 2, 1776 the Second Continental Congress approved the resolution by Richard Henry Lee from Virginia that “these United Colonies are, and of Right ought to be Free and Independent States, that they are Absolved from all Allegiance to the British Crown, and that all political connection between them and the State of Great Britain, is and ought to be totally dissolved ……” 

This was truly a revolutionary statement. John Adams felt that July 2 would be the day that would be “solemnized with Pomp and Parade with shows, games, sports, bonfires and illuminations from one end of this Continent to the other …….”

The Declaration of Independence is on public display at the National Archives in Washington, D.C.

 About the Signers

All of the colonies were represented in Philadelphia to consider the delicate case for independence and to change the course of the war.  In all, there were fifty-six representatives from the thirteen colonies. Fourteen represented the New England Colonies, twenty-one represented the Middle Colonies and twenty-one represented the Southern Colonies.  The largest number (9) came from Pennsylvania.  Most of the signers were American born although eight were foreign born.  The ages of the signers ranged from 26 (Edward Rutledge) to 70 (Benjamin Franklin), but the majority of the signers were in their thirties or forties.  More than half of the signers were lawyers and the others were planters, merchants and shippers. 

 
Together they mutually pledged “to each other our Lives, our Fortunes and our sacred Honor.” 
The New Jersey Contingent Who Signed the Declaration of Independence

They were mostly men of means who had much to lose if the war was lost.  None of the signers died at the hands of the British, and one-third served as militia officers during the war. Four of the signers were taken captive during the war and nearly all of them were poorer at the end of the war than at the beginning.  No matter what each of these men did after July 1776, the actual signing of the Declaration of Independence which began onAugust 2 ensured them instant immortality.  

 The following gives a bit of information about each signer AFTER the signing of the Declaration of Independence.

 The New Jersey Contingent Who Signed the Declaration of Independence

 Abraham Clark

Abraham Clark (1726-1794)-Abraham Clark was a farmer, surveyor and politician who spent most of his life in public service.  He was a member of the New Jersey state legislature, represented his state at the Annapolis Convention in 1786, and was opposed to the Constitution until it incorporated a bill of rights.  He served in the United States Congress for two terms from 1791 until his death in 1794.

 John Hart

John Hart (1711-1779)-John Hart became the Speaker of the Lower House of the New Jersey state legislature.  His property was destroyed by the British during the course of the Revolutionary War, and his wife died three months after the adoption of the Declaration of Independence.  During the ravaging of his home, Hart spent time in the Sourland Mountains in exile.

 Francis Hopkinson

Francis Hopkinson (1737-1791)-Francis Hopkinson was a judge and lawyer by profession but also was a musician, poet and artist.  When the Revolutionary War was over, he became one of the most respected writers in the country.  He was later appointed Judge to the U.S. Court for the District of Pennsylvania in 1790.

Richard Stockton

Richard Stockton (1730-1781)-Richard Stockton was trained to be a lawyer and graduated from the College of New Jersey.  He was elected to the Continental Congress in 1776 and was the first of the New Jersey delegation to sign the Declaration of Independence.  In November 1776 he was captured by the British and was eventually released in 1777 in very poor physical condition.  His home at Morven was destroyed by the British during the war and he died in 1781 at the age of 50.
 
John Witherspoon

John Witherspoon (1723-1794)-John Witherspoon was the only active clergyman among the signers of the Declaration of Independence.  He was elected to the Continental Congress from 1776-1782, elected to the state legislature in New Jersey from 1783-1789 and was the president of the College of New Jersey from 1768-1792.  In his later years he spent a great deal of time trying to rebuild the College of New Jersey (Princeton).

 
Source: https://www.constitutionfacts.com/