Hello americans i'm paul harvey. You'll remember the cherry tree fiction a longtime after you have forgotten earthshaking history-making episodes in the life of george washington. You have misplaced in your memory. The details ben. Franklin's statesmanship but you remember his flying a kite joyce kilmer was a great military hero but the only thing you personally recall about him is his poetic tribute to trees. Maybe of this current decade that which will be remembered best wars and it's more rockets or it's crumbling frontiers or the giants who lived and died. Maybe all survived linger in the day by day vocabulary of generations yet unborn may be the the songs of memphis minstrel or the reincarnation of electric automobiles for any of the fourth of july i paul harvey bequeath unto you. Something to remember you may not be able to quote one line from the declaration of independence at this moment henceforth. You'll always be able to quote at least one line in the last paragraph where you will recall when i remind you it. Says we mutually pledge to each other our lives our fortunes and our sacred honor. Pennsylvania state house. That's now called independence hall in philadelphia. The best men from each of the colonies sat down together which was very fortunate. Our in our nation's history one of those rare occasions in the lives of men when we had greatness despair these were men of means well educated twenty four lawyers and jurists nine were farmers owners of large plantations on june. Eleven committee sat down to drop a declaration of independence. We're going to tell the british fatherland no more rule my redcoats below the dam of ruthless. Foreign rula stream of freedom was running shallow muddy. And we're going to like a few to dynamite that dan this pact. As burke later put it was a partnership between the living and the dead and yet unborn. There was no bigotry. There was no demagoguery in this group all had shared hardships. Jefferson finished a draft of the document in seventeen days. Congress adopted it in july and so much familiar history but now king. George third had denounced all rebels. In america as traitors punishment for treason was hanging the names now so familiar to you from the several signatures on that declaration of independence. The names were kept secret for six months for each new. The full meaning of that magnificent last paragraph in which his signature pledged his life his fortune and your sacred honor fifty. Six men placed their names beneath that pledge. Fifty six men knew when they signed that they were risking everything they knew if they won this fight the best they could expect would be years of hardship and a struggling nation and if they lost. They'd face a hangman's rope but they signed the pledge and here is the documented fate of gallant fifty. Six carter braxton of virginia wealthy planter traders all. His ships swept from the seas to pay his debts. He lost his home and all of his properties and died in rags. Thomas lynch junior who signed that pledge was a third generation rice grower aristocrat large plantation owner. After he signed his health failed his wife and he's set out for france to regain his failing health ship. Never got to france. Never heard from again thomas. Mckean of delaware was so harassed by the enemy. They was forced to move his family five times. In five months he served in congress without pay his family and poverty. And in hiding then dole's looted the properties of ellery and climber hall wouldn't et and walton and hayward and rutledge middleton thomas nelson. Junior virginia raised at two million dollars on his own signature to provision our allies. The french fleet after the war he personally paid back. The loans wiped out. Here's an entire estate. And he was never reimbursed by his government in the final battle for yorktown he nelson urged general washington to fire on his. Nelson's own home which was occupied by cornwallis. It was destroyed. Thomas nelson junior had pledged his life his fortune and his sacred honor. The hessian seized the home of francis hopkinson of new jersey francis. Lewis had his home and everything destroyed his imprisoned. She died within a few months. Richard stockton who signed that declaration was captured. Mistreated his health broken to the extent that he died at fifty one is a state was pillaged. Thomas hayward junior was captured when charleston fell. John hart was driven from his wife's bedside while she was dying their thirteen children fled in all directions for their lives is fields and gristmill were laid waste for more than a year. He lived in forest some caves and returned home after the war to find his wife. Did his children gone his property's gone and he died a few weeks later of exhaustion at a broken heart. Lewis morris so. His land destroyed his family scattered. Philip livingston died within a few months from the hardships of the war. John handcock history remembers best. Doodo quick of fate rather than anything. You stood for that great sweeping signature testing to his vanity towers over the others. One of the wealthiest men in new england and yet he stood outside boston one terrible night of the war and he said burn boston though it makes john hancock beggar if the public good requires it so he to lived up to the pledge of the fifty-six few were long to survive five were captured by the british and tortured before they died. Twelve had their homes from rhode island to charleston sacked looted occupied by the enemy or burned to lost their sons in the army. One had two sons captured. Nine of the fifty six died in the war from its hardships or from. It's more merciful bullets. I don't know what impression you had the men who met that summer in philadelphia. I think it's important that we remember this about them. They were knock for men they were not wild eyed pirates. These were men of means they were rich men most of them and had enjoyed much ease and luxury and their personal living not hungry men certainly terrorists responsible. Malcontents not fanatical incendiaries. These men were prosperous men wealthy landowners they were substantially secure in their prosperity. They had everything to lose. But they consider liberty. Mrs as much as i say they learned that liberty so much more important security.