Stephen McDowell: In 1776, the colonists declared their independence

>> Stephen McDowell: Welcome to America's Providential History Podcast, where we talk about the real story of America and explore the hand of God in our history. Now, here's your host, Steven McDowell. Hello. Glad you're joining us for this edition of America's Providential History Podcast. There's a painting in the United States Capitol rotunda on the signing of the Declaration of independence. In 1776, the colonists declared their independence. And of course, this year, 2026, we're celebrating the 250th anniversary of the beginning of the United States of America. Because it was in the summer of 1776 that delegates, representatives from the 13 colonies gathered together in Philadelphia. They took action, first to declare their independence from Great Britain, and then to approve and sign, the Declaration of independence. Now, July 4th is the day that we celebrate as the beginning of our nation. And it was on that day, July 4, that the declaration of Independence was agreed to by the representatives. In fact, two days before that, these delegates, ah, actually, agreed to, declaring independence. And Thomas Jefferson, who was part of the committee, had been to present a Declaration of Independence, had been working a couple of weeks there in Philadelphia to draft that document that we call the Declaration of Independence. And so it was on that day, July 4, that the declaration that had been drafted by Jefferson, a few adjustments by the committee of five, few more, adjustments by the delegates at large. And after they agreed to that form, which we now have as the Declaration of Independence, the vote was passed. And that's why we celebrate each year. July 4th is our day of independence, is because of agreement to our founding covenant, the Declaration. Now, on July 4th, that was the day we declared independence. But the document that we recognize, as the original Declaration of Independence, the engrossed copy that we can find in the National Archives, that was not signed until, about a month later. Now, Thomas Jefferson records that on July 4th, of course, the Declaration was agreed to. He makes the comments in the Autobiography. His autobiography has been termed his autobiography and his writings, that the, Declaration was signed by every member present except Mr. Dickinson. Historian Vincent Losing, concurs, writing this is in the mid-1800s, writing that after approving the Declaration on all the delegates signed their names on a paper that was attached to a copy of the Declaration. However, most people don't think that the delegates signed on this day. They'll cite various indirect remarks from other delegates and in addition to the fact that such an original copy of the signees is not known to exist, but rather, it's generally agreed that it was not all signed signed by those members, until August 2nd, some months after that, because that's when the engrossed copy was presented to the delegates who affixed their signature. Now, soon after the approval of the declaration on July 4, with the oversight of the committee, there was a local printer, Jon Dunlap, who prepared and printed many copies. During the night of July 4th into July 5th, these copies, printed copies were sent to the governors of the several states, to the commanding officers and leaders in the colony, so that they could know what the delegates had just done in declaring their independence. Now these broadsides were authenticated by the signatures of Jon Hancock, who was the president of those delegates gathered in Philadelphia, who had approved that document, and by Charles Thompson, who was the secretary of this gathering of the continental Congress. On July 19, the Congress ordered the declaration, engrossed on parchment. And so they found a local gentleman who had excellent penmanship and wrote that declaration, that they had approved on July 4th. And after he completed that, this engrossed copy was signed by 54 delegates on August 2, and two other afterward, one in September signed it and the other later in the autumn. Hence, 56 men signed that engrossed copy of the Declaration of Independence that you can see today in the National Archives in Washington, D.C. and so this painting that's found in the Capitol rotunda, and there have been many copies of this painting, made over the years, but it depicts that incident when the delegates, are signing that ah, document. And in the declaration that they were, had approved and were signing, we see their belief that man's laws and rights should come from God. And it was Britain's denial of those rights that called the colonists to declare. We hold these truths to be self evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their creator with certain inalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. Now just that sentence there contained many biblical ideas which we've in previous podcasts have explored. the truths that are communicated and the truths that they adhere to and the ideas of our founding covenant. We've explained that in different ways in past podcasts. So these delegates said, we adhere to a set of truth. This truth is, self evident, that men are created, that God creates man in his image and endows man with valuable rights, inalienable rights, rights we can't give away, rights no one can take from us. And Jefferson summarized that with the idea of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. And as we've talked about in previous ah, podcast that pursuit of happiness embraces the principle property. And as William Blackstone defines it, the pursuit of happiness is having freedom to pursue the will of God. Because when we can pursue the will of God, and we do the will of God, it will produce happiness, personal and civil happiness. And so the Declaration then ends with the congressional representatives appealing to the Supreme Judge of the world and also acknowledging a firm reliance upon the protection of Divine providence. And so when you read that document, you get, insight into the worldview, the heart, the thinking of the founders of America. This is our founding covenant. It's founding upon a recognition of the Creator. They appealed to the God of the Bible. They relied upon divine providence and all that they were doing. And so of the 56 men who signed the Declaration depicted here in that painting, and all 56 aren't in that painting, vast majority of them are. But of the 56 who signed the declaration, all, ah, but two or three of these men were orthodox Christians. Now, we've talked about some of this in past podcasts and some of these individuals, and it's interesting that about the only few that, most Americans know today are some of the least orthodox of those Christians. One of those was Benjamin Franklin. He was not an orthodox believer. I call him a biblical theist. He believed in God, and it was not just any God, but it was God as depicted in the scripture. And Franklin, he was the one who called the Constitutional Convention, to prayer in 1787 when they met there in that same room in Philadelphia where they had approved the Declaration of Independence. And he called the delegates, hey, we've got to pray and seek God in prayer. In which in his famous speech, he acknowledged that God governs in the affairs of men. So Benjamin Franklin is one of those couple that were not orthodox believers. The other that, most people know as well, but don't know anything about him, is Thomas Jefferson. Again, Thomas Jefferson was by no means a secularist or anti Christian. we've talked just in a previous podcast when we were exploring the faith of the presidents of the United States, I gave an overview of Thomas Jefferson's religious beliefs. And it was, Jefferson again, certainly he fits the category of a biblical theist. But Thomas Jefferson, who was a member of the church all his life, Thomas Jefferson, who started a church that he called the Calvinistic Reformed Church of Charlottesville, met in the courthouse. Thomas Jefferson, who went to church in the Capitol building, Thomas Jefferson, who served, who was friends with over 200, evangelical or pastors from different Denominations. Thomas Jefferson, who wrote, I am a Christian and that I believe in the teachings of Jesus, Christ. So this Thomas Jefferson was again, one of the just a couple of men who might fit the category of unorthodox, believers, but about every one of them, and I'm going to just give you, introduce you to a couple of others that we haven't talked about in the past here in a minute. But the men who signed the Declaration of Independence did so only after much thought and consideration, because, after all, they had more to lose than anyone in the colonies. They were the brightest minds, they had the greatest talents. Almost all were wealthy. Many had large estates. Some were the wealthiest, Some of the wealthiest individuals in America. Most of these had families they loved dearly. So in signing that document, they did not see it as an avenue for fame or glory or future advancement, because they all knew they would be identified above everybody else by the British as the leaders of what the king thought was a, rebellion. And so consequently, those most likely to suffer retribution. They knew that history was strewn with the bones and blood of freedom fighters. And, of course, they were up against the greatest military power on earth. And so they faced a very real, chance of losing everything. So, no, they weren't thinking, you know, we're going to be famous and they'll read about us in the future and study us in history books. But they believe they were signing their own death warrant. See, these men were prepared to give their lives for the cause of liberty, and they thought it was a very real possibility they would have to give their lives. Now, many years later, signer of the Declaration, Benjamin Rush, also the father of medicine in America, would wrote a letter to Jon Adams, who is also a signer of the Declaration, both that were there in Philadelphia in the summer of 1777. And in this letter, Rush reminded Jon Adams, or asked Jon Adams, do you recollect your memorable speech upon the day on which the vote was taken? Do you recollect the pensive and awful silence which pervaded the house when we are called up one after another to the table of the President of Congress to subscribe what was believed by many at that time to be our own death warrants? And so, you see, when These men, these 56 men, agreed to and signed that document, they had a very real sense we're signing our own death warrants. Now, just to learn more about these events and the price the signers paid, I, will point you to a podcast that I did last year. On July 1, 2025, on, this, the Declaration of Independence, and why? What really happened on July 4th. To learn more about that. But.

All 56 signers of the Declaration of Independence suffered in some way

But those 56 men, all of them suffered in some way. Virtually all the men had greater wealth before taking up the cause of liberty than afterwards. one writer summarizes the price that the signers paid this way. Nine signers died of wounds or hardships during the Revolutionary War. Five were captured or imprisoned, in some cases with brutal treatment. The wives, sons and daughters of others were killed, jailed, mistreated, persecuted, or left penniless. One was driven from his wife's deathbed and lost all his children. The houses of 12 signers were burned to the ground. 17 lost everything they owned. Every signer was proscribed as a traitor. Everyone was hunted. Most were driven into flight. Most were, at one time or another, barred from their families or homes. Most were offered immunity, freedom, rewards, their property, or, the lives and release of loved ones. To break their pledged word or to take the king's protection. Their fortunes were forfeit, but their honor was not. No signer defected or changed his stand. Throughout the darkest hours, their honor, like their nation, remained intact. And so we have much to be thankful for for these 56 men who risked everything and gave up so much to help purchase liberty for us. And what was it that was able to sustain, these men? Well, as I mentioned, all but two or three of them were Orthodox Christians. They were from different denominations, different degrees of passion in their faith. Of course, God knows the heart, knows where our heart stands with Him. We can know them by their fruits. And certainly the fruit of these men reflect a living, faith in God. Now, these 56 men have died, of course. Some die from hardships, from the war, and most of them have been forgotten by Americans. Today, Americans, can name just a couple of them. In general, hardly anybody could name more than 10% of. Of our Founding Fathers, those who gave us the Declaration and gave the US Constitution some years later. But, you know, it's sad that we have forgotten these founders of America, but it's tragic that we have forgotten the high price that they paid for liberty and that liberty that we possess today in large part because of them and so many others who had the same heart and passion and vision and understanding and willingness to pay the price to obtain, preserve that liberty, passed it on to us. And it's our duty to, understand where our liberty came from and then pass it to the next generation. But it was the strong Christian faith of so many of these signers of the Declaration that Empowered them first. It gave them an understanding of the value of liberty, the source and order, origin of liberty, where it comes from, and gave them the strength and the conviction to fight to preserve this valuable God given liberty. Now, we've been introduced to a few of these signers just in previous podcasts. As I said, just some weeks ago, as we began to look at the faith of the President of the United States, two of the signers, our second president, Jon Adams, and third president Thomas Jefferson, we looked at their faith and I invite you to go back to, learn more about the faith of those two men. But there are a number of others. I just want to introduce you to a couple of them so that you can begin to learn about these men to which we owe so much. Now one man that most Americans do know today is Jon Hancock. Because when he fixed his bold signature on that document, he said, the king can now read my name without glasses and he can double the price on my head. And then he went on to say, we must all be unanimous. We must all hang together. Benjamin Franklin responded in his characteristic wit, yes, we must indeed all hang together, or most assuredly we shall all hang separately. Again, he was affirming just what we've said, that there's a great price that, our founders understood they may have to pay and that they paid a great price. I've, mentioned. So Jon Hancock was President of the Congress during the Revolution, during the time when the Declaration of Independence was approved, and that engross copy was signed. And it was on August 2, 1776, that that engrossed copy was signed by 54 of the 56 delegates. And that's why we're just coming up in a few days on 250 years after the signing of that engrossed copy that we see in the National Archives.

John Hancock issued many proclamations for prayer, fasting and thanksgiving

And this is why I wanted to bring, bring this up in this, podcast, because we're approaching that date, August 2, today, 2026, 250 years after those men signed that original and gross copy of the Declaration of Independence. So he was the President of the Congress. now Hancock, as President of the Congress, issued many proclamations for days of prayer, fasting and thanksgiving. We've talked about that in previous podcasts. After the war, he served as governor of Massachusetts, where he issued many other proclamations for days of prayer, like the one from October 15, 1791, which requests citizens to pray. And this is part of the proclamation. And here's how he wanted. He suggested his fellow citizens go to church and, and pray, among other things, that universal happiness may be established in the world and that all may bow to the scepter of our Lord Jesus Christ and the whole earth be filled with his glory. So that terminology, that quote is from an official, State of Massachusetts proclamation where Jon Hancock issued that proclamation, that it's obviously specifically Christian in its language, that all may bow to the scepter of our Lord Jesus Christ and the whole earth be filled with his glory. And we can say amen to that. Now, Charles Thompson was the secretary of the continental Congress from 1774 to 1789 of numerous continental Congresses. and as secretary he would have signed some of those early copies authorizing this is the official work of Congress. Well, after he retired from public life, he translated the Scriptures, the Bible from Greek to English. And his four volume Bible was published in 1808 and is known for its accuracy and scholarship. So here it is, we have the President of the Congress. When the declaration was approved and signed. He issued many days of prayer and fasting, prayer and thanksgiving with, with specific Christian language. Here we have the Secretary of the Congress, really throughout the whole duration of the Congress, who after his public service translated the Scriptures from the original Greek to English. And it was published this four volume Bible. So he had his own version, own translation of the Bible published in 1808. Jon Dickinson, who lived from 1732 to 1808, was a signer from Pennsylvania. He was and also author of the first draft of the Articles of Confederation. That was the form of government that we operated under until the US Constitution went into effect in 1789. But he was a signer who retired from public service to write commentaries on the Gospel of Matthew. In his last will and Testament, he wrote rendering thanks to my Creator. To him I resign myself humbly confiding in his goodness and in his mercy through Jesus Christ for the events of eternity. Again, very, clear Christian language, not some generic deistic language, but is obviously very Christian language. And so Jon Witherspoon was a signer of the Declaration of Independence from NewSong Jersey, but he was a minister and was president of the college in NewSong Jersey, which we now know as Princeton, university. Jon Witherspoon helped to produce America's first family Bible. And it was Jon Witherspoon who trained the men who gave us the Declaration and the Constitution and shaped our nation. Here's a minister, a signer who literally discipled the nation. So here we have prominent individuals who are involved in not only political work But Bible, biblical work, from translating Bibles, publishing, Bibles, to producing, commentaries on books of the Bible. Charles Carroll of Carrollton, signer of the Declaration, the built and personally funded a Christian house of worship. His writings show his strong Christian faith. There's a statue of him in East Central hall, by the way, in the Capitol. But he wrote, on the mercy of my Redeemer I rely for salvation and on his merits, not on the works that I have done in obedience to his precepts. Benjamin Rush, who, we've mentioned, started America's first Bible society, through which America's first mass produced stereotype Bible was produced. In fact, the plates were imported in 1813 by help of President Madison and Congress. Benjamin Rush declared, my only hope of salvation is in the infinite transcendent love of God manifested to the world by the death of his son upon the cross. Nothing but his blood will wash away my sins. I rely exclusively upon it. Come, Lord Jesus, come quickly. Again, these are signers of the Declaration that I'm introducing you to. Because when I make the claim, all but two or three of these 56 men were Orthodox Christians. You can begin to see, wow, that's true from the work they did and from the words that they uttered and from the fruit of their life. Another signer, Francis Hopkinson, was a church music director and was editor of one of the first hymnals printed in America from around 1767 some years following. In this book he set all 150 Psalms to music so they could be sung. And his hymn book was one of the first books to place notes on a staff so that the melody could be seen and easily sung. So here's another signer. He's involved. These are involved in acts of worship, from getting Bibles and commentaries on the Bible to hymnals, starting Bible societies. Richard Stockton, another signer, as he was dying from hardships of captivity during the war, he put his affairs in order and then he wrote his last will and testament. And in his last will and testament he said this, which certainly reflects his Christian faith. As my children will have frequent occasion of perusing this instrument and may probably be particularly impressed with the last words of their father. I think it proper here not only to subscribe to the entire belief of the great and leading doctrines of the Christian religion, such as the being of God, the universal defection and depravity of human nature, the divinity of the Person, and the completeness of the redemption purchased by the blessed Savior, the necessity of the operations of the divine Spirit of divine faith, Accompanied with an habitual virtuous life and the universality of the divine providence. But also in the bowels of a father's affection to exhort and charge my children that the fear of God is the beginning of wisdom. That the way of life held up in the Christian system is calculated for the most complete happiness that can be enjoyed in this mortal state. And that all occasions of vice and immorality is injurious either immediately or consequently even in this life. So here it is. Signer of the Declaration, Richard Stockton. He wanted to make sure his children knew what was of central value to him. And it all had to do with his Christian faith. And he clearly presents a knowledge of the central tenets of the Christian faith declaring to his children, this is what's important. This is what I believe. And my desire is to instruct you in this truth so that you can live according to, to the truth because it's going to bring blessing upon you. Thomas McKeon was a signer of the Declaration but he helped author the constitutions of Pennsylvania and Delaware. and he actually served as governor of each of these. He wrote a legal authority writing the commentaries on the constitutions of the United States of, of America. In 1792 he served as Chief justice of the Supreme Court of the state of Pennsylvania. And as Chief justice he presided over a trial where a gentleman by the name of Jon Roberts was sentenced to death for treason. Well, after delivering the sentence, Chief Justice McKeon then gave this advice to Roberts. So here it is, signer of the Declaration. He served in many different capacities of government. Governors of two states. And as Chief justice of the Supreme Court just. There's a man in the courtroom convicted of capital offense, about ready to meet his maker. And it wasn't going to be 12 years, it was going to be in a matter of days. And so here's the advice he gave in his courtroom. You will probably have but a short time to live before you launch into eternity. It behooves you to improve the time that may be allowed you in this world. It behooves you most seriously to reflect upon your past conduct. To repent of your evil deeds, to be incessant in prayers to the great and merciful God, to forgive your manifold transgressions and sins. To teach you to rely upon the merit and passion of a dear Redeemer and thereby to avoid those regions of sorrow, those doleful shades where peace and rest can never dwell, where even hope cannot enter. It, behooves you to seek the fellowship, advice and prayers of pious and good men, to be persistent at the throne of grace, and to learn the way that leadeth to happiness. May you, reflecting upon these things and pursuing the will of the great Father of light and life, be received into the company and society of angels and archangels and the spirits of just men made perfect. And may you be qualified to enter into the joys of heaven, joys unspeakable and full of glory.

Hancock: These men were Christian believers, they were orthodox Christians

Imagine today if a judge were to do such a thing as that people be apoplectic and, many of them. But here it was, the Chief justice of the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania giving the best advice he could possibly give to a convicted capital offender. And he said, you're going to meet your maker. You better get your life right with him, before you go to meet him, cry out to him, have mercy upon him. See, the point is, these men, these are the signers of the Declaration. I'm just introducing you to a dozen or so of these, these men. And you can see their strong Christian faith, their understanding of what Christianity is all about. And one last one I'll mention is Robert Treat Payne. And this signer plainly expressed his faith in his last Will and Testament. By the way, they were called, last Will and Testament for a reason, because so many of our Founding Father testified in their wills of what was truly important to them. I've mentioned in past podcasts that many years ago I went and read through over a hundred different last Will and testaments of Founding Fathers and extracted in an article that's on our website, providencefoundation.com you can go there and search for the last Will and testaments or the Founders. And I think I have excerpts from about three dozen or so of their wills that you can see. this is what's important to them, to them. And in his will, Robert Treat Payne said, I am constrained to express my adoration of the Supreme Being, the author of my existence, and full belief of his providential goodness and his forgiving mercy revealed to the world through Jesus Christ, through whom I hope for never ending happiness in a future state. And so just from this brief introduction, I think that you can see, that when I say these men were followers of Christ, that they were Christian believers, they were orthodox Christians, you can agree with that. You can say, yes, it certainly is that these men, believed, had a faith in God, but these men also had an understanding of the providence of God working not only in their personal life, but in the life of a nation. About every one of them, even the non Christian like Ben Richard Franklin, would have acknowledged that God in his providence was at work in giving birth to the United States of America. And so, as we remember on August 2, 2026, that 250 years ago these men signed that document. We need to remember these were men of Christian belief. And these were men who had an understanding that God was at work. God was the one who had ordained their action to approve that document, to affix their signature. In fact, that's what Jon Adams said. Jon Adams was one of those members signers of the Declaration. He was there in Philadelphia. And as these events were transpiring, he wrote letters to Abigail, keeping her updated on all the events, that occurred. And after they voted to declare independence on July 2, he wrote a letter to Abigail, said it is the will of heaven that the two countries should be sundered forever. It may be the will of heaven that America shall suffer calamities still more wasting and distresses yet more dreadful. If this is to be the case, it will have this good effect at least. It will inspire us with many virtues which we have not, and correct many errors and vices which threaten to disturb, dishonor and destroy us. The furnace of affliction produces refinement in states as well as individuals. But I must submit all my hopes and fears to an overruling providence in which, unfashionable as the faith may be, I firmly believe Jon Adams clearly expresses that God is the one that was at work. It's his will. These events were taking place. And so these men that signed that document were responding and believing that this is what we're called to do. We're called to stand upon the principles that we have learned and been taught in our homes, in our churches and in our schools over the these, decades before this, that they were acting in accordance with that belief, believing that God was at work to advance his purposes. And Jon Hancock echoed the reliance upon God and the belief that the destiny of nation is in the hands of God. As he said prior to this earlier, he said, let us humbly commit our righteous cause to the great Lord of the Universe. Let us joyfully leave our concerns in the hands of him who raises up and puts down the empires and kingdoms of the earth as he pleases. And so today, as we remember during this year, 250 years of our existence as a nation, we would do well to follow the example of the Founding Fathers in our Christian faith and in our Christian beliefs. And understanding the providence of God and of committing the righteous cause of our country in the future to the great Lord of the universe. And leave our concerns in the hands of him who raises up and puts down the empires and kingdoms of the earth as he pleases. And that God would have given mercy upon the United States of America that we might in 250 more years, look back and celebrate that founding covenant that we still adhere to. Well, if you want to learn more about the signers about the founding of America, about so many other things, I encourage you to Visit our website, providencefoundation.com we have lots of articles, related to our Christian history and applying biblical truth in every sphere of life, books and resources that you can, get a copy of as well. So that's providencefoundation.com well, thanks for joining us this week. And remember on August 2nd, that we are commemorating 20250 years since these 56 men signed that document, or 54 of them signed it on the 2nd and 2 others sometime later signed that document. Remember the great price paid for our liberty. Remember to give thanks to Almighty God because part of his purpose and plan for man, he was at work to advance his story, fill the earth with his glory. Well, God bless you. Hope to have you with us, next week.

The Signing of the Declaration of Independence