They Signed: The Signers of the Declaration of Independence
19 episodes - English - Latest episode: about 7 years ago - ★★★★★ - 17 ratingsFrom the host of My History Can Beat Up Your Politics, the story of the greatest argument for liberty ever written is told through the lives of the 56 men who committed their lives property and honor to the document. Carlson discusses not just Jefferson and Adams, but all of them even the less well known like the prisoner Richard Stockton, confused merchant Joesph Hewes, the dueler Gwinnett, brewer-philosopher Samuel Adams and the ultimate founder Richard Henry Lee. Many of the Signers suffered for their commitment, but some of the most incredible stories have been exaggerated. This podcast strives to make those distinctions between fact and fiction based on what we know. Learn a bit about the American Revolution and American History, and hopefully have a good time.
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Episodes
The Man in the Cave and Other Stories
July 04, 2017 14:16 - 29.2 MBWho were the people who signed the document Americans celebrate on July 4th? A small part of that question is answered in this episode. An introduction to the Declaration of Independence, its importance in American history and the history of the American Revolution, makes up the bulk of this first podcast episode. Facts that many Americans would get wrong (though not a sizable amount of history buffs). Did we need a Declaration to have independence? When was it written? When was it app...
Hooper Who? and The Confused Merchant, the Dueler and the Man Lost at Sea
March 02, 2017 12:57 - 26.7 MBEveryone knows Jefferson. But who is Button Gwinnett? William Hooper? or Joseph Hewes? this episode discusses the signers from south of Virginia who made an important contribution and sacrifices oft forgotten. From the merchant with a divided mind, to the carpenter who worked his way up to a congressman, to the man lost at sea, we look at these southern Signers and the role of the states of Georgia, North Carolina and South Carolina.
Rich Men
September 01, 2015 17:26 - 50.8 MBWere the signers all rich men? Could it be said, as it has, that they were they looking out for their own? We look at these questions in this episode. As we examine some of the richest founders Robert Morris, William Paca, Carter Braxton, Thomas Nelson, Charles Carroll of Carrollton and Francis Lightfoot Lee, we find that the topic is more complex than the cursory discussions in many sources.
Poor Richard's
June 18, 2015 14:15 - 5.43 MBBen Franklin would have been a busy, hard working printer and not a distinguished member of the Continental Congress had he not come up with a best-selling book that allowed him, eventually, to retire. Franklin was a key independence advocate in a conservative state that generally wanted to stay with Britain, his absence might have made history very different. A bit about Poor Richard's Almanack some passages which have some modern wisdom, and a bit about Franklin's early life.
July 4, or July 2, 1776?
June 18, 2015 14:15 - 14.5 MBThough the vote for independence occurred on July 2nd, we celebrate the day of printing and publication. we look at the claim of both days and the role of the state that didn't vote on July 2nd: New York. And we take a look at its delegates: Philip Livingston, William Floyd, Francis Lewis and Lewis Morris, who eventually signed the Declaration and suffered loss of property when the British took New York.
Hopkins and Ellery: Raging Rhode Islanders
May 19, 2013 14:33 - 11.3 MBNo unease about Independence in this colony. Rhode Island, formed in dissent and the anchor of religious tolerance in America, was a bastion of Patriot activity. We talk about two Signers: William Ellery who invoked the "Sword." in his discussions about reconciliation and the shaky-handed but fearless Stephen Hopkins.
Poor Richard's: The Bestseller That Made a Signer
April 14, 2013 22:29 - 5.43 MBBen Franklin would have been a busy, hard working printer and not a distinguished member of the Continental Congress had he not come up with a best-selling book that allowed him, eventually, to retire. Franklin was a key independence advocate in a conservative state that generally wanted to stay with Britain, his absence might have made history very different. A bit about Poor Richard's Almanack some passages which have some modern wisdom, and a bit about Franklin's early life.
Whipple
March 14, 2013 01:34 - 9.13 MBWilliam Whipple is not the best known signer. It is only in recent years that this son of New Hampshire is even getting a fitting marker for his grave. In this episode, he is honored for his military service, his strong belief in the American revolutionary cause, and his tree of liberty. He was an ambitious man, who at 23 commanded his own ship. And a complex man - a former slave runner who freed his own slave. Unlike his fellow state signer Bartlett, he's had no famous TV character nam...
Robert Treat Paine and Elbridge Gerry
January 06, 2013 18:41 - 30.5 MBHailing from the same state as Adams and Hancock doesn't help to get you noticed, or so it appears with these two Signers important in their time but less known now. One became a Federalist, the other a Republican, but they both were signers working on the same cause in 1776. We wrap up the Massachusetts signers with these two important, if upstaged, figures for the cause. One found his calling in the letters but would lose a key case to another signer, the other would end up being best ...
James Wilson, John Dickinson and The Radical Baristas
November 09, 2012 23:17 - 18.9 MBJames Wilson is often seen as the swing vote on independence. Without his vote, and John Morton's Pennsylvania would have went against Independence, severing the union of states needed to take on British rule. Yet there were really four swing votes, as we discuss. We also look at the radical coffee house dwellers who helped stir up a crowd, the military coup that played a role in Pennsylvania's vote. We also look at the Non-Signer John Dickinson and how despite his failure to sign the do...
Colonel Franklin, Boss Franklin, And The Iron Declaration Men: Ross, Taylor, Smith, Clymer, Morton
October 17, 2012 19:36 - 20.5 MBWe know Ben Franklin as a printer and a Founder - but what about his role as a military man? Short-lived, but it was probably what catapulted him to enough prominence to represent his colony in the Continental Congress and in London as America's representative prior to Independence. Pennsylvania is highlighted in this cast and we look at some other less-known Signers, including the ironmaster George Taylor and the militia man James Smith.
The Younger Jefferson, Wythe and Harrison
August 08, 2012 21:34 - 29.6 MBCould he be the most famous alternate in all of history? Thomas Jefferson was not on the first list to be a delegate to Philadelphia representing his state. But its good that he was, because John Adams and Doctor Franklin found him to be the best writer for the independence document. But that's something that seems to have occured to this young man throughout his life - he met the right people. We know so much about what happened to Jefferson after he wrote 'In the course of human event...
Pop Stars and Docktors: Hopkinson, Witherspoon, Bartlett and Others
July 21, 2012 16:52 - 20.6 MBA pop musician of the 18th century was among the Signers Francis Hopkinson, a 'funny looking man' according to Adamas, was a lawyer but also a musician on the side indeed a master of American music. We discuss him, John Witherspoon the famous preacher and college President, and two doctors Josiah Bartlett (now more famous due to the TV show The West Wing, and Matthew Thornton, whose fame mostly resides in New Hampshire.
John Hancock Manhandles England, Samuel and John Adams
July 07, 2012 00:46 - 25.4 MBHe's more than just a large signature. At the John Hancock was seen as the utmost revolutionary, probably the one most in 1776 thought would have been remembered in history as the Foremost Patriot Yet we seem to only remember John Hancock for his signature.We talk about Hancock, and his first physical confrontation with England. Also, Samuel Adams writes a revolutionary college thesis and makes beer and newspapers. While his cousin John moves from moderate, to fervent patriot, to diplo...
Why Did the Signers Wear Wigs? Roger Sherman, Benjamin Rush and Others
July 04, 2012 03:57 - 36.9 MBIt's a style
The Fifth and Market Moment and the False Thaw
July 03, 2012 12:21 - 18.2 MBA bit about the events that would cause two Signers and friends, Thomas Jefferson and John Adams, to stop talking. And stop writing. and the event that almost broke the silence.
July 4th, 1776. Or July 2nd?
June 29, 2012 21:35Though the vote for independence occurred on July 2nd, we celebrate the day of printing and publication. we look at the claim of both days and the role of the state that didn't vote on July 2nd: New York. And we take a look at its delegates: Philip Livingston, William Floyd, Francis Lewis and Lewis Morris, who eventually signed the Declaration and suffered loss of property when the British took New York.
Caesar Rodney's Ride, George Read's Refusal and that Precedent-Setting Frenchman
June 22, 2012 14:03 - 21 MBA legendary ride is brought to dramatic life in this episode, as we discuss the Delaware delegation and the last-minute vote that switched Delaware from reconciliation to independence. We also go to England to look at some precedents for the Declaration including the famous "Great Letter" of King John.
The Man in the Cave and Other Stories
June 15, 2012 01:56Who were the people who signed the document Americans celebrate on July 4th? A small part of that question is answered in this episode. An introduction to the Declaration of Independence, its importance in American history and the history of the American Revolution, makes up the bulk of this first podcast episode. Facts that many Americans would get wrong (though not a sizable amount of history buffs). Did we need a Declaration to have independence? When was it written? When was it app...