Historian David Barton, founder of WallBuilders, joins Jenny Beth Martin to explain what the closing pledge of the Declaration of Independence truly cost the men who signed it. Most Americans, asked to name the signers, can come up with only Jefferson and Franklin — but there were 56 of them, and their stories are extraordinary. Barton walks through what the pledge actually meant. Of the 56, seven never lived to see independence. More than half lost their fortunes and were never repaid by the government they helped create. Yet Barton says there is not a single documented case of any signer compromising his sacred honor, backing off his pledge, or renouncing his signature — even the ones who ended up in debtors' prison for money they had spent on the cause.
He also shares the human side of these men: one signer was killed not by the British but by a fellow American, and two from Maryland spent their careers passing legislation to cancel each other out before uniting for liberty. They were, Barton says, ordinary people who counted the cost in advance and paid it anyway. It is the heart of his new book with his son Tim Barton, "Lives, Fortunes, and Sacred Honor: The Signers of the Declaration."
Get the book and more at wallbuilders.com. Watch more at jennybethshow.com, and learn about Tea Party Patriots Action at teapartypatriots.org.
00:00 — The Men America Forgot
01:41 — What "Lives, Fortunes, and Sacred Honor" Meant
02:52 — The Six Principles of the Declaration
03:24 — Seven Died, Half Lost Everything, None Backed Down
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