Every year around independence day, someone will post the same little essay that asserts that the signers of the Declaration of Independence suffered terribly for their actions and never broke faith with the cause. It's been going around for decades (among many other persons, Rush Limbaugh"s Dad, Rush Limbaugh II, have been named as the author) and once when it was submitted by Jeff Jacoby to the Boston Globe with little editing and no attribution it got him suspended. (Jacoby did state where he got it on the online version of the paper.) The truth is a little more complicated. The signers of the Declaration sincerely believe that they were signing their death warrants in the event that America lost the Revolution. However, there is little evidence that the British made these men special targets solely for signing the document. They were however known rebels and for that reasons were targeted. Many lost significant wealth during the Revolution but few lost all or most of their wealth. Some, like Ben Franklin, even made money during the war.Also one signer, Richard Stockton, did sign an oath of allegiance to the King and three others probably gave paroles after capture. This is good little book though much of the information within it is easily available online. The breezy style is a little off putting and very much offensive when he makes light of one signer being devastated by the death of his wife. Denise Kiernan and Joseph D’Agnese wrote the book Signing Their Lives Away to inform people of all of the things that happened to the men who signed the Declaration of Independence. They wrote this so people can better understand American History. The theme of this book is bravery and strength. These themes can be seen in the men who signed the Declaration of Independence. Bravery was essential for these men because if they were not brave they would not have signed the Declaration. Strength can be seen because all the men who signed this document remained strong and did not break under the pressure from the British.This book was written in narration form. This is seen in the way the authors tell of what happened to each man. They tell every event in order of which they happened which is requirement, if a book is in narration form. I do not particularly like to read history books, so this book was not my favorite. Although I did not personally like the book, I thought it was very informative and I enjoyed how interesting it was to read and find out about these men’s lives. I disliked some parts of it because I do not enjoy History very much but there isn’t very much that I would change. Because of the fact that I do not read very many History books this book is not similar to any other book that I have read. I recommend this book to anyone who enjoys history or anyone who would like to learn more about the men who signed the Declaration of Independence.
What do You think about Signing Their Lives Away (2009)?
Great book on the lives of the signers of the Declaration of Independence
—jjonah45
As a fellow fan of 1776, Maureen you would enjoy this!
—anna
