At one time or another, all of us at some point, have probably signed a petition. It might have been to get someone on an election ballot or showing our support for a cause or protest against one issue or another. But none of us have ever bore the heavyweight of a pen in the hand as much as the original signers of the Declaration of Independence. This event that we celebrate with fireworks and picnics and fun was no picnic for those men meeting at the Pennsylvania State House in Philadelphia in the hot summer of 1776. Rather, it was a decision that they knew could cost them their lives.

The signers understood that what they were doing was considered treason to the mother country, Great Britain. A British law book in 1765 described the punishment for high treason; the traitor would be hanged by the neck, then cut down alive, that his entrails can be taken out and burned while the traitor was still alive, then his head be cut off, and finally, his body be quartered into four parts, to be at the king’s disposal. And yes, this was done in England as late as 1782.

Now, it is true that none of the fifty-six signatories suffered such a horrible fate, but had the war for independence been lost, this could have happened to them. But, during the war, the signers of the Declaration had, in essence, put targets on their backs as the enemy singled them out relentlessly. It would take a long chapter to go into all the sufferings, but here are some examples:

Francis Lewis from New York had his property looted and destroyed, and his wife, Annesley Lewis, was taken prisoner by British soldiers. She was imprisoned for months in a single room without any furniture, having to sleep on the floor, and without a change of clothes. She was released in a wife swap but never recovered from the trauma and died two years later.

Richard Stockton from New Jersey had to keep moving his family around but finally was betrayed by some local Tories who dragged him from his bed in the middle of the night and turned him over to the British army. He was imprisoned and starved — also never fully recovering, dying in 1781 at the age of 51.

Three of the four signers from South Carolina, Edward Rutledge, Arthur Middleton, and Thomas Heyward Jr., were all taken prisoner by the British. Middleton fared the worst, completely losing a sizable fortune from the destruction of his home and possessions.

Thomas McKean from Delaware seemed a particularly popular target for the British army. At one point, McKean moved his family five times in three months to elude capture.

John Hancock was a thorn in the side of Britain even before the Constitutional Convention in 1776. Earlier, a decree had been delivered from England offering a large reward for the capture of several leading figures, John Hancock being one of them. There is a popular legend that he signed his name bigger than everyone else’s so that the “fat old King could read it without his spectacles.” But the truth of the matter was that as president of the Continental Congress, he was the first to sign the document, and protocol stated that his signature was to be centered below the text of the document.

Those fateful, faithful fifty-six patriots were farmers, lawyers, merchants, and businessmen who met together representing their fellow colonial citizens to debate and decide how to move forward as a united people. It came down to signing a document that opened with, “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness” and closed with the words; “And for the support of this Declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes, and our sacred Honor.”

These men understood how high the stakes were for both success and failure, even calling on the Almighty for protection. And to a person fully aware of the cost — they signed that document which became known as the Declaration of Independence. This is the founding document of our country — this is why we celebrate the Fourth of July. Let’s pause and appreciate the sacrifice of so many that gave birth to our great nation.