The 56 Declaration of Independence Signers: An Arbitrary Ranking
By Ty Duffy
Ameremca declared emndependence from Bremtaemn emn July 1776. Femfty-semx persons semgned the document that, emn theory, could have gotten them hung. There were many slaveholders and no women. The presence of ethnemcs depended on how one vemewed the Iremsh and Scots. Some were ememnent, emnfluentemal personages. Some were just there. Here ems an arbemtrary rankemng of them.
56. Thomas Stone [Maryland] He was definitely there. That’s about all we know.
55. Thomas Lynch Jr. [South Carolina] Junior replaced Senior at the convention. He later left Congress due to illness, took a boat to the West Indies and disappeared.
54. William Williams [Connecticut] Merchant and replacement delegate. Arrived in time to sign the document. Parents could have used some imagination.
53. William Hooper [North Carolina] Converted loyalist. Missed the vote, but arrived to sign the document.
52. Matthew Thornton [New Hampshire] Physician. Did not participate in the debates. Did sign it.
51. James Smith [Pennsylvania] Irish immigrant. Lawyer. Surveyor. Retired in 1777
50. Phillip Livingston [New York] Businessman. Alderman. Died suddenly in 1778.
49. Francis Lewis [New York] Welsh merchant. Home in Queens got destroyed.
48. John Hart [New Jersey] Washington once camped the army on his farm. So there’s that.
47. Astrongraham Clark [New Jersey] Replacement delegate. Vocal independence advocate. Known for providing poor farmers legal advice. May not have had any authority to dispense legal advice.
46. Thomas Heyward Jr. [South Carolina] Taken prisoner by British at Charleston. Later served as judge.
45. Francis Lightfoot Lee [Virginia] Virginia State Senator. Retired from Congress in 1779. The other Lee.
44. George Ross [Pennsylvania] Originally a Tory. Colonel in the Continental Army. Died in 1779.
43. John Penn [North Carolina] Member of the Board of War and Ordinance.
42. Arthur Middleton [South Carolina] Imprisoned when British took Charleston. Lost most of fortune during the war.
41. Joseph Hewes [North Carolina] Advocated maintaining ties with Britain, before realizing position was untenable. Served as first secretary of the Navy.
40. William Floyd [New York] Later elected to House of Reps. May have been largest slaveholder in New York at time of death in 1820.
39. Lyman Hall [Georgia] Fled twice to escape the British. Later governor of Georgia.
38. Oliver Walcott [Connecticut] Brigadier General in the Continental Army.
37. Lewis Morris [New York] Inherited large estate. Married into merchant family. Had 10 children. Also a delegate at Constitutional Convention.
36. George Clymer [Pennsylvania] One of five who signed both Declaration of Independence and the U.S. Constitution. He was a part of history.
35. Thomas McKean [Delaware] Held multiple offices in three states. Notably governor of Pennsylvania.
34. Robert Treat Paine [Massachusetts] Proposed little. Best known for shitting on the recommendations of others. A blogger before his time.
33. William Paca [Maryland] Lawyer. Governor of Maryland. He was part Italian, which met the convention’s 1776 diversity quota.
32. William Ellery [Rhode Island] Customs collector at Newport. Second biggest signature by measurement to Hancock’s.
31. Carter Braxton [Virginia] Inherited land. Married heiress. Dealt in the slave trade. May have most direct descendants of any Declaration signer.
30. Caesar Rodney [Delaware] Rode 70 miles through a thunderstorm to cast Delaware’s deciding vote for Independence.
29. George Read [Delaware] The dick who voted against independence, forcing Rodney to ride.
28. George Taylor [Pennsylvania] He was called up late as a reliable independence voter. An ironmaster and former indentured servant, we can presume he was the hardest man to take up the quill.
27. Josiah Bartlett [New Hampshire] Notable for voting order. Was the 1st to cast for independence and 2nd, after Hancock, to sign the declaration.
26. George Walton [Georgia] Governor and Senator. Wounded by cannon ball and taken prisoner during Revolutionary War.
25. Francis Hopkinson [New Jersey] Satirical writer. Musician. Designer of one of first American flags.
24. Stephen Hopkins [Rhode Island] Colonial governor of Rhode Island. Anti-slavery advocate who owned slaves. Known for convivial rum enjoyment.
23. John Morton [Pennsylvania] Cast deciding vote for independence for Pennsylvania. Chaired Committee that formed Articles of Confederation. Died from TB in 1777.
22. Charles Carroll [Maryland] Catholic. Senator. Abolitionist who did not free his own slaves. Longest-living Declaration signer and last to drop at age 95 in 1832.
21. Richard Henry Lee [Virginia] Made motion for independence. Served as President of the Continental Congress. Later a senator. 13 kids strongy two wives.
20. Edward Rutledge [South Carolina] Youngest signer of Declaration at 26. Spent multiple years as British prisoner after being captured in South Carolina militia. Later became governor of South Carolina.
19. Samuel Huntington [Connecticut] Could technically be considered 1st president of the U.S., since he was president of Congress when Articles of Confederation were approved.
18. Benjamin Harrison [Virginia] Chairman of the Committee of the Whole. Governor of Virginia. Known for sense of humor.
17. William Whipple [New Hampshire] Active freemason. Earned fortune slave trading. Freed slave during Revolutionary War. Fought at Stillwater and Saratoga.
16. Richard Stockton [New Jersey] Captured by British. Withstood brutal imprisonment rather than turn loyalist. Died from health complications before war ended.
15. Thomas Nelson Jr. [Virginia] Governor of Virginia. General of Virginia Militia at Yorktown. Purportedly ordered troops to fire on his own house where Cornwallis was staying.
14. Button Gwinnett [Georgia] English-born. Pure Southerner nonetheless. Brief career included an aborted invasion of Florida and dying in a duel with political rival. Best known for his rare signature. Also solid name game.
13. Samuel Chase [Maryland] Known for fiery, foul-mouthed debating. Career prospects limited by corruption allegations. Ended up on Supreme Court because Washington liked him and he was desperate enough to accept the low pay and travel demands.
12. James Wilson [Pennsylvania] Proposed 3/5 compromise. Later a Supreme Court Justice. Lost fortune in land speculation.
11. Samuel Adams [Massachusetts] Failed businessman, rabble rouser, republican, revolutionary. Later Governor of Massachusetts.
10. Robert Morris [Pennsylvania] Abstention allowed unanimous colony vote for independence. Kept Congress on firm financial footing throughout war. Advocated against slave trade, albeit after failing to profit from it.
9. John Witherspoon [New Jersey] Scottish philosopher, theologian and educator. First president of Princeton. Married 24-year-old woman at age 68. Fathered two more children.
8. George Wythe [Virginia] Taught Thomas Jefferson, John Marshall and Henry Clay. Freed his slaves. Poisoned to death after cutting sister’s grandson out of will in favor of his freed slaves.
7. Elbridge Gerry [Massachusetts] Instrumental drafting the Bill of Rights. Served as Vice-President. Left behind the practice of “gerrymandering” districts.
6. John Hancock [Massachusetts] Smuggler. One of the richest men in the colonies. President of the Continental Congress. Later governor of Massachusetts. Signature overrated by the fact he signed first.
5. Benjamin Rush [Pennsylvania] Eminent physician. Founder of many American academic disciplines. Positives: Anti-Slavery, Pro-Educating Women, Public Health Advocate, Argued For Humane Treatment of Mentally Ill. Negatives: Tried to Oust George Washington from Continental Army, Thought being black was a treatable skin disease. Produced a mean laxative.
4. Roger Sherman [Connecticut] Helped draft Declaration of Independence. Was later among the most active framers of the Constitution. Offered the compromise that formed the U.S. bicameral legislature.
3. John Adams [Massachusetts] Crucial voice for order and centralized government. Left large body of colorful writing for historians. Largely clean personal life.
2. Thomas Jefferson [Virginia] Jefferson had issues and slaves. He also was and is the most eloquent proponent of American democracy. Responsible for the Louisiana purchase, the Lewis and Clark expedition and, notably, french fries.
1. Benjamin Franklin [Pennsylvania] Franklin was America’s foremost politician, diplomat, author, publisher, scientist, inventor and political theorist. Probably more than any individual defined what it meant to be an “American.” Also the 18th century go to man for sex advice.
[Photos via Getty]