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Episode Description
If you ask Americans to name the signers of the Declaration of Independence, they will probably mention John Hancock, Thomas Jefferson, Benjamin Franklin, and John Adams. But what about the other 52 delegates from the 13 colonies who signed the document? Men like Thomas McKean, Lyman Hall, George Walton, Francis Lewis, Benjamin Rush, and Roger Sherman? Historian Carol Berkin, one of the nation's leading scholars of the founding era and the author of the National Constitution Center's definitive short biographies of all 56 signers, joins the Center to explore the stories of these lesser-known signers. Berkin reveals these figures not as distant icons, but as real people whose lives were marked by ambition, sacrifice, hardship, resilience, and public service. As America celebrates its 250th anniversary, Berkin explains why understanding the full cast of characters behind American independence can deepen our appreciation of the nation’s founding and the ongoing work of constitutional self-government. Julie Silverbrook, chief content and learning officer at the National Constitution Center, moderates.
Resources
- Josiah Bartlett (New Hampshire), National Constitution Center
- Elbridge Gerry (Massachusetts), National Constitution Center
- Button Gwinnett (Georgia), National Constitution Center
- Lyman Hall (Georgia), National Constitution Center
- Francis Lewis (New York), National Constitution Center
- Thomas McKean (Delaware), National Constitution Center
- Robert Morris, Jr. (Pennsylvania), National Constitution Center
- Benjamin Rush (Pennsylvania), National Constitution Center
- Roger Sherman (Connecticut), National Constitution Center
- Richard Stockton (New Jersey), National Constitution Center
- George Walton (Georgia), National Constitution Center
- Biographies of all the Declaration’s Signers, National Constitution Center
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