The Signers of the Declaration of Independence Philadelphia, PA
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Josiah Bartlett (1729-1795)

A doctor, he was elected to the provincial legislature of New Hampshire in 1765 but tuned against the British when the Stamp Act was passed. He served as a member of the Continental Congress from 1774 to 1778, was appointed chief justice of his state's Cour of Common Pleas in 1779, and elected the first governor of New Hampshire in 1793 under the new federal Constitution.

Elected a member of the Continental Congress in 1776, he resigned from Congress in 1777, having been appointed a brigadier general of the New Hampshire Militia. He recruited and equipped troops, then led a brigade against Burgoyne and was serving under General Gates when Burgoyne was captured. He acted as a judge and federal commissioner from 1782 to 1785.

An advocate of colonists' rights from the middle of the century on, he was appointed a delegate to the Continental Congress in September 1776, and was allowed to sign the Declaration of Independence when he took his seat in November, four months after its publication. Thornton left Congress in 1778 and resumed his duties as a judge of the New Hampshire Superior Court. He resigned in 1782.

A symbol of open resistance to British rule even before the Boston Massacre of 1770, he became president of the Continental Congress in 1775 and released the Declaration of Independence July 4, 1776, his bold signature the only one on the document. The first elected governor of Massachusetts, Hancock was instrumental in getting his state to ratify the new U.S. Constitution in 1788.

Elected a member of the Provincial Assembly in 1773 and a member of the General Congress in 1774 to become attorney general of Massachusetts. He helped frame the state Constitution, adopted in 1780. Appointed a Supremem Court judge in 1790, he served in that capacity until he retired in 1804.

Active in Massachusetts politics, he was a member of the Provincial Congress at the time of the battle of Bunker Hill. Elected to the Continental Congress in 1776, he retired in 1780, was reelected in 1783, and retired again in 1785. He served as a U.S. congressman, 1789-1793, and as governor, 1810-1811. In 1811, he became vice president of the United States under James Madison and died in office.

A lawyer, he was chosen as a representative to the Provincial Assembly in 1770, the same year he successfully defended the British soldiers involved in the Boston Massacre. Elected to the first Continental Congress in 1774, in 1776 he helped draft the Declaration of Independence. Adams served two terms as vice president under George Washington, then was elected second President of the United States. He and Jefferson passed away the same day, July 4, 1826.

He began agitating for independence in 1763, and was elected to the General Assembly in 1765 and the Colonial Congress in 1766. A loud and visible spokesman for freedem, only he and John Hancock were excluded from the general pardon offered the rebellious patriots in 1775. Elected to the Continental Congress in 1774, he retured from Congress in 1781.

Elected governor of Rhode Island in 1756, he became an early opponent of the repressive British policies. In 1774, while chief justice of Rhode Island, he was elected to the Continental Congress. He served on the committee that drafted the Articles of Confederation in 1778. Opposed to slavery, he freed his own slaves in 1774.

A successful lawyer, Ellery so infuriated the British with his patriotic activities that they burned his home and destroyed most of his property when they took Newport. He served as a Rhode Island Supreme Court justice. After the U.S. Constitution was adopted in 1788, he was appointed collector for the port of Newport, and retained that position the rest of his life.

Self-educated, he became a lawyer and a judge. Politically active in Connecticut from 1755, he was elected to the Continental Congress in 1774. He was appointed to the committee to prepare a draft of the Declaration of Independence, and remained in Congress throughout the war. A delegate to the Constitutional Convention of 1787, he then served in the U.S. House and U.S. Senate.

Another self-taught lawyer, he was elected to the General Assembly of Connecticut in 1764, appointed a Supreme Court judge and a delegate to the Continental Congress in 1775, serving as president of Congress from 1779-1781. He became lieutenant governor of Connecticut in 1785 and governor in 1786. He died in office.

Williams held a seat in the Connecticut Assembly for 45 years and was elected to the General Congress in 1775. He fought in the Connecticut militia during the Revolutionary War and spent his own money to further the war effort. He retired from politics in 1804.

A delegate to the second General Congress in 1775, he returned to Connecticut after signing the Declaration and took command of 14 militia regiments. He served throughout the Revolutionary War, recruiting and leading troops as needed. He helped General Gates defeat Burgoyne at Saratoga in 1777, successfully defended the southwestern coast of Connecticut in 1779, and remeined militarily active until 1783. He was lieutenant governor of Connecticut and later elected Governor.

First elected to Congress in 1774, he was also commander of the milita of Suffolk County in New York. British troops occupied his mansion and estate for seven years while he served in federal Congress and in the state senate. He continued in various public offices until his death.

Began a public career as alderman of the East Ward of New York City in 1754. Elected to the first Continental Congress in 1774 and the first New York Senate in 1777. He died in 1778 while in office.

A wealthy merchant, he was elected to the first Continental Congress in 1775.

Benjamin Franklin

See more about Benjamin Franklin at the Independence (Philidelphia) page.

Thomas Jefferson

See more about Thomas Jefferson at the Colonial Williamsburg page.