On July 4^th, our nation celebrates the signing of the Declaration of Independence.  Fifty-six men signed this document.  They pledged, “for the support of this Declaration, with firm reliance on the protection of the Divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other, our lives, our fortunes, and our sacred honor.”  Many of them did end up sacrificing everything, including their lives.  The British charged some with treason.  Of those that survived, many witnessed their homes and livelihood destroyed.  I would like to take this opportunity to pass along some information about one of the courageous, devout and less commonly known about men who signed the Declaration of Independence, Roger Sherman.

Our country’s second President, John Adams, described Roger Sherman this way:  “…an old Puritan, as honest as an angel and as firm in the cause of American Independence as Mount Atlas.”

Roger Sherman was born in Massachusetts in 1721.  In 1741 his father died, at which time he undertook the care of the family.  Up to this time, he had worked as a cobbler (shoemaker), but then took charge of the small farm his father had left.  Selling the farm in 1744, the family moved to Connecticut and he carried on as a cobbler for a while.

Sherman was self-educated.  While working, he read a great deal and gained a good knowledge of mathematics and astronomy.  He began to study law after he and one of his brothers started a mercantile business.  In 1754 he was admitted to the bar.

Because of his zeal for the Patriot cause, he was elected to the Connecticut Continental Congress and was appointed one of the committee members to prepare a draft of the Declaration of Independence.

This is just one of the 56 men who signed the Declaration of Independence.  We know by the writings that they have left behind that they believed in one God and His guiding hand in the events of the day.  They also believed that it was from Him that we derive our rights, not government. 

He died in 1793 and his tombstone reads:  “…He ever adorned the profession of Christianity which he made in his youth; and, distinguished through life for public usefulness, died in the prospect of a blessed immortality.”  Lewis Boutell, a Sherman biographer, says his religious writings “display the same acuteness and good sense which characterized his political writings and speeches.  They also show a great familiarity with the Bible, of which he was a constant student.”

Enjoy the holiday, Independence Day, and remember that the freedoms we enjoy were bought and paid for by those who came before us.

That’s my perspective.