56 Signers Memorial

Chill out with the Founding Fathers

Constitution Gardens, including the Memorial to the 56 Signers of the Declaration of Independence, were dedicated for the US Bicentennial as a living homage to the founding of the republic. The memorial is nestled on a tiny island, reachable by wooden bridge. This mini oasis is a good spot to reflect on the actual people who risked livelihood, reputation, and even life to release the nascent country from the grips of King George III.

July 4, 1776 was the day the Declaration was adopted, not when voted on, nor when signed. The Committee of Five, Jefferson, Franklin, Adams, Sherman, and Livingston, were responsible for printing and circulating it to the 13 colonies. Overnight, 200 “Dunlap Broadsides” were printed in Philadelphia and dispatched on July 5. Only 26 originals remain intact today. The oldest signer, Benjamin Franklin, was 70, and the youngest, at 26, Edward Rutledge. Papers of the time were transported to different locations, and it appears that the writing in an unknown hand on the back of the Declaration was to identify it in a collection of rolled documents.

Hancock, of the conspicuous signature, was a smuggler of fine European goods. Sam Adams was a law school dropout. Franklin opened the first lending library. Jefferson was angry for life over the deletion of the anti-slavery paragraph. Gwinnett’s signature is the most valuable to collectors. Harrison’s son and great-grandson were later elected US Presidents. Rush published the first American chemistry book, and Hopkins co-built a telescope in 1769, used to track Venus’ path. Whipple was a sea captain by age 21, and Lynch was lost at sea at 30. Witherspoon was the only college President, and Middleton a world traveler. Two brothers Lee signed.

After Pearl Harbor, the Declaration and Constitution were moved from the National Archives to Fort Knox, where they remained until war’s end.

Address Constitution Avenue at 19th Street NW, Washington, DC 20245, www.nps.gov | Getting there Metro to Foggy Bottom-GWU (Blue, Orange, and Silver Line); bus 31, 32, 36 to Virginia Avenue & E Street NW; DC Circulator (National Mall Route) to Constitution Avenue at 18th Street NW | Hours Unrestricted | Tip The Lockkeeper’s House is the oldest structure on the Mall, a tiny 1835 stone house where the lockkeeper collected tolls, tended the Washington City Canal locks, and raised 13 children (Constitution Avenue NW and 17th Street NW, Washington, DC 20006, www.nps.gov/nr/travel/wash/dc34.htm).