Every July much is said by eloquent writers, philosophers, political leaders, commentators, think tanks, and—thanks to blogs and social media—Americans everywhere, about the Declaration of Independence, the meaning of the American Experiment, the blessings of liberty, and the price of freedom. Independence Day is certainly a moment to be grateful for what we have as Americans and to remember the gifts many sacrificed so much to leave us.
But here is the brief testament of Charles Carroll, when he knew he was the last living signer of the Declaration. The wealthiest man in the Colonies in 1776, Charles Carroll risked much in committing himself to the cause of independence and remained first in patriotism to the end of his life. Fifty years after July 4, 1776, he wrote these words on a copy of the Declaration of Independence. He wrote in the style of a man educated in the eighteenth century, but behind the formality is a stark humility and a simple message intended for us…..
“Grateful to Almighty God for the blessing which, through Jesus Christ our Lord, he has conferred upon my beloved country, in her emancipation, and upon myself, in permitting me, under circumstances of mercy, to live to the age of 89 years and to survive the fiftieth year of American Independence, and certifying by my present signature my approbation of the Declaration of Independence adopted by Congress on the fourth day of July, in the year of our Lord, one thousand seven hundred and seventy-six,…and of which I am now the last surviving signer, I do hereby recommend to the present and future generations the principles of that important document as the best earthly inheritance their ancestors could bequeath to them, and pray that the civil and religious liberties they have secured to my country may be perpetuated to the remotest posterity and extended to the whole family of man.”
