It’s sadly ironic that most of us can name three cartoon characters but not the three North Carolina signers of the Declaration of Independence.
I like to think of myself as a historian and I’d struggle to come up with Joseph Hewes, William Hooper, and John Penn.
Let it be noted that back in 1776, the group of men we call Founding Fathers were considered by many to be traitors, and had their efforts failed, would probably be deemed today as not much better than terrorists. It was no sure thing they were undertaking, the organization of a country against the wishes of a major world power.
Now for the Rest of the Story (with apologies to Paul Harvey) …
None of the three North Carolina signers were natives, and not one of them earned celebrity — as a matter of fact, their political doings probably drove each of them to an early grave.
Joseph Hewes was a native of New Jersey and played a key role in getting the Declaration passed. As a matter of fact, John Adams wrote to Thomas Jefferson after the fact that “… and you know that the unanimity of the States finally depended upon the vote of Joseph Hewes, and was finally determined by him.”
Hewes was raised a Quaker, and after a business apprenticeship in Philadelphia, moved to Edenton to open his own business. His political career began in 1766 as a borough member of the Provincial Assembly, and he was one of North Carolina’s three representatives in the First Congress in 1774. His beliefs in Independence ran against his livelihood, which was a shipping business exclusively tied to British commerce.
When it came time to approve the Declaration, the colonial vote came down to a 6-6 tie, without North Carolina. Hewes was the only North Carolina delegate as Penn and Hooper had gone home for the Provincial Congress.
Initially opposed, Hewes changed his vote and helped make history. He then devoted himself to committee work and even spent his own money to help supply the army. He died in Philadelphia in 1779, years before seeing the reward of his sacrifice.
William Hooper, a lawyer, moved to Wilmington from Boston in 1764. He married into a prominent local family three years later.
Hooper was somewhat of a reluctant Patriot, siding with the Crown on several issues, and with most of his in-laws and friends who had a Loyalist bent. However, when state courts were shut down for a year because of action by the legislature, it hit his pocketbook. He was sent to the First Congress in 1774.
His three year stay in Congress depleted his fortune, and he returned home. However, the British began a search for him. He sent his family away and went on the run, eventually contracting malaria. His property was destroyed, and by the end of the war, he was sick and broke. He died in 1790.
Virginian John Penn inherited a comfortable estate when he was 18, but his father did not believe in education, and could barely sign his name. He went to see his noted and distinguished relative Edmund Pendleton, who agreed to help in his education.
Within a few years, he was practicing law and joined several of his friends in moving to North Carolina, specifically, Granville County. In 1775 he was sent to the Continental Congress. His service in Congress was noteworthy, but costly — while away, his practice dissolved as did his income.
When the British moved into the state in 1780, Penn was appointed to the Board of War. This naturally made him a target, and at the time British General Cornwallis was urging Tories to rise up and frighten colonists into turning back to the Crown.
Penn and the Board of War worked hard to provide a defense, which culminated in the Battle of Kings Mountain in 1780 — a disaster for the British, which helped them determine to leave North Carolina.
After this crisis, Penn returned home, but was never able to regain his pre-war status. He died in obscurity in 1788.
What’s worth noting is the sacrifice of these men wasn’t necessarily something they set out to make, it was merely a consequence of their doing what they believed to be the right thing.
This in itself is how America came to be shaped as it was.
Source:
Fehrenbach, T.R. Greatness to Spare