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re: If the Declaration of Independence had been signed in 2026 instead of 1776...
Posted on 5/31/26 at 11:19 am to lepdagod
Posted on 5/31/26 at 11:19 am to lepdagod
quote:
Not really…life expectancy was probably early 50’s…it’s just nowadays politicians are retirement age
That’s a lazy way to dismiss their significance.
Here’s a hint: Life expectancy was dragged down by childhood mortality. A man who made it to adulthood could often live well beyond 50. So no, a 30-something year old in 1776 wasn’t basically today’s 70-year-old.
The point is these men had families, careers, property, and futures to lose, and still signed something that could’ve gotten them hanged for treason. That’s a level of courage and sacrifice I’m not sure you’re capable of understanding considering your post.
This post was edited on 5/31/26 at 11:35 am
2
Posted on 5/31/26 at 11:54 am to Klark Kent
quote:
That’s a lazy way to dismiss their significance.
What part of the post is dismissive and what part of my post is false?? You reaching to make a point about something I’ve never contested
Posted on 5/31/26 at 11:58 am to RollTide1987
The average Declaration of Independence signer was born in 1732.
If we signed the Declaration of Independence today, the signers would have the exact same birth year that the signers did in 1776. We’d still be selecting signers who had an average birth year of 1732.
Have you looked at the last 2 presidents? They were both born in about 1732.
If we signed the Declaration of Independence today, the signers would have the exact same birth year that the signers did in 1776. We’d still be selecting signers who had an average birth year of 1732.
Have you looked at the last 2 presidents? They were both born in about 1732.
This post was edited on 5/31/26 at 12:06 pm
Posted on 5/31/26 at 12:03 pm to lepdagod
The dismissive part was “not really,” as if their age wasn’t worth noting. it is.
I’m not saying your post was completely false. I’m saying “life expectancy was early 50s” doesn’t really answer the point. That number is heavily skewed by childhood mortality.
Posted on 5/31/26 at 12:09 pm to Klark Kent
That kind of half true. The life expectancy increase before the 1950s was due mainly to decreased infant mortality. However, the life expectancy increase since the 1950s has been mainly due to adults living to older and older ages.
Posted on 5/31/26 at 12:10 pm to UFFan
quote:
Have you looked at the last 2 presidents? They were both born in about 1732.
to be fair: the alternative was a brain-dead Indian/African-American/whatever was the most convenient on the day, progressive, who whored her way into relevancy.
This post was edited on 5/31/26 at 12:22 pm
Posted on 5/31/26 at 12:11 pm to Pepe Lepew
quote:
No one today can write cursive
Do you seriously believe that the majority of birthdates listed in that image can’t write in cursive?
Posted on 5/31/26 at 12:12 pm to UFFan
Sure, but that still doesn’t really counter the original point.
Nobody is arguing a 35-year-old in 1776 had the same remaining lifespan or medical outlook as a 35-year-old today. The point is that they were still relatively young men taking an enormous personal risk.
People act like the Founders were all gray-haired elderly statesmen when many were closer to ambitious young professionals with families and careers on the line.
Nobody is arguing a 35-year-old in 1776 had the same remaining lifespan or medical outlook as a 35-year-old today. The point is that they were still relatively young men taking an enormous personal risk.
People act like the Founders were all gray-haired elderly statesmen when many were closer to ambitious young professionals with families and careers on the line.
Posted on 5/31/26 at 12:14 pm to Klark Kent
quote:
The dismissive part was “not really,” as if their age wasn’t worth noting. it is.
Wasn’t dismissive… the “not really” is in context to the times… they aren’t considered “young men” as in what’s considered young today… hence the reason so many are around the same age at the signing… there aren’t that many 50, 60, and 70 year old men around at the time regardless of child mortality rates …
Posted on 5/31/26 at 12:18 pm to lepdagod
sure sure, i’ll take you on face value.
The observation was that many of the men who founded the country and signed the Declaration were in their 20s and 30s, which surprises people because modern Americans picture the Founders as elderly powdered-wig politicians.
Also, there absolutely were plenty of men living into their 50s, 60s, and beyond in that era if they reached adulthood. Adams lived to 90. Jefferson 83. Franklin 84. Washington made 67 despite 18th century medicine trying to kill him every other week. So let’s move on from that side of the debate.
The observation was that many of the men who founded the country and signed the Declaration were in their 20s and 30s, which surprises people because modern Americans picture the Founders as elderly powdered-wig politicians.
Also, there absolutely were plenty of men living into their 50s, 60s, and beyond in that era if they reached adulthood. Adams lived to 90. Jefferson 83. Franklin 84. Washington made 67 despite 18th century medicine trying to kill him every other week. So let’s move on from that side of the debate.
This post was edited on 5/31/26 at 12:21 pm
Posted on 5/31/26 at 1:15 pm to Klark Kent
quote:
Also, there absolutely were plenty of men living into their 50s, 60s, and beyond in that era if they reached adulthood. Adams lived to 90. Jefferson 83. Franklin 84. Washington made 67 despite 18th century medicine trying to kill him every other week. So let’s move on from that side of the debate.
I get your premise… and you right when viewed from a modern prospective… I’ll give a little pushback to “plenty of men living “ to an elderly age… giving the examples you cited are all “men of means” and in no way represent the working class or average citizen of the times… I stand by my statement that there aren’t relative to the population many men living 50+ and beyond in 1776…
Posted on 5/31/26 at 1:26 pm to lepdagod
fair. no argument there.
Posted on 5/31/26 at 1:33 pm to RollTide1987
God look at all those white Christian men.
We used to be a proper nation.
We used to be a proper nation.
Posted on 5/31/26 at 1:56 pm to RollTide1987
Posted on 5/31/26 at 2:11 pm to lepdagod
quote:
I’ll give a little pushback to “plenty of men living “ to an elderly age… giving the examples you cited are all “men of means” and in no way represent the working class or average citizen of the times… I stand by my statement that there aren’t relative to the population many men living 50+ and beyond in 1776…
Of course there were. If you survived childhood, you had a very good chance of living into your 60s and 70s (as a man.)
Childhood mortality was close to 50% in the mid 18th century. Maternal deaths were like 1 in 8 over a lifetime. But a young man in his 20s was probably, on average, much healthier than a 20 y/o today.
This notion that you were lucky to live past 50 is missing the big picture. You were lucky to live past 5. After that is was pretty much no different than today.
Posted on 5/31/26 at 4:32 pm to DownshiftAndFloorIt
quote:
The founding fathers should be idolized more than they are. They were true revolutionaries who risked it all. Its amazing to see how many of those men were in their 30's yet signed one of the most profound documents in world history.
And most were very wealthy prior to the revolutionary war and lost everything. Their fortune, homes, family killed. It’s a fact that isn’t covered enough imo, as these weren’t men who had nothing to lose. It takes a man of utmost character to risk all that for something he believes in
Posted on 5/31/26 at 6:23 pm to deltaland
quote:
most were very wealthy prior to the revolutionary war and lost everything. Their fortune, homes, family killed. It’s a fact that isn’t covered enough imo
Agreed. They must have been men of tremendous character and conviction
Posted on 5/31/26 at 6:41 pm to deltaland
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