David Barton joins Jenny Beth Martin for a special July 4 conversation on the 56 signers of the Declaration of Independence — the men most Americans can no longer name, and the extraordinary price they paid for freedom as the nation approaches its 250th anniversary. David Barton is the founder of WallBuilders, a national organization devoted to America's forgotten history and its moral, religious, and constitutional heritage. He has assembled one of the largest private collections of original founding-era documents in the country, and his new book with his son Tim Barton, "Lives, Fortunes, and Sacred Honor: The Signers of the Declaration," tells the story of all 56 men who signed. In this episode, Barton unpacks what that famous pledge actually cost: seven signers did not live to see independence, more than half lost their fortunes and were never repaid, yet not one ever took back his word. He explains why July 2 is the true Independence Day, why capture by the British was three times deadlier than the battlefield, how a divided Congress nearly failed to declare independence at all, and where the founders truly got their ideas. Along the way he makes the case for classical education, for teaching Americans to think rather than merely memorize, and for getting involved before it is too late. It is history told as a living inheritance — and a challenge for the next 250 years. Learn more at teapartypatriots.org and jennybethshow.com.
David Barton is the founder of WallBuilders and one of the nation's foremost collectors of original founding-era documents. Through decades of research he has built one of the largest private collections of founding-era papers in America and become a trusted resource for lawmakers, educators, and citizens on America's founding principles.
His new book, "Lives, Fortunes, and Sacred Honor: The Signers of the Declaration," co-authored with his son Tim Barton, tells the remarkable stories of all 56 signers of the Declaration of Independence — their courage, their convictions, and the very real cost many of them paid.
Key topics:
Timestamps:
00:00 — Welcome and why this July 4 special matters
01:43 — Why July 2 is the real Independence Day
02:58 — Why reaching 250 years is historically rare
06:36 — A rising patriotism, especially among Gen Z
07:54 — Can you name five signers? Why we forgot them
10:11 — Lives, Fortunes, and Sacred Honor: the six principles of the Declaration
12:28 — God-given rights versus government-granted rights
19:20 — Inside WallBuilders: documents from all 56 signers
21:09 — Restoring the monuments and the forgotten patriots
23:11 — The brutal cost: why capture was deadlier than combat
25:25 — By contrast: how America treated its British prisoners
28:45 — Debtors' prison and the founders who lost everything
29:48 — Independence was not inevitable: a divided Congress
31:47 — The 80-mile midnight ride that saved a vote
33:01 — From the founders' debate to today's Senate
34:45 — How 1920s schooling replaced thinking with memorizing
40:54 — Where the founders got their ideas: the Bible, Montesquieu, Blackstone, Locke
45:16 — What classical education really means
48:44 — Thinking in the age of AI
52:39 — 91% of immigrants pass the civics test; only 4% of students do
57:04 — What every American should do now
59:52 — Barton's favorite story: Paul Revere's real ride and the Battle of Lexington
01:02:50 — Closing and the Constitution training series
Learn more at teapartypatriots.org and jennybethshow.com.