On the 50th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence, July 4, 1826, only three of its original signers were alive.
However, by nightfall, only one was living. Around noon, Thomas Jefferson died of a combination of old age ailments and, a few hours later, John Adams died of a heart attack. That left only Charles Carroll to mark America’s coming of age. In those 50 years, by 1826, the 13 colonies had grown to 24 states.
News of Jefferson’s and Adams’ passing did not reach the public until days later. So, the July 4, 1826, celebrations proceeded as planned. Most included the reading of the Declaration of Independence, speeches, the parading of Revolutionary War veterans, cannons firing, salutes and a community picnic. The current president, John Quincy Adams, participated in the July 4 celebration held in Washington, D.C.
The three living signers of the Declaration of Independence already noted and four living past U.S. presidents — Adams, Jefferson, Madison and Monroe — had been invited to participate in the festivities at the nation’s capital. All declined, sending letters of regret that were printed in the July 4, 1826, Daily National Journal.
In his masterful letter, Jefferson wrote he was delighted “that our fellow citizens, after half a century of experience and prosperity, continue to approve the choice we made. May it be to the world, what I believe it will be, (to some parts sooner, to others later, but finally to all.) the signal of arousing men to burst the chains, tinder which monkish ignorance and superstition had persuaded them to bind themselves, and to assume the blessings and security of self-government.”
If you were alive in 1826, you would have been one of 12 million Americans. In 1776, our population was 3 million. The first railroad in the United States, the Granite Railroad, made its debut in Quincy, Mass., and the Erie Canal was a year old. James Fenimore Cooper’s “The Last of the Mohicans” was published.
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