In their world, revolution was a risky business, and still is. Among some of the Latin peoples, revolution seems at times to be merely a dramatic technique to effect a change of administration. Not so with the Anglo-Saxons. You'd better think not just twice but several times before you set out to overthrow one of their governments by force. You may turn out to be a hero if you succeed, but you'd better succeed-for if you fail, you may very well be judged a traitor; and treason is punishable by death.
British ministries of that day were not notably compassionate toward persons who sought to disrupt their empire. From their point of view, and from that of the average Englishman of 1776, that group of men in Philadelphia were the opposite of patriots. They were traitors to the Crown, and if caught would he dealt with accordingly.
In the light of that situation, what shall we say of the "political opportunism" of John Adams? What shall we say of the thirty-three-year-old Jefferson who knew full well that he was not making an idle gesture when, with the others, he pledged his life, his fortune, and his sacred honor? And what now of the late-comers-the ones who were not in the Congress when the vote was taken, who didn't have to sign it, but who wanted their names to stand beside the others? Or, let's put it another way for emphasis:
Would you have signed it? Would I have signed it?
While we ponder those questions, let's ask ourselves a few others.
