In 1776, fifty-six Americans signed a simple document which unalterably changed the course of this country. Most know of the importance of the Declaration of Independence, but few know much about its Signers.

This book (originally published in 1848 by eminent 19 th -century historian, Benson J. Lossing) provides a brief biography of each signer of the Declaration.

Accompanied by fifty engravings, these biographies shed light on what Lossing terms, "the chief events in the lives of the men who stood sponsors at the baptism in blood of our infant republic."

Through this book - long used in American schools - we, too, can discover the private and public virtues of those venerated Americans who helped create the most stable and enviable nation in the world.