There were 56 signers to the Declaration of Independence. The youngest was Edward Rutledge from South Carolina at 26 years old. The oldest was Benjamin Franklin at 70 years old. 

Only a handful signed both the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution; they include: Benjamin Franklin, George Read, Roger Sherman, Robert Morris, George Clymer, and James Wilson. 

They were men of means and well educated. They had security, but valued liberty more and risked everything for it. About half were lawyers or judges. The others were an assortment of merchants, shippers, doctors, ministers, politicians, and farmers and landowners. All but two had families.

By signing the Declaration, the men knew they were putting their lives and their families in jeopardy. Benjamin Franklin even quipped when putting his quill down, “We must indeed, all hang together, or most assuredly we shall hang separately.” One-third of the signers would go on to serve as militia officers during the war. Nine of the signers of the Declaration died before the American Revolution ended in 1783. None would rescind the pledge they made in the Declaration of Independence.