The wealthiest of wealthy men, of that age, in the States, willingly signed their names on paper, quill and ink on parchment, Come and Get Us, against the most dread of foes, the world's only super-power at the time. They may as well have included their SSN's and zip-codes, so the British could find their homes and seize their bank accounts even faster.
What laws were on the books that made them convicted felons? I am not following.
TREASON (British law definition of TREASON).
The signers names were hidden until 1777, then three signers from South Carolina JAILED.
Two other signers jailed.
That's five, but the rest were cautious and not seized by England.
https://www.pbs.org/newshour/show/founding-fathers-who-were-they-and-what-happened-to-them#transcript
Being arrested would have end result of prisoner exchange for the high status signers.
Thanks fren!
The wealthiest of wealthy men, of that age, in the States, willingly signed their names on paper, quill and ink on parchment, Come and Get Us, against the most dread of foes, the world's only super-power at the time. They may as well have included their SSN's and zip-codes, so the British could find their homes and seize their bank accounts even faster.
Their homes and lands were burned, their families persecuted, their business cancelled... Hard times