Founding Fathers of the United States - Wikipedia Founding Fathers of the United States From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Jump to navigation Jump to search Group of Americans who led the revolution against Great Britain For the founding figures of other nations, see List of national founders. Declaration of Independence, an 1819 painting by John Trumbull depicting the Committee of Five presenting their draft to the Second Continental Congress on June 28, 1776[1] Signature page of the Treaty of Paris of 1783 that was negotiated on behalf of the United States by John Adams, Benjamin Franklin and John Jay A Committee of Five, composed of John Adams, Thomas Jefferson, Benjamin Franklin, Roger Sherman, and Robert Livingston, drafted and presented to the Continental Congress what became known as the U.S. Declaration of Independence of July 4, 1776. The Founding Fathers of the United States, or simply the Founding Fathers or Founders, were a group of American leaders who united the Thirteen Colonies, led the war for independence from Great Britain, and built a frame of government for the new United States of America upon republican principles during the latter decades of the 18th century. Historian Richard B. Morris in 1973 identified the following seven figures as key Founding Fathers: John Adams, Benjamin Franklin, Alexander Hamilton, John Jay, Thomas Jefferson, James Madison, and George Washington based on the critical and substantive roles they played in the formation of the country's new government.[2][3] Adams, Jefferson, and Franklin were members of the Committee of Five that drafted the Declaration of Independence. Hamilton, Madison, and Jay were authors of The Federalist Papers, advocating ratification of the Constitution. The constitutions drafted by Jay and Adams for their respective states of New York (1777) and Massachusetts (1780) were heavily relied upon when creating language for the U.S. Constitution.[4] Jay, Adams, and Franklin negotiated the Treaty of Paris (1783) that would end the American Revolutionary War.[5] Washington was Commander-in-Chief of the Continental Army and was president of the Constitutional Convention. All held additional important roles in the early government of the United States, with Washington, Adams, Jefferson, and Madison serving as president. Jay was the nation's first chief justice, Hamilton was the first Secretary of the Treasury, and Franklin was America's most senior diplomat, and later the governmental leader of Pennsylvania. The term Founding Fathers is sometimes more broadly used to refer to the Signers of the embossed version of the Declaration of Independence in 1776, although four significant founders – George Washington, John Jay, Alexander Hamilton, and James Madison – were not signers.[6] Signers is not to be confused with the term Framers; the Framers are defined by the National Archives as those 55 individuals who were appointed to be delegates to the 1787 Constitutional Convention and took part in drafting the proposed Constitution of the United States. Of the 55 Framers, only 39 were signers of the Constitution.[7][8] Two further groupings of Founding Fathers include: 1) those who signed the Continental Association, a trade ban and one of the colonists' first collective volleys protesting British control and the Intolerable Acts in 1774,[9] and 2) those who signed the Articles of Confederation, the first U.S. constitutional document.[10] The phrase Founding Fathers is a 20th-century appellation, coined by Warren G. Harding in 1916.[11] Contents 1 Background 2 Social background and commonalities 2.1 Education 2.1.1 Colleges attended 2.2 Advanced degrees and apprenticeships 2.2.1 Doctors of Medicine 2.2.2 Theology 2.2.3 Legal apprenticeships 2.2.4 Self-taught or little formal education 2.3 Demographics 2.4 Occupations 2.5 Finances 2.6 Prior political experience 2.7 Religion 2.8 Ownership of slaves and position on slavery 2.9 Attendance at conventions 2.10 Spouses and children 3 Signatories to founding documents 3.1 Post-constitution life 3.2 Youth and longevity 4 Other notable patriots of the period 5 Legacy 5.1 Institutions formed by Founders 5.2 Scholarship on the Founders 5.2.1 Historians who focus on the Founding Fathers 5.2.2 Noted collections of the Founding Fathers 5.3 In stage and film 5.4 Children's books 6 See also 7 References 8 Further reading 9 External links Background The Albany Congress of 1754 was a conference attended by seven colonies, which presaged later efforts at cooperation. The Stamp Act Congress of 1765 included representatives from nine colonies. The First Continental Congress met briefly in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in 1774, consisting of 56 delegates from all thirteen American colonies except Georgia. Among them was George Washington, who would soon be drawn out of military retirement to command the Continental Army during the American Revolutionary War. Also in attendance were Patrick Henry and John Adams, who, like all delegates, were elected by their respective colonial assemblies. Other delegates included Samuel Adams from Massachusetts, John Dickinson from Pennsylvania and New York's John Jay. This congress, in addition to formulating appeals to the British crown, established the Continental Association to administer boycott actions against Britain. When the Second Continental Congress convened on May 10, 1775, it essentially reconstituted the First Congress. Many of the same 56 delegates who attended the first meeting participated in the second.[12] New arrivals included Benjamin Franklin and Robert Morris of Pennsylvania, John Hancock of Massachusetts, John Witherspoon of New Jersey, and Charles Carroll of Carrollton of Maryland, who was named as a late delegate due to his being Roman Catholic. Hancock was elected Congress president two weeks into the session when Peyton Randolph was recalled to Virginia to preside over the House of Burgesses. Thomas Jefferson replaced Randolph in the Virginia congressional delegation.[13] The second Congress adopted the Declaration of Independence. Witherspoon was the only active clergyman to sign the Declaration. He also signed the Articles of Confederation and attended the New Jersey (1787) convention that ratified the Federal Constitution. The newly founded country of the United States had to create a new government to replace the British Parliament. The U.S. adopted the Articles of Confederation, a declaration that established a national government with a one-house legislature. Its ratification by all thirteen colonies gave the second Congress a new name: the Congress of the Confederation, which met from 1781 to 1789.[14] The Constitutional Convention took place during the summer of 1787, in Philadelphia.[15] Although the convention was called to revise the Articles of Confederation, the intention from the outset for some including James Madison and Alexander Hamilton was to create a new frame of government rather than amending the existing one. The delegates elected George Washington to preside over the convention. The result of the convention was the United States Constitution and the replacement of the Continental Congress with the United States Congress. Social background and commonalities Scene at the Signing of the Constitution of the United States, by Howard Chandler Christy (1940) George Washington served as president of the 1787 Constitutional Convention. Benjamin Franklin, an early advocate of colonial unity, was a foundational figure in defining the US ethos and exemplified the emerging nation's ideals. Robert R. Livingston, member of the Committee of Five that drafted the Declaration of Independence. Alexander Hamilton wrote the Federalist Papers with Jay and Madison. John Jay was president of the Continental Congress from 1778 to 1779 and negotiated the Treaty of Paris with Adams and Franklin. James Madison, called the "Father of the Constitution" by his contemporaries Peyton Randolph, as president of the Continental Congress, presided over creation of the Continental Association. Richard Henry Lee, who introduced the Lee Resolution in the Second Continental Congress calling for the colonies' independence from Great Britain John Hancock, president of the Continental Congress, renowned for his large and stylish signature on the United States Declaration of Independence John Dickinson authored the first draft of the Articles of Confederation in 1776 while serving in the Continental Congress as a delegate from Pennsylvania, and signed them late the following year, after being elected to Congress as a delegate from Delaware. Henry Laurens was president of the Continental Congress when the Articles were passed on November 15, 1777. Roger Sherman, a member of the Committee of Five, the only person who signed all four U.S. founding documents. Robert Morris, president of Pennsylvania's Committee of Safety and one of the founders of the financial system of the United States. The Founding Fathers represented a cross-section of 18th-century U.S. leadership. According to a study of the biographies by Caroline Robbins: The Signers came for the most part from an educated elite, were residents of older settlements, and belonged with a few exceptions to a moderately well-to-do class representing only a fraction of the population. Native or born overseas, they were of British stock and of the Protestant faith.[16][17] They were leaders in their communities; several were also prominent in national affairs. Virtually all participated in the American Revolution; at the Constitutional Convention at least 29 had served in the Continental Army, most of them in positions of command. Scholars have examined the collective biography of the Founders, including both the signers of the Declaration and of the Constitution.[18] Education Many of the Founding Fathers attended or graduated from the colonial colleges, most notably Columbia known at the time as "King's College", Princeton originally known as "The College of New Jersey", Harvard College, the College of William and Mary, Yale College and University of Pennsylvania. Some had previously been home schooled or obtained early instruction from private tutors or academies.[19] Others had studied abroad. Ironically, Benjamin Franklin who had little formal education himself would ultimately establish the College of Philadelphia (1755); "Penn" would have the first medical school (1765) in the thirteen colonies where another Founder, Benjamin Rush would eventually teach. With a limited number of professional schools established in the U.S., Founders also sought advanced degrees from traditional institutions in England and Scotland such as the University of Edinburgh, the University of St. Andrews, and the University of Glasgow. Colleges attended College of William and Mary: Thomas Jefferson, Benjamin Harrison V[20] Harvard College: John Adams, Samuel Adams, John Hancock and William Williams King's College (now Columbia): John Jay, Alexander Hamilton,[21] Gouverneur Morris, Robert R. Livingston and Egbert Benson.[22] College of New Jersey (now Princeton): James Madison, Gunning Bedford Jr., Aaron Burr, Benjamin Rush and William Paterson College of Philadelphia later merged into the University of Pennsylvania: eight (8) signers of the Declaration of Independence and twelve (12) signers of the U.S. Constitution[23] Yale College: Oliver Wolcott, Andrew Adams Queen's College (now Rutgers): James Schureman James Wilson attended the University of St. Andrews, the University of Glasgow,[24] Advanced degrees and apprenticeships Doctors of Medicine University of Edinburgh: Rush [25] University of Utrecht, Netherlands: Williamson Theology University of Edinburgh: Witherspoon (attended, no degree) University of St. Andrews: Witherspoon (honorary doctorate) Legal apprenticeships Several like John Jay, James Wilson, John Williams and George Wythe[26] were trained as lawyers through apprenticeships in the colonies while a few trained at the Inns of Court in London. Charles Carroll of Carrollton earned his law degree at Temple in London. Self-taught or little formal education Franklin, Washington, John Williams and Henry Wisner had little formal education and were largely self-taught or learned through apprenticeship. Demographics The great majority were born in the Thirteen Colonies. But at least nine were born in other parts of the British Empire: England: Robert Morris, Button Gwinnett Ireland: Butler, Fitzsimons, McHenry and Paterson West Indies: Hamilton Scotland: Wilson and Witherspoon Many of them had moved from one colony to another. Eighteen had already lived, studied or worked in more than one colony: Baldwin, Bassett, Bedford, Davie, Dickinson, Few, Franklin, Ingersoll, Hamilton, Livingston, Alexander Martin, Luther Martin, Mercer, Gouverneur Morris, Robert Morris, Read, Sherman, and Williamson. Several others had studied or traveled abroad. Occupations The Founding Fathers practiced a wide range of high and middle-status occupations, and many pursued more than one career simultaneously. They did not differ dramatically from the Loyalists, except they were generally younger and less senior in their professions.[27] As many as thirty-five including Adams, Hamilton, Jefferson, Madison, and Jay were trained as lawyers though not all of them practiced law. Some had also been local judges.[28] Washington trained as a land surveyor before he became commander of a small militia. At the time of the convention, 13 men were merchants: Blount, Broom, Clymer, Dayton, Fitzsimons, Shields, Gilman, Gorham, Langdon, Robert Morris, Pierce, Sherman and Wilson. Broom and Few were small farmers. Franklin, McHenry and Mifflin had retired from active economic endeavors. Franklin and Williamson were scientists, in addition to their other activities. McClurg, McHenry, Rush and Williamson were physicians. Johnson and Witherspoon were college presidents. Finances Historian Caroline Robbins in 1977 examined the status of the Signers of the Declaration of Independence and concluded: There were indeed disparities of wealth, earned or inherited: some Signers were rich, others had about enough to enable them to attend Congress. ... The majority of revolutionaries were from moderately well-to-do or average income brackets. Twice as many Loyalists belonged to the wealthiest echelon. But some Signers were rich; few, indigent. ... The Signers were elected not for wealth or rank so much as because of the evidence they had already evinced of willingness for public service.[29] A few of them were wealthy or had financial resources that ranged from good to excellent, but there are other founders who were less than wealthy. On the whole they were less wealthy than the Loyalists.[27] Seven were major land speculators: Blount, Dayton, Fitzsimmons, Gorham, Robert Morris, Washington, and Wilson. Eleven speculated in securities on a large scale: Bedford, Blair, Clymer, Dayton, Fitzsimons, Franklin, King, Langdon, Robert Morris, Charles Cotesworth Pinckney, and Sherman. Many derived income from plantations or large farms which they owned or managed, which relied upon the labor of enslaved men and women particularly in the Southern colonies: Bassett, Blair, Blount, Davie,[30] Johnson, Butler, Carroll, Jefferson, Jenifer, Madison, Mason, Charles Pinckney, Charles Cotesworth Pinckney, Rutledge, Spaight, and Washington. Eight of the men received a substantial part of their income from public office: Baldwin, Blair, Brearly, Gilman, Livingston, Madison, and Rutledge. Prior political experience Several of the Founding Fathers had extensive national, state, local and foreign political experience prior to the adoption of the Constitution in 1787. Some had been diplomats. Several had been members of the Continental Congress or elected president of that body. Benjamin Franklin began his political career as a city councilman and then Justice of the Peace in Philadelphia. He was next elected to the Pennsylvania Assembly and was sent by them to London as a colonial agent which helped hone his diplomatic skills. Jefferson, Adams, Jay and Franklin all acquired significant political experience as ministers to countries in Europe. John Adams and John Jay drafted the Constitutions of their respective states, Massachusetts and New York, and successfully navigated them through to adoption. Jay, Thomas Mifflin and Nathaniel Gorham had served as president of the Continental Congress. Gouverneur Morris had been a member of the New York Provincial Congress. John Dickinson, Franklin, Langdon, and Rutledge had been governors or presidents of their states. Robert Morris had been a member of the Pennsylvania Assembly and president of Pennsylvania's Committee of Safety. He was also a member of the Committee of Secret Correspondence. Roger Sherman had served in the Connecticut House of Representatives. Elbridge Gerry was a member of the Massachusetts Provincial Congress. Carroll served in the Maryland Senate. Wythe's first exposure to politics was as a member of Virginia's House of Burgesses. Read's entry into the political arena was as a commissioner of the town of Charlestown, Maryland. Clymer was a member of the Philadelphia Committee of Safety and the Continental Congress. Wilson's time as a member of the Continental Congress in 1776 was his introduction to colonial politics. Nearly all of the 55 Constitutional Convention delegates had some experience in colonial and state government, and the majority had held county and local offices.[31] Those who lacked national congressional experience were Bassett, Blair, Brearly, Broom, Davie, Dayton, Alexander Martin, Luther Martin, Mason, McClurg, Paterson, Charles Pinckney, Strong, and Yates. Religion See also: Religious views of George Washington and Religious views of Thomas Jefferson Franklin T. Lambert (2003) has examined the religious affiliations and beliefs of some of the Founders. Of the 55 delegates to the 1787 Constitutional Convention, 28 were Anglicans (i.e. Church of England; or Episcopalian, after the American Revolutionary War was won), 21 were other Protestants, and two were Roman Catholics (D. Carroll and Fitzsimons).[32] Among the Protestant delegates to the Constitutional Convention, eight were Presbyterians, seven were Congregationalists, two were Lutherans, two were Dutch Reformed, and two were Methodists.[32] A few prominent Founding Fathers were anti-clerical notably Jefferson.[33][34] Historian Gregg L. Frazer argues that the leading Founders (John Adams, Jefferson, Franklin, Wilson, Morris, Madison, Hamilton, and Washington) were neither Christians nor Deists, but rather supporters of a hybrid "theistic rationalism".[35] Many Founders deliberately avoided public discussion of their faith. Historian David L. Holmes uses evidence gleaned from letters, government documents, and second-hand accounts to identify their religious beliefs.[36] Ownership of slaves and position on slavery George Washington and his valet slave William Lee, by John Trumbull, 1780 See also: George Washington and slavery and Thomas Jefferson and slavery The founding fathers were not unified on the issue of slavery. Many of them were opposed to it and repeatedly attempted to end slavery in many of the colonies, but predicted that the issue would threaten to tear the country apart and had limited power to deal with it. In her study of Thomas Jefferson, historian Annette Gordon-Reed discusses this topic, "Others of the founders held slaves, but no other founder drafted the charter for freedom".[37] In addition to Jefferson, George Washington, and many other of the Founding Fathers were slaveowners, but some were also conflicted by the institution, seeing it as immoral and politically divisive; Washington gradually became a cautious supporter of abolitionism and freed his slaves in his will. John Jay led the successful fight to outlaw the slave trade in New York.[38] Conversely, many founders such as Samuel Adams and John Adams were against slavery their entire lives. Benjamin Rush wrote a pamphlet in 1773 which criticized the slave trade as well as the institution of slavery. In the pamphlet, Rush argued on a scientific basis that Africans were not by nature intellectually or morally inferior, and that any apparent evidence to the contrary was only the "perverted expression" of slavery, which "is so foreign to the human mind, that the moral faculties, as well as those of the understanding are debased, and rendered torpid by it." The Continental Association of 1774 contained a clause which banned any Patriot involvement in slave trading.[39][40][41][42] Franklin, though he was a key founder of the Pennsylvania Abolition Society,[43] originally owned slaves whom he later manumitted. While serving in the Rhode Island Assembly, Stephen Hopkins introduced one of the earliest anti-slavery laws in the colonies, and John Jay would try unsuccessfully to abolish slavery as early as 1777 in the State of New York.[44] He nonetheless founded the New York Manumission Society in 1785, for which Hamilton became an officer. They and other members of the Society founded the African Free School in New York City, to educate the children of free blacks and slaves. When Jay was governor of New York in 1798, he helped secure and signed into law an abolition law; fully ending forced labor as of 1827. He freed his own slaves in 1798. Alexander Hamilton opposed slavery, as his experiences in life left him very familiar with slavery and its effect on slaves and on slaveholders,[45] although he did negotiate slave transactions for his wife's family, the Schuylers.[46] John Adams, Samuel Adams, and Thomas Paine never owned slaves.[47] Slaves and slavery are mentioned only indirectly in the 1787 Constitution. For example, Article 1, Section 2, Clause 3 prescribes that "three-fifths of all other Persons" are to be counted for the apportionment of seats in the House of Representatives and direct taxes. Additionally, in Article 4, Section 2, Clause 3, slaves are referred to as "persons held in service or labor".[43][48] The Founding Fathers, however, did make important efforts to contain slavery. Many Northern states had adopted legislation to end or significantly reduce slavery during and after the American Revolution.[48] In 1782 Virginia passed a manumission law that allowed slave owners to free their slaves by will or deed.[49] As a result, thousands of slaves were manumitted in Virginia.[49] Thomas Jefferson, in 1784, proposed to ban slavery in all the Western Territories, which failed to pass Congress by one vote.[48] Partially following Jefferson's plan, Congress did ban slavery in the Northwest Ordinance of 1787, for lands north of the Ohio River.[48] The international slave trade was banned in all states except South Carolina, by 1800. Finally in 1807, President Jefferson called for and signed into law a Federally-enforced ban on the international slave trade throughout the U.S. and its territories. It became a federal crime to import or export a slave.[48] However, the domestic slave trade was allowed, for expansion, or for diffusion of slavery into the Louisiana Territory.[48] Attendance at conventions In the winter and spring of 1786–1787, twelve of the thirteen states chose a total of 74 delegates to attend the Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia. Nineteen delegates chose not to accept election or attend the debates. Among them was Patrick Henry of Virginia, who in response to questions about his refusal to attend was quick to reply, "I smelled a rat." He believed that the frame of government convention organizers were intent on building would trample upon the rights of citizens.[50] Also, Rhode Island's lack of representation at the convention was due to leader's suspicions of the convention delegates' motivations. As the colony was founded by Roger Williams as a sanctuary for Baptists, Rhode Island's absence at the convention in part explains the absence of Baptist affiliation among those who did attend. Of the 55 who did attend at some point, no more than 38 delegates showed up at one time.[51] Spouses and children Only four (Baldwin, Gilman, Jenifer, and Alexander Martin) were lifelong bachelors. Many of the Founding Fathers' wives, like Eliza Schuyler Hamilton, Martha Washington, Abigail Adams, Sarah Livingston Jay, Dolley Madison, Mary White Morris and Catherine Alexander Duer, were strong women who made significant contributions of their own to the fight for liberty.[52] Sherman fathered the largest family: 15 children by two wives. At least nine (Bassett, Brearly, Johnson, Mason, Paterson, Charles Cotesworth Pinckney, Sherman, Wilson, and Wythe) married more than once. George Washington, who became known as "The Father of His Country",[53] had no biological children, though he and his wife raised two children from her first marriage and two grandchildren. Signatories to founding documents Among the state documents promulgated between 1774 and 1789 by the Continental Congress, four are paramount: the Continental Association, the Declaration of Independence, the Articles of Confederation, and the United States Constitution. Altogether, 145 men signed at least one of the four documents. In each instance, roughly 50% of the names signed are unique to that document. Only a few people (6) signed three of the four, and only Roger Sherman of Connecticut signed all of them.[54] The following persons signed one or more of these United States formative documents: Name Province/state # DS CA (1774) DI (1776) AC (1777) USC (1787) Andrew Adams Connecticut 1 Yes John Adams Massachusetts 2 Yes Yes Samuel Adams Massachusetts 3 Yes Yes Yes Thomas Adams Virginia 1 Yes John Alsop New York 1 Yes Abraham Baldwin Georgia 1 Yes John Banister Virginia 1 Yes Josiah Bartlett New Hampshire 2 Yes Yes Richard Bassett Delaware 1 Yes Gunning Bedford Jr. Delaware 1 Yes Edward Biddle Pennsylvania 1 Yes John Blair Virginia 1 Yes Richard Bland Virginia 1 Yes William Blount North Carolina 1 Yes Simon Boerum New York 1 Yes Carter Braxton Virginia 1 Yes David Brearley New Jersey 1 Yes Jacob Broom Delaware 1 Yes Pierce Butler South Carolina 1 Yes Charles Carroll of Carrollton Maryland 1 Yes Daniel Carroll Maryland 2 Yes Yes Richard Caswell North Carolina 1 Yes Samuel Chase Maryland 2 Yes Yes Abraham Clark New Jersey 1 Yes William Clingan Pennsylvania 1 Yes George Clymer Pennsylvania 2 Yes Yes John Collins Rhode Island 1 Yes Stephen Crane New Jersey 1 Yes Thomas Cushing Massachusetts 1 Yes Francis Dana Massachusetts 1 Yes Jonathan Dayton New Jersey 1 Yes Silas Deane Connecticut 1 Yes John De Hart New Jersey 1 Yes John Dickinson Delaware 3[a] Yes Yes Pennsylvania Yes William Henry Drayton South Carolina 1 Yes James Duane New York 2 Yes Yes William Duer New York 1 Yes Eliphalet Dyer Connecticut 1 Yes William Ellery Rhode Island 2 Yes Yes William Few Georgia 1 Yes Thomas Fitzsimons Pennsylvania 1 Yes William Floyd New York 2 Yes Yes Nathaniel Folsom New Hampshire 1 Yes Benjamin Franklin Pennsylvania 2 Yes Yes Christopher Gadsden South Carolina 1 Yes Joseph Galloway Pennsylvania 1 Yes Elbridge Gerry Massachusetts 2 Yes Yes Nicholas Gilman New Hampshire 1 Yes Nathaniel Gorham Massachusetts 1 Yes Button Gwinnett Georgia 1 Yes Lyman Hall Georgia 1 Yes Alexander Hamilton New York 1 Yes John Hancock Massachusetts 2 Yes Yes John Hanson Maryland 1 Yes Cornelius Harnett North Carolina 1 Yes Benjamin Harrison Virginia 2 Yes Yes John Hart New Jersey 2 Yes John Harvie Virginia 1 Yes Patrick Henry Virginia 1 Yes Joseph Hewes North Carolina 2 Yes Yes Thomas Heyward Jr. South Carolina 2 Yes Yes Samuel Holten Massachusetts 1 Yes William Hooper North Carolina 2 Yes Yes Stephen Hopkins Rhode Island 2 Yes Yes Francis Hopkinson New Jersey 1 Yes Titus Hosmer Connecticut 1 Yes Charles Humphreys Pennsylvania 1 Yes Samuel Huntington Connecticut 2 Yes Yes Richard Hutson South Carolina 1 Yes Jared Ingersoll Pennsylvania 1 Yes William Jackson South Carolina 1 Yes John Jay New York 1 Yes Thomas Jefferson Virginia 1 Yes Daniel of St. Thomas Jenifer Maryland 1 Yes Thomas Johnson Maryland 1 Yes William Samuel Johnson Connecticut 1 Yes Rufus King Massachusetts 1 Yes James Kinsey New Jersey 1 Yes John Langdon New Hampshire 1 Yes Edward Langworthy Georgia 1 Yes Henry Laurens South Carolina 1 Yes Francis Lightfoot Lee Virginia 2 Yes Yes Richard Henry Lee Virginia 3 Yes Yes Yes Francis Lewis New York 2 Yes Yes Philip Livingston New York 2 Yes Yes William Livingston New Jersey 2 Yes Yes James Lovell Massachusetts 1 Yes Isaac Low New York 1 Yes Thomas Lynch South Carolina 1 Yes Thomas Lynch Jr. South Carolina 1 Yes James Madison Virginia 1 Yes Henry Marchant Rhode Island 1 Yes John Mathews South Carolina 1 Yes James McHenry Maryland 1 Yes Thomas McKean Delaware 3 Yes Yes Yes Arthur Middleton South Carolina 1 Yes Henry Middleton South Carolina 1 Yes Thomas Mifflin Pennsylvania 2 Yes Yes Gouverneur Morris New York 2[b] Yes Pennsylvania Yes Lewis Morris New York 1 Yes Robert Morris Pennsylvania 3 Yes Yes Yes John Morton Pennsylvania 2 Yes Yes Thomas Nelson Jr. Virginia 1 Yes William Paca Maryland 2 Yes Yes Robert Treat Paine Massachusetts 2 Yes Yes William Paterson New Jersey 1 Yes Edmund Pendleton Virginia 1 Yes John Penn North Carolina 2 Yes Yes Charles Pinckney South Carolina 1 Yes Charles Cotesworth Pinckney South Carolina 1 Yes Peyton Randolph Virginia 1 Yes George Read Delaware 3 Yes Yes Yes Joseph Reed Pennsylvania 1 Yes Daniel Roberdeau Pennsylvania 1 Yes Caesar Rodney Delaware 2 Yes Yes George Ross Pennsylvania 2 Yes Yes Benjamin Rush Pennsylvania 1 Yes Edward Rutledge South Carolina 2 Yes Yes John Rutledge South Carolina 2 Yes Yes Nathaniel Scudder New Jersey 1 Yes Roger Sherman Connecticut 4 Yes Yes Yes Yes James Smith Pennsylvania 1 Yes Jonathan Bayard Smith Pennsylvania 1 Yes Richard Smith New Jersey 1 Yes Richard Dobbs Spaight North Carolina 1 Yes Richard Stockton New Jersey 1 Yes Thomas Stone Maryland 1 Yes John Sullivan New Hampshire 1 Yes George Taylor Pennsylvania 1 Yes Edward Telfair Georgia 1 Yes Matthew Thornton New Hampshire 1 Yes Matthew Tilghman Maryland 1 Yes Nicholas Van Dyke Delaware 1 Yes George Walton Georgia 1 Yes John Walton Georgia 1 Yes Samuel Ward Rhode Island 1 Yes George Washington Virginia 2 Yes Yes John Wentworth Jr. New Hampshire 1 Yes William Whipple New Hampshire 1 Yes John Williams North Carolina 1 Yes William Williams Connecticut 1 Yes Hugh Williamson North Carolina 1 Yes James Wilson Pennsylvania 2 Yes Yes Henry Wisner New York 1 Yes John Witherspoon New Jersey 2 Yes Yes Oliver Wolcott Connecticut 2 Yes Yes George Wythe Virginia 1 Yes Notes: ^ Dickinson signed three of the documents, two as a delegate from Delaware and one as a delegate from Pennsylvania. ^ Morris signed two of the documents, one as a delegate from New York, and one as a delegate from Pennsylvania. Post-constitution life Subsequent events in the lives of the Founding Fathers after the adoption of the Constitution were characterized by success or failure, reflecting the abilities of these men as well as the vagaries of fate.[55] Washington, Adams, Jefferson, Madison, and Monroe served in highest U.S. office of president. Jay would be appointed as the first chief justice of the United States and later elected to two terms as Governor of New York. Alexander Hamilton would be appointed the first Secretary of the Treasury in 1789, and later Inspector General of the Army under President John Adams in 1798. Seven (Fitzsimons, Gorham, Luther Martin, Mifflin, Robert Morris, Pierce, and Wilson) suffered serious financial reversals that left them in or near bankruptcy. Robert Morris spent three of the last years of his life imprisoned following bad land deals.[52] Two, Blount and Dayton, were involved in possibly treasonous activities. Yet, as they had done before the convention, most of the group continued to render public service, particularly to the new government they had helped to create. Youth and longevity Death age of the Founding Fathers Many of the Founding Fathers were under 40 years old at the time of the signing of the Declaration of Independence in 1776: Aaron Burr was 20, Alexander Hamilton was 21, Gouverneur Morris was 24. The oldest were Benjamin Franklin, 70, and Samuel Whittemore, 81.[56] A few Founding Fathers lived into their nineties, including: Paine Wingate, who died at age 98; Charles Carroll of Carrollton, who died at age 95; Charles Thomson, who died at 94; William Samuel Johnson, who died at 92; and John Adams, who died at 90. Among those who lived into their eighties were Benjamin Franklin, Samuel Whittmore, John Jay, Thomas Jefferson, James Madison, John Armstrong Jr., Hugh Williamson, and George Wythe. Approximately 16 died while in their seventies, and 21 in their sixties. Three (Alexander Hamilton, Richard Dobbs Spaight, and Button Gwinnett) were killed in duels. Two, John Adams and Thomas Jefferson, died on the same day, July 4, 1826.[57] The last remaining founders, also poetically called the "Last of the Romans", lived well into the nineteenth century.[58] The last surviving signer of the Declaration of Independence was Charles Carroll of Carrollton, who died in 1832.[59] The last surviving member of the Continental Congress was John Armstrong Jr., who died in 1843. He gained this distinction in 1838 upon the death of the only other surviving delegate, Paine Wingate.[60] Other notable patriots of the period The following men and women also advanced the new nation through their actions. Abigail Adams, close advisor to her husband John Adams George Mason, author of the 1776 Virginia Declaration of Rights and co-father of the United States Bill of Rights Abigail Adams, advisor, confidant, first lady, wife of John Adams and mother of president John Quincy Adams[61] Ethan Allen, military and political leader in Vermont[62] Richard Allen, African-American bishop, founder of the Free African Society and the A.M.E. Church[63] John Bartram, botanist, horticulturist, and explorer[64] Egbert Benson, politician from New York, delegate to the Continental Congress and the Annapolis Convention (1786)[65] Elias Boudinot, New Jersey delegate to Continental Congress[66] Aaron Burr, vice president under Jefferson[67] George Rogers Clark, army general,[68] nicknamed "Conqueror of the Old Northwest". George Clinton, New York governor and vice president of the U.S.[69] Tench Coxe, economist in the Continental Congress[70] William Richardson Davie, delegate to the Constitutional Convention (leaving before he could sign it), and governor of North Carolina Oliver Ellsworth, member of the Continental Congress, Founding Framer on the Committee of Detail and fashioned the Connecticut Compromise at the Constitutional Convention, chief author Judiciary Act of 1789, third chief justice of the United States Albert Gallatin, politician and treasury secretary[71] Horatio Gates, army general[68] Nathanael Greene, Revolutionary War general; commanded the southern theater[68] Nathan Hale, captured U.S. soldier executed in 1776[61] Elizabeth Schuyler Hamilton, first lady (wife of Alexander Hamilton)[72][73] Esek Hopkins, Commander-in-Chief of the Continental Navy James Iredell, essayist for independence and advocate for the constitution, one of the first Supreme Court justices[69] John Paul Jones, navy captain[68] Henry Knox, army general, Secretary of War, founder Society of the Cincinnati[69] Tadeusz Kościuszko, American general, former Polish army general[71] Bernardo de Galvez, Spanish military, governor of Spanish Louisiana. Gilbert du Motier, Marquis de Lafayette, French Marquis who became a Continental Army general[71] John Laurance, New York politician and judge who served as judge advocate general during the Revolution.[74] Henry Lee III, army officer and Virginia governor[68] Robert R. Livingston, member of the Committee of Five, first United States Secretary of Foreign Affairs William Maclay, Pennsylvania politician and U.S. senator[69] Dolley Madison, first lady (wife of James Madison)[61] John Marshall, fourth U.S. chief justice[61] George Mason, revolutionary writer, author of the Virginia Declaration of Rights, Founding Framer and influential delegate to the Constitutional Convention, co-father of the United States Bill of Rights[75] Philip Mazzei, Italian physician, merchant, and author[76] James Monroe, fifth president of the United States[77] Daniel Morgan, military leader and Virginia congressman[68] Samuel Nicholas, commander-in-chief of the Continental Marines James Otis Jr., Massachusetts lawyer and politician[78] Thomas Paine, author of the January 1776 pamphlet Common Sense which urged and inspired the colonists to declare their independence from Great Britain.[79][80] Andrew Pickens, army general and South Carolina congressman[68] Timothy Pickering, U.S. secretary of state, from Massachusetts[81] Israel Putnam, army general[82] Edmund Randolph, delegate to the Constitutional Convention, where he introduced the Virginia Plan and served on the drafting committee; first United States attorney general and second U.S. secretary of state[83] Jean-Baptiste Donatien de Vimeur, comte de Rochambeau, French army general[71] Haym Solomon, financier and spy for the Continental Army[84] Arthur St. Clair, major general, president of the Confederation Congress, and later first governor of the Northwest Territory Thomas Sumter, South Carolina military leader, and member of both houses of Congress[68] Charles Thomson, secretary of the Continental Congress throughout its existence (1774–1789), and principal designer of the obverse and partly of the reverse of the Great Seal of the United States Richard Varick, private secretary to George Washington, mayor of New York City, second attorney general of New York state, and founder of the American Bible Society Friedrich Wilhelm von Steuben, Prussian officer[71] Joseph Warren, doctor, revolutionary leader[82] Mercy Otis Warren, political writer[69] Anthony Wayne, army general and politician[68] Noah Webster, writer, lexicographer, educator[85] Thomas Willing, delegate to the Continental Congress from Pennsylvania, the first president of the Bank of North America, and the first president of the First Bank of the United States[86] Legacy Institutions formed by Founders Several Founding Fathers were instrumental in establishing schools and societal institutions that still exist today: Franklin founded the University of Pennsylvania, while Jefferson founded the University of Virginia. George Washington supported the founding of Washington College by consenting to have the "College at Chester" named in his honor, through generous financial support, and through service on the college's Board of Visitors and Governors. Rush founded Dickinson College and Franklin College, (today Franklin and Marshall) as well as the College of Physicians of Philadelphia, the oldest medical society in America. Hamilton founded the New York Post, as well as the United States Coast Guard. Knox[87] helped found the Society of the Cincinnati in 1783; the society was predicated on service as an officer in the Revolutionary War and heredity. Members included Washington, Hamilton and Burr. Other Founders like Sam Adams, John Adams, Franklin and Jay criticized the formation of what they considered to be an elitist body and threat to the Constitution. Franklin would later accept an honorary membership though Jay declined.[88] Scholarship on the Founders Articles and books by twenty-first century historians combined with the digitization of primary sources like handwritten letters continue to contribute to an encyclopedic body of knowledge about the Founding Fathers. Historians who focus on the Founding Fathers Ron Chernow won the Pulitzer Prize for his biography of George Washington. His bestselling book about Alexander Hamilton inspired the blockbuster musical of the same name. Joseph J. Ellis – According to Ellis, the concept of the Founding Fathers of the U.S. emerged in the 1820s as the last survivors died out. Ellis says "the founders", or "the fathers", comprised an aggregate of semi-sacred figures whose particular accomplishments and singular achievements were decidedly less important than their sheer presence as a powerful but faceless symbol of past greatness. For the generation of national leaders coming of age in the 1820s and 1830s – men like Andrew Jackson, Henry Clay, Daniel Webster, and John C. Calhoun – "the founders" represented a heroic but anonymous abstraction whose long shadow fell across all followers and whose legendary accomplishments defied comparison. We can win no laurels in a war for independence," Webster acknowledged in 1825. "Earlier and worthier hands have gathered them all. Nor are there places for us ... [as] the founders of states. Our fathers have filled them. But there remains to us a great duty of defence and preservation.[89] Joanne B. Freeman – Freeman's area of expertise is the life and legacy of Alexander Hamilton as well as political culture of the revolutionary and early national eras.[90][91][92] Freeman has documented the often opposing visions of the Founding Fathers as they tried to build a new framework for governance, "Regional distrust, personal animosity, accusation, suspicion, implication, and denouncement—this was the tenor of national politics from the outset." [93] Annette Gordon-Reed is an American historian and Harvard Law School professor. She is noted for changing scholarship on Thomas Jefferson regarding his relationship with Sally Hemings and her children. She has studied the challenges facing the Founding Fathers particularly as it relates to their position and actions on slavery. She points out "the central dilemma at the heart of American democracy: the desire to create a society based on liberty and equality" that yet does not extend those privileges to all."[37] David McCullough's Pulitzer Prize winning 2001 book, John Adams., focuses on the Founding Father, and his 2005 book, 1776, details George Washington's military history in the American Revolution and other independence events carried out by America's founders. Peter S. Onuf – Thomas Jefferson Jack N. Rakove – Thomas Jefferson Noted collections of the Founding Fathers Adams Papers Editorial Project Founders Online – a searchable database of over 178,000 documents authored by or addressed to George Washington, John Jay, Benjamin Franklin, John Adams (and family), Thomas Jefferson, Alexander Hamilton and James Madison. The Papers of Alexander Hamilton The Selected Papers of John Jay at Columbia University The Papers of Thomas Jefferson at Princeton University The Papers of James Madison at University of Virginia The Washington Papers at University of Virginia The Franklin Papers at Yale University In stage and film The Founding Fathers were portrayed in the Tony Award–winning 1969 musical 1776, which depicted the debates over, and eventual adoption of, the Declaration of Independence. The stage production was adapted into the 1972 film of the same name. The 1989 film A More Perfect Union, which was filmed on location in Independence Hall, depicts the events of the Constitutional Convention. The writing and passing of the founding documents are depicted in the 1997 documentary miniseries Liberty!, and the passage of the Declaration of Independence is portrayed in the second episode of the 2008 miniseries John Adams and the third episode of the 2015 miniseries Sons of Liberty. The Founders also feature in the 1986 miniseries George Washington II: The Forging of a Nation, the 2002-03 animated television series Liberty's Kids, the 2020 miniseries Washington, and in many other films and television portrayals. Several Founding Fathers—Hamilton, Washington, Jefferson, Madison and Burr—were reimagined in Hamilton, a 2015 musical inspired by the 2004 biography Alexander Hamilton, with music, lyrics and book by Lin-Manuel Miranda. The musical won eleven Tony Awards and a Pulitzer Prize for Drama.[94] Children's books In their 2015 children's book, The Founding Fathers author Jonah Winter and illustrator Barry Blitt categorized 14 leading patriots into two teams based on their contributions to the formation of America – the Varsity Squad (Washington, Franklin, Jefferson, John Adams, Madison, Jay, and Hamilton) and the Junior Varsity Squad (Sam Adams, Hancock, Henry, Morris, Marshall, Rush, and Paine).[95] See also United States portal Father of the Nation History of the United States Constitution History of the United States (1776–1789) List of national founders (worldwide) Military leadership in the American Revolutionary War Patriot (American Revolution) Rights of Englishmen Sons of Liberty 1776 Commission References ^ "American Revolution: Key to Declaration of Independence". Retrieved April 6, 2017. ^ Richard B. Morris, Seven Who Shaped Our Destiny: The Founding Fathers as Revolutionaries (New York: Harper & Row, 1973). ^ Kettler, Sarah. "The Founding Fathers: Who Were They Really?". Biography. Retrieved April 5, 2017. ^ "About America, The Constitution of the United States" (PDF). World Book. Retrieved September 17, 2017. ^ PBS NewsHour (July 4, 2015). "Forgotten Founding Father". ^ "Did any of our "Founding Fathers" NOT sign the Declaration of Independence?". Harvard University. Retrieved January 11, 2020. ^ National Archives (November 3, 2015). "Meet the Framers of the Constitution". ^ US Constitution Online. "The Framers". ^ Carl G. Karsch. "The First Continental Congress: A Dangerous Journey Begins". Carpenter's Hall. Archived from the original on January 18, 2012. Retrieved April 10, 2017. ^ Stanfield, Jack. America's Founding Fathers: Who Are They? Thumbnail Sketches of 164 Patriots (Universal-Publishers, 2001). ^ Jill Lepore, The Whites of Their Eyes: The Tea Party’s Revolution and the Battle Over American History (Princeton: Princeton University Press, 2010), 16. ^ Burnett, Continental Congress, 64–67. ^ Fowler, Baron of Beacon Hill, 189. ^ "Confederation Congress". Ohio Historical Society. Retrieved October 23, 2010. ^ Calvin C. Jillson (2009). American Government: Political Development and Institutional Change (5th ed.). Taylor & Francis. p. 31. ISBN 978-0-203-88702-8. ^ Caroline Robbins. "Decision in '76: Reflections on the 56 Signers". Proceedings of the Massachusetts Historical Society. Vol. 89 pp 72–87, quote at p. 86 ^ Brown, Richard D. (July 1976). "The Founding Fathers of 1776 and 1787: A Collective View". The William and Mary Quarterly. 33 (3): 465–480. doi:10.2307/1921543. JSTOR 1921543. ^ See Brown (19764); Martin (19739); "Data on the Framers of the Constitution", at [1] ^ Brown (1976); Harris (1969) ^ "The Alma Maters of Our Founding Fathers". July 2, 2015. Retrieved April 7, 2017. ^ Aibgail Forget. "Hamilton and Jay: Get the Low Down on Columbia's Founding Fathers". Columbia Alumni Association. Retrieved January 11, 2020. ^ "A Brief History of Columbia". Columbia University. 2011. Retrieved April 14, 2011. ^ "Penn Signers of the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence". Archives.upenn.edu. Archived from the original on March 7, 2017. Retrieved January 24, 2017. ^ "The University of Glasgow Story James Wilson". Retrieved March 26, 2018. ^ "Benjamin Rush (1746–1813)". Penn University Archives and Records Center. Archived from the original on June 10, 2011. Retrieved April 9, 2017. ^ "George Wythe". Colonial Williamsburg. Retrieved April 9, 2017. ^ a b Greene (1973). ^ Brown (1976). ^ Caroline Robbins. "Decision in '76: Reflections on the 56 Signers". Proceedings of the Massachusetts Historical Society Vol. 89 (1977), pp. 72–87 quoting page 83. ^ William R. Davie, Blackwell P. Robinson. The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, 1957. ^ Martin (1973); Greene (1973) ^ a b Lambert, Franklin T. (2003). The Founding Fathers and the Place of Religion in America. Princeton, New Jersey: Princeton University Press (published 2006). ISBN 978-0691126029. ^ Peter S. Onuf, "Jefferson's Religion: Priestcraft, Enlightenment and the Republican Revolution," in Onuf, The Mind of Thomas Jefferson (2007) pp 139-168 ^ Letter to Horatio G. Spafford, March 17, 1814. "In every country and in every age, the priest has been hostile to liberty. He is always in alliance with the despot, abetting his abuses in return for protection to his own." ^ Frazer, Gregg L. (2012). The Religious Beliefs of America's Founders: Reason, Revelation, and Revolution. University Press of Kansas. ISBN 978-0700620210. ^ David L. Holmes in The Faiths of the Founding Fathers (Oxford University Press, 2006) ^ a b Annette Gordon-Reed, Engaging Jefferson: Blacks and the Founding Father, The William and Mary Quarterly, Vol. 57, No. 1 (Jan. 2000), pp. 171–182 ^ "The Founders and Slavery: John Jay Saves the Day". The Economist. July 2011. Retrieved April 5, 2017. ^ Notes on the history of slavery in Massachusetts, by George Henry Moore (author) ^ James A. Rawley and Stephen D. Behrendt, The Transatlantic Slave Trade: A History (2008) ^ Thomas N. Ingersoll, The Loyalist Problem in Revolutionary New England (2016) ^ Dolbeare, Kenneth M.; Cummings, Michael S. (2010). American political thought (6 ed.). p. 44. ^ a b Wright, William D. (2002). Critical Reflections on Black History. West Port, Connecticut: Praeger Publishers. p. 125. ^ The Selected Papers of John Jay. Columbia University. ^ Horton, James O. (2004). "Alexander Hamilton: Slavery and Race in a Revolutionary Generation". New York Journal of American History. 91 (3): 1151–1152. doi:10.2307/3663046. JSTOR 3663046. Retrieved October 29, 2016. ^ Magness, Phillip. "Alexander Hamilton's Exaggerated Abolitionism". Retrieved April 6, 2017. ^ "The Founding Fathers and Slavery". Encyclopædia Britannica. Retrieved April 9, 2017. ^ a b c d e f Freehling, William W. (February 1972). "The Founding Fathers and Slavery". The American Historical Review. 77 (1): 81–93. doi:10.2307/1856595. JSTOR 1856595. ^ a b The Cambridge History of Law in America. 2008. p. 278. ^ Williams, J. D. (Summer 1987). "The Summer of 1787: Getting a Constitution". Brigham Young University Studies. Provo, Utah: Brigham Young University. 27 (3): 67–89. JSTOR 43041299. ^ See the discussion of the Convention in Clinton L. Rossiter, 1787: The Grand Convention (New York: Macmillan, 1966; reprint ed., with new foreword by Richard B. Morris, New York: W. W. Norton, 1987). ^ a b Griswold, Rufus (1855), The Republican Court, or, American Society in the Days of Washington, D. Appleton & Co. ^ George Washington's Mount Vernon. "Father of His Country". Retrieved April 6, 2017. ^ Werther, Richard J. (October 24, 2017). "Analyzing the Founders: A Closer Look at the Signers of Four Founding Documents". Journal of the American Revolution. Retrieved May 2, 2019. ^ Martin (1973) ^ Andrlik, Todd. "How Old Were the Leaders of the American Revolution on July 4, 1776?". ^ History. "Thomas Jefferson and John Adams Die". ^ Elizabeth Fox-Genovese; Eugene D. Genovese (2005). The Mind of the Master Class: History and Faith in the Southern Slaveholders' Worldview. Cambridge University Press. p. 278. ISBN 9780521850650. ^ Hallac, Joanna (March 16, 2012). "Irish Americans in the U.S. Congress". Washington, D.C.: U.S. Capitol Historical Society. Retrieved May 9, 2019. ^ "John Armstrong, Jr. Passes Away". Today in Masonic History, masonrytoday.com. April 1, 2018. Retrieved May 9, 2019. ^ a b c d Encyclopædia Britannica; Ellis, Joseph J., eds. (2007). Founding Fathers: The Essential Guide to the Men Who Made America. John Wiley and Sons. ^ McWilliams, J. (1976). "The Faces of Ethan Allen: 1760–1860". The New England Quarterly. 49 (2): 257–282. doi:10.2307/364502. JSTOR 364502. ^ Newman, Richard. Freedom's Prophet: Bishop Richard Allen, the AME Church, and the Black Founding Fathers (NYU Press, 2009). ^ Goodall, Jane (2013). Seeds of Hope: Wisdom and Wonder from the World of Plants. Grand Central Publishing. pp. 60–61. ISBN 978-1-4555-1321-5. ^ Ballenas, Carl. Images of America: Jamaica (Arcadia Publishing, 2011). ^ Holmes, David (2006). The Faiths of the Founding Fathers. New York: Oxford University Press. ^ Wood, Gordon S. (2007). Revolutionary Characters: What Made the Founding Fathers Different. New York: Penguin Books, pp. 225–242. ^ a b c d e f g h i Buchanan, John. "Founding Fighters: The Battlefield Leaders Who Made American Independence (review)". The Journal of Military History (Vol. 71, No. 2, April 2007), pp. 522–524. ^ a b c d e Bernstein, R. B. (2009). The Founding Fathers Reconsidered, New York and Oxford: Oxford University Press. ^ Yafa, Stephen (2006). Cotton: The Biography of a Revolutionary Fiber. Penguin. p. 75. ISBN 9780143037224. ^ a b c d e Dungan, Nicholas (2010). Gallatin: America's Swiss Founding Father. New York University Press. ^ Roberts, Cokie (2005). Founding Mothers: The Women Who Raised Our Nation. Harper Perennial. ^ Roberts, Cokie (2008). Ladies of Liberty: The Women Who Shaped Our Nation. Harper. ^ Jones, Keith Marshall, III. John Laurance: The Immigrant Founding Father America Never Knew. Philadelphia: American Philosophical Society, 2019. ^ Broadwater, Jeff (2006). George Mason, Forgotten Founder. Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press. ISBN 978-0-8078-3053-6. OCLC 67239589. ^ LaGumina, Salvatore (2000). The Italian American experience: an encyclopedia. Taylor & Francis, p. 361. ^ Unger, Harlow (2009). James Monroe: The Last Founding Father. New York: Da Capo Press. ISBN 978-0-306-81808-0. ^ Kann, Mark E. (1999). The Gendering of American Politics: Founding Mothers, Founding Fathers, and Political Patriarchy. ABC-CLIO. p. xi. ISBN 978-0-275-96112-1. ^ "Founding Father Thomas Paine: He Genuinely Abhorred Slavery". The Journal of Blacks in Higher Education (48): 45. 2005. JSTOR 25073236. ^ David Braff (2009). "Forgotten Founding Father: The Impact of Thomas Paine". In Joyce Chumbley (ed.), Thomas Paine: In Search of the Common Good (2009) pp. 39–43 ^ Burstein, Andrew. "Politics and Personalities: Garry Wills takes a new look at a forgotten founder, slavery and the shaping of America", Chicago Tribune (November 9, 2003). "Forgotten founders such as Pickering and Morris made as many waves as those whose faces stare out from our currency." ^ a b Rafael, Ray. The Complete Idiot's Guide to the Founding Fathers And the Birth of Our Nation (Penguin, 2011). ^ "Founding Fathers: Virginia". U.S. Supreme Court Center. FindLaw. 2008. Retrieved November 14, 2008. ^ Schwartz, Laurens R. Jews and the American Revolution: Haym Solomon and Others, Jefferson, North Carolina: McFarland & Co., 1987. ^ Kendall, Joshua. The Forgotten Founding Father: Noah Webster's Obsession and the Creation of an American Culture (Penguin 2011). ^ Wright, R. E. (1996). "Thomas Willing (1731–1821): Philadelphia Financier and Forgotten Founding Father". Pennsylvania History. 63 (4): 525–560. JSTOR 27773931. ^ "The Founding of the Society, 1783–1784". Society of the Cincinnati. Retrieved April 9, 2017. ^ "History:The Society of the Cincinnati in the State of Connecticut". ^ Joseph J. Ellis; Passionate Sage: The Character and Legacy of John Adams. (2001) p. 214. ^ Jennifer Schuessler (January 9, 2017). "Up From the Family Basement, a Little-Seen Hamilton Trove". The New York Times. ^ Joanne B. Freeman. "The Long History of Political Idiocy". The New York Times. ^ Joanne B. Freeman. "How Hamilton Uses History: What Lin-Manuel Miranda Included in His Portrait of a Heroic, Complicated Founding Father—and What He Left Out". Slate. Retrieved April 9, 2017. ^ Chris Bray (July 6, 2014). "Tip and Gip Sip and Quip-The politics of never". The Baffler. Retrieved April 11, 2017. ^ Robert Viagas (June 13, 2016). "Hamilton Tops Tony Awards With 11 Wins". Playbill. Retrieved April 9, 2017. ^ Winter, Jonah and Blitt, Barry, The Founding Fathers!Those Horse-Ridin', Fiddle-Playin', Book-Readin', Gun-Totin' Gentlemen Who Started America Simon and Schuster, New York (2015) Further reading American National Biography Online, (2000). Bailyn, Bernard. To Begin the World Anew Knopf, 2003. Bernstein, Richard B. Are We to Be a Nation? The Making of the Constitution. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1987. Bernstein, R.B. The Founding Fathers Reconsidered (New York: Oxford University Press, 2009). Brown, Richard D. "The Founding Fathers of 1776 and 1787: A Collective View," William and Mary Quarterly, 3rd Ser., Vol. 33, No. 3 (July 1976), pp. 465–480 JSTOR 1921543. Commager, Henry Steele. "Leadership in Eighteenth-Century America and Today," Daedalus 90 (Fall 1961): 650–673, reprinted in Henry Steele Commager, Freedom and Order (New York: George Braziller, 1966). Ellis, Joseph J. Founding Brothers: The Revolutionary Generation (New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 2000). Ellis, Joseph J. The Quartet: Orchestrating the Second American Revolution, 1783–1789 (New York: First Vintage Books Edition, May 2016). Freeman, Joanne B. Affairs of Honor: National Politics in the New Republic. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 2001. Green, Steven K. Inventing a Christian America: The Myth of the Religious Founding. Oxford, England: Oxford University Press, 2015. Greene, Jack P. "The Social Origins of the American Revolution: An Evaluation and an Interpretation," Political Science Quarterly, Vol. 88, No. 1 (Mar. 1973), pp. 1–22 JSTOR 2148646. Harris, P.M.G., "The Social Origins of American Leaders: The Demographic Foundations, " Perspectives in American History 3 (1969): 159–364. Lefer, David. The Founding Conservatives: How a Group of Unsung Heroes Saved the American Revolution (2013) Kann, Mark E. The Gendering of American Politics: Founding Mothers, Founding Fathers, and Political Patriarchy (New York: Frederick Praeger, 1999). Adrienne Koch; Power, Morals, and the Founding Fathers: Essays in the Interpretation of the American Enlightenment (Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press, 1961). K. M. Kostyal. Founding Fathers: The Fight for Freedom and the Birth of American Liberty (2014) Franklin T. Lambert, The Founding Fathers and the Place of Religion in America. (Princeton, NJ Princeton University Press, 2003). James Kirby Martin, Men in Rebellion: Higher Governmental Leaders and the coming of the American Revolution, (New Brunswick, NJ: Rutgers University Press, 1973; reprint, New York: Free Press, 1976). Richard B. Morris, Seven Who Shaped Our Destiny: The Founding Fathers as Revolutionaries (New York: Harper & Row, 1973). Robert Previdi; "Vindicating the Founders: Race, Sex, Class, and Justice in the Origins of America," Presidential Studies Quarterly, Vol. 29, 1999 Rakove, Jack. Revolutionaries: A New History of the Invention of America(Houghton Mifflin Harcourt; 2010) 487 pages; scholarly study focuses on how the Founders moved from private lives to public action, beginning in the 1770s Cokie Roberts. Founding Mothers: The Women Who Raised Our Nation. New York: William Morrow, 2005. Gordon S. Wood. Revolutionary Characters: What Made the Founders Different (New York: Penguin Press, 2006) External links Wikimedia Commons has media related to Founding Fathers of the United States. 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(1754 political cartoon) Albany Plan of Union Albany Congress Hutchinson Letters Affair Committee of Secret Correspondence Committee of Five Declaration of Independence Model Treaty Franco-American alliance Treaty of Amity and Commerce Treaty of Alliance Staten Island Peace Conference Libertas Americana Treaty of Paris, 1783 Delegate, 1787 Constitutional Convention Pennsylvania Provincial Assembly Postmaster General Founding Fathers Inventions, other events Franklin's electrostatic machine Bifocals Franklin stove Glass armonica Gulf Stream exploration, naming, and chart Lightning rod Kite experiment Pay it forward Associators 111th Infantry Regiment Junto club American Philosophical Society Library Company of Philadelphia Pennsylvania Hospital Academy and College of Philadelphia University of Pennsylvania Philadelphia Contributionship Union Fire Company Early American currency Continental Currency dollar coin Fugio cent United States Postal Service President, Pennsylvania Abolition Society Master, Les Neuf Sœurs Gravesite Writings Silence Dogood letters (1722) A Dissertation on Liberty and Necessity, Pleasure and Pain (1725) The Busy-Body columns (1729) Pennsylvania Gazette (1729–1790) Poor Richard's Almanack (1732–1758) The Drinker's Dictionary (1737) "Advice to a Friend on Choosing a Mistress" (1745) "The Speech of Polly Baker" (1747) Observations Concerning the Increase of Mankind, Peopling of Countries, etc. (1751) Experiments and Observations on Electricity (1751) Birch letters (1755) The Way to Wealth (1758) Pennsylvania Chronicle (1767) Rules by Which a Great Empire May Be Reduced to a Small One (1773) Proposed alliance with the Iroquois (1775) A Letter To A Royal Academy (1781) Remarks Concerning the Savages of North America (1784) "The Morals of Chess" (1786) An Address to the Public (1789) A Plan for Improving the Condition of the Free Blacks (1789) The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin (1771–1790, pub. 1791) Bagatelles and Satires (pub. 1845) Franklin as a journalist Legacy Franklin Court Benjamin Franklin House Benjamin Franklin Institute of Technology Benjamin Franklin Parkway Benjamin Franklin National Memorial Franklin Institute awards medal Benjamin Franklin Medal Royal Society of Arts medal Depicted in The Apotheosis of Washington Treaty of Paris (1783 painting) Benjamin Franklin Drawing Electricity from the Sky (1816 painting) Boston statue Philadelphia statue Washington D.C. statue Jefferson Memorial pediment In popular culture Ben and Me (1953 short) Ben Franklin in Paris (1964 musical play) 1776 (1969 musical 1972 film) Benjamin Franklin (1974 miniseries) A More Perfect Union (1989 film) Liberty! (1997 documentary series) Liberty's Kids (2002 animated series) Benjamin Franklin (2002 documentary series) John Adams (2008 miniseries) Sons of Liberty (2015 miniseries) Refunding Certificate Franklin half dollar One-hundred-dollar bill Franklin silver dollar Washington–Franklin stamps other stamps Cities, counties, schools named for Franklin Franklin Field Mount Franklin State of Franklin Sons of Ben (Philadelphia Union) Ships named USS Franklin Ben Franklin effect Related Age of Enlightenment American Enlightenment The New-England Courant The American Museum magazine American Revolution patriots Syng inkstand Family Deborah Read (wife) Sarah Franklin Bache (daughter) Francis Franklin (son) William Franklin (son) Richard Bache Jr. (grandson) Benjamin F. Bache (grandson) Louis F. Bache (grandson) William Franklin (grandson) Andrew Harwood (great-grandson) Alexander Bache (great-grandson) Josiah Franklin (father) Jane Mecom (sister) James Franklin (brother) Mary Morrell Folger (grandmother) Peter Folger (grandfather) Richard Bache (son-in-law) Ann Smith Franklin (sister-in-law) Category Commons v t e Alexander Hamilton Senior Officer of the United States Army, 1799–1800 1st Secretary of the Treasury, 1789–1795 Delegate, Congress of the Confederation, 1782–1783, 1788–1789 United States founding events A Full Vindication of the Measures of Congress (1774) The Farmer Refuted (1775) Delegate, 1786 Annapolis Convention Delegate, 1787 Constitutional Convention Initiated, main author, The Federalist Papers written by Hamilton Founding Father Secretary of the Treasury First Bank of the United States Revenue Marine (U.S. Coast Guard) U.S. Customs Service Hamiltonian economic program Residence Act Compromise of 1790 Funding Act of 1790 Tariff of 1790 Tariff of 1791 Tariff of 1792 Coinage Act of 1792 U.S. Mint Whiskey Rebellion Jay Treaty Reports "First Report on the Public Credit" "Second Report on Public Credit" "Report On Manufactures" "Report on a Plan for the Further Support of Public Credit" Society for Establishing Useful Manufactures Military career New York Provincial Company of Artillery Washington's aide-de-camp In the Revolutionary War Battle of Harlem Heights White Plains Trenton Princeton Brandywine Germantown Monmouth Siege of Yorktown Other events Burr–Hamilton duel Founder, Federalist Party Federalist Era Founder, Bank of New York Bank of North America Advisor, George Washington's Farewell Address President General of the Society of the Cincinnati Founder, New-York Evening Post Hamilton–Reynolds affair Rutgers v. Waddington Relationship with slavery Depictions Trumbull portrait Ceracchi bust Central Park statue U.S. Treasury statue Columbia University statue Boston statue Chicago statue U.S. postage stamps U.S. $10 bill Memorials Boyhood home and museum Alexander Hamilton U.S. Custom House Alexander Hamilton Bridge Alexander Hamilton High School (Los Angeles) Fort Hamilton Hamilton Grange National Memorial Hamilton Hall (Columbia University) Hamilton Hall (Salem) Hamilton Heights, Manhattan Hamilton, Ohio Hamilton-Oneida Academy Trinity Church Cemetery Popular culture Hamilton (1917 play) Alexander Hamilton (1931 film) Liberty! (1997 documentary series) Liberty's Kids (2002 animated series) Alexander Hamilton (2004 book) John Adams (2008 miniseries) Hamilton (2015 musical, 2020 film) Washington (2020 miniseries) Related Age of Enlightenment American Enlightenment American Philosophical Society Liberty Hall (N.J.) New York Manumission Society African Free School "American System" economic plan American School American Revolution patriots Family Elizabeth Schuyler Hamilton (wife) Schuyler family Philip Hamilton (oldest son) Angelica Hamilton (daughter) Alexander Hamilton Jr. (son) James Alexander Hamilton (son) John Church Hamilton (son) William S. Hamilton (son) Eliza Hamilton Holly (daughter) Philip Hamilton (youngest son) Schuyler Hamilton (grandson) Alexander Hamilton Jr. (grandson) Allan McLane Hamilton (grandson) Robert Ray Hamilton (great-grandson) Category Book v t e John Hancock 1st and 3rd Governor of Massachusetts, 1780–1785, 1787–1793 President, 2nd Continential Congress, 1775–1777 Boston Board of Selectmen, 1766–1775 United States Founding events HMS Liberty confiscation Sons of Liberty Co-inspired, Boston Tea Party 1774 Massacre Day speech President, Massachusetts Provincial Congress Chairman, Massachusetts Committee of Safety Presided over, signed, United States Declaration of Independence signing Dunlap broadside Signed, Articles of Confederation 1788 Massachusetts Compromise Life Early life Hancock-Clarke House Hancock Manor Massachusetts Hall, Harvard University Boston Cadets Co-founder, American Academy of Arts and Sciences United States presidential election, 1788–89 Granary Burying Ground Related American Revolution patriots Founding Father Syng inkstand Legacy 1776 (1969 musical, 1972 film) Liberty's Kids (2002 animated series) John Adams (2008 miniseries) Sons of Liberty (2015 miniseries) USS Hancock, 1775 USS Hancock, 1776 USS John Hancock (1850) USS Hancock (1944) USS John Hancock (1977) John Hancock Center John Hancock Tower Family Dorothy Quincy (wife) John Hancock Jr. (father) Thomas Hancock (uncle) John Hancock Sr. (grandfather) Edmund Quincy (father-in-law) v t e John Jay 2nd Governor of New York, 1795-1801 1st Chief Justice of the United States, 1789-1795 United States Secretary of State, 1789-90 United States Secretary of Foreign Affairs, 1784-1789 United States Minister to Spain, 1779-1782 President of the Continental Congress, 1778-79 Founding of the United States Continental Association (1774, signed) Olive Branch Petition (1775) Committee of Secret Correspondence (1775-76) New York Constitution (1777) Treaty of Paris (1783) The Federalist Papers papers, 1787-88 Jay Court, Chief Justice of the Supreme Court (1789-1795) Other events New York Manumission Society African Free School Jay–Gardoqui Treaty Jay Treaty (1794) Other writings "Letters to the inhabitants of Canada" (1775) "The New York Circular Letter" (1788) The Selected Papers of John Jay Homes Jay Estate Jay Heritage Center John Jay Homestead Namesakes Fort Jay John Jay College of Criminal Justice John Jay Park Jay, New York Jay, Vermont Family Sarah Livingston Jay (wife) Peter Jay (son) William Jay (son) John Clarkson Jay (grandson) John Jay (grandson) James Jay (brother) Jacobus Van Cortlandt (grandfather) Related Federalist Party Arbitration Treaty of Paris (1783 painting) v t e Thomas Jefferson 3rd President of the United States (1801–1809) 2nd Vice President of the United States (1797–1801) 1st U.S. Secretary of State (1790–1793) U.S. Minister to France (1785–1789) 2nd Governor of Virginia (1779–1781) Delegate, Second Continental Congress (1775–1776) Founding documents of the United States A Summary View of the Rights of British America (1774) Initial draft, Olive Branch Petition (1775) Declaration of the Causes and Necessity of Taking Up Arms (1775) 1776 Declaration of Independence Committee of Five authored physical history "All men are created equal" "Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness" "Consent of the governed" Virginia Statute for Religious Freedom, 1777 draft and 1786 passage Freedom of religion Land Ordinance of 1784 Land Ordinance of 1785 Northwest Ordinance 1787 French Revolution Co-author, Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen (1789) Presidency Inaugural Address (1801 1805) Act Prohibiting Importation of Slaves Louisiana Purchase Lewis and Clark Expedition Corps of Discovery timeline Empire of Liberty Red River Expedition Pike Expedition Cumberland Road Embargo Act of 1807 Chesapeake–Leopard affair Non-Intercourse Act of 1809 First Barbary War Native American policy Marbury v. Madison West Point Military Academy State of the Union Addresses (texts 1801 1802 1805) Cabinet Federal judicial appointments Other noted accomplishments Early life and career Franco-American alliance Founder, University of Virginia history Ratification Day Anti-Administration party Democratic-Republican Party Jeffersonian democracy First Party System republicanism Plan for Establishing Uniformity in the Coinage, Weights, and Measure of the United States (1790) Kentucky and Virginia Resolutions A Manual of Parliamentary Practice (1801) American Creed Jefferson disk Swivel chair Jeffersonian architecture Barboursville Farmington Monticello gardens Poplar Forest University of Virginia The Rotunda The Lawn Jefferson Hall Virginia State Capitol White House Colonnades Other writings Notes on the State of Virginia (1785) 1787 European journey memorandums Indian removal letters Jefferson Bible (c. 1819) Jefferson manuscript collection at the Massachusetts Historical Society The Papers of Thomas Jefferson Related Age of Enlightenment American Enlightenment American Philosophical Society American Revolution patriots Claude G. Bowers Member, Virginia Committee of Correspondence Committee of the States Founding Fathers of the United States Jefferson and education Religious views Jefferson and slavery Jefferson and the Library of Congress Jefferson Pier Pet mockingbird National Gazette Residence Act Compromise of 1790 Sally Hemings Jefferson–Hemings controversy Betty Hemings Separation of church and state The American Museum magazine Virginia dynasty Elections United States Presidential election 1796 1800 1804 Legacy and memorials Bibliography Jefferson Memorial Mount Rushmore Birthday Thomas Jefferson Building Jefferson Territory Thomas Jefferson Center for the Protection of Free Expression Jefferson Lecture Jefferson National Expansion Memorial Thomas Jefferson Star for Foreign Service Karl Bitter statues Columbia University statue Louisville statue University of Virginia statue U.S. Capitol statue Jefferson Literary and Debating Society Thomas Jefferson Foundation Jefferson Lab Monticello Association Jefferson City, Missouri Jefferson College Thomas Jefferson School of Law Thomas Jefferson University Washington and Jefferson National Forests Peaks and mountains Other placenames Jefferson–Jackson Day Currency depictions Jefferson nickel Two-dollar bill Louisiana Purchase Exposition dollar 250th Anniversary silver dollar U.S. postage stamps Popular culture Ben and Me (1953 short) 1776 (1969 musical 1972 film) Jefferson in Paris (1995 film) Thomas Jefferson (1997 film) Liberty! (1997 documentary series) Liberty's Kids (2002 animated series) John Adams (2008 miniseries) Jefferson's Garden (2015 play) Hamilton (2015 musical, 2020 film) Washington (2020 miniseries) Wine bottles controversy Family Martha Jefferson (wife) Martha Jefferson Randolph (daughter) Mary Jefferson Eppes (daughter) Harriet Hemings (daughter) Madison Hemings (son) Eston Hemings (son) Thomas J. Randolph (grandson) Francis Eppes (grandson) George W. Randolph (grandson) John Wayles Jefferson (grandson) Frederick Madison Roberts (great-grandson) Peter Jefferson (father) Jane Randolph Jefferson (mother) Lucy Jefferson Lewis (sister) Randolph Jefferson (brother) Isham Randolph (grandfather) William Randolph (great-grandfather) ← John Adams James Madison → Category v t e Robert Livingston United States founding Committee of Five (Declaration of Independence) New York Constitution (1777) United States Secretary of Foreign Affairs Events Louisiana Purchase (negotiated) North River Steamboat Legacy Jefferson Memorial Committee of Five pediment Statue of Robert R. Livingston Related Robert Livingston (father) Edward Livingston (brother) Robert Livingston (grandfather) Clermont State Historic Site First inauguration of George Washington 1776 (1969 musical, 1972 film) v t e James Madison 4th President of the United States (1809–1817) 5th U.S. Secretary of State (1801–1809) United States House of Representatives (1789–1797) Congress of the Confederation (1781–1783) Virginia House of Delegates (1776–1779, 1784–1786) "Father of the Constitution" Co-wrote, 1776 Virginia Constitution 1786 Annapolis Convention 1787 Constitutional Convention Virginia Plan Constitution of the United States Notes of Debates in the Federal Convention of 1787 The Federalist Papers written by Madison No. 10 No. 51 Virginia Ratifying Convention United States Bill of Rights 27th amendment Constitution drafting and ratification timeline Tariff of 1789 Founding Fathers Presidency First inauguration Second inauguration Tecumseh's War Battle of Tippecanoe War of 1812 origins Burning of Washington The Octagon House Treaty of Ghent Seven Buildings residence results Second Barbary War Era of Good Feelings Second Bank of the United States State of the Union Address (1810 1814 1815 1816) Cabinet Federal judiciary appointments Other noted accomplisments Co-founder, American Whig Society Supervised the Louisiana Purchase Anti-Administration party Residence Act Compromise of 1790 Democratic-Republican Party First Party System republicanism Library of Congress Virginia and Kentucky Resolutions Report of 1800 Other writings The Papers of James Madison Life Early life and career Belle Grove Plantation, birthplace Montpelier Elections 1789 Virginia's 5th congressional district election 1790 1792 1794 U.S. presidential election, 1808 1812 Legacy and popular culture Memorials James Madison Memorial Building statue James Madison University James Madison College Madison, Wisconsin James Madison Park James Madison Memorial High School Madison Square Madison River Mount Madison Madison Street U.S. postage stamps James Madison Memorial Fellowship Foundation James Madison Freedom of Information Award James Madison Award James Madison Institute A More Perfect Union (1989 film) Liberty's Kids (2002 series) Hamilton (musical, film) Washington (2020 miniseries) Related Age of Enlightenment American Enlightenment Marbury v. Madison National Gazette Paul Jennings Madisonian model Cognitive Madisonianism American Philosophical Society The American Museum magazine Virginia dynasty Family Dolley Madison (wife) John Payne Todd (stepson) James Madison Sr. (father) William Madison (brother) Ambrose Madison (grandfather) ← Thomas Jefferson James Monroe → Category v t e George Mason United States Founding events Drafted, 1769 Virginia Association resolutions Primary author, 1774 Fairfax Resolves Primary author, 1776 Virginia Declaration of Rights "All men are created equal" Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness Freedom of the press Freedom of religion Consent of the governed Baseless search and seizure Cruel and unusual punishment Speedy trial 1776 Virginia Constitution Seal of Virginia 1785 Mount Vernon Conference 1787 Constitutional Convention "high crimes and misdemeanors" Virginia Ratifying Convention Co-father, United States Bill of Rights history Founding Father Writings inspired Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen (1789, France) United States Bill of Rights (1789) Life Chopawamsic plantation Gunston Hall On slavery Ohio Company Legacy George Mason Memorial George Mason University George Mason Stadium George Mason Memorial Bridge George Mason High School 18-cent postage stamp Related Age of Enlightenment American Enlightenment American Revolution patriots Wilson v. Mason Hollin Hall Woodbridge plantation Mason's Island Family George Mason V (son) William Mason (son) Thomson Mason (son) John Mason (son) Thomas Mason (son) George Mason III (father) Thomson Mason (brother) George Mason II (grandfather) v t e Gouverneur Morris United States Senator, New York, 1800–1803 Ministers to the Court of Versailles, 1792–1794 Second Continental Congress, 1778–1779 United States Founding events Signed, Articles of Confederation New York Constitution (1777) Wrote, Preamble to the United States Constitution Co-wrote, signed, United States Constitution Namesakes Town of Gouverneur, New York Village of Gouverneur, New York SS Gouverneur Morris Related Founding Fathers Lewis Morris (father) Gouverneur Morris, Jr. (son) Lewis Morris (brother) Richard Morris (brother) Staats Long Morris (brother) Lewis Morris (grandfather) A More Perfect Union (1989 film) v t e Robert Morris United States Senator, Pennsylvania, 1789–1795 Superintendent of Finance of the United States, 1781–1784 Second Continental Congress, 1775–1778 United States Founding events Financier of the American Revolution Signed, Declaration of Independence Signed, Articles of Confederation Signed, United States Constitution 1776 Model Treaty Committee of Secret Correspondence, Second Continental Congress Chairman, Pennsylvania Committee of Safety U.S. Superintendent of Finance Agent of the Marine Bank of North America Nova Constellatio Philadelphia as U.S. capital city, 1790–1800 Residence Act President's House Other events Willing, Morris & Co. (Slavery) Use of the dollar sign Newburgh Conspiracy Empress of China merchant ship Old China Trade Phelps and Gorham Purchase Life Early life Summerseat home 1788 U.S. Senate election Panic of 1796–97 Christ Church, Philadelphia, burial site Legacy Robert Morris University, Pennsylvania Robert Morris University, Illinois Robert Morris statue, Philadelphia Depicted in The Apotheosis of Washington Heald Square Monument, Chicago Mount Morris, New York village dam Morrisville, Pennsylvania USS Morris Related Founding Fathers Thomas Willing Betsy Ross flag USS Alfred Family Thomas Morris (son) Bishop William White (brother-in-law) v t e Thomas Paine Writings Common Sense (January 1776) The American Crisis (December 1776) Rights of Man (March 1791, February 1792) The Age of Reason (1794, 1795, 1807) Agrarian Justice (1797) Life 1792 Rights of Man trial Wearmouth Bridge Thomas Paine Cottage Legacy Thomas Paine National Historical Association Thomas Paine Monument, New Rochelle, New York Institute of Thomas Paine Studies In Lambeth Liberty! A New World: A Life of Thomas Paine Related Headstrong Club v t e Roger Sherman United States Senator, Connecticut, 1791–1793 U.S. House of Representatives, Connecticut's at-large district, 1789–1791 1st Mayor of New Haven, Connecticut, 1784–1793 Delegate, Continental Congress, 1774–1781, 1784 Governor's Council, Connecticut General Assembly, 1766–1785 Connecticut House of Representatives, 1755–1758, 1760–1761 United States Founding events Continental Association (signed) Declaration of Independence (co-wrote, signed, Committee of Five) Articles of Confederation (signed) United States Constitution (co-wrote, signed, Great Compromise, Article One, Section 10) Legacy Statue of Roger Sherman Committee of Five pediment, Jefferson Memorial Sherman, Connecticut Sherman, New York Portrayals 1776 (1969 musical, 1972 film) Related Founding Fathers Family Rebecca Minot Prescott (second wife) Roger Sherman Baldwin (grandson) Sherman Day (grandson) Ebenezer R. Hoar (grandson) William M. Evarts (grandson) George Frisbie Hoar (grandson) v t e Charles Thomson Founding of the United States Sons of Liberty (Philadelphia) Secretary, Continental Congress, 1774-1789 First Continental Congress Second Continental Congress Confederation Congress Dunlap broadside, Declaration of Independence Great Seal of the United States Other events Secretary, Treaty of Easton, 1758 Writings Thomson's Bible translation Home Harriton House Portrayals 1776 (1969 musical, 1972 film) Related Seal of the President of the United States v t e George Washington 1st President of the United States (1789–1797) Senior Officer of the Army (1798–1799) Commander-in-Chief of the Continental Army (1775–1783) Second Continental Congress (1775) First Continental Congress (1774) Military career Revolutionary War Military career French and Indian War Jumonville Glen Battle of Fort Necessity Battle of the Monongahela Forbes Expedition Washington and the American Revolution Commander-in-chief, Continental Army Aides-de-camp Washington's headquarters office and sleeping tent Boston campaign Siege of Boston New York and New Jersey campaign Delaware River crossing Battle of Trenton Battle of the Assunpink Creek Battle of Princeton Philadelphia campaign Battle of Brandywine Battle of Germantown Battle of White Marsh Valley Forge Battle of Monmouth Battles of Saratoga Sullivan Expedition Yorktown campaign Siege of Yorktown Culper spy ring Newburgh Conspiracy Newburgh letter Resignation as commander-in-chief Badge of Military Merit Purple Heart Washington Before Boston Medal Horses: Nelson and Blueskin Other U.S. founding events 1769 Virginia Association Continental Association 1774 Fairfax Resolves Court of Appeals in Cases of Capture 1785 Mount Vernon Conference Chairman, 1787 Constitutional Convention George Washington's political evolution Presidency 1788–89 United States presidential election Reception at Trenton 1792 inaugural bible Title of "Mr. President" Cabinet of the United States Secretary of State Attorney General Secretary of the Treasury Secretary of War Judiciary Act of 1789 Nonintercourse Act Whiskey Rebellion Militia Acts of 1792 Coinage Act of 1792 United States Mint Proclamation of Neutrality Neutrality Act of 1794 Jay Treaty Pinckney's Treaty Slave Trade Act of 1794 Residence Act Thanksgiving Proclamation Farewell Address State of the Union Address 1790 1791 1792 1793 1796 Cabinet Federal judicial appointments Views and public image Presidential library The Washington Papers Religious views Washington and slavery Town Destroyer Legacy Life and homes Early life Birthplace Ferry Farm boyhood home Mount Vernon Gristmill Woodlawn Plantation Samuel Osgood House (First Presidential Mansion) Alexander Macomb House (Second Presidential Mansion) President's House, Philadelphia Germantown White House Custis estate Potomac Company James River and Kanawha Canal Mountain Road Lottery Congressional Gold Medal Thanks of Congress President General of the Society of the Cincinnati Washington College Washington and Lee University Electoral history of George Washington Memorials and depictions Washington, D.C. Washington state Washington Monument Mount Rushmore Washington's Birthday Purple Heart The Apotheosis of Washington George Washington (Houdon) George Washington (Ceracchi) George Washington (Canova) George Washington (Greenough) George Washington (Trumbull) Washington Crossing the Delaware The Passage of the Delaware General George Washington at Trenton Washington at Verplanck's Point General George Washington Resigning His Commission Surrender of Lord Cornwallis Unfinished portrait Lansdowne portrait The Washington Family portrait Washington at Princeton paintings Reception at Trenton painting Princeton Battle Monument Point of View sculpture Austin statue Baltimore statue Boston statue Philadelphia statue Portland statue Washington, D.C. statue West Point monument Mexico City statue George Washington University Washington University Washington Masonic National Memorial George Washington Memorial Parkway George Washington Bridge Washington and Jefferson National Forests Washington Monument, Baltimore Washington Square Park Arch List of memorials U.S. Postage stamps Washington-Franklin Issues 1932 bicentennial Currency Washington quarter 50 State Quarters D.C. and territories quarters America the Beautiful quarters Washington dollar Lafayette dollar Silver bullion coins Washington nickel Mount Washington Cultural depictions George Washington (1984 miniseries 1986 sequel) A More Perfect Union (1989 film) We Fight to Be Free (2006 film) Turn: Washington's Spies (2014–2017 series) Washington (2020 miniseries) Hamilton (film) Related Bibliography List of articles Founding Fathers of the United States Republicanism Federalist Party Federalist Era Virginia dynasty Coat of arms Cherry-tree anecdote River Farm Washington's Crossing Washington–Rochambeau Revolutionary Route 1751 Barbados trip Category Syng inkstand General of the Armies American Philosophical Society American Revolution patriots Betsy Ross flag Mount Vernon Ladies' Association Mount Vernon replicas Ancestry and family Martha Washington (wife) John Parke Custis (stepson) George Washington Parke Custis (step-grandson, adopted son) Eleanor Parke Custis (step-granddaughter, adopted daughter) Augustine Washington (father) Mary Ball Washington (mother) Lawrence Washington (half-brother) Augustine Washington Jr. (half-brother) Betty Washington Lewis (sister) Samuel Washington (brother) John A. Washington (brother) Charles Washington (brother) Lawrence Washington (grandfather) John Washington (great-grandfather) Bushrod Washington (nephew) John Adams → Category v t e United States articles History By event Pre-Columbian era Colonial era Thirteen Colonies military history Founding Fathers Continental Congress Continental Association Lee Resolution Declaration of Independence American Revolution War Treaty of Paris Articles of Confederation Confederation Period American frontier Drafting and ratification of Constitution Bill of Rights Federalist Era War of 1812 Territorial evolution Mexican–American War Civil War Reconstruction era Indian Wars Gilded Age Progressive Era Women's suffrage Civil rights movement 1865–1896 / 1896–1954 / 1954–1968 Spanish–American War Imperialism World War I Roaring Twenties Great Depression World War II home front American Century Cold War Korean War Space Race Feminist Movement Vietnam War Post-Cold War (1991–2008) War on Terror War in Afghanistan Iraq War COVID-19 pandemic By topic Outline of U.S. history Demographic Discoveries Economic debt ceiling Inventions before 1890 1890–1945 1946–1991 after 1991 Military Postal Technological and industrial Geography Territory Contiguous United States Continental America counties federal district federal enclaves Indian reservations insular zones minor outlying islands populated places states Earthquakes Extreme points Islands Mountains peaks ranges Appalachian Rocky National Park Service National Parks Regions East Coast West Coast Great Plains Gulf Mid-Atlantic Midwestern New England Pacific Central Eastern Northern Northeastern Northwestern Southern Southeastern Southwestern Western Longest rivers Arkansas Colorado Columbia Mississippi Missouri Red (South) Rio Grande Yukon Time Water supply and sanitation World Heritage Sites Politics Federal Executive Cabinet Civil service Executive departments Executive Office Independent agencies Law enforcement President of the United States Powers Public policy Legislative House of Representatives current members Speaker Senate current members President pro tempore Vice President Judicial District courts Courts of appeals Supreme Court Law Bill of Rights civil liberties Code of Federal Regulations Constitution federalism preemption separation of powers civil rights Federal Reporter United States Code United States Reports Intelligence Central Intelligence Agency Defense Intelligence Agency Federal Bureau of Investigation National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency National Reconnaissance Office National Security Agency Office of the Director of National Intelligence Uniformed Armed Forces Army Marine Corps Navy Air Force Space Force Coast Guard National Guard NOAA Corps Public Health Service Corps 51st state political status of Puerto Rico District of Columbia statehood movement Elections Electoral College Foreign relations Foreign policy Hawaiian sovereignty movement Ideologies anti-Americanism exceptionalism nationalism 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Mass surveillance Terrorism Separation of church and state Outline Index Category Portal v t e American Revolutionary War Origins of the American Revolution Philosophy American Enlightenment John Locke Colonial history Liberalism Republicanism Freedom of religion Rights of Englishmen Common Sense Spirit of '76 "All men are created equal" "Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness" "Consent of the governed" Royalists Pitt–Newcastle ministry Bute ministry Grenville ministry First Rockingham ministry Chatham ministry Grafton ministry North ministry Second Rockingham ministry Shelburne ministry Fox–North coalition Loyalists Black Loyalist Related British Acts of Parliament Navigation Iron Molasses Royal Proclamation of 1763 Sugar Currency Quartering Stamp Declaratory Townshend Tea Quebec Intolerable Conciliatory Resolution Restraining Proclamation of Rebellion Prohibitory Colonials Stamp Act Congress Declaration of Rights and Grievances Virginia Association Sons of Liberty Patriots Black Patriots Committees of correspondence Committees of safety Letters from a Farmer in Pennsylvania Massachusetts Circular Letter First Continental Congress Continental Association Minutemen Provincial Congress Second Continental Congress Olive Branch Petition Committee of Secret Correspondence Lee Resolution Declaration of Independence Articles of Confederation Confederation Congress Events French and Indian War Treaty of Paris (1763) Boston Massacre Crisis of 1772 Gaspee Affair Hutchinson Letters Affair Boston Tea Party Powder Alarm Combatants Campaigns Theaters Battles Events Colonies Combatants Thirteen Colonies Continental Congress Army Navy Marines Kingdom of Great Britain Parliament British Army Royal Navy German auxiliaries Colonial allies France army navy Hortalez et Cie Campaigns and theaters Boston Quebec Nova Scotia New York and New Jersey Saratoga Philadelphia Northern Northern after Saratoga Southern Western Yorktown Naval battles Major battles Lexington and Concord Boston Capture of Fort Ticonderoga Bunker Hill Quebec Valcour Island Long Island Harlem Heights Fort Washington Trenton Assunpink Creek Princeton Siege of Fort Ticonderoga Bennington Saratoga Brandywine Germantown Monmouth St. Lucia Grenada Stony Point Sullivan Expedition Savannah Gibraltar Cape St. Vincent Charleston Connecticut Farms Springfield Camden Kings Mountain Cowpens Guilford Court House Lochry's Defeat Yorktown Saintes Other events Staten Island Peace Conference "First Salute" Washington's crossing of the Delaware River Conway Cabal Valley Forge Entry of France into war Carlisle Peace Commission Gordon Riots Pennsylvania Mutiny of 1781 Sint Eustatius Newburgh Conspiracy Pennsylvania Mutiny of 1783 Related conflicts Cherokee–American wars Fourth Anglo-Dutch War Second Anglo-Mysore War Involvement (by  colony or location) Rebel colonies Connecticut Delaware Georgia Maryland Massachusetts New Hampshire New Jersey New York North Carolina Pennsylvania Rhode Island South Carolina Virginia Loyal colonies East Florida Nova Scotia Quebec West Florida Leaders British Military Arbuthnot Brant Burgoyne Campbell Carleton Clinton Cornwallis Fraser Gage Graves Richard Howe William Howe Knyphausen Rodney Civilian King George III Amherst Barrington Germain North Rockingham Sandwich Shelburne Colonial Military Washington Alexander Allen Arnold Barry Claghorn Clark Duportail Gates Greene Hamilton Hopkins Jones de Kalb Knox Lafayette Charles Lee Lincoln Mercer Montgomery Nicholson Putnam Rodney St. Clair Schuyler von Steuben Sullivan Ward Wayne Civilian John Adams Samuel Adams Carroll Dickinson Franklin Hancock Hanson Henry Huntington Jay Jefferson Laurens Richard Henry Lee McKean Morris Revere Rush Witherspoon Colonial allies French Louis XVI Beaumarchais d'Estaing de Grasse de Guichen Luzerne de Rochambeau Suffren Vergennes Aftermath Society of the Cincinnati Treaty of Paris (1783) Ratification Day (1784) Constitutional Convention The Federalist Papers Constitution Bill of Rights Shays' Rebellion Jay Treaty Related topics Military Prisoners The Turtle Political Founding Fathers Diplomacy Liberty Tree Yankee Doodle Other topics Timeline of the American Revolution African Americans in the Revolutionary War Women in the American Revolution Financial costs of the war Libertas Americana Portal Authority control BNF: cb16276915r (data) LCCN: sh2006003198 Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Founding_Fathers_of_the_United_States&oldid=1002896197" Categories: Age of Enlightenment American Revolution National founders Patriots in the American Revolution Political leaders of the American Revolution 1910s neologisms Hidden categories: Articles with short description Short description matches Wikidata Wikipedia semi-protected pages Use mdy dates from October 2019 Commons link from Wikidata Webarchive template wayback links Wikipedia articles with BNF identifiers Wikipedia articles with LCCN identifiers Navigation menu Personal tools Not logged 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