Founding Fathers of the United States


The Founding Fathers of the United States, referred to as the Founding Fathers or the Founders by Americans, were a group of late-18th-century American revolutionary leaders who united the Thirteen Colonies, oversaw the War of Independence from Great Britain, established the United States of America, and crafted a framework of government for the new nation.
The Founding Fathers include those who wrote and signed the United States Declaration of Independence, the Articles of Confederation, and the Constitution of the United States, certain military personnel who fought in the American Revolutionary War, and others who greatly assisted in the nation's formation. The single person most identified as Father of the United States is George Washington, commanding general in the American Revolution and the nation's first president. In 1973, the historian Richard B. Morris identified seven figures as key founders, based on what he called the "triple tests" of leadership, longevity, and statesmanship: John Adams, Benjamin Franklin, Alexander Hamilton, John Jay, Thomas Jefferson, James Madison, and Washington.
Most of the Founding Fathers had ancestry traceable back to England, though many had family roots extending across the other regions of the British Isles: Scotland, Wales, and Ireland. Additionally, some traced their lineage back to the early Dutch settlers of New York during the colonial era, while others were descendants of French Huguenots who settled in the British Thirteen Colonies, escaping religious persecution in France. Many of them were wealthy merchants, lawyers, landowners, and slaveowners.

Historical founders

The historian Richard B. Morris's selection of seven key founders was widely accepted through the 20th century. John Adams, Thomas Jefferson, and Benjamin Franklin were members of the Committee of Five that were charged by the Second Continental Congress with drafting the Declaration of Independence. Franklin, Adams, and John Jay negotiated the 1783 Treaty of Paris, which established American independence and brought an end to the American Revolutionary War. The constitutions drafted by Jay and Adams for their respective states of New York and Massachusetts proved influential in the language used in developing the U.S. Constitution. The Federalist Papers, which advocated the ratification of the Constitution, were written by Alexander Hamilton, James Madison, and Jay. George Washington was commander-in-chief of the Continental Army and later president of the Constitutional Convention.
Each of these men held additional important roles in the early government of the United States. Washington, Adams, Jefferson, and Madison served as the first four presidents; Adams and Jefferson were the nation's first two vice presidents; Jay was the nation's first chief justice; Hamilton was the first secretary of the treasury; Jefferson was the first secretary of state; and Franklin was America's most senior diplomat from the start of the Revolutionary War through its conclusion with the signing of the Treaty of Paris in 1783.
The list of Founding Fathers is often expanded to include the signers of the Declaration of Independence and individuals who later approved the U.S. Constitution. Some scholars regard all delegates to the Constitutional Convention as Founding Fathers whether they approved the Constitution or not. In addition, some historians include signers of the Articles of Confederation, which was adopted in 1781 as the nation's first constitution.
Historians have come to recognize others as founders, such as Revolutionary War military leaders as well as participants in developments leading up to the war, including prominent writers, orators, and other men and women who contributed to cause. Since the 19th century, the Founding Fathers have shifted from the concept of them as demigods who created the modern nation-state, to take into account their inability to address issues such as slavery and the debt owed after the American Revolutionary War. Scholars emphasize that the Founding Fathers' accomplishments and shortcomings be viewed within the context of their time.

Origin of phrase

The phrase "Founding Fathers" was first introduced to Americans by U.S. senator Warren G. Harding in his keynote speech at the Republican National Convention of 1916. Harding later repeated the phrase at his March 4, 1921, presidential inauguration. Subsequent speakers adopted the term.
The term "fathers" had long been used for the founders. In 1811, responding to praise for his generation, John Adams wrote to a younger Josiah Quincy III, "I ought not to object to your Reverence for your Fathers as you call them ... but to tell you a very great secret... I have no reason to believe We were better than you are." He also wrote, "Don't call me, ... Father ... Founder ... These titles belong to no man, but to the American people in general." In Thomas Jefferson's second presidential inaugural address in 1805, he referred to those who first came to the New World as "forefathers". At his 1825 inauguration, John Quincy Adams called the U.S. Constitution "the work of our forefathers" and expressed his gratitude to "founders of the Union".
John Adams and Thomas Jefferson both died on the same day, July 4, 1826. President J. Quincy Adams paid tribute to them as "Fathers" and "Founders of the Republic". These terms were used in the U.S. throughout the 19th century, from the inaugurations of Martin Van Buren and James Polk in 1837 and 1845, to Abraham Lincoln's Cooper Union speech in 1860 and his Gettysburg Address in 1863, and up to William McKinley's first inauguration in 1897.
At a 1902 celebration of Washington's Birthday in Brooklyn, James M. Beck, a constitutional lawyer and later a U.S. congressman, delivered an address, "Founders of the Republic", in which he connected the concepts of founders and fathers, saying: "It is well for us to remember certain human aspects of the founders of the republic. Let me first refer to the fact that these fathers of the republic were for the most part young men."

List of Founding Fathers

Framers and signers

The National Archives has identified three founding documents as the "Charters of Freedom": Declaration of Independence, United States Constitution, and Bill of Rights. According to the Archives, these documents "have secured the rights of the American people for nearly two and a half centuries and are considered instrumental to the founding and philosophy of the United States." In addition, as the nation's first constitution, the Articles of Confederation and Perpetual Union is also a founding document. As a result, signers of three key documents are generally considered to be Founding Fathers of the United States: Declaration of Independence, Articles of Confederation, and U.S. Constitution. The following table provides a list of these signers, some of whom signed more than one document.
NameProvince/stateDI AC USC
Connecticut
Massachusetts
Massachusetts
Virginia
Georgia
Virginia
New Hampshire
Delaware
Delaware
Virginia
North Carolina
Virginia
New Jersey
Delaware
South Carolina
Maryland
Maryland
Maryland
New Jersey
Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania
Rhode Island
Massachusetts
New Jersey
Delaware
South Carolina
New York
New York
Rhode Island
Georgia
Pennsylvania
New York
Pennsylvania
Massachusetts
New Hampshire
Massachusetts
Georgia
Georgia
New York
Massachusetts
Maryland
North Carolina
Virginia
New Jersey
Virginia
North Carolina
South Carolina
Massachusetts
North Carolina
Rhode Island
New Jersey
Connecticut
Connecticut
South Carolina
Pennsylvania
South Carolina
Virginia
Maryland
Connecticut
Massachusetts
New Hampshire
Georgia
South Carolina
Virginia
Virginia
New York
New York
New Jersey
Massachusetts
South Carolina
Virginia
Rhode Island
South Carolina
Maryland
Delaware
South Carolina
Pennsylvania
New York
Pennsylvania
New York
Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania
Virginia
Maryland
Massachusetts
New Jersey
North Carolina
South Carolina
South Carolina
Delaware
Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania
Delaware
Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania
South Carolina
South Carolina
New Jersey
Connecticut
Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania
North Carolina
New Jersey
Maryland
Pennsylvania
Georgia
New Hampshire
Delaware
Georgia
Georgia
Virginia
New Hampshire
New Hampshire
North Carolina
Connecticut
North Carolina
Pennsylvania
New Jersey
Connecticut
Virginia