Who are the original Founding Fathers?
Fact #1: These seven men are the principle Founding Fathers: George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, John Adams, Benjamin Franklin, Alexander Hamilton, John Jay and James Madison. While there were many others who contributed to the founding of the United States, these seven are considered by most as the Founding Fathers.
Some expressed reservations but signed the Constitution, anticipating vigorous debates within their states. Three delegates, Elbridge Gerry of Massachusetts, George Mason of Virginia, and Randolph, did not sign it at all.
Polymath Ben Franklin comes in second at 21%, followed by the nation's third president and primary author of the Declaration of Independence, Thomas Jefferson, at 15%.
1. George Washington. George Washington was a constant source of support and leadership during the fight for independence. He served as leader of the Continental Army, president of the Constitutional Convention, and most importantly was the first president of the United States.
| Founding Fathers of the United States | |
|---|---|
| Leader(s) | John Adams Samuel Adams Benjamin Franklin Alexander Hamilton John Hancock John Jay Thomas Jefferson Richard Henry Lee Robert R. Livingston James Madison George Mason Robert Morris Peyton Randolph Roger Sherman George Washington |
Ten of the first twelve American presidents were slave owners, the only exceptions being John Adams and his son John Quincy Adams, neither of whom approved of slavery. George Washington was the first president who owned slaves, including while he was president.
Roger Sherman is the only person to have signed all four of the most significant documents in our nation's early history: the Continental Association from the first Continental Congress, the Declaration of Independence, the Articles of Confederation, and the United States Constitution.
Born into obscurity in the British West Indies, Alexander Hamilton made his reputation during the Revolutionary War and became one of America's most influential Founding Fathers. He was an impassioned champion of a strong federal government, and played a key role in defending and ratifying the U.S. Constitution.
James Madison is known as the Father of the Constitution because of his pivotal role in the document's drafting as well as its ratification. Madison also drafted the first 10 amendments -- the Bill of Rights.
History of Richard Allen – The Black Founding Father
Without his early activism, the long civil rights struggle in the United States during the 19th and 20th centuries would have been very different indeed. In many ways, Richard Allen is America's Black founding father.
Who was the third Founding Father?
Thomas Jefferson, a spokesman for democracy, was an American Founding Father, the principal author of the Declaration of Independence (1776), and the third President of the United States (1801–1809).
He is the lesser-known Founding Father from Philadelphia named Benjamin — the one whose face does not grace the $100 bill. Benjamin Rush was a signer of the Declaration of Independence.
1) Benjamin Franklin
Pros: Even if he had never been involved in the revolution, Ben Franklin deserves a place on any list of great Americans. He was the first famous American, a scientist and inventor (and author, musician, journalist, blacksmith, lady's man, lover of beer and just all-around awesome).
James Madison
At the 1787 Constitutional Convention, he proved to be perhaps the most influential delegate, developing a plan to divide the federal government into three branches—legislative, executive and judicial—each with checks and balances on its power.
James Madison: Last Man Standing
The man Marshall had set at liberty, Aaron Burr, died a year later in New York City. That left, at the end, only one man standing, and that was James Madison — the last survivor of the Constitutional Convention, and after Charles Carroll's death, the last real survivor of the Founders.
Founders Online—at founders.archives.gov—contains papers of six of our Founding Fathers—Adams, Benjamin Franklin, Alexander Hamilton, Jefferson, James Madison, and George Washington.
Native Americans, or the indigenous peoples of the Americas, are the pre-Columbian inhabitants of North and South America and their descendants.
48 of the 56 signers were born in America. Two were born in England (Button Gwinnett, Robert Morris), two in Ireland (George Taylor, Matthew Thornton), two in Scotland (James Wilson, John Witherspoon), one in Northern Ireland (James Smith), and one in Wales (Francis Lewis).