Who Were The Founding Fathers?
During the latter decades of the 18th century, the Founding Fathers of the United States, also known as the Founders, were a group of American revolutionary leaders who united the Thirteen Colonies, led the war for independence from Great Britain, and built a government framework for the new United States of America based on classical liberalism and republican principles. In 1916, Senator Warren G. Harding coined the phrase "founding fathers." Historian Richard B. Jones chose them for their crucial and significant involvement in the development of the country's new administration. Morris identified seven figures as key Founding Fathers in 1973: John Adams, Benjamin Franklin, Alexander Hamilton, John Jay, Thomas Jefferson, James Madison, and George Washington.
(Image Will Be Updated Soon)
An illustration of the four founding fathers
Who Were The Founding Fathers?
There is a lot of debate surrounding who the founding fathers were. The Committee of Five, who drafted the Declaration of Independence, included Adams, Jefferson, and Franklin. Hamilton, Madison, and Jay wrote the Federalist Papers, which argued for the Constitution's adoption. The text for the United States Constitution was strongly influenced by the constitutions drafted by Jay and Adams for their respective states of New York (1777) and Massachusetts (1780). The Treaty of Paris, negotiated by Jay, Adams, and Franklin, put an end to the American Revolutionary War. Washington was the Continental Army's Commander-in-Chief and afterwards the President of the Constitutional Convention. All played important roles in the early government of the United States, including Washington, Adams, Jefferson, and Madison as presidents, Adams and Jefferson as vice presidents, Jay as the nation's first chief justice, Hamilton as the first Secretary of the Treasury, and Franklin as America's most senior diplomat and later the governmental leader of Pennsylvania.
(Image Will Be Updated Soon)
Doctors and attorneys, businessmen and farmers were among them. Each brought his own set of skills, experiences, and ideas to the table. The majority of the delegates to the Constitutional Convention had prior political or government experience. Now that the Revolutionary War was finished, they looked to the future. They all desired liberty, but they couldn't agree on the best course of action for the country, the proper role of government, or the best political structure to achieve a balance of liberty and order.
What Founding Fathers Do For The Country?
The Founding Fathers had an important role in the country's founding by definition, but some of them were particularly important. Their strength, like that of any community, came from their diversity. Without the fiery tempers of Bostonians John and Samuel Adams, the colonies may have decided to appease Parliament and abandon their right-to-be-free fight. Instead, the compelling voices of patriots such as journalists Thomas Paine and Patrick Henry lent credibility to their cause and fueled a wave of patriotism across the colonies. John Hancock, the first signer of the Declaration of Independence and president of the Continental Congress, is most known for his huge looping signature.
During these difficult and unsettling times, the Founding Fathers were extremely helpful to one another. George Washington led the Continental Force to victory over a considerably larger and better-equipped British army during the American Revolution. Washington's role as president of the Constitutional Convention was crucial in ensuring that all viewpoints were heard and that discussions remained on pace. James Madison, a fellow Virginian, made meticulous notes on the events as Washington presided. Madison is known as the Father of the Constitution, and he is not just any Founding Father.
Benjamin Franklin was the oldest delegate to the Constitutional Convention at the age of 81. Despite being handicapped by illness, he only missed a few sessions, even when he was so feeble that he had to be carried into them. Franklin's role in drafting the Declaration of Independence and negotiating the 1783 Treaty of Paris to conclude the Revolutionary War had already earned him a place in history.
List Of Founding Fathers
The following people are regarded as Founding Fathers of America, despite the fact that some of them may not have signed the founding documents:
Brief Description Of 4 Founding Fathers
George Washington
George Washington served for the British before fighting against them, serving as a commander in the French and Indian War. He grew to dislike the British crown's many taxes and limitations on the colonies as a successful Virginia farmer with hundreds of slaves. He was put in the leadership of the Continental Army when the Revolutionary War broke out in 1775, and he suffered a near-disastrous defeat at the Battle of Brooklyn. There were more setbacks after it, and Washington lost more battles than he won. Despite this, he kept his motley men together at Valley Forge during a bitterly cold winter and, with the support of his French allies, was able to oust the British by 1783. Washington subsequently moved to Virginia, where he planned to resume his farming business. But he was convinced to return to politics as the president of the Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia, feeling that the country required a larger federal government to survive. Washington was overwhelmingly elected president of the United States in 1789. He is appropriately referred to be the "Father of His Country."
(Image Will Be Updated Soon)
An illustration of George Washington
Alexander Hamilton
Alexander Hamilton immigrated from the British West Indies to New York as an impoverished, illegitimate orphan when he was a teenager. During the Revolutionary War, he rose to prominence as an aide-de-camp to George Washington and became a vocal proponent of a strong central government. He penned the majority of the Federalist Papers, which fought for the approval of the Constitution, after attending the Constitutional Convention in 1787. He was then appointed as the first United States Treasury Secretary, a position he utilised to press for the establishment of a national bank. Hamilton was killed in an 1804 duel with his hated opponent Aaron Burr, the current vice president, and was later memorialised on the $10 dollar.
(Image Will Be Updated Soon)
An illustration of Alexander Hamilton
Benjamin Franklin
Despite a formal education that ended at the age of ten, Benjamin Franklin was a talented author, printer, scientist, inventor, and diplomat in early America. He worked tirelessly on civic efforts to enhance his adopted hometown of Philadelphia when he wasn't creating bifocals, harnessing electricity, playing music, or printing Poor Richard's Almanack. Franklin was chosen to the five-member committee that authored the Declaration of Independence during the early phases of the American Revolution. He subsequently sailed to France, where he obtained French support for the war effort and assisted in the negotiation of the Treaty of Paris, which officially ended the conflict in 1783. Franklin functioned as a sort of elder statesman at the Constitutional Convention just before his death.
(Image Will Be Updated Soon)
An illustration of Benjamin Franklin
John Adams
John Adams, a well-known Massachusetts lawyer, was an early supporter of the revolutionary cause. He, like Franklin, was a member of the committee that drafted the Declaration of Independence, travelled to France to gain military assistance, and assisted in the negotiations of the Treaty of Paris. He also chaired other important committees and took the time to develop the Massachusetts Constitution. After roughly ten years of diplomatic duty abroad, Adams returned to the United States in 1788 and became Washington's vice president. Following his two terms as president, Washington was re-elected and served from 1797 to 1801. On July 4, 1826, the 50th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence, Adams and his friend-turned-rival-turned-friend Thomas Jefferson both died on the same day.
(Image Will Be Updated Soon)
An illustration of John Adams
Historians disagree on who should be included on the list of Founding Fathers, as well as how long the list should be. Some names, such as George Washington, James Madison, and John Adams, are self-evident, but others may be less so. The Constitutional Convention comprised fifty-five delegates, each of which played a vital role. There were other those like Thomas Jefferson, who was not present at the Constitutional Convention but played a crucial part in the country's founding. Not only did Jefferson write the first drafting committee of Independence, but he also advised the Constitutional Convention from Paris, France, where he was serving as envoy to France. The Founding Fathers were an eclectic group, to say the least.
FAQs on Founding Fathers Biography
Question 1: Why do we call them founding fathers?
Answer: Those who took part in the formulation and signing of the Declaration of Independence, those who signed the Articles of Confederation of 1781, and the Commander in Chief of the Continental Army were among these American heroes. For the first time, President Warren G. Harding refers to the "Fathers" as "Founding Fathers."
Question 2: How many founding fathers were there in total?
Answer: Many knew their way around the law, politics, colonial and state governments and had served in the Continental Congress and the American Revolutionary War. The Seven Founding Fathers of the United States of America were a group of seven important political leaders and statesmen.
Question 3: Which Founding Fathers wrote autobiographies?
Answer: There were four Founding Fathers Autobiographies: Benjamin Franklin's Autobiography, Thomas Jefferson's Autobiography, Alexander Hamilton's Autobiography, and an Essay on John Jay's Autobiography. Four Founding Fathers Autobiographies is a very famous book.
