Founding Fathers of the United States - wikipedia Founding Fathers of the United States Jump to : navigation , search Declaration of Independence , a painting by John Trumbull depicting the Committee of Five presenting their draft to the Congress on June 28 , 1776 Signature page of the Treaty of Paris of 1783 that was negotiated on behalf of the Patriots by John Adams , Benjamin Franklin and John Jay The Founding Fathers of the United States were those of the Thirteen Colonies in North America who led the American Revolution against the Kingdom of Great Britain and contributed to the establishment of the United States of America . Historian Richard B. Morris in 1973 identified the following seven figures as the key Founding Fathers : John Adams , Benjamin Franklin , Alexander Hamilton , John Jay , Thomas Jefferson , James Madison , and George Washington . 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 US Constitution Jay , Adams and Franklin negotiated the Treaty of Paris ( 1783 ) that would end the American Revolutionary War . Washington was Commander - in - Chief of the Continental Army and was President of the Constitutional Convention . Washington , Jay and Franklin are considered the Founding Fathers of U.S. Intelligence by the CIA . 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 . Four of these seven -- Washington , Jay , Hamilton and Madison -- were not signers of the Declaration of Independence . The term Founding Fathers is sometimes used to refer to the Signers of the embossed version of the Declaration of Independence in 1776 . It 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 . 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 or 2 ) those who signed the Articles of Confederation , the first U.S. constitutional document . The phrase `` Founding Fathers '' is a twentieth - century appellation , coined by Warren G. Harding in 1916 . Prior to , and during the 19th century , they were referred to as simply the `` Fathers '' . The term has been used to describe the founders and first settlers of the original royal colonies . Contents ( hide ) 1 Background 2 Interesting facts and commonalities 2.1 Education 2.1. 1 Colleges attended 2.1. 2 Advanced degrees and apprenticeships 2.1. 2.1 Doctors of medicine 2.1. 2.2 Theology 2.1. 2.3 Legal apprenticeships 2.1. 3 Self - taught or little formal education 2.2 Demographics 2.3 Political experience 2.4 Occupations and finances 2.5 Religion 2.6 Ownership of slaves and position on slavery 2.7 Attendance at conventions 2.8 Spouses and children 2.9 Charters of freedom and historical documents of the United States 2.10 Post-constitution life 2.11 Youth and longevity 2.12 Founders who were not signatories or delegates 3 Legacy 3.1 Institutions formed by Founders 3.2 Scholarship on the Founders 3.2. 1 Living historians whose focus is the Founding Fathers 3.2. 2 Noted collections of the Founding Fathers 3.3 In stage and film 3.4 Children 's books 4 See also 5 Notes 6 References 7 External links Background ( edit ) 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 fifty - six delegates from twelve of the thirteen colonies ( excluding Georgia ) that became the United States of America . 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 was 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 . New arrivals included Benjamin Franklin and Robert Morris of Pennsylvania , John Hancock of Massachusetts , and John Witherspoon of New Jersey . 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 . 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 . Later , the Constitutional Convention took place during the summer of 1787 , in Philadelphia . 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 . Interesting facts and commonalities ( edit ) Scene at the Signing of the Constitution of the United States , by Howard Chandler Christy 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 U.S. ethos and exemplified the emerging nation 's ideals . Alexander Hamilton wrote the Federalist papers with Jay and Madison . John Jay was President of the Continental Congress from 1778 - 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 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 . 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 , the only person who signed all four U.S. historical documents The Founding Fathers represented a cross-section of 18th - century U.S. leadership . Almost all of them were well - educated men of means who were leaders in their communities . Many were also prominent in national affairs . Virtually every one had taken part in the American Revolution ; at least 29 had served in the Continental Army , most of them in positions of command . Scholars have examined the collective biography of them as well as the signers of the Declaration and the Constitution . Education ( edit ) Many of the Founding Fathers attended or held degrees from the colonial colleges , most notably Columbia , Princeton , Harvard , the College of William and Mary , Yale and University of Pennsylvania . Some had previously been home schooled or obtained early instruction from private tutors or academies . Others had studied abroad . Ironically , Benjamin Franklin who had little formal education himself would ultimately establish the University of Pennsylvania based on European models ( 1740 ) ; `` 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 and University of St. Andrews . Colleges attended ( edit ) College of William and Mary : Thomas Jefferson Harvard : John Adams , John Hancock and William Williams Columbia : John Jay , Alexander Hamilton , Gouverneur Morris , Robert R. Livingston and Egbert Benson . Princeton : James Madison , Gunning Bedford Jr. , Aaron Burr , Benjamin Rush and William Paterson University of Pennsylvania : Hugh Williamson Yale University : Oliver Wolcott James Wilson attended University of St. Andrews and Edinburgh though he never received a degree . Advanced degrees and apprenticeships ( edit ) Doctors of medicine ( edit ) University of Edinburgh : Rush University of Utrecht , Netherlands : Williamson Theology ( edit ) University of Edinburgh : Witherspoon ( attended , no degree ) University of St. Andrews : Witherspoon ( honorary doctorate ) Legal apprenticeships ( edit ) Several like John Jay , James Wilson , John Williams and George Wythe were trained as lawyers through apprenticeships in the colonies while a few trained at the Inns of Court in London . Self - taught or little formal education ( edit ) Franklin , Washington , John Williams and Henry Wisner had little formal education and were largely self - taught or learned through apprenticeship . Demographics ( edit ) Most of the Founding Fathers were natives of the Thirteen Colonies . At least nine were immigrants : four ( Butler , Fitzsimons , McHenry , and Paterson ) from Ireland , two ( Davie and Robert Morris ) from England , two ( Wilson and Witherspoon ) from Scotland , and one ( Hamilton ) from the West Indies . Many of them had moved from one state to another . Eighteen had already lived , studied or worked in more than one state or 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 . Political experience ( edit ) The Founding Fathers had extensive political experience . Many had been members of the Continental Congress . Nearly all of the 55 Constitutional Convention delegates had experience in colonial and state government , and the majority had held county and local offices . Thomas Mifflin and Nathaniel Gorham had served as President of the Continental Congress . The ones who lacked congressional experience were Bassett , Blair , Brearly , Broom , Davie , Dayton , Alexander Martin , Luther Martin , Mason , McClurg , Paterson , Charles Pinckney , Strong , and Yates . Eight men ( Clymer , Franklin , Gerry , Robert Morris , Read , Roger Sherman , Wilson , and Wythe ) had signed the Declaration of Independence . Six ( Carroll , Dickinson , Gerry , Gouverneur Morris , Robert Morris , and Roger Sherman ) had signed the Articles of Confederation . Two , Sherman and Robert Morris , three of the nation 's historical documents . Dickinson , Franklin , Langdon , and Rutledge had been governors . Occupations and finances ( edit ) 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 . 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 . 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 . As many as thirty - five had legal apprenticeship , though not all of them practiced law . Some had also been local judges . 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 . 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 owned or managed slave - operated plantations or large farms , particularly in the southern colonies : Bassett , Blair , Blount , Davie , Johnson , Butler , Carroll , Jefferson , Jenifer , Madison , Mason , Charles Pinckney , Charles Cotesworth Pinckney , Rutledge , Spaight , and Washington . Many wealthy Northerners owned domestic slaves : Franklin later freed his slaves and was a key founder of the Pennsylvania Abolition Society . Jay 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 signed into law a gradual abolition law ; fully ending slavery as of 1827 . He freed his own slaves in 1798 . Broom and Few were small farmers . Eight of the men received a substantial part of their income from public office : Baldwin , Blair , Brearly , Gilman , Livingston , Madison , and Rutledge . Three had retired from active economic endeavors : Franklin , McHenry , and Mifflin . Franklin and Williamson were scientists , in addition to their other activities . McClurg , McHenry , Rush , and Williamsonwere physicians Johnson and Witherspoon were college presidents . Religion ( edit ) Franklin T. Lambert ( 2003 ) has examined the religious affiliations and beliefs of the Founders . Of the 55 delegates to the 1787 Constitutional Convention , 28 were Anglicans ( in the Church of England ; or Episcopalian , after the American Revolutionary War was won ) , 21 were Protestants , and two were Roman Catholics ( D. Carroll , and Fitzsimons ) . 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 . A few prominent Founding Fathers were anti-clerical Christians such as Thomas Jefferson , who constructed the Jefferson Bible , and Benjamin Franklin . Historian Gregg L. Frazer argues that the leading Founders ( Adams , Jefferson , Franklin , Wilson , Morris , Madison , Hamilton , and Washington ) were neither Christians nor Deists , but rather supporters of a hybrid `` theistic rationalism '' . The Faiths of the Founding Fathers is a book that discusses the religion held by the founding fathers , written in 2006 by historian of U.S. religion David L. Holmes . Ownership of slaves and position on slavery ( edit ) Portrait of George Washington and his valet slave William Lee See also : George Washington and slavery and Thomas Jefferson and slavery One of the greatest contradictions of the Founding Fathers was their disunity with regard to slavery at a time that they were seeking liberty for themselves . In her study of Thomas Jefferson , historian Annette Gordon - Reed emphasizes this irony , `` Others of the founders held slaves , but no other founder drafted the charter for freedom , '' In addition to Jefferson , George Washington , John Jay and many other of the Founding Fathers practiced slavery but were also conflicted by the institution which many saw as immoral and politically divisive . Benjamin Franklin owned slaves ( though Franklin later became an abolitionist ) . John Jay would try unsuccessfully to abolish slavery as early as 1777 in the State of New York but was overruled ( though he would later sign the Gradual Emancipation Act into law while Governor ) . Alexander Hamilton opposed slavery , as his experiences in life left him very familiar with slavery and its effect on slaves and on slaveholders , although he did negotiate slave transactions for his wife 's family , the Schuylers . John Adams , Samuel Adams , and Thomas Paine never owned slaves 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 '' . 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 . In 1782 Virginia passed a manumission law that allowed slave owners to free their slaves by will or deed . As a result , thousands of slaves were manumitted in Virginia . Thomas Jefferson , in 1784 , proposed to ban slavery in all the Western Territories , which failed to pass Congress by one vote . Partially following Jefferson 's plan , Congress did ban slavery in the Northwest Ordinance of 1787 , for lands north of the Ohio River . 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 . However , the domestic slave trade was allowed , for expansion , or for diffusion of slavery into the Louisiana Territory . Attendance at conventions ( edit ) 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 ; for example , Patrick Henry of Virginia thought that state politics were far more interesting and important than national politics , though during the ratification controversy of 1787 -- 1788 he claimed , `` I smelled a rat . '' Rhode Island did not send delegates because of its politicians ' 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 . Spouses and children ( edit ) Most of the Founding Fathers married and had children . Many of their spouses , like Eliza Schuyler Hamilton , Martha Washington , Abigail Adams , Sarah Livingston Jay , Dolley Madison , Mary White Morris and Catherine Alexander Duer were strong women and made significant contributions of their own to the fight for liberty . 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 . Four ( Baldwin , Gilman , Jenifer , and Alexander Martin ) were lifelong bachelors . Many of the delegates also had children conceived illegitimately . George Washington , `` The Father of our Country , '' had no biological descendants . Charters of Freedom and Historical documents of the United States ( edit ) The National Archives and Records Administration also known as NARA , defines U.S. Founding Documents , or Charters of Freedom , as the Declaration of Independence ( 1776 ) , The Constitution ( 1787 ) and the Bill of Rights ( 1791 ) . These original instruments which represent the philosophy of the United States are housed in Washington , D.C. in the NARA Rotunda . The Library of Congress further identifies the Articles of Confederation , also preserved at NARA , as a primary U.S. document . The Articles of Confederation served as the first constitution of the United States until its replacement by the present Constitution on March 4 , 1789 . Signatories of the Continental Association ( CA ) , Declaration of Independence ( DI ) , Articles of Confederation ( AC ) , and the United States Constitution ( USC ) ) : Name Province / state CA ( 1774 ) DI ( 1776 ) AC ( 1777 ) USC ( 1787 ) Andrew Adams Connecticut Yes John Adams Massachusetts Yes Yes Samuel Adams Massachusetts Yes Yes Yes Thomas Adams Virginia Yes John Alsop New York Yes Abraham Baldwin Georgia Yes John Banister Virginia Yes Josiah Bartlett New Hampshire Yes Yes Richard Bassett Delaware Yes Gunning Bedford Jr . Delaware Yes Edward Biddle Pennsylvania Yes John Blair Virginia Yes Richard Bland Virginia Yes William Blount North Carolina Yes Simon Boerum New York Yes Carter Braxton Virginia Yes David Brearley New Jersey Yes Jacob Broom Delaware Yes Pierce Butler South Carolina Yes Charles Carroll of Carrollton Maryland Yes Daniel Carroll Maryland Yes Yes Richard Caswell North Carolina Yes Samuel Chase Maryland Yes Yes Abraham Clark New Jersey Yes William Clingan Pennsylvania Yes George Clymer Pennsylvania Yes Yes John Collins Rhode Island Yes Stephen Crane New Jersey Yes Thomas Cushing Massachusetts Yes Francis Dana Massachusetts Yes Jonathan Dayton New Jersey Yes Silas Deane Connecticut Yes John De Hart New Jersey Yes John Dickinson Delaware Yes Yes Pennsylvania Yes William Henry Drayton South Carolina Yes James Duane New York Yes Yes William Duer New York Yes Eliphalet Dyer Connecticut Yes William Ellery Rhode Island Yes Yes William Few Georgia Yes Thomas Fitzsimons Pennsylvania Yes William Floyd New York Yes Yes Nathaniel Folsom New Hampshire Yes Benjamin Franklin Pennsylvania Yes Yes Christopher Gadsden South Carolina Yes Joseph Galloway Pennsylvania Yes Elbridge Gerry Massachusetts Yes Yes Nicholas Gilman New Hampshire Yes Nathaniel Gorham Massachusetts Yes Button Gwinnett Georgia Yes Lyman Hall Georgia Yes Alexander Hamilton New York Yes John Hancock Massachusetts Yes Yes John Hanson Maryland Yes Cornelius Harnett North Carolina Yes Benjamin Harrison Virginia Yes Yes John Hart New Jersey Yes John Harvie Virginia Yes Patrick Henry Virginia Yes Joseph Hewes North Carolina Yes Yes Thomas Heyward Jr . South Carolina Yes Yes Samuel Holten Massachusetts Yes William Hooper North Carolina Yes Yes Stephen Hopkins Rhode Island Yes Yes Francis Hopkinson New Jersey Yes Titus Hosmer Connecticut Yes Charles Humphreys Pennsylvania Yes Samuel Huntington Connecticut Yes Yes Richard Hutson South Carolina Yes Jared Ingersoll Pennsylvania Yes William Jackson South Carolina Yes John Jay New York Yes Thomas Jefferson Virginia Yes Daniel of St. Thomas Jenifer Maryland Yes Thomas Johnson Maryland Yes William Samuel Johnson Connecticut Yes Rufus King Massachusetts Yes James Kinsey New Jersey Yes John Langdon New Hampshire Yes Edward Langworthy Georgia Yes Henry Laurens South Carolina Yes Francis Lightfoot Lee Virginia Yes Yes Richard Henry Lee Virginia Yes Yes Yes Francis Lewis New York Yes Yes Philip Livingston New York Yes Yes William Livingston New Jersey Yes Yes James Lovell Massachusetts Yes Isaac Low New York Yes Thomas Lynch South Carolina Yes Thomas Lynch Jr . South Carolina Yes James Madison Virginia Yes Henry Marchant Rhode Island Yes John Mathews South Carolina Yes James McHenry Maryland Yes Thomas McKean Delaware Yes Yes Yes Arthur Middleton South Carolina Yes Henry Middleton South Carolina Yes Thomas Mifflin Pennsylvania Yes Yes Gouverneur Morris New York Yes Pennsylvania Yes Lewis Morris New York Yes Robert Morris Pennsylvania Yes Yes Yes John Morton Pennsylvania Yes Yes Thomas Nelson Jr . Virginia Yes William Paca Maryland Yes Yes Robert Treat Paine Massachusetts Yes Yes William Paterson New Jersey Yes Edmund Pendleton Virginia Yes John Penn North Carolina Yes Yes Charles Pinckney South Carolina Yes Charles Cotesworth Pinckney South Carolina Yes Peyton Randolph Virginia Yes George Read Delaware Yes Yes Yes Joseph Reed Pennsylvania Yes Daniel Roberdeau Pennsylvania Yes Caesar Rodney Delaware Yes Yes George Ross Pennsylvania Yes Yes Benjamin Rush Pennsylvania Yes Edward Rutledge South Carolina Yes Yes John Rutledge South Carolina Yes Yes Nathaniel Scudder New Jersey Yes Roger Sherman Connecticut Yes Yes Yes Yes James Smith Pennsylvania Yes Jonathan Bayard Smith Pennsylvania Yes Richard Smith New Jersey Yes Richard Dobbs Spaight North Carolina Yes Richard Stockton New Jersey Yes Thomas Stone Maryland Yes John Sullivan New Hampshire Yes George Taylor Pennsylvania Yes Edward Telfair Georgia Yes Matthew Thornton New Hampshire Yes Matthew Tilghman Maryland Yes Nicholas Van Dyke Delaware Yes George Walton Georgia Yes John Walton Georgia Yes Samuel Ward Rhode Island Yes George Washington Virginia Yes Yes John Wentworth Jr . New Hampshire Yes William Whipple New Hampshire Yes John Williams North Carolina Yes William Williams Connecticut Yes Hugh Williamson North Carolina Yes James Wilson Pennsylvania Yes Yes Henry Wisner New York Yes John Witherspoon New Jersey Yes Yes Oliver Wolcott Connecticut Yes Yes George Wythe Virginia Yes Post-constitution life ( edit ) 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 . Washington , Adams , Jefferson and Madison served in highest U.S. office of President . Jay would be appointed as Chief Justice of the United States and later elected to two terms as Governor of New York . 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 . 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 ( edit ) 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 : James Armistead Lafayette was 15 , Marquis de Lafayette was 18 , Alexander Hamilton was 19 , Aaron Burr was 20 , Gouverneur Morris and Betsy Ross were 24 . The oldest were Benjamin Franklin , 70 , and Samuel Whittemore , 81 . Secretary Charles Thomson lived to the age of 94 . Johnson died at 92 . John Adams lived to the age of 90 . A few -- Franklin , Jay , Jefferson , Madison , Hugh Williamson , and George Wythe -- lived into their eighties . Approximately 16 died in their seventies , 21 in their sixties , 8 in their fifties , and 5 in their forties . Three ( Alexander Hamilton , Richard Dobbs Spaight and Button Gwinnett ) were killed in duels . Friends and political adversaries John Adams and Thomas Jefferson both died on the same day -- July 4 , 1826 . The last remaining founders , also called the `` Last of the Romans '' , lived well into the nineteenth century . Founders who were not signatories or delegates ( edit ) The following men and women are also recognized by many as having been founders of the United States based upon their significant contributions to the formation of American nation and democracy . Abigail Adams , advisor , First Lady and mother of a president Ethan Allen , military and political leader in Vermont Richard Allen , African - American bishop John Bartram , botanist , horticulturist and explorer Egbert Benson , politician from New York Elias Boudinot , New Jersey delegate to Continental Congress Aaron Burr , Vice President under Jefferson George Rogers Clark , army general George Clinton , New York governor and Vice President of the U.S Tench Coxe , economist in the Continental Congress William Richardson Davie , delegate to the Constitutional Convention ( leaving before he could sign it ) , and Governor of North Carolina . Albert Gallatin , politician and Treasury Secretary Horatio Gates , army general Nathanael Greene , army general Nathan Hale , captured U.S. soldier executed in 1776 Elizabeth Schuyler Hamilton , wife of Alexander Hamilton James Iredell , advocate for Constitution , judge John Paul Jones , navy captain Henry Knox , army general , Secretary of War Tadeusz Kościuszko , Polish army general Gilbert du Motier , Marquis de Lafayette , French army general Henry Lee III , army officer and Virginia governor Robert R. Livingston , diplomat and jurist William Maclay , Pennsylvania politician and U.S. Senator Dolley Madison , spouse of President James Madison John Marshall , fourth Chief Justice of the United States George Mason , revolutionary writer , co-father of the Bill of Rights Philip Mazzei , Italian physician , merchant and author James Monroe , fifth President of the United States Daniel Morgan , military hero and Virginia Congressman James Otis Jr. , Massachusetts lawyer and politician Thomas Paine , author of Common Sense Andrew Pickens , army general and South Carolina congressman Timothy Pickering , U.S. Secretary of State from Massachusetts Israel Putnam , army general Edmund Randolph , first United States Attorney General , second Secretary of State Jean - Baptiste Donatien de Vimeur , comte de Rochambeau , French army general Haym Solomon , financier and spy for Continental Army Thomas Sumter , SC military hero and congressman Friedrich Wilhelm von Steuben , Prussian officer Joseph Warren , doctor , revolutionary leader Mercy Otis Warren , political writer Anthony Wayne , army general and politician Noah Webster , writer , lexicographer , educator Thomas Willing , banker Paine Wingate , oldest survivor , Continental Congress Legacy ( edit ) Institutions formed by founders ( edit ) Several Founding Fathers were instrumental in establishing schools and societal institutions that still exist today : Benjamin Franklin founded the University of Pennsylvania , while Jefferson founded the University of Virginia . Benjamin 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 . Alexander Hamilton founded the New York Post , as well as the United States Coast Guard . Henry Knox 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 . Scholarship on the founders ( edit ) 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 . Living historians whose focus is the Founding Fathers ( edit ) 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 . '' 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 . 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 . '' 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 . '' Jack N. Rakove - Thomas Jefferson Peter S. Onuf - Thomas Jefferson Noted collections of the Founding Fathers ( edit ) Adams Papers Editorial Project Founders Online Founders Online is 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 ( edit ) The Founding Fathers were portrayed in the Tony Award winning musical 1776 , a stage production about the debates over , and eventual adoption of , the Declaration of Independence ; the popular performance was later turned into the 1972 film More recently , several of the Founding Fathers - Hamilton , Washington , Jefferson , Madison , Laurens and Burr - were reimagined in Hamilton an acclaimed production about the life of Alexander Hamilton , with music , lyrics and book by Lin - Manuel Miranda. The show was inspired by the 2004 biography Alexander Hamilton by historian Ron Chernow . The rap musical won 11 Tony Awards . Children 's Books ( edit ) 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 ) . See also ( edit ) United States portal List of national founders ( worldwide ) History of the United States Constitution Rights of Englishmen Patriot ( American Revolution ) Sons of Liberty Military leadership in the American Revolutionary War Notes ( edit ) Jump up ^ `` American Revolution : Key to Declaration of Independence '' . Retrieved April 6 , 2017 . Jump up ^ Mellinkoff , David . Mellinkoff 's Dictionary of American Legal Usage ( West Publishing , 1992 ) Jump up ^ Richard B. Morris , Seven Who Shaped Our Destiny : The Founding Fathers as Revolutionaries ( New York : Harper & Row , 1973 ) . Jump up ^ Kettler , Sarah . `` The Founding Fathers : Who Were They Really ? '' . Biography . Retrieved April 5 , 2017 . Jump up ^ `` About America , The Constitution of the United States '' ( PDF ) . World Book . Retrieved September 17 , 2017 . Jump up ^ PBS NewsHour . `` Forgotten Founding Father '' . Jump up ^ Rose , P.K. `` The Founding Fathers of American Intelligence '' . Retrieved April 5 , 2017 . Jump up ^ `` Did any of our `` Founding Fathers '' NOT sign the Declaration of Independence ? `` . Harvard University : Declaration Resources Project . Retrieved April 8 , 2017 . Jump up ^ `` Signers of the Declaration '' . National Park Service , U.S. Department of the Interior . Retrieved April 7 , 2017 . Jump up ^ National Archives . `` Meet the Framers of the Constitution '' . Jump up ^ US Constitution Online . `` The Framers '' . Jump up ^ 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 . Jump up ^ Stanfield , Jack . America 's Founding Fathers : Who Are They ? Thumbnail Sketches of 164 Patriots ( Universal - Publishers , 2001 ) . Jump up ^ Parham , C.P. `` From Great Wilderness to Seaway Towns : A Comparative History of Cornwall , Ontario , and Massena , New York , 1784 - 2001 '' . SUNY Press , 2012 ( chapter 1 , page 7 ) . Retrieved 20 November 2017 . The founding fathers of Cornwall and ... Jump up ^ Jill Lepore , The Whites of Their Eyes : The Tea Party 's Revolution and the Battle American History ( Princeton : Princeton University Press , 2010 ) , 16 . Jump up ^ Burnett , Continental Congress , 64 -- 67 . Jump up ^ Fowler , Baron of Beacon Hill , 189 . Jump up ^ `` Signers of the Declaration '' . National Park Service , U.S. Department of the Interior . p . Biography # 54 . Retrieved April 24 , 2014 . Jump up ^ `` Confederation Congress '' . Ohio Historical Society . Retrieved October 23 , 2010 . Jump up ^ Calvin C. Jillson ( 2009 ) . American Government : Political Development and Institutional Change ( 5th ed . ) . Taylor & Francis . p. 31 . ISBN 978 - 0 - 203 - 88702 - 8 . Jump up ^ See Brown ( 19764 ) ; Martin ( 19739 ) ; `` Data on the Framers of the Constitution , '' at ( 1 ) Jump up ^ Brown ( 1976 ) ; Harris ( 1969 ) Jump up ^ `` The Alma Maters of Our Founding Fathers '' . Retrieved April 7 , 2017 . Jump up ^ `` A Brief History of Columbia '' . Columbia University . 2011 . Retrieved 2011 - 04 - 14 . Jump up ^ `` Benjamin Rush ( 1746 - 1813 ) access - date = April 9 , 2017 '' . Penn University Archives and Records Center . Jump up ^ `` George Wythe '' . Colonial Williamsburg . Retrieved April 9 , 2017 . Jump up ^ Martin ( 1973 ) ; Greene ( 1973 ) Jump up ^ Caroline Robbins , `` Decision in ' 76 : Reflections on the 56 Signers '' Proceedings of the Massachusetts Historical Society Vol. 89 ( 1977 ) , pp. 72 - 87 online quoting page 83 . Jump up ^ Greene ( 1973 ) Jump up ^ Greene ( 1973 ) . Jump up ^ Brown ( 1976 ) Jump up ^ William R. Davie , Blackwell P. Robinson . The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill , 1957 . ^ Jump up to : Lambert , Franklin T. ( 2003 ) . The Founding Fathers and the Place of Religion in America . Princeton , NJ : Princeton University Press ( published 2006 ) . ISBN 978 - 0691126029 . Jump up ^ Letter to Alexander von Humboldt , December 6 , 1813 `` History , I believe , furnishes no example of a priest - ridden people maintaining a free civil government , '' Jump up ^ 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 . '' Jump up ^ The Religion of Thomas Jefferson Archived November 23 , 2011 , at the Wayback Machine . Retrieved July 9 , 2011 Jump up ^ Quoted in The New England Currant ( July 23 , 1722 ) , `` Silence Dogood , No. 9 ; Corruptio optimi est pessima . '' `` And it is a sad Observation , that when the People too late see their Error , yet the Clergy still persist in their Encomiums on the Hypocrite ; and when he happens to die for the Good of his Country , without leaving behind him the Memory of one good Action , he shall be sure to have his Funeral Sermon stuff 'd with Pious Expressions which he dropt at such a Time , and at such a Place , and on such an Occasion ; than which nothing can be more prejudicial to the Interest of Religion , nor indeed to the Memory of the Person deceas 'd . The Reason of this Blindness in the Clergy is , because they are honourably supported ( as they ought to be ) by their People , and see nor feel nothing of the Oppression which is obvious and burdensome to every one else . '' Jump up ^ Frazer , Gregg L. ( 2012 ) . The Religious Beliefs of America 's Founders : Reason , Revelation , and Revolution . University Press of Kansas . ISBN 0700620214 . ^ Jump up to : Annette Gordon - Reed , Engaging Jefferson : Blacks and the Founding Father , The William and Mary Quarterly , Vol. 57 , No. 1 ( Jan. , 2000 ) , pp. 171 - 182 Jump up ^ `` The Founders and Slavery : John Jay Saves the Day '' . The Economist . Retrieved April 5 , 2017 . ^ Jump up to : Wright , William D. ( 2002 ) . Critical Reflections on Black History . West Port , Connecticut : Praeger Publishers . p. 125 . Jump up ^ The Selected Papers of John Jay , Columbia University , http://www.columbia.edu/cu/libraries/inside/dev/jay/JaySlavery.html Jump up ^ Horton , James O. ( 2004 ) . `` Alexander Hamilton : Slavery and Race in a Revolutionary Generation '' . New York Journal of American History . New York Historical Society ( 3 ) . Retrieved October 29 , 2016 . Jump up ^ Magness , Phillip . `` Alexander Hamilton 's Exaggerated Abolitionism '' . Retrieved April 6 , 2017 . Jump up ^ `` The Founding Fathers and Slavery '' . Encyclopædia Britannica . Retrieved April 9 , 2017 . ^ Jump up to : Freehling , William W. ( February 1972 ) . `` The Founding Fathers and Slavery '' . The American Historical Review . 77 ( 1 ) : 87 . doi : 10.2307 / 1856595 . JSTOR 1856595 . ^ Jump up to : The Cambridge History of Law in America . 2008 . p. 278 . Jump up ^ Freehling , William W. ( February 1972 ) . `` The Founding Fathers and Slavery '' . The American Historical Review . 77 ( 1 ) : 88 . doi : 10.2307 / 1856595 . JSTOR 1856595 . Jump up ^ Freehling , William W. ( February 1972 ) . `` The Founding Fathers and Slavery '' . The American Historical Review . 77 ( 1 ) : 85 . doi : 10.2307 / 1856595 . JSTOR 1856595 . Jump up ^ 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 ) . ^ Jump up to : Griswold , Rufus ( 1855 ) , The Republican Court , or , American Society in the Days of Washington , D. Appleton & Co . Jump up ^ Staar ( January 2009 ) . `` Our Founding Fathers '' . Huffington Post . Retrieved 22 February 2012 . Jump up ^ George Washington 's Mount Vernon . `` Father of His Country '' . Retrieved April 6 , 2017 . Jump up ^ National Archives . `` America 's Founding Documents '' . Retrieved April 6 , 2017 . Jump up ^ `` Articles of Confederation '' . Library of Congress . Retrieved April 10 , 2017 . Jump up ^ Martin ( 1973 ) Jump up ^ Andrlik , Todd . `` How Old Were the Leaders of the American Revolution on July 4 , 1776 ? '' . Jump up ^ History . `` Thomas Jefferson and John Adams Die '' . Jump up ^ 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 . ^ Jump up to : Encyclopædia Britannica . Founding fathers : the essential guide to the men who made America ( John Wiley and Sons , 2007 ) . Jump up ^ McWilliams , J. ( 1976 ) . `` The Faces of Ethan Allen : 1760 - 1860 '' . The New England Quarterly . 49 ( 2 ) : 257 -- 282 . doi : 10.2307 / 364502 . JSTOR 364502 . Jump up ^ Newman , Richard . Freedom 's Prophet : Bishop Richard Allen , the AME Church , and the Black Founding Fathers ( NYU Press , 2009 ) . Jump up ^ Jane Goodall ( 27 August 2013 ) . Seeds of Hope : Wisdom and Wonder from the World of Plants . Grand Central Publishing . pp. 60 -- 61 . ISBN 978 - 1 - 4555 - 1321 - 5 . Jump up ^ Ballenas , Carl . Images of America : Jamaica ( Arcadia Publishing , 2011 ) . Jump up ^ Holmes , David . The Faiths of the Founding Fathers . ( Oxford University Press US , 2006 ) . Jump up ^ Wood , Gordon S. Revolutionary Characters , What Made the Founding Fathers Different . ( New York : Penguin Books , 2007 ) 225 -- 242 . ^ Jump up to : Buchanan , John . `` Founding Fighters : The Battlefield Leaders Who Made American Independence ( review ) '' . The Journal of Military History ( Volume 71 , Number 2 , April 2007 ) , pp. 522 -- 524 . ^ Jump up to : R.B. Bernstein , The Founding Fathers Reconsidered ( New York and Oxford : Oxford University Press , 2009 ) . Jump up ^ Stephen Yafa ( 2006 ) . Cotton : The Biography of a Revolutionary Fiber . Penguin . p. 75 . ISBN 9780143037224 . ^ Jump up to : Dungan , Nicholas . Gallatin : America 's Swiss Founding Father ( NYU Press 2010 ) . Jump up ^ Roberts , Cokie . `` Founding Mothers : The Women Who Raised Our Nation '' . Harper Perennial , 2005 Jump up ^ Roberts , Cokie . `` Ladies of Liberty : The Women Who Shaped Our Nation '' . Harper , 2008 Jump up ^ Broadwater , Jeff ( 2006 ) . George Mason , Forgotten Founder . Chapel Hill , North Carolina : University of North Carolina Press . ISBN 978 - 0 - 8078 - 3053 - 6 . OCLC 67239589 . Jump up ^ LaGumina , Salvatore . The Italian American experience : an encyclopedia , page 361 ( Taylor & Francis , 2000 ) . Jump up ^ Unger , Harlow ( 2009 ) . James Monroe : The Last Founding Father . New York : Da Capo Press . ISBN 0 - 306 - 81808 - 6 . Jump up ^ 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 . Jump up ^ `` Founding Father Thomas Paine : He Genuinely Abhorred Slavery '' . The Journal of Blacks in Higher Education ( 48 ) : 45 . 2005 . doi : 10.2307 / 25073236 ( inactive 2017 - 01 - 15 ) . Jump up ^ David Braff , `` Forgotten Founding Father : The Impact of Thomas Paine , '' in Joyce Chumbley . ed. , Thomas Paine : In Search of the Common Good ( 2009 ) pp. 39 -- 43 Jump up ^ Burstein , Andrew . `` Politics and Personalities : Garry Wills takes a new look at a forgotten founder , slavery and the shaping of America '' , Chicago Tribune ( November 09 , 2003 ) : `` Forgotten founders such as Pickering and Morris made as many waves as those whose faces stare out from our currency . '' ^ Jump up to : Rafael , Ray . The Complete Idiot 's Guide to the Founding Fathers : And the Birth of Our Nation ( Penguin , 2011 ) . Jump up ^ `` Founding Fathers : Virginia '' . FindLaw Constitutional Law Center . 2008 . Retrieved 2008 - 11 - 14 . Jump up ^ Schwartz , Laurens R. Jews and the American Revolution : Haym Solomon and Others , Jefferson , North Carolina : McFarland & Co. , 1987 . Jump up ^ Kendall , Joshua . The Forgotten Founding Father : Noah Webster 's Obsession and the Creation of an American Culture ( Penguin 2011 ) . Jump up ^ Wright , R.E. ( 1996 ) . `` Thomas Willing ( 1731 - 1821 ) : Philadelphia Financier and Forgotten Founding Father '' . Pennsylvania History . 63 ( 4 ) : 525 -- 560 . doi : 10.2307 / 27773931 ( inactive 2017 - 01 - 15 ) . JSTOR 27773931 . Jump up ^ `` A Patriot of Early New England '' , New York Times ( December 20 , 1931 ) . This book review referred to Wingate as one of the `` Fathers '' of the United States , per the book title . Jump up ^ The New Yorker , Volume I , page 398 ( September 10 , 1836 ) : `` ' The Last of the Romans ' -- This was said of Madison at the time of his decease , but there is one other person who seems to have some claims to this honorable distinction . Paine Wingate of Stratham , N.H. still survives . '' Jump up ^ `` THE FOUNDING OF THE SOCIETY , 1783 -- 1784 '' . Society of the Cincinnati . Retrieved April 9 , 2017 . Jump up ^ `` History : The Society of the Cincinnati in the State of Connecticut '' . Jump up ^ Joseph J. Ellis ; Passionate Sage : The Character and Legacy of John Adams . ( 2001 ) p. 214 . Jump up ^ Jennifer Schuessler . `` Up From the Family Basement , a Little - Seen Hamilton Trove '' . The New York Times . Jump up ^ Joanne B. Freeman . `` The Long History of Political Idiocy '' . The New York Times . Jump up ^ 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 . Jump up ^ Chris Bray . `` Tip and Gip Sip and Quip - The politics of never '' . The Baffler . Retrieved April 11 , 2017 . Jump up ^ Robert Viagas. `` Hamilton Tops Tony Awards With 11 Wins '' . Playbill . Retrieved April 9 , 2017 . Jump up ^ 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 ) References ( edit ) American National Biography Online , ( 2000 ) . Bernard Bailyn , To Begin the World Anew Knopf , 2003 . Richard B. Bernstein , Are We to Be a Nation ? The Making of the Constitution . Cambridge , MA : Harvard University Press , 1987 . R.B. Bernstein , The Founding Fathers Reconsidered ( New York : Oxford University Press , 2009 ) . Richard D. Brown . `` The Founding Fathers of 1776 and 1787 : A Collective View , '' William and Mary Quarterly , 3rd Ser. , Vol. 33 , No. 3 ( Jul. 1976 ) , pp. 465 -- 480 online at JSTOR . Henry Steele Commager , `` 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 ) . Joseph J. Ellis . Founding Brothers : The Revolutionary Generation ( New York : Alfred A. Knopf , 2000 ) , winner of the Pulitzer Prize for History . Joseph J. Ellis . The Quartet : Orchestrating the Second American Revolution , 1783 - 1789 ( New York : First Vintage Books Edition , May 2016 ) . Joanne B. Freeman , Affairs of Honor : National Politics in the New Republic . New Haven , CT : Yale University Press , 2001 . Steven K. Green , Inventing a Christian America : The Myth of the Religious Founding . Oxford , England : Oxford University Press , 2015 . Jack P. Greene . `` The Social Origins of the American Revolution : An Evaluation and an Interpretation , '' Political Science Quarterly , Vol. 88 , No. 1 ( Mar. 1973 ) , pp. 1 -- 22 online in JSTOR . P.M.G. Harris , `` The Social Origins of American Leaders : The Demographic Foundations , '' Perspectives in American History 3 ( 1969 ) : 159 -- 364 . Mark E. Kann ; 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 ( edit ) Wikimedia Commons has media related to Founding Fathers of the United States . Founders Online : Correspondence and Other Writings of Six Major Shapers of the United States Debunks -- along with other fact finding sites -- the Internet Myth of `` What Happened to The Signers of the Declaration of Independence '' ( retrieved 01 - 30 - 15 ) `` What Would the Founding Fathers Do Today ? '' at the Wayback Machine ( archived January 14 , 2007 ) `` Founding Father Quotes , Biographies , and Writings '' Founding Fathers and their related articles John Adams 2nd President of the United States , 1797 -- 1801 1st Vice President of the United States , 1789 -- 1797 U.S. Ambassador to the United Kingdom , 1785 -- 1788 U.S. Ambassador to the Netherlands , 1782 -- 1788 Delegate , Second Continental Congress , 1775 -- 1778 Delegate , First Continental Congress , 1774 Founding of the United States Braintree Instructions ( 1765 ) Boston Massacre defense Continental Association Novanglus ; A History of the Dispute with America , From Its Origin in 1754 to the Present Time ( 1775 ) Thoughts on Government ( 1776 ) Declaration of Independence May 15 preamble Committee of Five Model Treaty Treaty of Amity and Commerce Treaty of Alliance Board of War Chairman of the Marine Committee , 1775 - 1779 Continental Navy Staten Island Peace Conference Conference House Constitution of Massachusetts ( 1780 ) Treaty of Paris , 1783 Presidency Inauguration Quasi War with France XYZ Affair Commerce Protection Act United States Marine Corps Convention of 1800 Alien and Sedition Acts Naturalization Act of 1798 Navy Department Library Treaty of Tellico Treaty of Tripoli Midnight Judges Act Marbury v. Madison State of the Union Address ( 1797 1798 1799 1800 ) Cabinet Federal judiciary appointments Other writings Massachusetts Historical Society holdings Adams Papers Editorial Project Life and homes Early life and education Adams National Historical Park John Adams Birthplace Family home and John Quincy Adams birthplace Peacefield Presidential Library Massachusetts Hall , Harvard University Presidents House , Philadelphia Co-founder and second president , American Academy of Arts and Sciences United First Parish Church and gravesite Elections United States presidential election 1788 -- 1789 1792 1796 1800 Legacy Adams House at Harvard University John Adams Building U.S. Postage stamps Adams Memorial Popular culture Profiles in Courage ( 1964 series ) American Primitive ( 1969 play ) 1776 ( 1969 musical 1972 film ) The Adams Chronicles ( 1976 miniseries ) Liberty ! ( 1997 documentary series ) Liberty 's Kids ( 2002 animated series ) John Adams ( 2001 book 2008 miniseries ) Sons of Liberty ( 2015 miniseries ) Related `` Adams and Liberty '' campaign song Adams ' personal library American Enlightenment Congress Hall Federalist Party Federalist Era First Party System republicanism American Philosophical Society Gazette of the United States The American Museum American Revolution patriots Family Abigail Adams wife Quincy family Abigail Adams Smith ( daughter ) John Quincy Adams son presidency Charles Adams ( son ) Thomas Boylston Adams ( son ) George W. Adams ( grandson ) Charles Adams Sr. ( grandson ) John Adams II ( grandson ) John Q. Adams ( great - grandson ) Henry Adams ( great - grandson ) Brooks Adams ( great - grandson ) John Adams Sr. ( father ) Susanna Boylston ( mother ) Elihu Adams ( brother ) Samuel Adams ( second cousin ) Louisa Adams daughter - in - law First Lady ← George Washington Thomas Jefferson → Category Samuel Adams 4th Governor of Massachusetts , 1794 -- 1797 Second Continental Congress , 1775 -- 1781 First Continental Congress , 1774 Clerk of the Massachusetts House of Representatives , 1766 -- 1774 United States founding events The Independent Advertiser Boston Caucus 1764 Sugar Act response protests 1768 Massachusetts Circular Letter Probable author , 1768 -- 1769 `` Journal of Occurrences '' Arranged Christopher Seider funeral , 1770 Co-author , 1772 Boston Pamphlet Boston Committee of Correspondence , 1772 Hutchinson Letters Affair Co-inspired and publicized , Boston Tea Party Signed , 1774 Continental Association Massachusetts Provincial Congress Co-author , 1776 Letter to the inhabitants of Canada Signed , United States Declaration of Independence Signed , Articles of Confederation 1788 Massachusetts Compromise Life Early life Massachusetts Hall , Harvard University Sons of Liberty 1789 U.S. House election 1796 presidential election Samuel Adams and Paul Revere time capsule Granary Burying Ground Related American republicanism Boston Gazette American Revolution patriots Founding Father Faneuil Hall Old South Meeting House Legacy Samuel Adams ( Whitney ) Adams , Massachusetts Liberty 's Kids ( 2002 animated series ) John Adams ( 2008 miniseries ) Sons of Liberty ( 2015 miniseries ) Family John Adams ( second cousin ) John Dickinson 5th President of Pennsylvania , 1782 -- 1785 5th President of Delaware , 1781 -- 1783 Second Continental Congress , 1775 -- 1776 , 1779 -- 1781 First Continental Congress , 1774 Stamp Act Congress , 1765 Founding of the United States Declaration of Rights and Grievances ( 1765 ) Letters from a Farmer in Pennsylvania ( 1767 , 1768 ) `` The Liberty Song '' ( 1768 United we stand , divided we fall ) Petition to the King ( 1774 ) Signee , Continental Association ( 1774 ) Pennsylvania Committee of Correspondence ( 1774 -- 1776 ) Letter to the inhabitants of the Province of Quebec ( 1774 ) Olive Branch Petition ( 1775 ) Declaration of the Causes and Necessity of Taking Up Arms ( co-wrote , 1775 ) Committee of Secret Correspondence ( 1775 -- 1776 ) Model Treaty committee ( 1776 ) Articles of Confederation and perpetual Union ( 1776 ) President , Annapolis Convention ( 1786 ) Delegate , Constitutional Convention ( 1787 ) Other events Brigadier General , Pennsylvania militia Pennsylvania Mutiny of 1783 Delaware Constitution of 1792 Life and homes Mary Norris Dickinson ( wife ) Philemon Dickinson ( brother ) Early life Poplar Hall home Fair Hill estate Friends Burial Ground Legacy Dickinson College Dickinson School of Law , Pennsylvania State University John Dickinson High School 1776 ( 1969 musical , 1972 film ) John Adams ( 2008 miniseries ) Sons of Liberty ( 2015 miniseries ) Related Claymont Stone School American Revolution patriots Benjamin Franklin January 6 , 1706 -- April 17 , 1790 President of Pennsylvania ( 1785 -- 1788 ) , Ambassador to France ( 1779 -- 1785 ) Second Continental Congress ( 1775 -- 1776 ) Founding of the United States Join , or Die ( 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 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 The Academy and College of Philadelphia University of Pennsylvania Philadelphia Contributionship Union Fire Company Early American currency Fugio Cent United States Postal Service President , Pennsylvania Abolition Society Master , Les Neuf Sœurs Other social contributions and studies Gravesite Writings Silence Dogood letters ( 1722 ) A Dissertation on Liberty and Necessity , Pleasure and Pain ( 1725 ) The Busy - Body letters ( 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 -- 90 , pub. 1791 ) Bagatelles and Satires ( pub. 1845 ) Franklin as a journalist Legacy Franklin Court Benjamin Franklin House Benjamin Franklin Institute of Technology Benjamin Franklin National Memorial Franklin Institute Benjamin Franklin Medal Depicted in The Apotheosis of Washington Benjamin Franklin statue , Washington D.C. In popular culture Ben and Me ( 1953 short ) Ben Franklin in Paris ( 1964 musical play ) 1776 ( 1969 musical 1972 film ) Benjamin Franklin ( 1974 miniseries ) Liberty ! ( 1997 documentary series ) Liberty 's Kids ( 2002 animated series ) Benjamin Franklin ( 2002 documentary series ) John Adams ( 2008 miniseries ) Sons of Liberty ( 2015 miniseries ) Sons of Ben ( supporters group for the Philadelphia Union soccer club Refunding Certificate Franklin half dollar One - hundred dollar bill Washington - Franklin stamps other stamps Cities , counties , schools named for Franklin Franklin Field State of Franklin 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 ) 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 ( United States Coast Guard ) United States Customs Service Hamiltonian economic program Residence Act Compromise of 1790 `` First Report on the Public Credit '' , 1790 Funding Act of 1790 `` Operations of the Act Laying Duties on Imports '' , 1790 `` Second Report on Public Credit '' , a.k.a. `` Report on a National Bank '' , 1790 `` Report On Manufactures '' , 1791 Tariff of 1790 Tariff of 1792 Coinage Act of 1792 United States Mint Whiskey Rebellion Jay Treaty Military career New York Provincial Company of Artillery In the Revolutionary War Battles : Harlem Heights White Plains Trenton General Washington 's Aide - de-Camp 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 sex scandal Rutgers v. Waddington Relationship with slavery Depictions and memorials Alexander Hamilton ( Fraser statue ) Alexander Hamilton ( Ceracchi bust ) Alexander Hamilton ( Conrads statue ) Alexander Hamilton ( Trumbull portrait ) Alexander Hamilton Bridge Alexander Hamilton High School ( Los Angeles ) Fort Hamilton Hamilton Grange National Memorial Hamilton Hall ( Columbia University ) Hamilton Hall ( Salem , Massachusetts ) Hamilton Heights , Manhattan Hamilton , Ohio Hamilton - Oneida Academy Postage stamps Trinity Church Cemetery United States ten - dollar bill Media and popular culture Hamilton ( 2015 musical ) Hamilton ( 1917 play ) Alexander Hamilton ( 1931 film ) Liberty ! ( 1997 documentary series ) Liberty 's Kids ( 2002 animated series ) John Adams ( 2008 miniseries ) Related Age of Enlightenment American Enlightenment American Philosophical Society Liberty Hall ( New Jersey ) 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 ) 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 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 USS Hancock , 1775 USS Hancock , 1776 Liberty 's Kids ( 2002 animated series ) John Adams ( 2008 miniseries ) Sons of Liberty ( 2015 miniseries ) John Hancock Tower John Hancock Center Family Dorothy Quincy ( wife ) John Hancock Jr. ( father ) Thomas Hancock ( uncle ) John Hancock , Sr. ( grandfather ) Edmund Quincy ( father - in - law ) Thomas Jefferson 3rd President of the United States ( 1801 -- 1809 ) 2nd U.S. Vice President ( 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 '' 1786 Virginia Statute for Religious Freedom freedom of religion 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 Founder , University of Virginia history Land Ordinance of 1784 Northwest Ordinance 1787 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 ) Jeffersonian architecture Barboursville Farmington Monticello gardens Poplar Forest University of Virginia The Rotunda The Lawn Virginia State Capitol White House Colonnades Other writings Notes on the State of Virginia ( 1785 ) 1787 European journey memorandums Indian removal letters Jefferson Bible ( 1895 ) 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 Member , Virginia Committee of Correspondence Committee of the States Founding Fathers of the United States Franco - American alliance Jefferson and education Religious views Jefferson and slavery Jefferson and the Library of Congress Jefferson disk Jefferson Pier Pet mockingbird National Gazette Residence Act Compromise of 1790 Sally Hemings Jefferson -- Hemings controversy Betty Hemings Separation of church and state Swivel chair The American Museum magazine Virginia dynasty Elections United States Presidential election 1796 1800 1804 Legacy Bibliography Jefferson Memorial Mount Rushmore Birthday Thomas Jefferson Building Thomas Jefferson Center for the Protection of Free Expression Jefferson Lecture Jefferson National Expansion Memorial Thomas Jefferson Star for Foreign Service Jefferson Lab Monticello Association Jefferson City , Missouri Jefferson College Thomas Jefferson School of Law Thomas Jefferson University Washington and Jefferson National Forests Other placenames Currency depictions Jefferson nickel Two - dollar bill 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 ) Jefferson -- Eppes Trophy Wine bottles controversy Family Peter Jefferson ( father ) Jane Randolph Jefferson ( mother ) Lucy Jefferson Lewis ( sister ) Randolph Jefferson ( brother ) Isham Randolph ( grandfather ) William Randolph ( great - grandfather ) 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 ) Thomas Mann Randolph Jr. ( son - in - law ) John Wayles Eppes ( son - in - law ) John Wayles ( father - in - law ) Dabney Carr ( brother - in - law ) Dabney Carr ( nephew ) ← John Adams James Madison → Category 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 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 U.S. House of Representatives election , 1789 1790 1792 1794 U.S. presidential election , 1808 1812 Legacy and popular culture James Madison Memorial Building James Madison University James Madison College Madison , Wisconsin Madison Square Madison River 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 miniseries ) Hamilton ( 2015 musical ) Related Age of Enlightenment American Enlightenment Marbury v. Madison National Gazette Paul Jennings Madisonian Model American Philosophical Society The American Museum magazine Virginia dynasty Family Dolley Madison ( wife ) John Payne Todd ( stepson ) James Madison , Sr. ( father ) Nelly Conway Madison ( mother ) William Madison ( brother ) Ambrose Madison ( paternal grandfather ) James Madison ( cousin ) George Madison ( paternal second - cousin ) Thomas Madison ( paternal second - cousin ) John Madison ( great - grandfather ) Lucy Washington ( sister - in - law ) ← Thomas Jefferson James Monroe → Category 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 punishments Speedy trial 1776 Virginia Constitution 1785 Mount Vernon Conference 1787 Constitutional Convention Virginia Ratifying Convention Co-father , United States Bill of Rights history Founding Father Writings inspired 1789 Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen ( France ) 1789 United States Bill of Rights 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 ) 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 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 Related Founding Fathers Thomas Willing USS Alfred Family Thomas Morris ( son ) Bishop William White ( brother - in - law ) 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 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 Forbes Expedition Washington and the American Revolution Commander - in - chief , Continental Army Aides - de-Camp Washington 's headquarters Boston campaign Siege of Boston New York and New Jersey campaign Delaware River crossing Battle of Trenton 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 Presidency United States presidential election , 1788 -- 89 1792 First inauguration inaugural bible Second inauguration 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 ( Trumbull ) Washington Crossing the Delaware General George Washington at Trenton Washington at Verplanck 's Point General George Washington Resigning His Commission Unfinished portrait Lansdowne portrait The Washington Family portrait Washington at Princeton painting Point of View sculpture 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 , D.C. statue List of memorials U.S. Postage stamps Washington - Franklin Issues 1932 bicentennial Currency Washington quarter Washington dollar Cultural depictions George Washington ( 1984 miniseries 1986 sequel ) Related Bibliography Founding Fathers of the United States Republicanism Federalist Party Federalist Era Virginia dynasty Coat of arms Cherry - tree anecdote River Farm Washington 's Crossing 1751 Barbados trip Category Syng inkstand General of the Armies American Philosophical Society American Revolution patriots Mount Vernon Ladies ' Association 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 ( 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 Historical documents of the United States Constitution Preamble & Articles Preamble II III IV V VI VII Amendments Ratified 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 Pending Congressional Apportionment Titles of Nobility Corwin ( State Domestic Institutions ) Child Labor Unsuccessful Equal Rights District of Columbia Voting Rights See also List of Constitutional Amendments Bill of Rights ( Amendments 1 -- 10 ) Reconstruction Amendments ( Amendments 13 -- 15 ) Amendment proposals in Congress Conventions to propose amendments State ratifying conventions Formation History Articles of Confederation Mount Vernon Conference Annapolis Convention Philadelphia Convention Virginia Plan New Jersey Plan Connecticut Compromise Three - Fifths Compromise Committee of Detail Signing Independence Hall Syng inkstand The Federalist Papers Anti-Federalist Papers Massachusetts Compromise Virginia Ratifying Convention Hillsborough Convention Drafting and ratification timeline Clauses Appointments Appropriations Assistance of Counsel Bill of credit Case or Controversy Citizenship Commerce Compact Compulsory Process Confrontation Contract Copyright and Patent Double Jeopardy Due Process Equal Protection Establishment Exceptions Excessive Bail Ex post facto Extradition Free Exercise Free Speech Fugitive Slave Full Faith and Credit General Welfare Guarantee Impeachment Import - Export Ineligibility ( Emolument ) Militia Natural - born citizen Necessary and Proper New States No Religious Test Oath or Affirmation Origination Petition Postal Presentment Privileges and Immunities Privileges or Immunities Recommendation Self - Incrimination Speech or Debate Speedy Trial State of the Union Supremacy Suspension Take Care Takings Taxing and Spending Territorial Title of Nobility Treaty Trial by Jury Vesting Vicinage War Powers List of clauses Interpretation Concurrent powers Congressional enforcement Constitutional law Criminal procedure Criminal sentencing Dormant Commerce Clause Enumerated powers Equal footing Executive privilege Incorporation of the Bill of Rights Judicial review Nondelegation doctrine Preemption Saxbe fix Separation of church and state Separation of powers Taxation power Unitary executive theory Signatories Convention President George Washington New Hampshire John Langdon Nicholas Gilman Massachusetts Nathaniel Gorham Rufus King Connecticut William Samuel Johnson Roger Sherman New York Alexander Hamilton New Jersey William Livingston David Brearley William Paterson Jonathan Dayton Pennsylvania Benjamin Franklin Thomas Mifflin Robert Morris George Clymer Thomas Fitzsimons Jared Ingersoll James Wilson Gouverneur Morris Delaware George Read Gunning Bedford Jr . John Dickinson Richard Bassett Jacob Broom Maryland James McHenry Daniel of St. Thomas Jenifer Daniel Carroll Virginia John Blair James Madison North Carolina William Blount Richard Dobbs Spaight Hugh Williamson South Carolina John Rutledge Charles Cotesworth Pinckney Charles Pinckney Pierce Butler Georgia William Few Abraham Baldwin Convention Secretary William Jackson Display and legacy National Archives Charters of Freedom Rotunda Independence Mall Constitution Day Constitution Gardens National Constitution Center Scene at the Signing of the Constitution ( painting ) A More Perfect Union ( film ) Worldwide influence Declaration of Independence Primary author Thomas Jefferson Signatories President of Congress John Hancock ( Massachusetts ) New Hampshire Josiah Bartlett William Whipple Matthew Thornton Massachusetts Samuel Adams John Adams Robert Treat Paine Elbridge Gerry Rhode Island Stephen Hopkins William Ellery Connecticut Roger Sherman Samuel Huntington William Williams Oliver Wolcott New York William Floyd Philip Livingston Francis Lewis Lewis Morris New Jersey Richard Stockton John Witherspoon Francis Hopkinson John Hart Abraham Clark Pennsylvania Robert Morris Benjamin Rush Benjamin Franklin John Morton George Clymer James Smith George Taylor James Wilson George Ross Delaware George Read Caesar Rodney Thomas McKean Maryland Samuel Chase William Paca Thomas Stone Charles Carroll of Carrollton Virginia George Wythe Richard Henry Lee Thomas Jefferson Benjamin Harrison Thomas Nelson Jr . Francis Lightfoot Lee Carter Braxton North Carolina William Hooper Joseph Hewes John Penn South Carolina Edward Rutledge Thomas Heyward Jr . Thomas Lynch Jr . Arthur Middleton Georgia Button Gwinett Lyman Hall George Walton See also Virginia Declaration of Rights Lee Resolution Committee of Five Document 's history signing portrait Second Continental Congress `` All men are created equal '' `` Life , Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness '' `` Consent of the governed '' Independence Hall Syng inkstand American Revolution Articles of Confederation Signatories Primary drafter John Dickinson New Hampshire Josiah Bartlett John Wentworth Jr . Massachusetts John Hancock Samuel Adams Elbridge Gerry Francis Dana James Lovell Samuel Holten Rhode Island William Ellery Henry Marchant John Collins Connecticut Roger Sherman Samuel Huntington Oliver Wolcott Titus Hosmer Andrew Adams New York James Duane Francis Lewis William Duer Gouverneur Morris New Jersey John Witherspoon Nathaniel Scudder Pennsylvania Robert Morris Daniel Roberdeau Jonathan Bayard Smith William Clingan Joseph Reed Delaware Thomas McKean John Dickinson Nicholas Van Dyke Maryland John Hanson Daniel Carroll Virginia Richard Henry Lee John Banister Thomas Adams John Harvie Francis Lightfoot Lee North Carolina John Penn Cornelius Harnett John Williams South Carolina Henry Laurens William Henry Drayton John Mathews Richard Hutson Thomas Heyward Jr . Georgia John Walton Edward Telfair Edward Langworthy See also Continental Congress Congress of the Confederation American Revolution Perpetual Union Continental Association Signatories President of Congress Peyton Randolph New Hampshire John Sullivan Nathaniel Folsom Massachusetts Bay Thomas Cushing Samuel Adams John Adams Robert Treat Paine Rhode Island Stephen Hopkins Samuel Ward Connecticut Eliphalet Dyer Roger Sherman Silas Deane New York Isaac Low John Alsop John Jay James Duane Philip Livingston William Floyd Henry Wisner Simon Boerum New Jersey James Kinsey William Livingston Stephen Crane Richard Smith John De Hart Pennsylvania Joseph Galloway John Dickinson Charles Humphreys Thomas Mifflin Edward Biddle John Morton George Ross The Lower Counties Caesar Rodney Thomas McKean George Read Maryland Matthew Tilghman Thomas Johnson , Junr William Paca Samuel Chase Virginia Richard Henry Lee George Washington Patrick Henry , Junr Richard Bland Benjamin Harrison Edmund Pendleton North Carolina William Hooper Joseph Hewes Richard Caswell South Carolina Henry Middleton Thomas Lynch Christopher Gadsden John Rutledge Edward Rutledge See also Virginia Association First Continental Congress Carpenters ' Hall Declaration and Resolves of the First Continental Congress Retrieved from `` https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Founding_Fathers_of_the_United_States&oldid=822300897 '' Categories : Words coined in the 1910s Age of Enlightenment American Revolution Articles about multiple people Patriots in the American Revolution Political leaders of the American Revolution National founders Hidden categories : Webarchive template wayback links Pages with DOIs inactive since 2017 Use mdy dates from April 2011 Talk Read Contents About Wikipedia Wikiquote Asturianu Bân - lâm - gú Башҡортса Bikol Central Български Brezhoneg Català Čeština Cymraeg Deutsch Ελληνικά Español Esperanto فارسی Français 한국어 Հայերեն हिन्दी Ido Bahasa Indonesia Interlingua Íslenska Italiano עברית Latina Lietuvių Magyar Bahasa Melayu Nederlands 日本 語 Norsk Polski Português Română Русский Simple English Slovenčina Slovenščina کوردی Српски / srpski Srpskohrvatski / српскохрватски Suomi Svenska Tagalog Татарча / tatarça ไทย Українська Tiếng Việt 中文 Edit links This page was last edited on 25 January 2018 , at 16 : 08 . 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Question: who are considered to be the founding fathers

John Adams, Benjamin Franklin, Alexander Hamilton, John Jay, Thomas Jefferson, James Madison, and George Washington