John Trumbull's famous painting is usually incorrectly identified as a depiction of the signing of the Declaration. What the painting actually depicts is the
five-man drafting committee presenting their work to the Congress. Trumbull's painting can also be found on the back of the U.S.
$2 bill[1]
'Founding Fathers of the United States', also known as the 'Fathers of Our Country', the 'Forefathers', 'Framers of the Constitution' or the 'Founders', are the
political leaders who signed the
Declaration of Independence or the
United States Constitution, or otherwise participated in the
American Revolution as leaders of the
Patriots. They were opposed by the
Loyalists who supported the
British monarchy and opposed independence (However, most of the Loyalists stayed in the U.S. after 1783 and supported the new government.
[2])
Collective Biography of the Founding Fathers
The 55 delegates who attended the
United States Constitutional Convention represented a cross section of
18th-century American leadership. Almost all of them were well-educated men of means who were dominant in their communities and states, and many were also prominent in national affairs. Virtually every one had taken part in the 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.
[3]
Political experience
The signers of the Constitution had extensive political experience. By 1787, four-fifths, or 41 individuals, were or had been members of the
Continental Congress. Practically all of the 55 delegates had experience in colonial and state government, and the majority had held county and local offices.
[4]
★ Timothy Mifflin, Pierce Gaithe, and James 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, Washington and Yates.
★ Eight men (Clymer, Franklin, Gerry, Robert Morris, Read, Sherman, Wilson, and Wythe) had signed the
Declaration of Independence.
★ Six (Carroll, Dickinson, Gerry, Gouverneur Morris, Robert Morris, and Sherman) had affixed their signatures to the
Articles of Confederation.
★ Two, Sherman and Robert Morris, underwrote all three of the nation's basic documents.
★ Dickinson, Franklin, Langdon, and Rutledge had been governors.
Occupations
The 1787 delegates 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 younger and less senior in their professions.
[5] Thirty-five were
lawyers or had benefited from
legal education, though not all of them relied on the profession for a livelihood. Some had also become
judges.
[6]
★ At the time of the convention, 13 men were
merchants: Blount, Broom, Clymer, Dayton, Fitzsimons, Gerry, Gilman, Gorham, Langdon, Robert Morris, Pierce, Sherman, and Wilson.
★ Six were major
land speculators: Blount, Dayton, Fitzsimons, Gorham, Robert Morris, 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.
★ Twelve owned or managed
slave-operated
plantations or large
farms: Bassett, Blair, Blount, Butler, Carroll, Jenifer, Mason, Charles Pinckney, Charles Cotesworth Pinckney, Rutledge, Spaight, and Washington. Madison also owned slaves as did Franklin, who later
freed his slaves and became an
abolitionist.
★ Broom and Few were small farmers.
★ Nine of the men received a substantial part of their income from public office: Baldwin, Blair, Brearly, Gilman, Jenifer, 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, and Williamson were physicians, and Johnson was a
college president.
★ Baldwin had been a Protestant
minister, and Williamson, Madison, Ellsworth, and possibly others had studied theology but had never been
ordained.
Family and finances
A few of the 1787 delegates were wealthy, but most of the country's top wealth-holders were Loyalists who went to Britain. Most of the others had financial resources that ranged from good to excellent. On the whole they were less wealthy than the Loyalists. Some of them were in war in Indian continents.
[5]
★ Washington and Robert Morris ranked among the nation's most prosperous men.
★ Carroll, Houston, Jenifer, and Mifflin were also extremely well-to-do.
★ Among those with the most straitened circumstances were Baldwin, Brearly, Broom, Few, Madison, Paterson, and Sherman, though they all managed to live comfortably.
★ A considerable number of the men were born into leading families: Blair, Butler, Carroll, Houston, Ingersoll, Jenifer, Johnson, Livingston, Mifflin, Gouverneur Morris, both Pinckneys, Randolph, Rutledge, Washington, and Wythe.
★ Others were self-made men who had risen from humble beginnings: Few, Franklin, Gorham, Hamilton, and Sherman.
Demographic information
Brown (1976) and Harris (1969) provide detailed demographic information on each man.
★ Most of the 1787 delegates were natives of the
13 colonies.
★ Only eight were born elsewhere: four (Butler, Fitzsimons, McHenry, and Paterson) in
Ireland, two (Davie and Robert Morris) in
England, one (Wilson) in
Scotland, and one (Hamilton) in the
West Indies.
★ Many of them had moved from one state to another. Sixteen individuals had already lived or worked in more than one state or colony: Baldwin, Bassett, Bedford, Dickinson, Few, Franklin, Ingersoll, Livingston, Alexander Martin, Luther Martin, Mercer, Gouverneur Morris, Robert Morris, Read, Sherman, and Williamson.
★ Several others had studied or traveled abroad.
The Founding Fathers had strong educational backgrounds.
[8] Some, like Franklin, were largely
self-taught or learned through
apprenticeship. Others had obtained instruction from private tutors or at academies. About half of the men had attended or graduated from college in the colonies or Britain. Some men held
medical degrees or advanced training in
theology. For the most part, the delegates were a well-educated group. A few lawyers had been trained at the
Inns of Court in
London, but most had apprenticed to an American lawyer.
Longevity and family life
Death age of the Founding Fathers.
For their era, the 1787 delegates (like the 1776 signers) were average in terms of life spans.
[9] Their average age at death was about 67. The first to die was Houston in 1788; the last was Madison in 1836.
The one who reached the oldest age was Johnson, who died at 92. A few—Franklin, Jefferson, Madison, Williamson, and Wythe—lived into their eighties. Either 15 or 16 depending on Fitzsimons's exact age) died in their seventies. Twenty or 21 in their sixties; eight lived into their fifties; and five lived only into their forties. Two (
Alexander Hamilton and
Richard Dobbs Spaight) were killed in
duels.
Most of the delegates married and raised children. Sherman fathered the largest family: 15 children by 2 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.
Religion
The three major foundational documents of the United States of America are the Declaration of Independence (July 1776), the Articles of Confederation (drafted 1777, ratified 1781) and the Constitution of the United States of America (1789). There are a total of 143 signatures on these documents, representing 118 different signers. (Some individuals signed more than one document.)
There were 56 signers of the Declaration of Independence. There were 48 signers of the Articles of Confederation. All 55 delegates who participated in the Constitutional Convention of 1787 are regarded as Founding Fathers, because it is this group that actually debated, drafted and signed the U.S. Constitution, which is the basis for the country's political and legal system. Only 39 delegates actually signed the document, however, meaning there were 16 non-signing delegates - individuals who were Constitutional Convention delegates, but were not signers of the Constitution.
There were 95 Senators and Representatives in the First Federal Congress. If one combines the total number of signatures on the Declaration, the Articles of Confederation and the Constitution with the non-signing Constitutional Convention delegates, and then adds to that sum the number of congressmen in the First Federal Congress, one obtains a total of 238 "slots" or "positions" in these groups which one can classify as "Founding Fathers" of the United States. Because 40 individuals had multiple roles (they signed multiple documents and/or also served in the First Federal Congress), there are 204 unique individuals in this group of "Founding Fathers." These are the people who did one or more of the following:
- signed the Declaration of Independence
- signed the Articles of Confederation
- attended the Constitutional Convention of 1787
- signed the Constitution of the United States of America
- served as Senators in the First Federal Congress (1789-1791)
- served as U.S. Representatives in the First Federal Congress
The religious affiliations of these individuals are summarized below. Obviously this is a very restrictive set of names, and does not include everyone who could be considered an "American Founding Father." But most of the major figures that people generally think of in this context are included using these criteria, including George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Samuel Adams, Benjamin Franklin, John Adams, John Hancock, James Madison, Alexander Hamilton and more.
★ Religion - Number - Percentage
★
★ Episcopalian/Anglican - 88 - 54.7%
★
★ Presbyterian - 30 - 18.6%
★
★ Congregationalist - 27 - 16.8%
★
★ Quaker - 7 - 4.3%
★
★ Dutch Reformed/German Reformed - 6 - 3.7%
★
★ Lutheran - 5 - 3.1%
★
★ Catholic - 3 - 1.9%
★
★ Huguenot - 3 - 1.9%
★
★ Unitarian - 3 - 1.9%
★
★ Methodist - 2 - 1.2%
★
★ Calvinist - 1 - 0.6%
TOTAL 204 (Percentages reflect the breakdown of founders with known religious affiliations and does not include all the founders. See below for caveats)
NOTES:
★ This data is debatable and/or may be inaccurate. The table above counts people and not "roles," meaning that individuals have not been counted multiple times if they appear on more than one of the lists above. Roger Sherman, for example, signed all three foundational documents and he was a Representative in the First Federal Congress, but he has been counted only once.
In the table above, some people have been counted more than once because they changed religious affiliation from one denomination to another. Thus, the individual amounts added together total more than 100%. This method is used because it results in accurate numbers for each individual religious affiliation. For example, a total of 7 Quakers are shown in the table above. There were indeed 7 Quakers who were in this group. (However, not all of these were life-long Quakers.) For the most part, very few Founding Fathers switched denomination during their lifetime (less than 8%), so double-counting has occurred only rarely in this table. Quakers, in fact, are more likely to have switched denominations than members of any other religious denomination. Along with taking up arms and supporting military action against the British, a large proportion of Quaker Founding Father officially renounced or were expelled from the ardently pacifistic denomination they had been raised in and joined another denomination (usually Episcopalianism).
Also, note that the proportions shown (percentage of each religious affiliation out of the total group of Founding Fathers) is the proportion out of Founders whose religious affiliation is known. The religious affiliation of a significant number of signers of the Articles of Confederation is not known, but if that information was available, it is expected that such information would not change the overall proportions significantly.
★
★
★
★ This is something that I am writing just to inform someone who wishes to do a more formal edit
★
★
★
★
This information MUST be innacurate, as every religion listed is a Christian denomination and Thomas Jefferson was not a Christian, nor was Benjamen Franklin. These two are specifically named as included in this list, yet the denomination of 'diest' or even 'atheist' is not listed. Franklin nor Jefferson belonged to any of the listed Christian denominations.
Post-convention careers
The 1787 delegates' subsequent careers reflected their abilities as well as the vagaries of fate.
[10] Most were successful, although seven (Fitzsimons, Gorham, Luther Martin, Mifflin, Robert Morris, Pierce, and Wilson) suffered serious financial reverses that left them in or near
bankruptcy. 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.
★ Washington, John Adams, Jefferson and Madison became
President of the United States, and King and Charles Cotesworth Pinckney were nominated as candidates for the office.
★ Gerry served as Madison's
Vice President. John Adams served as Washington's.
★ Hamilton, McHenry, Madison, and Randolph attained
Cabinet posts.
★ Nineteen men became
U.S. senators: Baldwin, Bassett, Blount, Butler, Dayton, Ellsworth, Few, Gilman, Johnson, King, Langdon, Alexander Martin, Gouverneur Morris, Robert Morris, Paterson, Charles Pinckney, Read, Sherman, and Strong. Thirteen served in the House of Representatives: Baldwin, Carroll, Clymer, Dayton, Fitzsimons, Gerry, Gilman, Madison, Mercer, Charles Pinckney, Sherman, Spaight, and Williamson. Of these, Dayton served as Speaker.
★ Four men (Bassett, Bedford, Brearly, and Few) served as federal judges, four more (Blair, Paterson, Rutledge, and Wilson) as
Associate Justices of the Supreme Court. Rutledge and Ellsworth also held the position of
Chief Justice.
★ Seven others (Davie, Ellsworth, Gerry, King, Gouverneur Morris, Charles Pinckney, and Charles Cotesworth Pinckney) were named to
diplomatic missions for the new nation.
Many 1787 delegates held important state positions, including governor (Blount, Davie, Franklin, Gerry, Langdon, Livingston, Alexander Martin, Mifflin, Paterson, Charles Pinckney, Spaight, and Strong) and legislator. And most of the delegates contributed in many ways to the cultural life of their cities, communities, and states. Not surprisingly, many of their sons and other descendants were to occupy high positions in American political and intellectual life.
Signatories of the Declaration of Independence
Constitutional Convention delegates
Delegates who signed
16 Delegates who did not sign
Other Revolutionary-era figures considered as Founding Fathers
Founding Mothers
In recent years historians have explored the role of women who supported the new nation, although no women held political office. With such representative women as
Abigail Adams and
Mercy Otis Warren, the Founding Mothers promoted the values of "
republican motherhood," and established unwritten traditions that became part of the nation's values.
[13]
See also
★
Founding Fathers (worldwide)
★
List of Continental Congress Delegates
★
List of signatories of the United States Constitution
★
Gallery of the Founding Fathers of the United States
★
History of the United States Constitution
Notes
1. americanrevolution.org Key to Trumbull's picture
2. A Short History of the United Empire Loyalists
3. See Brown (19764); Martin (19739); "Data on the Framers of the Constitution," at [1]
4. Martin (1973); Greene (1973)
5. Greene (1973)
6. Brown (1976)
7. Greene (1973)
8. Brown (1976); Harris (1969)
9. Brown (1976)
10. Martin (1973)
11. According to Joint Resolution 175 of the 103rd Congress, "the phrase in the Declaration of Independence 'All men are created equal' was suggested by the Italian patriot and immigrant Philip Mazzei. http://frwebgate.access.gpo.gov/cgi-bin/getdoc.cgi?dbname=103_cong_bills&docid=f:hj175eh.pdf
12. "The great doctrine 'All men are created equal' incorporated into the Declaration of Independence by Thomas Jefferson, was paraphrased from the writing of Philip Mazzei, an Italian-born patriot and pamphleteer, who was a close friend of Jefferson." by John F. Kennedy, ''A Nation of Immigrants'' pp. 15-16
13. Previdi (1999); Kann (1999); Roberts (2005)
References
★ ''American National Biography Online,'' (2000), scholarly biographies of 18,000 Americans, including all the Founders.
online edition
★ Richard D. Brown. "The Founding Fathers of 1776 and 1787: A Collective View," ''The William and Mary Quarterly,'' 3rd Ser., Vol. 33, No. 3 (Jul., 1976), pp. 465-480
online at JSTOR
★ Joseph J. Ellis. ''Founding Brothers: The Revolutionary Generation'' (2002), Pulitzer Prize
★ 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'' Praeger, 1999
★ Adrienne Koch; ''Power, Morals, and the Founding Fathers: Essays in the Interpretation of the American Enlightenment'' 1961
★ Frank Lambert. ''The Founding Fathers and the Place of Religion in America.'' 2003.
★ Martin, James Kirby. ''Men in rebellion: Higher governmental leaders and the coming of the American Revolution,'' (1973)
★ Robert Previdi; "Vindicating the Founders: Race, Sex, Class, and Justice in the Origins of America," ''Presidential Studies Quarterly,'' Vol. 29, 1999
★ Cokie Roberts. ''Founding Mothers: The Women Who Raised Our Nation'' (2005)
★ Gordon S. Wood. ''Revolutionary Characters: What Made the Founders Different'' (2006)
External links
★
NARA - America's founding fathers
★
Encyclopaedia Britannica, The Founding Fathers and Slavery
★
What Happened to the Signers of the Declaration of Independence?
★
Britannica blog - a scholar blog forum on Founding Fathers and their Faith
العربية
中国
Français
Deutsch
Ελληνική
हिन्दी
Italiano
日本語
Português
Русский
Español
