Founding Fathers

Founding Fathers is a term used to describe those people who created the United States. Historians disagree on exactly how to classify the Founding Fathers and as a result several different definitions have arisen.

Some of the main definitions of the Founding Fathers are: those people who signed the Declaration of Independence, those people who led the American Revolution, those who were present at the 1787 Constitutional Convention. Within in this category the list can be further refined as historians have debated over whether or not to extend the Founding Fathers title to all those present at the Constitutional Convention or just those specific individuals who made a significant contribution to the founding of the United States.

Below is a list of the most ‘famous’ Founding Fathers.

• John Adams – became 1^st Vice President and 2^nd President of the United States
• Benjamin Franklin - distinguished political theorist, freemason and scientist
• Alexander Hamilton – became 1^st US Secretary of the Treasury and wrote 51 of 85 Federalist Papers
• John Jay – became the 1^st Chief Justice of the United States, and 2^nd Governor of New York
• Thomas Jefferson – became 1^st Secretary of State, 2^nd Vice President, and 3^rd President of the United States
• James Madison – became 4^th President of the United States, and key author of the Bill of Rights
• George Washington – 1^st President of the United States.