Malcolm Rivera
The Founding Fathers of the United States were a group of 18th-century American revolutionary leaders who united the Thirteen Colonies, oversaw the War of Independence from Great Britain, and established the United States of America. The Founding Fathers include those who wrote and signed the United States Declaration of Independence, the Articles of Confederation, and the Constitution of the United States. Of the 55 framers of the Constitution, 32 were lawyers. This amounts to more than half of the signers of this world-altering document.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Total number of framers of the Constitution | 55 |
| Number of framers who were lawyers | 32 or 21 |
| Percentage of framers who were lawyers | 58% or 53% |
| Number of framers who signed the Constitution | 39 |
| Number of framers who signed the Constitution and were lawyers | 21 |
| Percentage of framers who signed the Constitution and were lawyers | 54% |
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What You'll Learn
Of the 55 framers, 32 were lawyers
The Founding Fathers of the United States were a group of late-18th-century American revolutionary leaders who united the Thirteen Colonies, oversaw the War of Independence from Great Britain, established the United States of America, and crafted a framework of government for the new nation. The Founding Fathers include those who wrote and signed the United States Declaration of Independence, the Articles of Confederation, and the US Constitution.
Of the 55 framers of the Constitution, 32 were lawyers. This is a significant proportion and reflects the legal expertise required to establish a new nation. The influence of lawyers extended beyond those who signed the Constitution, with lawyers also playing key roles in other aspects of the American Revolution. For example, James Otis, a Massachusetts lawyer, was responsible for the first meeting of colonial delegates in opposition to Britain. Additionally, the Federalist Papers, which were influential essays promoting the ratification of the US Constitution, were co-authored by three lawyer-founders: Alexander Hamilton, John Jay, and James Madison, who earned the title "Father of the Constitution" for his leadership and drafting skills.
The legal profession provided valuable skills for the drafting of legal documents such as the Constitution, and many Founding Fathers had legal training or experience. For instance, John Adams, Robert R. Livingston Jr., Roger Sherman, and Thomas Jefferson were lawyers who were appointed to a committee tasked with authoring the Declaration of Independence. Benjamin Franklin, the only non-lawyer on the committee, recognized Jefferson's talent for composition and expression, which was crucial to their efforts.
The Founding Fathers came from diverse backgrounds and had a range of occupations, but the legal profession was well-represented. In addition to lawyers, the Founding Fathers included merchants, businessmen, farmers, physicians, ministers, military leaders, politicians, and more. Their collective knowledge and experience contributed to the creation of a new nation and the establishment of its governing documents.
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21 lawyers signed the US Constitution
The United States Constitution, one of the "'Charters of Freedom', was crafted by the Founding Fathers of the United States, a group of late-18th-century American revolutionary leaders who united the Thirteen Colonies, oversaw the War of Independence from Great Britain, and established the United States of America. The Founding Fathers include those who wrote and signed the United States Declaration of Independence, the Articles of Confederation, and the Constitution of the United States.
The US Constitution was adopted in 1787 with the signatures of 39 Constitutional Convention delegates, of whom 21 were lawyers. This means that more than half of the signatories of this world-altering document were legal professionals. The influence of lawyers extended beyond this group, however. For example, four of the 28 lawyer-signers of the Declaration of Independence also signed the US Constitution: Roger Sherman, James Wilson, George Read, and John Rutledge. Roger Sherman was the only lawyer to sign all three documents.
The Federalist Papers were also influential, groundbreaking essays about the US Constitution that effectively promoted its unanimous ratification by the colonies. Three lawyer-founders co-authored these papers: Alexander Hamilton, John Jay, and James Madison, who earned the symbolic title "Father of the Constitution" for his superb leadership and work as the principal draftsman at the Constitutional Convention.
The Founding Fathers came from a broad range of occupations, but most had careers in three professions: about half were lawyers, a sixth were planters/farmers, another sixth were merchants/businessmen, and the others were spread across miscellaneous professions.
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Nearly half of the Founding Fathers were lawyers
The Founding Fathers of the United States were a group of late-18th-century American revolutionary leaders who united the Thirteen Colonies, oversaw the War of Independence from Great Britain, established the United States of America, and crafted a framework of government for the new nation. The Founding Fathers include those who wrote and signed the United States Declaration of Independence, the Articles of Confederation, and the Constitution of the United States.
The Federalist Papers were influential essays about the US Constitution that effectively promoted its unanimous ratification by the colonies. Three lawyer-founders co-authored these papers: Alexander Hamilton, John Jay, and James Madison, who also became the first secretary of state, the first chief justice of the US Supreme Court, and the fourth president of the United States, respectively. James Madison also earned the symbolic title "Father of the Constitution" for his superb leadership at the Constitutional Convention and as its principal draftsman.
The influence of lawyers extended beyond those who signed the founding documents. For example, the Continental Congress appointed a committee of five men to author the Declaration of Independence, four of whom were lawyers: John Adams, Robert R. Livingston Jr., Roger Sherman, and Thomas Jefferson. They relied on Jefferson's writing skills in choosing him as the principle draftsman.
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Four lawyers helped author the Declaration of Independence
The Founding Fathers of the United States were a group of late-18th-century American revolutionary leaders who united the Thirteen Colonies, oversaw the War of Independence from Great Britain, established the United States of America, and crafted a framework for the new government. The Founding Fathers include those who wrote and signed the United States Declaration of Independence, the Articles of Confederation, and the Constitution of the United States.
Of the 56 signers of the Declaration of Independence, 25 were lawyers. Four of the lawyers who helped author the Declaration of Independence were:
- John Adams: Adams was from Massachusetts and was admitted to practice law in 1761. He was a member of the Continental Congress and was later persuaded by John Adams to write the draft of the Declaration of Independence.
- Thomas Jefferson: Jefferson was from Virginia and, at 33, was one of the youngest delegates. He was chosen to write the draft because he had the fewest enemies in Congress and was a good writer.
- Roger Sherman: Sherman was from Connecticut and was a member of the committee that persuaded Congress to pass a resolution to separate from Great Britain.
- Benjamin Franklin: Franklin was from Pennsylvania and was the oldest of the Founding Fathers, born in 1706. He was a successful printer, publisher, scientist, and inventor.
These four lawyers, along with the other Founding Fathers, played a crucial role in shaping the course of American history and establishing the principles upon which the new nation was founded.
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Three lawyer-founders co-authored the Federalist Papers
The United States Constitution was signed by 39 delegates, out of 55 framers, in total. Of these 55 framers, 32 had a legal background. The Founding Fathers of the United States were a group of late-18th-century American revolutionary leaders who united the Thirteen Colonies, oversaw the War of Independence from Great Britain, established the United States of America, and crafted a framework of government for the new nation.
The Federalist Papers were a series of essays defending the proposed Constitution and explaining in detail its principles. Three lawyer-founders, James Madison, Alexander Hamilton, and John Jay, co-authored The Federalist Papers. Hamilton was the first Secretary of the Treasury of the United States and a leading advocate of national constitutional reform. He chose the pseudonym "Publius" for the series, in honour of Publius Valerius Publicola, one of the Roman aristocrats who overthrew the monarchy in 509 BC and who is credited with being instrumental in the founding of the Roman Republic.
Madison, the fourth president of the United States and "Father of the Constitution", was one of the principal founders of America's republican form of government. He was Hamilton's main collaborator on The Federalist Papers, having written 29 of the essays, although he claimed to have authored more. John Jay, on the other hand, wrote five essays (Federalist Nos. 2, 3, 4, 5, and 64).
The authors of The Federalist Papers initially attempted to hide their identities, but Hamilton's list, which he provided to his lawyer before his fatal duel with Aaron Burr, credited himself with 63 of the essays (three of which were jointly written with Madison). This list was used as the basis for an 1810 printing that was the first to make specific attributions for the essays. However, the exact authorship of 12 essays remains disputed by scholars.
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Frequently asked questions
32 out of 55 framers of the US Constitution were lawyers.
Lawyers made up more than half of the framers of the US Constitution, accounting for approximately 58% of the framers.
Only 4 out of the 28 lawyer-framers of the US Constitution signed the US Constitution. These were Roger Sherman, James Wilson, George Read, and John Rutledge.
The remainder of the framers of the US Constitution were primarily businessmen and planter-farmers.
Yes, three lawyer-founders co-authored the Federalist Papers, which were influential essays that effectively promoted unanimous ratification of the US Constitution by the colonies. These lawyers were Alexander Hamilton, John Jay, and James Madison.
