Eleanor Finch
The Founding Fathers of the United States were the group of statesmen, military leaders, and others who played a role in the country's formation and the development of its guiding philosophies. 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 Constitution was drafted in 1787 by 55 delegates at the Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia. The final draft included the famous phrase, We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union..., reflecting Madison's belief that government must begin with the people and be accountable to them. The Constitution was signed by 38 delegates, with one delegate signing on behalf of John Dickinson of Delaware, bringing the total number of signatures to 39.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Number of parchment pages | 4 |
| Number of delegates who signed the Constitution | 38 |
| Total number of signatures | 39 |
| Number of delegates | 55 |
| Date of signing | 17 September 1787 |
| Location | Assembly Room of the Pennsylvania State House, Philadelphia |
| Length of the scroll | 13 feet and 5 inches |
| Signers of the three key documents | Declaration of Independence, Articles of Confederation, and U.S. Constitution |
| Number of Founding Fathers who attended or graduated from colleges in the American colonies | More than a third |
| Number of Founding Fathers who attended college abroad | 2 |
| Colleges attended abroad | England and Scotland |
| Other forms of education | Home-schooled, tutored, apprenticed, or self-educated |
| Colleges attended in the American colonies | Columbia and William & Mary |
| Key founders | John Adams, Benjamin Franklin, Alexander Hamilton, John Jay, Thomas Jefferson, James Madison, and George Washington |
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What You'll Learn
The Declaration of Independence
The Founding Fathers of the United States include those who wrote and signed these three documents, certain military personnel who fought in the American Revolutionary War, and others who greatly assisted in the nation's formation. The single person most identified as the "Father" of the United States is George Washington, a general in the American Revolution and the nation's first president. Other key founders were John Adams, Benjamin Franklin, Alexander Hamilton, John Jay, Thomas Jefferson, James Madison, and Washington.
The Founding Fathers were wary of centralized power and loyal to their states, so they created a powerful central government. Representing wildly different interests and views, they crafted compromises. The Constitution still needed ratification, and opposition was fierce. Together with Hamilton and Jay, Madison penned The Federalist Papers, authoring 29 of the 85 essays. With these essays, Madison not only defended the Constitution but also gave it a philosophy.
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The Articles of Confederation
The Founding Fathers of the United States are the signers of three key documents: the Declaration of Independence, the Articles of Confederation, and the U.S. Constitution. More than a third of the Founding Fathers attended or graduated from colleges in the American colonies, while others attended college abroad, primarily in England and Scotland. The remaining founders were homeschooled, received tutoring, completed apprenticeships, or were self-educated.
The Constitutional Convention assembled in Philadelphia in May 1787, bringing together 55 delegates who are referred to as framers. The framers were tasked with revising the existing government, but they ended up creating a completely new one. Representing diverse interests and views, they crafted compromises and set the terms for ratifying the new Constitution. They bypassed the state legislatures and called for special ratifying conventions in each state, with ratification by 9 of the 13 states enacting the new government.
On September 17, 1787, 38 delegates signed the Constitution, with George Reed signing on behalf of the absent John Dickinson of Delaware, bringing the total signatures to 39. The framers of the Constitution, wary of centralized power and loyal to their states, created a powerful central government. Their achievement stands today as one of the longest-lived and most emulated constitutions in the world.
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The US Constitution
The Founding Fathers were the signers of three key documents: the Declaration of Independence, the Articles of Confederation, and the US Constitution. The Declaration of Independence, drafted in 1776, expresses the ideals on which the United States was founded and the reasons for separation from Great Britain. The Articles of Confederation, America's first constitution, gave the Confederation Congress the power to make rules and request funds from the states, but it had no enforcement powers, couldn't regulate commerce, or print money. The disputes between the states over territory, war pensions, taxation, and trade threatened to tear the young country apart.
Fearing the country was on the brink of collapse, Alexander Hamilton, James Madison, and George Washington helped convince Congress to organize a Grand Convention of state delegates to work on revising the Articles of Confederation. The Founding Fathers, many of whom were of English ancestry, came from diverse educational backgrounds. Some attended colleges in the American colonies or abroad, while others were homeschooled, received tutoring, completed apprenticeships, or were self-educated.
The final draft of the Constitution bore the voice and design of its authors. The famous preamble, "We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union…", reflects Madison's belief that the government must begin with the people and be accountable to them alone. The Constitution faced fierce opposition, and together with Hamilton and Jay, Madison penned The Federalist Papers, authoring 29 of the 85 essays in defence of the Constitution.
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The influence of slavery
The United States Constitution was drafted in 1787 and ratified in 1789. At the time, slavery was banned in the states of New England and Pennsylvania, and by the Congress of the Confederation in the Northwest Territory. However, many of the Founding Fathers were slave owners, including George Washington, who is the single person most identified as the "Father" of the United States.
The issue of slavery played a significant role in the drafting of the Constitution. The Founding Fathers made some efforts to contain slavery, but they also wanted to ensure the support of southern delegates for a strong central government. They believed that if the Constitution restricted the slave trade, states like South Carolina and Georgia would refuse to join the Union. As a result, they sidestepped the issue of slavery, which would lead to future conflict.
The Constitution included several clauses that addressed slavery, including the Three-Fifths Clause, the Fugitive Slave Clause, and the Slave Trade Clause. The Three-Fifths Clause, included in Article I, Section 2, Clause 3, stated that three-fifths of each state's slave population would be counted towards that state's total population for the purpose of apportioning the House of Representatives. This gave the Southern states more power in the House and in the Electoral College. The Fugitive Slave Clause required the return of runaway slaves to their owners, and the Slave Trade Clause prohibited Congress from banning the importation of slaves until 1808.
The Founding Fathers consciously avoided using the words "slave" or "slavery" in the Constitution, instead using euphemisms like "persons held in service or labour". They believed that slavery was morally wrong and would eventually die out, and they did not want the permanent moral stain on the document. This led to criticism, with some arguing that the Constitution was ""defective from the start"" for leaving out a majority of Americans from the phrase "We the People".
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The Bill of Rights
The Founding Fathers of the United States are the signers of three key documents: the Declaration of Independence, the Articles of Confederation, and the Constitution. The Founding Fathers also include certain military personnel who fought in the American Revolutionary War, and others who greatly assisted in the nation's formation. The single person most identified as the "Father" of the United States is George Washington, a general in the American Revolution and the nation's first president. Other key founders include John Adams, Benjamin Franklin, Alexander Hamilton, John Jay, Thomas Jefferson, James Madison, and Washington.
The Founding Fathers assembled in Philadelphia in May of 1787 for the Constitutional Convention, tasked with revising the existing government. The delegates represented wildly different interests and views, and they crafted compromises. The Founding Fathers were wary of centralised power and loyal to their states, so they created a powerful central government.
The final draft of the Constitution bore the voice of James Madison, who believed that government must begin with the people and be accountable to them alone. Together with Hamilton and Jay, Madison penned The Federalist Papers, authoring 29 of the 85 essays. Federalist No. 10, perhaps his most famous, addressed the threat of faction, arguing that a large republic would better preserve liberty than a small one. Federalist No. 51 laid bare the logic of separation of powers: "Ambition must be made to counteract ambition".
Initially, Madison was sceptical that a list of rights was necessary, but he recognised it was politically essential. Thomas Jefferson, who was absent, urged Madison to add a Bill of Rights, and he saw it pass in 1791. The Bill of Rights was a victory for Jefferson's principles, as he saw that the Constitution favoured government over people. The Bill of Rights is one of the documents housed in the Rotunda for the Charters of Freedom, along with the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution of the United States.
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Frequently asked questions
The Founding Fathers of the United States include those who wrote and signed the Declaration of Independence, the Articles of Confederation, and the Constitution of the United States. The single person most identified as the "Father" of the United States is George Washington. Other Founding Fathers include John Adams, Thomas Jefferson, Benjamin Franklin, Alexander Hamilton, and James Madison.
The Founding Fathers were influenced by their experiences with the Articles of Confederation, America's first constitution. The Articles gave the Confederation Congress the power to make rules and request funds from the states, but it had no enforcement powers, couldn't regulate commerce, or print money. The Founding Fathers were also influenced by their desire to create a powerful central government while remaining loyal to their states. They crafted compromises to represent the different interests and views of the people.
The Constitutional Convention of 1787 assembled in Philadelphia, with 55 delegates in attendance. The delegates came up with a completely new form of government, and 39 of the 42 delegates present on the last day signed the Constitution. The founders set the terms for ratifying the Constitution, bypassing the state legislatures and calling for special ratifying conventions in each state. Ratification by 9 of the 13 states enacted the new government.
