The U.S. Founding Fathers: Who Were These Guys? In honor of Presidents’ Day and George Washington’s birthday this week, I’ll review in a series of daily blogs the lives and legacies of those American patriots known collectively as the Founding Fathers. First, who were these guys? “Founding Fathers” refers to the most prominent statesmen of America’s revolutionary generation, responsible for the successful war for colonial independence from Great Britain, the liberal ideas celebrated in the Declaration of Independence, and the republican form of government defined in the United States Constitution.
While there is no agreed upon criteria for inclusion, membership in this select group customarily requires conspicuous contributions at one or both of the American foundings: during the rebellion against Great Britain, when independence was won, or during the Constitutional Convention, when nationhood was achieved. The Debate: Demigods or Demons? Tomorrow’s Post: “Achievements and Failures” America's Founding Fathers - Delegates to the Constitutional Convention.
The Founding Fathers Delegates to the Constitutional Convention On February 21, 1787, the Continental Congress resolved that: ...it is expedient that on the second Monday in May next a Convention of delegates who shall have been appointed by the several States be held at Philladelphia for the sole and express purpose of revising the Articles of Confederation...
The original states, except Rhode Island, collectively appointed 70 individuals to the Constitutional Convention, but a number did not accept or could not attend. Those who did not attend included Richard Henry Lee, Patrick Henry, Thomas Jefferson, John Adams, Samuel Adams and, John Hancock. In all, 55 delegates attended the Constitutional Convention sessions, but only 39 actually signed the Constitution. Benjamin Franklin. Benjamin Franklin Born: 17-Jan-1706 [1]Birthplace: Boston, MADied: 17-Apr-1790Location of death: Philadelphia, PACause of death: unspecifiedRemains: Buried, Christ Church Burial Ground, Philadelphia, PA Gender: MaleReligion: DeistRace or Ethnicity: WhiteSexual orientation: StraightOccupation: Diplomat, Inventor, Scientist Nationality: United StatesExecutive summary: American founding father American diplomat, statesman and scientist, born on the 17th of January 1706 in a house in Milk Street, opposite the Old South Church, Boston, Massachusetts.
He was the tenth son of Josiah Franklin, and the eighth child and youngest son of ten children borne by Abiah Folger, his father's second wife. Benjamin's tastes had at first been for the sea rather than the pulpit; now they inclined rather to intellectual than to other pleasures. A rapid composer and a workman full of resource, Franklin was soon recognized as the master spirit of the shop.
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