Founding Fathers of the United States

The Founding Fathers refers to certain men who lived during the American Revolutionary War era. These men signed the Declaration of Independence, helped write the Constitution of the United States, or helped win the American Revolutionary War.  Many of these men were members of the Continental Congress at some point. The term "Founding Fathers" was first used for these people in 1916.

There were many people who were Founding Fathers.  Some scholars like to limit them to a small number, such as seven: George Washington, John Adams, Thomas Jefferson, Benjamin Franklin, Alexander Hamilton, John Jay, and James Madison.

Most of the Founding Fathers were large landowners or rich merchants. Most of them owned slaves. After the Constitution, many of the Founding Fathers became leaders in the federal government. Five of them, Washington, Adams, Jefferson, Madison, and James Monroe, were later elected president of the United States. 

List of Founding Fathers
 Name Province/state DI (1776) AC (1777) USC (1787)   Connecticut         Massachusetts        Massachusetts         Virginia         Georgia         Virginia         New Hampshire        Delaware         Delaware         Virginia         North Carolina         Virginia         New Jersey         Delaware         South Carolina         Maryland         Maryland         Maryland        New Jersey         Pennsylvania         Pennsylvania        Rhode Island         Massachusetts         New Jersey         Delaware         South Carolina         New York         New York         Rhode Island        Georgia         Pennsylvania         New York        Pennsylvania        Massachusetts        New Hampshire         Massachusetts         Georgia         Georgia         New York         Massachusetts        Maryland         North Carolina         Virginia        New Jersey         Virginia         North Carolina        South Carolina        Massachusetts         North Carolina        Rhode Island        New Jersey         Connecticut         Connecticut        South Carolina         Pennsylvania         South Carolina         Virginia         Maryland         Connecticut         Massachusetts         New Hampshire         Georgia         South Carolina         Virginia        Virginia         New York        New York         New Jersey         Massachusetts         South Carolina         Virginia         Rhode Island         South Carolina         Maryland         Delaware         South Carolina         Pennsylvania         New York       Pennsylvania         New York         Pennsylvania         Pennsylvania        Virginia         Maryland        Massachusetts        New Jersey         North Carolina        South Carolina         South Carolina        Delaware         Pennsylvania         Pennsylvania         Delaware        Pennsylvania        Pennsylvania         South Carolina        South Carolina         New Jersey         Connecticut         Pennsylvania         Pennsylvania         North Carolina         New Jersey         Maryland         Pennsylvania         Georgia         New Hampshire         Delaware         Georgia         Georgia         Virginia         New Hampshire         New Hampshire         North Carolina         Connecticut         North Carolina         Pennsylvania        New Jersey        Connecticut        Virginia      

Other delegates
The 55 delegates who attended the Constitutional Convention are referred to as framers. Of these, the 16 listed below did not sign the document.Morton, 2006, pp. 1, 316 Three refused, while the remainder left early, either in protest of the proceedings or for personal reasons.Beeman, 2009, pp. xxi–xxiii, 25955Morton, 2006, p. 4 Nevertheless, some sources regard all framers as founders, including those who did not sign:National Archives, Framers of the ConstitutionBernstein, 2009, pp. 177–179

 William Richardson Davie, North Carolina
 Oliver Ellsworth, Connecticut
 Elbridge Gerry, Massachusetts *
 William Houston, New Jersey
 William Houstoun, Georgia
 John Lansing Jr., New York
 Alexander Martin, North Carolina
 Luther Martin, Maryland
 George Mason, Virginia *
 James McClurg, Virginia
 John Francis Mercer, Maryland
 William Pierce, Georgia
 Edmund Randolph, Virginia *
 Caleb Strong, Massachusetts
 George Wythe, Virginia
 Robert Yates, New York
(*) Randolph, Mason, and Gerry were the only three present at the Constitution's adoption who refused to sign.

References