Who Were the Founders & Framers
We have been blessed beyond expectation with the good fortune of living in America. This blessing is from God and from the belief that He worked through a small group of men who made a commitment to something greater than themselves; something above their lives and their fortunes. They had no illusions of what they could lose.
There were those who signed the Declaration of Independence in 1776 and those who attended the Constitutional Convention in 1787. All important men, no doubt. But the Founders and Framers are generally regarded as six men, men of stature on whose shoulders we still stand today. These six men truly were and are the Founders and Framers of our Constitution and our American way of life we still enjoy today!
Get to know them through their introductory bios and shop their Collections to let others know you still proudly stand with our Founders & Framers!
Shop the Washington . Adams . Franklin Collections
George Washington
Washington, often referred to as the Father of our country, played a key role in the War of Independence and the adoption of the U.S. Constitution. Not only Commander and Chief of the Continental Army, he also officiated at the Constitutional Convention.
He was the first President of the United States and while President he implemented a strong, well-financed national government. Although many feared our new nation might spin into factions of states upon his announcement of not seeking a third term in office, the power of his farewell address is credited as keeping us together as a nation.
Washington asked none other than James Madison to help author the Address for him. And then of course, Alexander Hamilton provided final edits! In his address Washington urged the people to place their identity as Americans above their identities as members of a state, city, or region. And he urged the new country to avoid war. He warned against political factions as such factions would eventually be led by power hungry individuals who would ultimately take power from the people.
Later in life Washingotn became troubled with the institution of slavery and freed his slaves in 1799. A man of private prayer, he read the Bible daily.
John Adams
Of the many aspects of our American life, two that are foundational are the right to counsel and the presumption of innocence. And for these bedrock principles we have John Adams to thank as he was indefatigable in his commitment to both.
We owe to Adams his crafting of the Massachusetts State Constitution which significantly impacted the actual structure of the US constitution, and he was instrumental in helping craft the Declaration of Independence (he proofread and edited Jefferson's first version).
A man of principle, Adams never owned a slave and emphatically stated: "I have, through my whole life, held the practice of slavery in such abhorrence, that I have never owned a slave.”
Adams passed away on July 4, 1826 (the same day that Thomas Jefferson died) 50 years, to the day, after the adoption of the US constitution!
Benjamin Franklin
Many have called Franklin, the First American as he initiated much of the tireless effort for colonial unity that lead to our founding as a nation. He also espoused and lived the values by which Americans are known around the world today: “thrift, hard work, education, community, and opposition to authoritarianism”. Some say that to a large degree, Franklin invented what America would become!
By the 1750’s he argued strongly against slavery! And there is so much more to say about Franklin; but to know him is to quote him: “They who can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety.” “Many people die at twenty five and aren't buried until they are seventy five.” “How many observe Christ's birthday! How few, His precepts!”
When a lady asked Benjamin Franklin as he left the Constitutional Convention, “What type of government have you given us, Mr. Franklin?” he replied, “A republic, Madam, if you can keep it!”
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James Madison
You might not know as much about James Madison as the other founders but Madison is the guy when it comes to the Constitution and the founding of our nation. If you want to know who pretty much wrote the Constitution, ran the Constitutional Convention, authored most of the Federalist Papers which promoted the Constitution to all the voting delegates, and who insisted upon and authored the Bill of Rights - then Madison is your guy. Oh - and he was the Fourth President of the country during the War of 1812 which was fought and won under him serving as Commander & Chief! Many refer to this war as the "Second Revolution" when the U.S. stood tall against the British and was recognized as a separate nation that was here to stay.
And Madison knew that the population of America then, as now, must be educated: “Knowledge will forever govern ignorance, and a people who mean to be their own governors, must arm themselves with the power that knowledge gives.” “The advancement and diffusion of knowledge is the only guardian of true liberty.”
Thomas Jefferson
One historian won the Pulitzer for his six volume history on Jefferson! We’ll do our best to summarize Jefferson here in significantly less words! Jefferson had most every role one could hope for in founding a nation: statesman, diplomat (remember the Louisiana Purchase), lawyer, architect, second vice president, third President. And with all those roles, his authorship of the Declaration of Independence sits at the pinnacle in the founding of our nation: "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. That to secure these rights, governments are instituted among men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed.”
And lastly, “Jefferson donated to the American Bible Society, saying the Four Evangelists delivered a "pure and sublime system of morality to humanity.”
Alexander Hamilton
Hamilton was a statesman, politician, legal scholar (wrote many of the Federalist Papers), military commander, lawyer, banker (designed and minted US coinage in tenths so all Americans could enter every day transactions), economist (supported a strong manufacturing base), was active in ending the slave trade (so much for those who say the Founders were all slave owners), and was one of the firmest advocates for a strong central government by ratifying the Constitution - he was a busy guy!
Hamilton was the first Secretary of the Treasury and as a confidant of President Washington, helped establish much of the structure of the new U.S. government. He started two entities that still exist today The New York Post (OK - we won’t hold that against him!) and the Bank of New York.
His roommate at Columbia observed and commented that Hamilton was "in the habit of praying on his knees at night and every morning."
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