Founding Fathers of the United States

The Founding Fathers of the United States, commonly referred to simply as the Founding Fathers, 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, and crafted a framework of government for the new nation.

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Founding Fathers of the United States
1760s–1820s
The Committee of Five (Adams, Livingston, Sherman, Jefferson, and Franklin) present their draft of the Declaration of Independence to the Second Continental Congress in 1776, as depicted in John Trumbull's 1819 portrait
Location	The Thirteen Colonies
Including	Signers of the Declaration of Independence (1776), Articles of Confederation (1781), and United States Constitution (1789)
Leader(s)	John Adams Samuel Adams Benjamin Franklin Alexander Hamilton John Hancock John Jay Thomas Jefferson Richard Henry Lee Robert R. Livingston James Madison George Mason Robert Morris Peyton Randolph Roger Sherman George Washington
Key events	Stamp Act Boston Tea Party Intolerable Acts American Revolutionary War Declaration of Independence Treaty of Paris

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America's Founders include the signers of the United States Declaration of Independence, Articles of Confederation, the United States Constitution, along with many others. In 1973 historian Richard B. Morris identified seven figures as key Founders, based on what he called the "triple tests" of leadership, longevity, and statesmanship: John Adams, Benjamin Franklin, Alexander Hamilton, John Jay, Thomas Jefferson, James Madison, and George Washington.[2]