"Founding Fathers" redirects here. For the founding fathers of other countries, see List of national founders.
Founding Fathers of the United States
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The Founding Fathers of the United States, commonly referred to 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 of America, and crafted a framework of government for the new nation.
America's Founding Fathers include those who signed the United States Declaration of Independence, Articles of Confederation, and the United States Constitution, and 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]
Most of the Founding Fathers hailed from English ancestry, though many had family roots extended across various regions of the British Isles, including Scotland, Wales, and Ireland. Additionally, some traced their lineage back to the early Dutch settlers of New York (New Netherland) during the colonial era, while others were descendants of French Huguenots who settled in the colonies, escaping religious persecution in France.[3][4][5]
^Jilson, 1994, p. 291; Portrait by Gilbert Stuart
^Morris, 1973, p. 1
^"English Emigration". Spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk. Archived from the original on April 8, 2014. Retrieved August 21, 2017.
^Haefeli, Evan (2012). New Netherland and the Dutch Origins of American Religious Liberty. University of Pennsylvania Press.
^Lee, Hannah Farnham Sawyer (1973). The Huguenots in France and America. Vol. 1–2.
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