Forgotten Founders

Who said, “These titles belong to no man, but to the American people in general"?

John Adams, second president of the United States, was a revolutionary.

He helped negotiate the Treaty of Paris, which officially ended the War of American Independence and recognized the Thirteen Colonies as free, sovereign and independent. His writing had major influence on the Constitution. His son became the sixth president. But Adams did not like to be called a founding father.

In a letter responding to praise for his generation, Adams wrote "to tell you a very great secret ... I have no reason to believe We were better than you are." And he continued, "Don't call me, ... Father ... [or] Founder ... These titles belong to no man, but to the American people in general."

Nonetheless, we routinely refer to certain historic figures (including Adams) by just these terms.

Typically, we mean that they signed one or more of three documents critical to the founding of the United States: the Declaration of Independence, the Articles of Confederation and/or the U.S. Constitution. This includes 119 people.

Seven of these folks are widely considered “key” founders, based on what historian Richard B. Morris called the "triple tests" of leadership, longevity and statesmanship: John Adams, Benjamin Franklin, Alexander Hamilton, John Jay, Thomas Jefferson, James Madison and (obviously) George Washington. These are probably names you know.

What about the other 112? Some highlights:

Robert Morris Jr. and Roger Sherman are the only two people who signed all three of the founding documents.

Robert was the richest man in America in 1775 (and a gunrunner during the war), but late in life lost all his money speculating on land and went to debtor’s prison in Philadelphia.

Roger, on the other hand, was never rich but was incredibly influential. He is the reason the House of Representatives has members proportional to state populations and the Senate has a guaranteed minimum of two members per state. You have probably never heard of Roger because, unlike just about everyone else, he did not keep a diary.

No one from Michigan is on the list. After all, in 1776, Michigan was still a remote, British-controlled wilderness, and technically part of Quebec. When the Articles were written in 1777, still British. When the Declaration was written 10 years later? Still British.

Michigan does, however, have its own state “founding father”—Stevens T. Mason, aka the “Boy Governor.” Stevens was appointed territorial secretary (i.e., the most senior official of the area) at age 19, helped lead Michigan to statehood and then became Michigan’s first governor. Not bad.

Seventeen of the founding fathers were speculators (i.e., gamblers)— six in land, and 11 in securities. This led two in particular (William Blount and Jonathan Dayton) to later be accused of treason.

William was the first federal official ever to be impeached and expelled from the U.S. Senate (he tried to boost local land prices by assisting the British in seizing Louisiana and Florida from Spain).

Jonathan got mixed up with Aaron Burr’s attempt to claim part of the area that’s now Texas as his own kingdom 40,000-acre farm.

John Dickinson, in contrast, had a much stronger moral code. John served overlapping terms of office in Pennsylvania and Delaware, and he helped write the Articles of Confederation,  but he abstained from the vote to declare independence and from the vote on the Declaration’s wording, because he objected to violence and thought we should reconcile with Britain.

Despite this, he was one of only two founders who actively took up arms. He led 10,000 soldiers to Elizabeth, New Jersey, to protect that area against British attack.

Unlike the Declaration, John did actually agree with the draft Constitution and planned to sign it. When the official day came, though, he was sick, so a colleague ended up signing for him. In the famous painting of the signing, Howard Chandler Christy just went ahead and painted John into the scene anyway.

The most embarrassing founder is probably Gouverneur Morris. He did some very cool stuff: he is responsible for the phrase “We the People,” he invented the word “cent,” and he chaired the commission that created Manhattan’s famous street grid.

Unfortunately, he is most often known for his unusual death. At age 64, Morris succumbed to presumed sepsis after inserting a whalebone from his wife's corset into his urethra in an attempt to self-catheter.

To end on a high note, George Mason was the most prescient of the Founding Fathers. He is included in most accounts despite not having signed any of the three original documents because he originated the idea of the Bill of Rights. In fact, he refused to sign the Constitution because it was not included.

He also wanted an immediate end to the slave trade. His persuasive arguments for the Bill of Rights led fellow Virginian, James Madison, to reintroduce it during the fight for ratification in 1789; these amendments were formally added in 1791, a year before Mason died.

Want more characters to celebrate during this year’s semiquincentennial? Check out the America250 website.