US Founding Fathers 7-7-24

Signers of the US Declaration of Independence

Delaware:   George Read | Caesar Rodney | Thomas McKean |

Pennsylvania:   George Clymer | Benjamin Franklin | Robert Morris | John Morton | Benjamin Rush | George Ross | James Smith | James Wilson | George Taylor |

Massachusetts:   John Adams | Samuel Adams | John Hancock | Robert Treat Paine | Elbridge Gerry 

New Hampshire:   Josiah Bartlett | William Whipple | Matthew Thornton |

Rhode Island:   Stephen Hopkins | William Ellery |

New York:   Lewis Morris | Philip Livingston | Francis Lewis | William Floyd |

Georgia:   Button Gwinnett | Lyman Hall | George Walton |

Virginia:   Richard Henry Lee | Francis Lightfoot Lee | Carter Braxton | Benjamin Harrison | Thomas Jefferson | George Wythe | Thomas Nelson, Jr.

North Carolina:   William Hooper | John Penn | Joseph Hewes | Richard Stockton | Joh| John Hart | Francis Hopkinsonn Witherspoon |

South Carolina:   Edward Rutledge | Arthur Middleton | Thomas Lynch, Jr. | Thomas Heyward, Jr. |

New Jersey:    Abraham Clark | John Hart | Francis Hopkinson | Richard Stockton | John Witherspoon |

Connecticut:  Samuel Huntington | Roger Sherman | William Williams | Oliver Wolcott |

Maryland:   Charles Carroll | Samuel Chase | Thomas Stone | William Paca |

https://www.ushistory.org/declaration/signers/index.htmlhttps://www.ushistory.org/declaration/signers/index.html

The majority of signers were plantation owners, merchants and lawyers. 

The denominations breakdown runs as follows: 32 of the signers, well over half, were Episcopalians, or Anglicans, the old state Church of England. There were 13 Congregationalists, 12 were Presbyterians. There were two Quakers, two Unitarians and one Roman Catholic.

Many of the founding fathers—Washington, Jefferson, Franklin, Madison and Monroe—practiced a faith called Deism. Deism is a philosophical belief in human reason as a reliable means of solving social and political problems.

The American Revolution and the subsequent framework of American government were heavily influenced by John Locke, Baron de Montesquieu, and Jean Jacques Rousseau - three Enlightenment philosophers who “developed theories of government in which some or even all the people would govern” (Constitutional Rights Foundation).

Hobbes - wrote Leviathan, strong gov. ensures orderly society

Locke - "Two Treaties of Gov.", gov. should protect natural rights of citizens

Montesquieu -"The Spirit of Laws", separation of powers

Voltaire - Freedom of Thought

Diderot - "Encyclopedia", denounced slavery, Edu. for all, freedom of expression

Rousseau - "The Social Contract", minimum control on a person’s actions but should still put community first

Wollstonecraft - "A Vindication of the Rights of Women", Equal Education for All.

Smith - Transactions between private parties should be free of tax.

Wiberforce English Parliament, abolisher of slavery.

Walpole England’s first prime minister.

Paine "Common Sense"

https://quizlet.com/17502189/enlightenment-thinkers-and-their-ideas-flash-cards/

The Enlightenment Philosophers the Founders followed were commenting on deficiencies in the Monarchies.

Francis Bacon – scientific method 1561-1626

John Locke – natural rights 1632-1704

Montesquieu - separation of powers 1689-1755

Voltaire - free speech and religious freedom 1694-1778

Jean-Jacques Rousseau - human nature 1712-1778

Adam Smith - capitalism economics 1723-1790

The first colonial legislature was the Virginia House of Burgesses, established in 1619.

Following Virginia, the colonies of New York (1626), Massachusetts (1630), Maryland (1633), Rhode Island (1636), Connecticut (1636), New Hampshire (1638), Delaware (1638), North Carolina (1653), South Carolina (1663), New Jersey (1664), Pennsylvania (1682), and Georgia (1732) were established.

On March 22, 1765, British Parliament finally passed the Stamp Act or Duties in American Colonies Act. It required colonists to pay taxes on every page of printed paper they used. The tax also included fees for playing cards, dice, and newspapers. The reaction in the colonies was immediate. The Stamp Act was repealed in 1766, but the Parliament didn’t allow the Colonial Legislatures to participate in Parliament’s control over colonial taxes.

The Colonists were used to passing their own laws and taxes through their colonial legislatures.

Comments

The British Colonists landed in the early 1600s and formed settlements. These became the “13 Colonies”.

The Colonists had 165 years of self-rule. The Founders wanted the same freedom and support from Britain they had received from 1600 to 1765. They elected their own Legislatures and ensured compliance with the laws that were passed. Briton had overspent on multiple wars and was broke. The Parliament passed the tax to pay for the French Indian War that doubled the size of British holdings.

The Roman Empire went broke due to over-expansion in 400 AD and collapsed. The Colonists believed that the British Monarchy and Parliament were responsible for their excessive war debt. They also saw the mistreatment of the Irish by the Brits.

Ruling by force after removing incentives will lead to rebellion. Overspending results incollapse.

Norb Leahy, Dunwoody GA Tea Party Leader