THE FOUNDING FATHERS:

George Washington

(picture from http://www.visitingdc.com/images/george-washington-picture.jpg)

State: Virginia Age at Convention: 55 Date of Birth: February 22, 1732 Date of Death: December 14, 1799Occupation: Planter and Slave Holder, General of the Continental Army, Lending and InvestmentsPrior Political Experience: Virginia House of Burgesses 1759-1774, Continental Congress 1774-1775, Commander in Chief of Continental Army 1775-1783

George Washington was probably the most respected and honored man in the country. He was convinced that a stronger national government was necessary, but he did not want to talk about it in public. He did not want to become involved in politics. Because he had retired to his Mt. Vernon estate at the end of the Revolutionary, Washington did not want to attend the convention at first. He finally agreed when the delegates unanimously elected (every person voted in his favor) him as the president of the Constitutional Convention. He was afraid that if he did not, people might think he had lost his faith in republican government. His strong presence gave the convention greater respect and importance to those of the time. It also attracted other important individuals to Philadelphia.

THE FOUNDING FATHERS:

James Madison

(picture from http://www.ons.uconn.edu/images/james_madison.jpg)

State: VirginiaAge at Convention: 36Date of Birth: March 16, 1751 Date of Death: June 28, 1836Occupation: Politician Prior Political Experience: Lower House of Virginia, Upper House of Virginia, Virginia State Constitutional Convention 1776, Confederation Congress, Virginia House of Delegates, Annapolis Convention Signer

James Madison is often called the “Father of the Constitution.” His influence was great. This was partly because he brought a plan for a stronger national government – called the Virginia Plan – to the convention with him. This plan was used as the basis for discussing how to improve the government. Madison was a very important figure at the convention. Madison, who was rarely absent and whose Virginia Plan was in large part the basis of the Constitution, tirelessly advocated a strong government, though many of his proposals were rejected. Much of what we know about what happened at the convention is based on Madison’s notes.

Madison also played a major role in the ratification process in Virginia when he defended the Constitution against such powerful opponents as Patrick Henry, George Mason, and Richard Henry Lee. Madison, Alexander Hamilton and John Jay published a series of essays in newspapers during 1787 and 1788 that became known as The Federalist Papers.

THE FOUNDING FATHERS:

Benjamin Franklin

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State: PennsylvaniaAge at Convention: 81 Date of Birth: January 17, 1706 Date of Death: April 17, 1790 Occupation: Inventor, Real Estate, Lending and Investments, Publisher, Retired Prior Political Experience: Governor of Pennsylvania, Member of Colonial Legislature, Deputy Post Master General of Colonies, Negotiated Treaty of Paris 1783, Commissioner to France, Continental Congress 1775-1776, Signer of the Declaration of Independence 1776

Benjamin Franklin was born in 1706 at Boston. He was the tenth son of a soap and candlemaker. He received some formal education but was principally self-taught. Years later Franklin rose above his upbringing and served on the committee that drafted the Declaration of Independence.

When Franklin attended the Constitutional Convention as a delegate from Pennsylvania he was 81 and in poor health. He was, however, one of the most respected men in America. Franklin had a long and distinguished career as printer, inventor, writer, revolutionary, peacemaker, and diplomat. At the convention, his primary role was encouraging the delegates to cooperate with each other when they disagreed. This ability to calm disputes and encourage compromise made Franklin one of the most influential delegates at the convention.

His final public act was signing a memorial to Congress recommending and ending of the slavery system. Shortly thereafter, in 1790 at the age of 84, Franklin passed away in Philadelphia and was laid to rest in Christ Church Burial Ground.THE FOUNDING FATHERS:

Roger Sherman

(picture from http://teachingamericanhistory.org/convention/images/sherman.jpg)

State: Connecticut Age at Convention: 66 Date of Birth: April 19, 1721 Date of Death: July 23, 1793 Occupation: Lawyer, Merchant, Public Security Interests, Cobbler Prior Political Experience: State Upper House of Connecticut, Connecticut Superior Court, Signed the Declaration of Independence, Signed Articles of Confederation, Mayor of Newhaven

Roger Sherman was born in Newton, Massachusetts. Despite the fact that he had no official legal training, he took the bar exam (an exam that allows you to become a lawyer) and passed. As a lawyer, Sherman served in the Connecticut General Assembly from 1755 to 1758, from 1760 to 1761, and 1766 to 1785.

Sherman introduced and pushed the Connecticut Compromise, which soon became known as the Great Compromise. This compromise broke the deadlock between the large and small states over representation. In the compromise there would be two houses of legislation. In the lower house, called the House of Representatives, each state would have a representative for every 30,000 people. In the upper house, called the Senate, every state would have two representatives no matter how large or small the state was. Sherman was instrumental in Connecticut's ratification of the Constitution. Sherman concluded his career by serving in the U.S. House of

Representatives (1789-91) and Senate (1791-93), where he acted as a Federalist. He is especially notable for being the only person to sign all four great state papers of the United States: the United States Declaration of Independence, the Articles of Association, the Articles of Confederation, and the United States Constitution.THE FOUNDING FATHERS:

Edmund Randolph

(picture from http://www.constitution.org/img/ej_randolph.jpg)

State: Virginia Age at Convention: 34 Date of Birth: August 10, 1753 Date of Death: September 2, 1813 Occupation: Governor of Virginia, Planter and Slave Holder, Lending and Investments, Real Estate Prior Political Experience: Virginia House of Delegates Clerk, State Constitutional Convention of Virginia, Governor of Virginia, Attorney General of Virginia

During the Revolutionary War Edmund Randolph served as an assistant to General Washington and also attended the convention that adopted Virginia's first state constitution in 1776. He was the convention's youngest member at age 23. Randolph married Elizabeth Nicholas in 1776.

Randolph continued to advance in the political world. He became mayor of Williamsburg and Virginia's attorney-general. In 1779 he was elected to the Continental Congress, and in November 1786 Randolph became Governor of Virginia. In 1786 he was a delegate to the Annapolis Convention.

 Four days after the opening of the Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia, on May 29, 1787, Edmund Randolph presented the Virginia Plan for creating a new government. This plan proposed a strong central government composed of three branches, legislative, executive, and judicial, and enabled the legislative to veto state

laws and use force against states that failed to fulfill their duties. After many debates and revisions, including striking the section permitting force against a state, the Virginia Plan became in large part the basis of the Constitution.

THE FOUNDING FATHERS:

George Mason

(picture from http://openlettersmonthly.com/issue/wp-content/uploads/2008/10/georgemason.jpg)

State: Virginia Age at Convention: 62 Date of Birth: December 11,1725 Date of Death: October 7, 1792 Occupation: Planter and Slave Holder, Lending and Investments, Real Estate Land Speculation, Public Security Investments, Land owner Prior Political Experience: Author of Virginia Bill of Rights, State Lower House of Virginia, Virginia State Constitutional Convention

George Mason was a justice of the Fairfax County court, and between 1754 and 1779 Mason was a trustee of the city of Alexandria. In 1759 he was elected to the Virginia House of Burgesses. When the Stamp Act of 1765 aroused outrage in the colonies, George Mason wrote an open letter explaining the colonists' position to a committee of London merchants to enlist their support.

Between 1776 and 1780 Mason was very active in Virginia’s legislature. By the early 1780s, however, Mason grew unhappy with the conduct of public affairs and retired. He married his second wife, Sarah Brent, in 1780. At Philadelphia in 1787 Mason was one of the five most frequent speakers at the Constitutional Convention. He exerted great influence, but during the last 2 weeks of the convention he decided not to sign the document. Mason had many concerns at the convention. As an Anti-Federalist his largest concern was that the constitution did not have a bill of rights to protect individual citizens. He feared congress would not truly represent the people of

the nation.  Two of Mason's greatest concerns were incorporated into the Constitution. The inclusion of the Bill of Rights in the Constitution answered his primary objection.

In recognition of his accomplishments and dedication to the ideas of the Age of Reason, Mason has been called the American manifestation of the Enlightenment. Mason died on October 7, 1792, and was buried on the grounds of Gunston Hall.THE FOUNDING FATHERS:

William Paterson

(picture from http://www.historycentral.com/bio/nn/patersonwilliam.jpg)

State: New Jersey (Born in Ireland, immigrated 1747) Age at Convention: 41 Date of Birth: December 24, 1745 Date of Death: September 9, 1806 Occupation: Lawyer Prior Political Experience: Attorney General for New Jersey, State Upper House of New Jersey Legislature, New Jersey State Constitutional Convention 1776, Elected to Continental Congress 1780 but did not accept.

William Paterson was born in County Antrim, Ireland, in 1745. When he was almost 2 years of age, his family emigrated to America. When the Revolutionary War broke out, Paterson joined the New Jersey patriots. From 1776 to 1783 he was attorney general of New Jersey. Three years later he was chosen to represent New Jersey at the Constitutional Convention. Most importantly, he helped write and pushed at the convention for the New Jersey Plan. This plan favored small states over large states on the issue of representation. The plan called for a unicameral legislative body, which means there would only be one house of congress. In this single legislative house each state would have equal representation. Paterson’s plan was in opposition to the Virginia Plan introduced by Edmund Randolph. In September 1806, his health failing, the 60-year-old Paterson embarked on a journey to Ballston Spa, NY, for a cure but died en route at Albany in the home of his daughter.