Post by Charity on Mar 5, 2004 13:33:31 GMT -5
www.constitutionfacts.com/ff.shtml
What is meant by the term "founding father"? Does it apply to any person or group in American history who had some type of influence on the writing of the Constitution? What about those individuals like George Mason, Edmund Randolph, and Elbridge Gerry who helped tremendously in the writing of the Constitution, but then refused to sign it because of philosophical differences? There were seventy individuals chosen to go to Philadelphia to attend the Constitutional Convention, fifty-five who attended most of the meetings, and thirty-nine who actually signed the Constitution. Of the thirty-nine who actually signed the finished document, only fifteen to twenty actually played an instrumental role in either the founding philosophy or fight for ratification!
The Constitution came about as a consequence of several documents and by the work of several men either directly or indirectly. Those who made significant intellectual contributions to the Constitution are considered to be the "founding fathers" of our country.
Thomas Jefferson and John Adams are considered to be two of our founding fathers even though they were not at the Constitutional Convention. They were serving the country in diplomatic positions at the time. Jefferson kept abreast of the proceedings in Philadelphia while ambassador to France by carrying on correspondence with James Madison, and John Adams, as ambassador to Great Britain, wrote "Defense of the Constitutions of the Government of the United States of America." He became the new country's first Vice President. Other founding fathers include Thomas Paine who was in England at the time of the meeting in Philadelphia, but the impact of "Common Sense" on the philosophy behind the writing of the Declaration of Independence is immeasurable. Patrick Henry was opposed to the idea of changing the Articles of Confederation, but once the agreement was made to add a bill of rights to the Constitution he fought hard for ratification in Virginia.
The term "framers" could be used to specify those who helped "craft" the Constitution, and "founding fathers" could be used in a broader sense to characterize those individuals who contributed to the development of independence and nationhood. However, the notion of a "framer" or a "founding father" is not something to be narrowly defined in a technical or legal sense but may be a large mythic and philosophical notion. It sustains our vision of ourselves, inspiring our ongoing inquiries into our national self-identity. The following section of the book is a list of those individuals who had an impact on the Constitution either directly or indirectly. The list is by no means complete, but is an attempt to identify people who played a large role in the development of the Constitution at this crucial time in American history.
What is meant by the term "founding father"? Does it apply to any person or group in American history who had some type of influence on the writing of the Constitution? What about those individuals like George Mason, Edmund Randolph, and Elbridge Gerry who helped tremendously in the writing of the Constitution, but then refused to sign it because of philosophical differences? There were seventy individuals chosen to go to Philadelphia to attend the Constitutional Convention, fifty-five who attended most of the meetings, and thirty-nine who actually signed the Constitution. Of the thirty-nine who actually signed the finished document, only fifteen to twenty actually played an instrumental role in either the founding philosophy or fight for ratification!
The Constitution came about as a consequence of several documents and by the work of several men either directly or indirectly. Those who made significant intellectual contributions to the Constitution are considered to be the "founding fathers" of our country.
Thomas Jefferson and John Adams are considered to be two of our founding fathers even though they were not at the Constitutional Convention. They were serving the country in diplomatic positions at the time. Jefferson kept abreast of the proceedings in Philadelphia while ambassador to France by carrying on correspondence with James Madison, and John Adams, as ambassador to Great Britain, wrote "Defense of the Constitutions of the Government of the United States of America." He became the new country's first Vice President. Other founding fathers include Thomas Paine who was in England at the time of the meeting in Philadelphia, but the impact of "Common Sense" on the philosophy behind the writing of the Declaration of Independence is immeasurable. Patrick Henry was opposed to the idea of changing the Articles of Confederation, but once the agreement was made to add a bill of rights to the Constitution he fought hard for ratification in Virginia.
The term "framers" could be used to specify those who helped "craft" the Constitution, and "founding fathers" could be used in a broader sense to characterize those individuals who contributed to the development of independence and nationhood. However, the notion of a "framer" or a "founding father" is not something to be narrowly defined in a technical or legal sense but may be a large mythic and philosophical notion. It sustains our vision of ourselves, inspiring our ongoing inquiries into our national self-identity. The following section of the book is a list of those individuals who had an impact on the Constitution either directly or indirectly. The list is by no means complete, but is an attempt to identify people who played a large role in the development of the Constitution at this crucial time in American history.