The Founding Fathers

Fisher Ames was one of the great founding fathers who helped start the United States of America. Although citizens today may not hear or know much about him he is as much a part of the history of this nation as other more known men such as Thomas Jefferson. Ames was a good man who did not want conflict and enjoyed the simple things in life. This is seen in the following quote: “…in his distaste for publick diversions, and his preference of simple pleasures” (Ames 1809, page ix). All in all, fisher Ames had an interesting background, important views on Christianity and the Bible and how they relate to government, as well as equally important views on government in general.

The American Revolution marked the beginning of a new era for America, independence from Great Britain. The greatest military power in the world at the time had lost control of one of her most wealthy and rewarding colonies. However, a question arises to who won the war for the colonies? George Washington was the leader of the Continental Army during the war and was mildly successful. However it was in fact the brave and fearless efforts of the militia to rise to the occasion and fight alongside Continental troops, so brilliantly that George Washington proclaimed after the victory at Princeton:

When asked if the Founding Fathers were democratic reformers, the likely response is that yes, they were, because they believed in democracy and strove to create a nation that would be successfully governed by the people. Although this answer may be correct, the debate between historians on this subject shows that the motives of the Founding Fathers cannot be so easily discerned. According to historian Alfred F. Young, the Founding Fathers were not democratic reformers because they were elites and did not represent the interests of the general public, because they admired the British model of a strong national government that protected the wealthy from the people, and because they only included democratic accommodations to ensure that the people

The Founding Fathers: A Reform Caucus in Action, written by John P. Roche, addressed the difficulty that the Founding Fathers had in constructing the U.S. Constitution because of the high level of stress they received and the limited amount of time that they had to carry out the formation of this document while keeping the best interest of the country as a priority. John P. Roche starts of by commenting on why the creation of the Constitution was so effective and how the Articles of Confederation benefitted the ratification of the new U.S. Government. As it turns out, the delegates elected to attend Pennsylvania were mainly people who had served in Congress and had experience in the weakness of the Articles in granting too little power to the national government. In addition, the delegates were appointed by the state legislatures, not by the people, as justified by the Articles of Confederation.

The importance of this raid lay in the fact that they captured much-needed cannons and gunpowder.

The ability to unify a nation in a liberal democracy and work towards obtaining a given objective is incredibly difficult when everyone’s opinion is supposed to be valued. However it’s not just valuing everyone’s opinion that can cause concern, but the fact that people are allowed to act on their opinions, no matter how radical or crazy they are to the majority of the population. This allows for dissenting opinions against the general will to rise up and hold seats within the legislature; therefore, legitimizing their claims by thrusting them into the public spotlight. This can be both good and bad and it was explored in-depth by James Madison in The Federalist Papers. In his work he states the obvious concerns factions can have on a society

Did you ever wonder how the United States’ founders envisioned America to be in the years to come? America’s founding fathers were tasked with the difficult challenge of finding a balance between preserving individual rights and forming a strong, long-lasting union. There are many examples of how the founding fathers found a balance. Some examples of this are showcased in the Declaration of Independence, the Bill of Rights, and A New American Nation.

The leadership the Patriots had was a very big factor of their win in the Revolutionary War. The Patriots had very good leadership. Some of the leaders they had were Henry Knox, John Sullivan and George Washington. Henry Knox was a very important leader. He got the guns from Ticonderoga, organized and trained the artillery, directed the Delaware crossing and established our first military academy at Middle Brook. He was a very determined man. The next leader the Patriots had was John Sullivan. He served as a major general in the

Most Americans know who the founding fathers are. But, not many know what they have done for us and how hard they have worked to be a part of the American Revolution. Subconsciously, each of these men had a great impact on the revolution that started this country. Thomas Jefferson loved education and was well known for being the true author of the Declaration of Independence and for his wisdom. Benjamin Franklin, respectfully known as a diplomat, was also known as a great inventor, printer, and writer. Thomas Paine was a spectacular journalist who is best known for his anonymous pamphlet called “Common Sense.” Through these great men, our country rose.

The Founding Fathers put their blood, sweat and tears into the making of the Constitution and created a government out of practically nothing, all while having a vision for the future. This future consisted of a government that focused on liberty over security; a government of minimal intervention. To say that the modern version of the United States government is exactly what the Founding Fathers envisioned is a very debatable topic. There are many instances where todays government has followed the Constitution for the most part, but then there are a lot of other areas where the Founders visions have been twisted to the point that they are unrecognizable anymore. To start off, the basic concept of the United States government is one of checks and balances. This was put in place to ensure that the government never became too powerful. One very good example of checks and balances is the media. Even the founding fathers knew the extreme power of the media and its ability to keep the government in check. Two men by the names of William Hearst and Joseph Pulitzer were even able to create the Spanish American War by the process of yellow journalism, or the crude exaggeration of events. The first amendment states that “Congress shall make no law…abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press.” The government today reflects this belief that the media is a watchdog or “fourth estate” as it is so often referred to. Political parties and everything that comes with it, including

The Founding Fathers were not selfless and flawless human beings without any imperfections or personal bias. They were actually members of a political elite that were faced with a crumbling country that was suffering from a myriad of internal and external problems. The political environment after the Revolutionary War forced the new nation to either reform its ineffective government and address the critical issues of the time or else face complete destruction. Consequently, the Founding Fathers drafted the Constitution, which created a far stronger and resilient political structure that prevented the United States from disbanding. However, this document was not the ultimate form of democracy that brought freedom to the Western world. Instead,

The founding father had a much different reason for rebelling against the British government. Colonists believed that the government was not protecting their rights as citizens, the taxation system was unfair, and their interests were not being properly represented in parliament. The colonies had peacefully petitioned King George 3, but he refused to give them representation. The British also had repeatedly ignored the need of the colonists.

The founding fathers may have been smart but they were lacking of important human qualities. Compared to some of the world leaders we have today, that's no question. Despite being that smart, you would think they would try not to be hypocritical, when writing one of the most important document in the history of the United States. The constitution's preamble is hypocritical, it was then and it is now, but more so in 1789. The Preamble was hypocritical in 1789 because of the voting system that the US had, when the Preamble says “Insure domestic Tranquility”, and when the Preamble says “We the people.”

Would America be the same country if it was not for some of our founding fathers and their contributions? If you take Patrick Henry out of the equation, the answer could very well be, ‘Yes’. Patrick Henry played a very prominent role in the success of America’s independence. Along with Thomas Jefferson and Richard Henry Lee, Patrick Henry helped create the Virginia House of Burgesses to resolve the tumultuous state of the colonies. In the early spring of 1775, Patrick Henry met with members of the second Virginia Convention to discuss the need for a military mobilization against the British. Henry spoke to fellow citizens of Virginia in Richmond at what is now St. John’s Church. He spoke with intimacy, fervor, passion, and showed an undeniable support to fight against the English government. His use of ethos, pathos, and logos effectively persuaded opponents and supporters of the Revolution to unite and fight British tyranny for American independence.

The Founding Fathers were strong advocates of republican values, particularly Samuel Adams, Patrick Henry, John Adams, Benjamin Franklin, Thomas Jefferson, Thomas Paine, George Washington, James Madison and Alexander Hamilton,[11] which required men to put civic duty ahead of their personal desires. Men had a civic duty to be prepared and willing to