Founding Fathers: Lawbreakers Or Revolutionaries?

The Founding Fathers of the United States were a group of late-18th-century revolutionary leaders who united the Thirteen Colonies, oversaw the War of Independence from Great Britain, established the United States of America, and crafted a framework of government for the new nation. The Founding Fathers include those who signed the United States Declaration of Independence, the Articles of Confederation, the United States Constitution, and other founding documents. The group was made up of military leaders, rebels, politicians, and writers, who were predominantly wealthy plantation owners and businessmen. All of the Founding Fathers had extensive political experience at the national and state levels. While there is no official consensus on who should be considered a Founding Father, the single person most identified as the Father of the United States is George Washington, a general in the American Revolution and the first President of the United States.

The Founding Fathers were attempting to break free from the tyranny of Britain's top-down centralized government, but the first constitution they created, the Articles of Confederation, vested almost all power in individual state legislatures and practically nothing in the national government. This resulted in political chaos and crippling debt, nearly sinking the fledgling nation. The founders met again in Philadelphia in 1787 and drafted a new Constitution grounded in a novel separation of state and national powers known as federalism.

Did the Founding Fathers break the law? It depends on your perspective. They certainly broke away from British rule and established their own nation, but they also created a new form of government that protected Americans from tyranny while providing a check against rogue states.

The Declaration of Independence as an act of treason

The Declaration of Independence was a treasonous act against the British Crown. The British considered it an act of rebellion, and the Founding Fathers who signed the Declaration were committing treason. The Founding Fathers were predominantly wealthy plantation owners and businessmen who united 13 disparate colonies, fought for independence from Britain, and penned a series of influential governing documents that steer the country to this day.

The Founding Fathers included those who signed the Declaration of Independence, the Articles of Confederation, the United States Constitution, and other founding documents. The phrase "Founding Fathers" was first used by U.S. Senator Warren G. Harding in his keynote speech at the 1916 Republican National Convention. The Founding Fathers were a group of late-18th-century American revolutionary leaders who united the Thirteen Colonies, oversaw the War of Independence from Great Britain, established the United States of America, and crafted a framework of government for the new nation.

The Declaration of Independence was drafted by Thomas Jefferson and presented to the Second Continental Congress on June 28, 1776. After much debate and editing, on July 2, 1776, the Congress passed the Lee Resolution, declaring the United Colonies independent from Great Britain. Two days later, on July 4, 1776, the Declaration of Independence was adopted. The name "United States of America", which first appeared in the Declaration, was formally approved by the Congress on September 9, 1776.

The Founding Fathers who signed the Declaration of Independence committed treason against the British Crown, as they were declaring their independence and rejecting the monarch's authority. The British considered this an act of rebellion and treason, and King George III responded by declaring the American colonies to be in a state of "open and avowed rebellion". The Founding Fathers, on the other hand, saw King George III as having committed treason against his subjects in the American colonies by levying war against them.

The punishment for treason was brutal and included being hanged, drawn, and quartered. The Founding Fathers who signed the Declaration of Independence were well aware of the risks they were taking, and they pledged their "Lives, Fortunes, and sacred Honor" to the cause. They knew that if the war did not end in their favour, they could be charged and convicted of treason. However, they believed that the British Crown's abuses and the desire for independence outweighed the risks.

In conclusion, the Declaration of Independence was an act of treason against the British Crown, and the Founding Fathers who signed it committed a treasonous act. They were aware of the risks and consequences but chose to pursue independence and establish a new nation. Their actions had a lasting impact on the history of the United States and shaped the country's future.

Paul Revere's ride as a spy

Paul Revere, a silversmith and founding father, is known for his midnight ride to warn the people of Massachusetts about the impending march of British troops. However, what is lesser known is that Revere was also a spy.

Revere founded the first American spy ring in the years leading up to the American Revolution. Known as the "Mechanics" or the "Liberty Boys", Revere's intelligence network was formed in association with the Sons of Liberty, a fiercely anti-British political organization that opposed the heavy taxation policies imposed on the colonists by the crown. The Mechanics began spying on British soldiers and officials in 1774, often meeting to discuss their findings at the Green Dragon Tavern.

Revere's spy network played a crucial role in his famous midnight ride. Through his connections, Revere learned that the Redcoats planned to destroy the colonists' weapons and equipment and coordinated with a fellow patriot to signal if the British were coming by land or by sea. The signals were hung in the church tower, indicating that the British troops planned to travel by sea.

After confirming the signals, Revere set off on his midnight ride on April 18, 1775, to warn Samuel Adams and John Hancock, two leaders of the Sons of Liberty, of the impending British march. He narrowly escaped capture by British patrols just outside of Charlestown and arrived in Lexington after midnight. Despite being held for a while and questioned, Revere was eventually released, playing a vital role in spreading the alarm and helping to kickstart the Revolutionary War.

John Hancock's contraband goods

John Hancock, one of the Founding Fathers of the United States, was a merchant, statesman, and prominent Patriot of the American Revolution. He was also the longest-serving president of the Continental Congress.

Hancock was born in Braintree, Massachusetts, in 1737, and orphaned as a child. He was adopted by his wealthy merchant uncle, Thomas Hancock, and his wife, Lydia. Hancock attended Harvard College and graduated at the age of 17. He then apprenticed under his uncle and proved to be so capable that, in 1760, he was sent on a business mission to England.

In 1763, Hancock's uncle died, and he inherited what was said to be the greatest body of wealth in New England. This made him one of the wealthiest men in the Thirteen Colonies. He became a leading political figure in Boston, and his wealth and social standing made him very popular in Massachusetts.

In 1768, Hancock's sloop, Liberty, was impounded by customs officials at Boston Harbor on a charge of running contraband goods. This incident led to a local riot, and Hancock's friend, John Adams, got the British to drop any charges against him.

Hancock was a staunch defender of the rights of the colonists and played an instrumental role in the American Revolution. He was elected to the Continental Congress in 1774 and became its president in 1775. He is best known for his large and stylish signature on the United States Declaration of Independence, so much so that in the United States, "John Hancock" has become a colloquialism for a person's signature.

Boston Tea Party abetting

The Boston Tea Party was a political protest that took place on December 16, 1773, at Griffin's Wharf in Boston, Massachusetts. It was the first major act of defiance against British rule and a significant event that helped accelerate and intensify colonial support for the American Revolution.

The protest was organised by the Sons of Liberty, a group of colonial merchants and tradesmen founded to protest the Stamp Act and other forms of taxation. Led by Samuel Adams, the group opposed the Tea Act of May 10, 1773, which allowed the East India Company to sell tea in American colonies without paying taxes, apart from those imposed by the Townshend Acts.

On the night of December 16, 1773, a group of men, many reportedly members of the Sons of Liberty, disguised themselves as Mohawk Indians and boarded three ships in Boston Harbour. Over the course of three hours, they threw 342 chests of tea, worth nearly $1,000,000 today, into the water. The protest was viewed as an act of treason by British authorities, and in response, Parliament passed the Coercive or Intolerable Acts, which included closing Boston's port and placing the colony under direct control of the British government.

The Boston Tea Party was abetted by several Founding Fathers, including Samuel Adams, who likely planned the protest, and Paul Revere, who was a member of the Sons of Liberty and one of two horsemen in the midnight ride that warned of the approaching British. John Hancock, a prominent tea smuggler, also played a role in the protest, and John Adams, Samuel Adams' second cousin, wrote in his diary that the event proved to be a historical moment in the American Revolution.

Benjamin Franklin's diplomacy

Benjamin Franklin was a Founding Father and America's most senior diplomat from the start of the Revolutionary War through to its conclusion with the signing of the Treaty of Paris in 1783.

Franklin's diplomatic achievements include securing French support for the American Revolution, obtaining a peace treaty with the British, and raising vast sums of money for the war effort.

Franklin arrived in Paris on December 21, 1776, with two boys: his grandson, William Temple Franklin, and the son of his daughter Sally, Benjamin Franklin Bache. At 70 years old, Franklin was the oldest commissioner sent to obtain help from the French. Despite his age and various physical ailments, Franklin's popularity and diplomatic skill, along with early American military success, convinced France to recognise American independence and form an alliance in 1778. Franklin's home in Passy, just outside Paris, became the centre of American diplomacy in Europe.

Franklin's popularity in France was due in part to his image as a "backwoods sage". He wore a coonskin cap and a plain brown suit when presented to the king, which proved very popular. Franklin was also a fixture of salon society, spending a lot of time with the Brillons and Madame Helvetius. He constantly stressed that the revolution was not against all kings, but against the English.

Franklin's diplomatic achievements also include raising vast sums of money, largely on credit. This huge sum—equivalent to many billions in today's dollars—contributed to the onset of the French Revolution. Franklin's spending was such that King Louis XVI was forced to convene the estates general for the first time since his grandfather, Louis XIII.

Franklin's other diplomatic achievements include negotiating the Treaty of Paris, which officially ended the war in 1783. Franklin was also instrumental in organising the effort to create a "national militia" made up of individual state units under the direction of the federal government. He also endorsed the creation of a military academy to train artillery officers and engineers.

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