Biopsychosocial models are a class of trans-disciplinary models which look at the interconnection between biology, psychology, and socio-environmental factors. These models specifically examine how these aspects play a role in topics ranging from human development, to health and disease, to information processing, and to conflict.
According to Derick T. Wade and Peter W. Halligan, as of 2017, it
is generally accepted that "illness and health are the result of an
interaction between biological, psychological, and social factors."
The term was first used to describe a model advocated by George L. Engel
in 1977. The idea behind the model was to express mental distress as a
triggered response of a disease that a person is genetically vulnerable
when stressful life events occur. In that sense, it is also known as
vulnerability-stress model. It is now referred to as a generalized model that interprets similar aspects, and has become an alternative to the biomedical and/or psychological dominance of many health care systems.
History
George L. Engel
and Jon Romano of the University of Rochester in 1977, are widely
credited with being the first to propose a biopsychosocial model. However, it had been proposed 100 years earlier and by others. Engel struggled with the then-prevailing biomedical approach to medicine as he strove for a more holistic approach by recognizing that each patient has their own thoughts, feelings, and history. In developing his model, Engel framed it for both illnesses and psychological problems.
Engel's biopsychosocial model reflects the development of illness through the complex interaction of biological factors (genetic, biochemical, etc.), psychological factors (mood, personality, behaviour, etc.) and social factors (cultural, familial, socioeconomic, medical, etc.).
For example, a person may have a genetic predisposition for depression,
but they must have social factors such as extreme stress at work and
family life and psychological factors such as a perfectionistic
tendencies which all trigger this genetic code for depression. A person
may have a genetic predisposition for a disease, but social and
cognitive factors must trigger the illness.
Specifically, Engel broadened medical thinking by re-proposing a separation of body and mind. The idea of mind–body dualism goes back at least to René Descartes,
but was forgotten during the biomedical approach. Engel emphasized that
the biomedical approach is flawed because the body alone does not
contribute to illness.
Instead, the individual mind (psychological and social factors) play a
significant role in how an illness is caused and how it is treated.
Engel proposed a dialogue between the patient and the doctor in order to
find the most effective treatment solution.
Similarly, materialistic and reductionist ideas proposed with the biomedical model are flawed because they cannot be verified on a cellular level (according to Engel). Instead, the proposed model focuses on the research of past psychologists such as Urie Bronfenbrenner,
popularized by his belief that social factors play a role in developing
illnesses and behaviors. Simply, Engel used Bronfenbrenner's research
as a column of his biopsychosocial model and framed this model to
display health at the center of social, psychological, and biological
aspects.
After publication, the biopsychosocial model was adopted by the World Health Organization (WHO) in 2002 as a basis for the International Classification of Function (ICF). However, The WHO definition of health adopted in 1948 clearly implied a broad socio-medical perspective.
Current status of the BPS model
The
biopsychosocial (BPS) model is still widely used as both a philosophy
of clinical care and a practical clinical guide useful for broadening
the scope of a clinician's gaze. Dr. Borrell-Carrió and colleagues reviewed Engel's model 25 years on.
They proposed the model had evolved into a BPS and
relationship-centered framework for physicians. They proposed three
clarifications to the model, and identified seven established
principles.
Self-awareness.
Active cultivation of trust.
An emotional style characterized by empathic curiosity.
Self-calibration as a way to reduce bias.
Educating the emotions to assist with diagnosis and forming therapeutic relationships.
Using informed intuition.
Communicating clinical evidence to foster dialogue, not just the mechanical application of protocol.
Gatchel and colleagues argued in 2007 the biopsychosocial model is
the most widely accepted as the most heuristic approach to understanding
and treating chronic pain.
Relevant theories and theorists
Other theorists and researchers are using the term biopsychosocial, or sometimes bio-psycho-social to distinguish Engel's model.
Lumley and colleagues used a non-Engel model to conduct a
biopsychosocial assessment of the relationship between and pain and
emotion. Zucker and Gomberg used a non-Engel biopsychosocial perspective to assess the etiology of alcoholism in 1986.
Kozlowska's Functional Somatic Symptoms model uses a biopsychosocial approach to understand somatic symptoms. Siegel's Interpersonal Neurobiology
(IPNB) model is similar, although, perhaps to distinguish IPNB from
Engel's model, he describes how the brain, mind, and relationships are
part of one reality rather three separate elements. Most trauma -and violence-informed care models are biopsychosocial models.
Biopsychosocial research
Wickrama
and colleagues have conducted several biopsychosocial-based studies
examining marital dynamics. In a longitudinal study of women divorced
midlife they found that divorce contributed to an adverse
biopsychosocial process for the women.
In another study of enduring marriages, they looked to see if hostile
marital interactions in the early middle years could wear down couples
regulator systems through greater psychological distress, more
health-risk behaviors, and a higher body mass index (BMI). Their
findings confirmed negative outcomes and increased vulnerability to
later physical health problems for both husbands and wives.
Kovacs and colleagues meta-study examined the biopsychosocial experiences of adults with congenital heart disease. Zhang and colleagues used a biopsychosocial approach to examine parents own physiological response when facing children's negative emotions, and how it related to parents’ ability to engage in sensitive and supportive behaviors.
They found parents’ physiological regulatory functioning was an
important factor in shaping parenting behaviors directed toward
children's emotions.
A biopsychosocial approach was used to assess race and ethnic
differences in aging and to develop the Michigan Cognitive Aging
Project. Banerjee and colleagues used a biopsychosocial narrative to describe the dual pandemic of suicide and COVID-19.
Potential applications
When
Engel first proposed the biopsychosocial model it was for the purpose
of better understanding health and illness. While this application still
holds true the model is relevant to topics such as health, medicine,
and development. Firstly, as proposed by Engel, it helps physicians
better understand their whole patient. Considering not only
physiological and medical aspects but also psychological and
sociological well-being. Furthermore, this model is closely tied to health psychology.
Health psychology examines the reciprocal influences of biology,
psychology, behavioral, and social factors on health and illness.
One application of the biopsychosocial model within health and
medicine relates to pain, such that several factors outside an
individual's health may affect their perception of pain. For example, a
2019 study linked genetic and biopsychosocial factors to increased
post-operative shoulder pain. Future studies are needed to model and further explore the relationship between biopsychosocial factors and pain.
The developmental applications of this model are equally
relevant. One particular advantage of applying the biopsychosocial model
to developmental psychology is that it allows for an intersection within the nature versus nurture debate. This model provides developmental psychologists a theoretical basis for the interplay of both hereditary and psychosocial factors on an individual's development.
In gender
Gender
is thought by some as biopsychosocial, they define it as a complex
matter formed from social, psychological, and biological aspects.
According to the Gender Spectrum Organization, "A person's gender
is the complex interrelationship between three dimensions: body,
identity, and social gender."
According to Alex Iantaffi and Meg-John Barker, biological, psychological, and social factors all feed back into each other in complex ways to form a person's gender.
Criticisms
There have been a number of criticisms of Engel's biopsychosocial model.
Benning summarized the arguments against the model including that it
lacked philosophical coherence, was insensitive to patients' subjective
experience, was unfaithful to the general systems theory
that Engel claimed it be rooted in, and that it engendered an
undisciplined eclecticism that provides no safeguards against either the
dominance or the under-representation of any one of the three domains
of bio, psycho, or social.
Psychiatrist Hamid Tavakoli argues that Engel's BPS model should
be avoided because it unintentionally promotes an artificial distinction
between biology and psychology, and merely causes confusion in
psychiatric assessments and training programs, and that ultimately it
has not helped the cause of trying to de-stigmatize mental health. The perspectives model does not make that arbitrary distinction.
A number of these criticisms have been addressed over recent
years. For example, the BPS-Pathways model describes how it is possible
to conceptually separate, define, and measure biological, psychological,
and social factors, and thereby seek detailed interrelationships among
these factors.
While Engel's call to arms for a biopsychosocial model has been
taken up in several healthcare fields and developed in related models,
it has not been adopted in acute medical and surgical domains, as of
2017.
Internal medicine, also known as general internal medicine in Commonwealth nations, is a medical specialty for medical doctors
focused on the prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of internal
diseases. Medical practitioners of internal medicine are referred to as internists, or physicians in Commonwealth nations. Internists possess specialized skills in managing patients with undifferentiated or multi-system disease processes. They provide care to both hospitalized (inpatient) and ambulatory
(outpatient) patients and often contribute significantly to teaching
and research. Internists are qualified physicians who have undergone postgraduate training in internal medicine, and should not be confused with "interns”, a term commonly used for a medical doctor who has obtained a medical degree but does not yet have a license to practice medicine unsupervised.
In the United States and Commonwealth nations, there is often confusion between internal medicine and family medicine, with people mistakenly considering them equivalent.
Internists primarily work in hospitals, as their patients are frequently seriously ill or require extensive medical tests. Internists often have subspecialty
interests in diseases affecting particular organs or organ systems. The
certification process and available subspecialties may vary across
different countries.
Robert Koch, 19th century German physician and microbiologist
The term internal medicine in English has its etymology in the 19th-century German term Innere Medizin. Originally, internal medicine focused on determining the underlying "internal" or pathological causes of symptoms and syndromes through a combination of medical tests and bedside clinical examination of patients. This approach differed from earlier generations of physicians, such as the 17th-century English physician Thomas Sydenham, known as the father of English medicine or "the English Hippocrates." Sydenham developed the field of nosology
(the study of diseases) through a clinical approach that involved
diagnosing and managing diseases based on careful bedside observation of
the natural history of disease and their treatment. Sydenham emphasized understanding the internal mechanisms and causes of symptoms rather than dissecting cadavers and scrutinizing the internal workings of the body.
In the 17th century, there was a shift towards anatomical pathology and laboratory studies, and Giovanni Battista Morgagni, an Italian anatomist of the 18th century, is considered the father of anatomical pathology. Laboratory investigations gained increasing significance, with contributions from physicians like German physician and bacteriologist Robert Koch in the 19th century. During this time, internal medicine emerged as a field that integrated the clinical approach with the use of investigations.
Many American physicians of the early 20th century studied medicine in
Germany and introduced this medical field to the United States, adopting
the name "internal medicine" in imitation of the existing German term.
Internal medicine has historical roots in ancient India and ancient China. The earliest texts about internal medicine can be found in the Ayurvedic anthologies of Charaka.
Role of internal medicine specialists
Internal
medicine specialists, also referred to as general internal medicine
specialists or general medicine physicians in Commonwealth countries,
are specialized physicians trained to manage complex or multisystem
disease conditions that single-organ specialists may not be equipped to
handle.
They are often called upon to address undifferentiated presentations
that do not fit neatly within the scope of a single-organ specialty, such as shortness of breath, fatigue, weight loss, chest pain, confusion, or alterations in conscious state. They may manage serious acute illnesses that affect multiple organ systems concurrently within a single patient, as well as the management of multiple chronic diseases in a single patient.
While many internal medicine physicians choose to subspecialize in specific organ systems,
general internal medicine specialists do not necessarily possess any
lesser expertise than single-organ specialists. Rather, they are
specifically trained to care for patients with multiple simultaneous
problems or complex comorbidities.
Due to the complexity involved in explaining the treatment of
diseases that are not localized to a single organ, there has been some
confusion surrounding the meaning of internal medicine and the role of
an "internist." Although internists may serve as primary care physicians, they are not synonymous with "family physicians," "family practitioners," "general practitioners," or "GPs." The training of internists is solely focused on adults and does not typically include surgery, obstetrics, or pediatrics. According to the American College of Physicians, internists are defined as "physicians who specialize in the prevention, detection, and treatment of illnesses in adults."
While there may be some overlap in the patient population served by
both internal medicine and family medicine physicians, internists
primarily focus on adult care with an emphasis on diagnosis, whereas
family medicine incorporates a holistic approach to care for the entire
family unit. Internists also receive substantial training in various
recognized subspecialties within the field and are experienced in both
inpatient and outpatient settings. On the other hand, family medicine
physicians receive education covering a wide range of conditions and
typically train in an outpatient setting with less exposure to hospital
settings.
The historical roots of internal medicine can be traced back to the
incorporation of scientific principles into medical practice in the
1800s, while family medicine emerged as part of the primary care
movement in the 1960s.
The training and career pathways for internists vary considerably across different countries.
Many programs require previous undergraduate education prior to medical school admission. This "pre-medical"
education is typically four or five years in length. Graduate medical
education programs vary in length by country. Medical education
programs are tertiary-level courses, undertaken at a medical school attached to a university.
In the US, medical school consists of four years. Hence, gaining a
basic medical education may typically take eight years, depending on
jurisdiction and university.
Following completion of entry-level training, newly graduated
medical practitioners are often required to undertake a period of
supervised practice before their licensure, or registration, is granted, typically one or two years. This period may be referred to as "internship", "conditional registration", or "foundation programme".
Then, doctors may follow specialty training in internal medicine if
they wish, typically being selected to training programs through
competition. In North America, this period of postgraduate training is
referred to as residency training, followed by an optional fellowship if the internist decides to train in a subspecialty.
In most countries, residency training for internal medicine lasts three years and centers on secondary and tertiary levels of health care, as opposed to primary health care. In Commonwealth countries, trainees are often called senior house officers
for four years after the completion of their medical degree (foundation
and core years). After this period, they are able to advance to
registrar grade when they undergo a compulsory subspecialty training
(including acute internal medicine or a dual subspecialty including
internal medicine). This latter stage of training is achieved through
competition rather than just by yearly progress as the first years of
postgraduate training.
Doctors who have completed medical school spend two years in foundation training completing a basic postgraduate curriculum. After two years of Core Medical Training (CT1/CT2), or three years of Internal Medicine Training (IMT1/IMT2/IMT3) as of 2019, since and attaining the Membership of the Royal College of Physicians, physicians commit to one of the medical specialties:
Many training programmes provide dual accreditation with general
(internal) medicine and are involved in the general care to hospitalised
patients. These are acute medicine, cardiology, Clinical Pharmacology
and Therapeutics, endocrinology and diabetes mellitus, gastroenterology,
infectious diseases, renal medicine, respiratory medicine and often,
rheumatology. The role of general medicine, after a period of decline,
was reemphasised by the Royal College of Physicians of London report
from the Future Hospital Commission (2013).
European Union
The European Board of Internal Medicine (EBIM) was formed as a collaborative effort between the European Union of Medical Specialists
(UEMS) - Internal Medicine Section and the European Federation of
Internal Medicine (EFIM) to provide guidance on standardizing training
and practice of internal medicine throughout Europe.
The EBIM published training requirements in 2016 for postgraduate
education in internal medicine, and efforts to create a European
Certificate of Internal Medicine (ECIM) to facilitate the free movement
of medical professionals with the EU are currently underway.
The internal medicine specialist is recognized in every country in the European Union and typically requires five years of multi-disciplinary post-graduate education.
The specialty of internal medicine is seen as providing care in a wide
variety of conditions involving every organ system and is distinguished
from family medicine in that the latter provides a broader model of
care the includes both surgery and obstetrics in both adults and
children.
Australia
Accreditation for medical education and training programs in Australia is provided by the Australian Medical Council (AMC) and the Medical Council of New Zealeand (MCNZ). The Medical Board of Australia (MBA) is the registering body for Australian doctors and provides information to the Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency (AHPRA).
Medical graduates apply for provisional registration in order to
complete intern training. Those completing an accredited internship
program are then eligible to apply for general registration.
Once the candidate completes the required basic and advanced
post-graduate training and a written and clinical examination, the Royal Australasian College of Physicians
confers designation Fellow of the Royal Australasian College of
Physicians (FRACP). Basic training consists of three years of full-time
equivalent (FTE) training (including intern year) and advanced training
consists of 3–4 years, depending on specialty.
The fields of specialty practice are approved by the Council of
Australian Governments (COAG) and managed by the MBA. The following is a
list of currently recognized specialist physicians.
After
completing medical school, internists in Canada require an additional
four years of training. Internists desiring to subspecialize are
required to complete two additional years of training that may begin
after the third year of internist training. The Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada (RCPSC) is a national non-profit agency that oversees and accredits medical education in Canada. A full medical license in Internal Medicine in Canada requires a medical degree, a license from the Medical Council of Canada, completion of the required post-graduate education, and certification from the RCPSC. Any additional requirements from separate medical regulatory authorities in each province or territory is also required. Internists may practice in Canada as generalists in Internal Medicine or serve in one of seventeen subspecialty areas.
Internists may work in many settings including outpatient clinics,
inpatient wards, critical care units, and emergency departments. The
currently recognized subspecialties include the following:
Medicine is mainly focused on the art of diagnosis and treatment with medication.
The diagnostic process involves gathering data, generating one or more
diagnostic hypotheses, and iteratively testing these potential diagnoses
against dynamic disease profiles to determine the best course of action
for the patient.
Gathering data
Data may be gathered directly from the patient in medical history-taking and physical examination.
Previous medical records including laboratory findings, imaging, and
clinical notes from other physicians is also an important source of
information; however, it is vital to talk to and examine the patient to
find out what the patient is currently experiencing to make an accurate
diagnosis.
History and physical examination are a vital part of the diagnostic process.
Internists often can perform and interpret diagnostic tests like EKGs and ultrasound imaging (Point-of-care Ultrasound – PoCUS).
Internists who pursue sub-specialties have additional diagnostic tools, including those listed below.
Other tests are ordered, and patients are also referred to
specialists for further evaluation. The effectiveness and efficiency of
the specialist referral process is an area of potential improvement.
Generating diagnostic hypotheses
Determining which pieces of information are most important to the next phase of the diagnostic process is of vital importance. It is during this stage that clinical bias like anchoring or premature closure may be introduced.
Once key findings are determined, they are compared to profiles of
possible diseases. These profiles include findings that are typically
associated with the disease and are based on the likelihood that someone
with the disease has a particular symptom. A list of potential
diagnoses is termed the “differential diagnosis” for the patient and is
typically ordered from most likely to least likely, with special
attention given to those conditions that have dire consequences for the
patient if they were missed. Epidemiology and endemic conditions are also considered in creating and evaluating the list of diagnoses.
The list is dynamic and changes as the physician obtains
additional information that makes a condition more (“rule-in”) or less
(“rule-out”) likely based on the disease profile. The list is used to determine what information will be acquired next,
including which diagnostic test or imaging modality to order. The
selection of tests is also based on the physician’s knowledge of the specificity and sensitivity of a particular test.
An important part of this process is knowledge of the various
ways that a disease can present in a patient. This knowledge is
gathered and shared to add to the database of disease profiles used by
physicians. This is especially important in rare diseases.
Communication
Communication
is a vital part of the diagnostic process. The Internist uses both
synchronous and asynchronous communication with other members of the
medical care team, including other internists, radiologists,
specialists, and laboratory technicians. Tools to evaluate teamwork exist and have been employed in multiple settings.
Communication to the patient is also important to ensure there is
informed consent and shared decision-making throughout the diagnostic
process.
Treatment
Treatment modalities generally include both pharmacological and non-pharmacological, depending on the primary diagnosis. Additional treatment options include referral to specialist care including physical therapy and rehabilitation. Treatment recommendations differ in the acute inpatient and outpatient settings. Continuity of care and long-term follow-up is crucial in successful patient outcomes.
Prevention and other services
Aside
from diagnosing and treating acute conditions, the Internist may also
assess disease risk and recommend preventive screening and
intervention. Some of the tools available to the Internist include
genetic evaluation.
Internists also routinely provide pre-operative medical
evaluations including individualized assessment and communication of
operative risk.
Training the next generation of internists is an important part
of the profession. As mentioned above, post-graduate medical education
is provided by licensed physicians as part of accredited education
programs that are usually affiliated with teaching hospitals. Studies show that there are no differences in patient outcomes in teaching versus non-teaching facilities.
Medical research is an important part of most post-graduate education
programs, and many licensed physicians continue to be involved in
research activities after completing post-graduate training.
Ethics
Inherent
in any medical profession are legal and ethical considerations. Specific
laws vary by jurisdiction and may or may not be congruent with ethical
considerations.
Thus, a strong ethical foundation is paramount to any medical
profession. Medical ethics guidelines in the Western world typically
follow four principles including beneficence, non-maleficence, patient autonomy, and justice.
These principles underlie the patient-physician relationship and the
obligation to put the welfare and interests of the patient above their
own.
Patient-physician relationship
The
relationship is built upon the physician obligations of competency,
respect for the patient, and appropriate referrals while the patient
requirements include decision-making and provides or withdraws consent
for any treatment plan. Good communication is key to a strong
relationship but has ethical considerations as well, including proper
use of electronic communication and clear documentation.
Treatment and telemedicine
Providing
treatment including prescribing medications based on remote information
gathering without a proper established relationship is not accepted as
good practice with few exceptions. These exceptions include cross-coverage within a practice and certain public health urgent or emergent issues.
The ethics of telemedicine including questions on its impact to diagnosis, physician-patient relationship, and continuity of care have been raised;
however, with appropriate use and specific guidelines, risks may be
minimized and the benefits including increased access to care may be
realized.
Financial issues and conflicts of interest
Ethical
considerations in financial include accurate billing practices and
clearly defined financial relationships. Physicians have both a
professional duty and obligation under the justice principle to ensure
that patients are provided the same care regardless of status or ability
to pay. However, informal copayment forgiveness may have legal
ramifications and the providing professional courtesy may have
negatively impact care.
Physicians must disclose all possible conflicts of interest
including financial relationships, investments, research and referral
relationships, and any other instances that may subjugate or give the
appearance of subjugating patient care to self-interest.
Other topics
Other foundational ethical considerations include privacy, confidentiality, accurate and complete medical records, electronic health records, disclosure, and informed decision-making and consent.
Electronic health records
have been shown to improve patient care but have risks including data
breaches and inappropriate and/or unauthorized disclosure of protected
health information.
Withholding information from a patient is typically seen as
unethical and in violation of a patient’s right to make informed
decisions. However, in situations where a patient has requested not to
be informed or to have the information provided to a second party or in
an emergency situation in which the patient does not have
decision-making capacity, withholding information may be appropriate.
Each of these men held additional important roles in the early
government of the United States. Washington, Adams, Jefferson, and
Madison served as the first four presidents; Adams and Jefferson were the nation's first two vice presidents; Jay was the nation's first chief justice; Hamilton was the first Secretary of the Treasury; Jefferson and Madison were the first two Secretaries of State;
and Franklin was America's most senior diplomat from the start of the
Revolutionary War through its conclusion with the signing of the Treaty
of Paris in 1783.
The list of Founding Founders is often expanded to include the signers of the Declaration of Independence and individuals who later ratified the U.S. Constitution. Some scholars regard all delegates to the Constitutional Convention as Founding Fathers whether they approved the Constitution or not. In addition, some historians include signers of the Articles of Confederation, which was adopted in 1781 as the nation's first constitution.
Beyond this, the criterion for inclusion varies. Historians with an expanded view of the list of Founding Fathers include Revolutionary War military leaders and Revolutionary
participants in developments leading up to the war, including prominent
writers, orators, and other men and women who contributed to the
American Revolutionary cause. Since the 19th century, Founding Fathers have shifted from the concept of the Founders as demigods
who created the modern nation-state to take into account the inability
of the founding generation to quickly remedy issues such as slavery, which was a global institution at the time, and the treatment of Native Americans.
Other scholars of the American founding suggest that the Founding
Fathers' accomplishments and shortcomings be viewed within the context
of their times.
In 1811, responding to praise for his generation, John Adams wrote to Josiah Quincy III,
"I ought not to object to your Reverence for your Fathers as you call
them ... but to tell you a very great secret ... I have no reason to
believe We were better than you are."
He also wrote, "Don't call me, ... Father ... [or] Founder ... These
titles belong to no man, but to the American people in general."
At a 1902 celebration of Washington's Birthday in Brooklyn, James M. Beck, a constitutional lawyer and later a U.S. Congressman,
delivered an address, "Founders of the Republic", in which he connected
the concepts of founders and fathers, saying: "It is well for us to
remember certain human aspects of the founders of the republic. Let me
first refer to the fact that these fathers of the republic were for the
most part young men."
The National Archives has identified three founding documents as the "Charters of Freedom": Declaration of Independence, United States Constitution, and Bill of Rights.
According to the Archives, these documents "have secured the rights of
the American people for more than two and a quarter centuries and are
considered instrumental to the founding and philosophy of the United
States." In addition, as the nation's first constitution, the Articles of Confederation and Perpetual Union is also a founding document.
As a result, signers of three key documents are generally considered to
be Founding Fathers of the United States: Declaration of Independence
(DI), Articles of Confederation (AC), and U.S. Constitution (USC). The following table provides a list of these signers, some of whom signed more than one document.
The 55 delegates who attended the Constitutional Convention are referred to as framers. Of these, 16 failed to sign the document. Three refused, while the remainder left early, either in protest of the proceedings or for personal reasons. Nevertheless, some sources regard all framers as Founders, including those who did not sign:
(*) Randolph, Mason, and Gerry were the only three present at the Constitution's adoption who refused to sign.
Additional Founding Fathers
In addition to the signers and Framers of the founding documents and one of the seven notable leaders previously mentioned—John Jay—the following are regarded as Founders based on their contributions to the creation and early development of the new nation:
George Clinton,
first governor of New York, 1777–1795, served again from 1801 to 1805,
and was the fourth vice president of the US, 1805–1812. He was an
anti-Federalist advocate of the Bill of Rights.
Patrick Henry, gifted orator, known for his famous quote, "Give me liberty, or give me death!",
served in the First Continental Congress in 1774 and briefly in the
Second Congress in 1775 before returning to Virginia to lead its
militia. He then completed terms as the first and sixth governor of
Virginia, 1776–1779 and 1784–1786.
Henry Knox served as chief artillery
officer in most of Washington's campaigns. His earliest achievement was
the capture of over 50 pieces of artillery, primarily cannons, at New
York's Fort Ticonderoga, one of the keys to Washington's capture of
Boston in early 1776. Knox became the first Secretary of War under the U.S. Constitution in 1789.
Gilbert du Motier, Marquis de Lafayette, French Marquis who became a Continental Army general.
Served without pay, brought a ship to America, outfitted for war,
provided clothing and other provisions for the patriot cause, all at his
own expense.
John Marshall
served with George Washington at Valley Forge and later would be the
first to refer to him as "the Father of his country". Appointed the
fourth chief justice of the U.S. Supreme Court under John Adams,
Marshall defined the authority of the court and ensured the stability of
the federal government during the first three decades of the 19th
century.
James Monroe, elected to the Virginia legislature (1782); member of the Continental Congress (1783–1786); fifth president of the United States for two terms (1817–1825); Negotiated the Louisiana Purchase along with Robert Livingston.
Thomas Paine, author of Common Sense and other influential pamphlets in the 1770s; sometimes referred to as "Father of the American Revolution". While John Adams strongly criticized Paine for failing to see the need for a separation of powers in government, Common Sense proved crucial in building support for independence following its publication in January 1776.
John Rogers, Maryland lawyer and judge, delegate to the Continental Congress who voted for the Declaration of Independence but fell ill before he could sign it.
Charles Thomson, secretary of the Continental Congress from its formation to its final session, 1774–1789.
Historians have come to recognize the roles women played in the nation's early development, using the term "Founding Mothers". Among the females honored in this respect are:
Abigail Adams, wife, confidant, advisor to John Adams, second First Lady, and mother of the sixth U.S. president John Quincy Adams,
famously extolled her husband to "Remember the Ladies, and be more
generous and favourable to them than your ancestors . . . [or] we are
determined to foment a Rebelion, and will not hold ourselves bound by
any Laws in which we have no voice, or Representation".
Crispus Attucks, believed to be of Native American and African descent, was the first of five persons killed in the Boston Massacre of 1770, and thus the first to die in the American Revolution. Of the deaths at Boston John Adams would later write, "On that night the foundations of American independence was laid."
Hugh Henry Brackenridge, lawyer, judge, author, chaplin in the Continental army, ally of Madison, collaborator with Freneau, and central figure in early western Pennsylvania
Cato, a Black Patriot and slave who served as a spy alongside his owner, Hercules Mulligan.
Cato carried intelligence gathered by Mulligan to officers in the
Continental Army and other revolutionaries, including through
British-held territory, which was credited for likely saving George Washington's life on at least two occasions. He was granted his freedom in 1778 for his service.
Angelica Schuyler Church,
sister-in-law of Alexander Hamilton, corresponded with many of the
leading Founding Fathers, including Thomas Jefferson, Alexander
Hamilton, and the Marquis de Lafayette.
Silas Deane, a delegate to the Continental Congress who signed the Continental Association, became the first foreign diplomat from the U.S. to France where he helped negotiate and then signed the 1778 Treaty of Alliance that allied France with the United States during the Revolutionary War.
James Iredell, essayist for independence and advocate for the constitution, early Supreme Court Justice
John Paul Jones, U.S. Navy captain; when the British requested his surrender, he replied, "I have not yet begun to fight"
Benjamin Kent, lawyer, Massachusetts Attorney General, senior member of the Sons of Liberty and the North End Caucus. In April, 1776, Kent encouraged John Adams to declare American independence.
Philip Mazzei, Italian physician, merchant, and author
Daniel Morgan, military leader and Virginia congressman
Hercules Mulligan, Irish-American tailor and spy, member of the Sons of Liberty. Introduced Alexander Hamilton into New York society and helped him recruit men for his artillery units.
James Otis Jr.,
one of the earliest proponents of patriotic causes, an opponent of
slavery, and leader of Massachusetts' Committee of Correspondence, all
in the 1760s.
In the mid-1760s, Parliament began levying taxes on the colonies to finance Britain's debts from the French and Indian War, a decade-long conflict that ended in 1763. Opposition to Stamp Act and Townshend Acts united the colonies in a common cause.
While the Stamp Act was withdrawn, taxes on tea remained under the
Townshend Acts and took on a new form in 1773 with Parliament's adoption
of the Tea Act.
The new tea tax, along with stricter customs enforcement, was not
well-received across the colonies, particularly in Massachusetts.
On December 16, 1773, 150 colonists disguised as Mohawk Indians boarded ships in Boston and dumped 342 chests of tea into the city's harbor, a protest that came to be known as the Boston Tea Party. Orchestrated by Samuel Adams and the Boston Committee of Correspondence, the protest was viewed as treasonous by British authorities. In response, Parliament passed the Coercive or Intolerable Acts,
a series of punitive laws that closed Boston's port and placed the
colony under direct control of the British government. These measures
stirred unrest throughout the colonies, which felt Parliament had
overreached its authority and was posing a threat to the self-rule that
had existed in the Americas since the 1600s.
Intent on responding to the Acts, twelve of the Thirteen Colonies agreed to send delegates to meet in Philadelphia as the First Continental Congress, with Georgia declining because it needed British military support in its conflict with native tribes.
The concept of an American union had been entertained long before 1774,
but always embraced the idea that it would be subject to the authority
of the British Empire. By 1774, however, letters published in colonial newspapers,
mostly by anonymous writers, began asserting the need for a "Congress"
to represent all Americans, one that would have equal status with
British authority.
First Continental Congress at Prayer, an 1848 portrait by T. H. Matteson
The Continental Congress
was convened to deal with a series of pressing issues the colonies were
facing with Britain. Its delegates were men considered to be the most
intelligent and thoughtful among the colonialists. In the wake of the Intolerable Acts,
at the hands of an unyielding British King and Parliament, the colonies
were forced to choose between either totally submitting to arbitrary
Parliamentary authority or resorting to unified armed resistance.
The new Congress functioned as the directing body in declaring a great
war and was sanctioned only by reason of the guidance it provided during
the armed struggle. Its authority remained ill-defined, and few of its
delegates realized that events would soon lead them to deciding policies
that ultimately established a "new power among the nations". In the
process the Congress performed many experiments in government before an
adequate Constitution evolved.
The First Continental Congress convened at Philadelphia's Carpenter's Hall on September 5, 1774.
The Congress, which had no legal authority to raise taxes or call on
colonial militias, consisted of 56 delegates, including George
Washington of Virginia; John Adams and Samuel Adams of Massachusetts; John Jay of New York; John Dickinson of Pennsylvania; and Roger Sherman of Connecticut. Peyton Randolph of Virginia was unanimously elected its first president.
The Congress came close to disbanding in its first few days over
the issue of representation, with smaller colonies desiring equality
with the larger ones. While Patrick Henry,
from the largest colony, Virginia, disagreed, he stressed the greater
importance of uniting the colonies: "The distinctions between
Virginians, Pennsylvanians, New Yorkers, and New Englanders are no more.
I am not a Virginian, but an American!". The delegates then began with a discussion of the Suffolk Resolves, which had just been approved at a town meeting in Milton, Massachusetts. Joseph Warren, chairman of the Resolves drafting committee, had dispatched Paul Revere to deliver signed copies to the Congress in Philadelphia. The Resolves called for the ouster of British officials, a trade embargo of British goods, and the formation of a militia throughout the colonies.
Despite the radical nature of the resolves, on September 17 the
Congress passed them in their entirety in exchange for assurances that
Massachusetts' colonists would do nothing to provoke war.
The delegates then approved a series of measures, including a Petition to the King in an appeal for peace and a Declaration and Resolves
which introduced the ideas of natural law and natural rights,
foreshadowing some of the principles found in the Declaration of
Independence and Bill of Rights. The declaration asserted the rights of colonists and outlined Parliament's abuses of power. Proposed by Richard Henry Lee, it also included a trade boycott known as the Continental Association. The Association, a crucial step toward unification, empowered committees of correspondence
throughout the colonies to enforce the boycott. The Declaration and its
boycott directly challenged Parliament's right to govern in the
Americas, bolstering the view of King George III and his administration under Lord North that the colonies were in a state of rebellion.
Lord Dartmouth, the Secretary of State for the Colonies
who had been sympathetic to the Americans, condemned the newly
established Congress for what he considered its illegal formation and
actions. In tandem with the Intolerable Acts, British Army commander-in-chief Lieutenant General Thomas Gage
was installed as governor of Massachusetts. In January 1775, Gage's
superior, Lord Dartmouth, ordered the general to arrest those
responsible for the Tea Party and to seize the munitions that had been
stockpiled by militia forces outside of Boston. The letter took several
months to reach Gage, who acted immediately by sending out 700 army regulars. During their march to Lexington and Concord
on the morning of April 19, 1775, the British troops encountered
militia forces, who had been warned the night before by Paul Revere and
another messenger on horseback, William Dawes. Even though it is unknown who fired the first shot, the Revolutionary War began.
On May 10, 1775, less than three weeks after the Battles at Lexington and Concord, the Second Continental Congress convened in the Pennsylvania State House. The gathering essentially reconstituted the First Congress with many of the same delegates in attendance. Among the new arrivals were Benjamin Franklin of Pennsylvania, John Hancock of Massachusetts, and in June, Thomas Jefferson
of Virginia. Hancock was elected president two weeks into the session
when Peyton Randolph was recalled to Virginia to preside over the House of Burgesses as speaker, and Jefferson was named to replace him in the Virginia delegation. After adopting the rules of debate from the previous year and reinforcing its emphasis on secrecy, the Congress turned to its foremost concern, the defense of the colonies.
The provincial assembly in Massachusetts, which had declared the
colony's governorship vacant, reached out to the Congress for direction
on two matters: whether the assembly could assume the powers of civil
government and whether the Congress would take over the army being
formed in Boston.
In answer to the first question, on June 9 the colony's leaders were
directed to choose a council to govern within the spirit of the colony's
charter.
As for the second, Congress spent several days discussing plans for
guiding the forces of all thirteen colonies. Finally, on June 14
Congress approved provisioning the New England militias, agreed to send
ten companies of riflemen from other colonies as reinforcements, and
appointed a committee to draft rules for governing the military, thus
establishing the Continental Army. The next day, Samuel and John Adams nominated Washington as commander-in-chief, a motion that was unanimously approved. Two days later, on June 17, the militias clashed with British forces at Bunker Hill, a victory for Britain but a costly one.
The Congress's actions came despite the divide between
conservatives who still hoped for reconciliation with England and at the
other end of the spectrum, those who favored independence. To satisfy the former, Congress adopted the Olive Branch Petition on July 5, an appeal for peace to King George III written by John Dickinson. Then, the following day, it approved the Declaration of the Causes and Necessity of Taking Up Arms, a resolution justifying military action.
The declaration, intended for Washington to read to the troops upon his
arrival in Massachusetts, was drafted by Jefferson but edited by
Dickinson who thought its language too strong. When the Olive Branch Petition arrived in London in September, the king refused to look at it. By then, he had already issued a proclamation declaring the American colonies in rebellion.
Under the auspices of the Second Continental Congress and its Committee of Five, Thomas Jefferson drafted the Declaration of Independence. It was presented to the Congress by the Committee on June 28, and after much debate and editing of the document, on July 2, 1776, Congress passed the Lee Resolution, which declared the United Colonies independent from Great Britain. Two days later, on July 4, 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.
In an effort to get this important document promptly into the public realm John Hancock, president of the Second Continental Congress, commissioned John Dunlap, editor and printer of the Pennsylvania Packet, to print 200 broadside copies of the Declaration, which came to be known as the Dunlap broadsides.
Printing commenced the day after the Declaration was adopted. They were
distributed throughout the 13 colonies/states with copies sent to
General Washington and his troops at New York with a directive that it
be read aloud. Copies were also sent to Britain and other points in
Europe.
While the colonists were fighting the British to gain independence
their newly formed government, with its Articles of Confederation, were
put to the test, revealing the shortcomings and weaknesses of America's
first Constitution. During this time Washington became convinced that a
strong federal government was urgently needed, as the individual states
were not meeting the organizational and supply demands of the war on
their own individual accord. Key precipitating events included the Boston Tea Party in 1773, Paul Revere's Ride in 1775, and the Battles of Lexington and Concord in 1775. George Washington's crossing of the Delaware River was a major American victory over Hessian forces at the Battle of Trenton and greatly boosted American morale. The Battle of Saratoga and the Siege of Yorktown, which primarily ended the fighting between American and British, were also pivotal events during the war. The 1783 Treaty of Paris marked the official end of the war.
After the war, Washington was instrumental in organizing the
effort to create a "national militia" made up of individual state units,
and under the direction of the Federal government. He also endorsed the
creation of a military academy to train artillery offices and
engineers. Not wanting to leave the country disarmed and vulnerable so
soon after the war, Washington favored a peacetime army of 2600 men. He
also favored the creation of a navy that could repel any European
intruders. He approached Henry Knox, who accompanied Washington during
most of his campaigns, with the prospect of becoming the future
Secretary of War.
After Washington's final victory at the surrender at Yorktown on October 19, 1781, more than a year passed before official negotiations for peace commenced. The Treaty of Paris
was drafted in November 1782, and negotiations began in April 1783. The
completed treaty was signed on September 3. Benjamin Franklin, John
Adams, John Jay and Henry Laurens represented the United States, while David Hartley, a member of Parliament, and Richard Oswald, a prominent and influential Scottish businessman, represented Great Britain.
Franklin, who had a long-established rapport with the French and
was almost entirely responsible for securing an alliance with them a few
months after the start of the war, was greeted with high honors from
the French council, while the others received due accommodations but
were generally considered to be amateur negotiators. Communications between Britain and France were largely effected through Franklin and Lord Shelburne who was on good terms with Franklin.
Franklin, Adams and Jay understood the concerns of the French at this
uncertain juncture and, using that to their advantage, in the final
sessions of negotiations convinced both the French and the British that
American independence was in their best interests.
Under the Articles of Confederation, the Congress of the Confederation
had no power to collect taxes, regulate commerce, pay the national
debt, conduct diplomatic relations, or effectively manage the western
territories.
Key leaders – George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Alexander Hamilton,
James Madison, and others – began fearing for the young nation's fate.
As the Articles' weaknesses became more and more apparent, the idea of
creating a strong central government gained support, leading to the call
for a convention to amend the Articles.
The Constitutional Convention met in the Pennsylvania State House from May 14 through September 17, 1787.
The 55 delegates in attendance represented a cross-section of
18th-century American leadership. The vast majority were well-educated
and prosperous, and all were prominent in their respective states with
over 70 percent (40 delegates) serving in the Congress when the
convention was proposed.
Many delegates were late to arrive, and after eleven days' delay, a quorum was finally present on May 25 to elect Washington, the nation's most trusted figure, as convention president.
Four days later, on May 29, the convention adopted a rule of secrecy, a
controversial decision but a common practice that allowed delegates to
speak freely.
Immediately following the secrecy vote, Virginia governor Edmund Randolph introduced the Virginia Plan, fifteen resolutions written by Madison and his colleagues proposing a government of three branches: a single executive, a bicameral (two-house) legislature, and a judiciary.
The lower house was to be elected by the people, with seats apportioned
by state population. The upper house would be chosen by the lower house
from delegates nominated by state legislatures. The executive, who
would have veto power over legislation, would be elected by the
Congress, which could overrule state laws.
While the plan exceeded the convention's objective of merely amending
the Articles, most delegates were willing to abandon their original
mandate in favor of crafting a new form of government.
Discussions of the Virginia resolutions continued into mid-June,
when William Paterson of New Jersey presented an alternative proposal. The New Jersey Plan
retained most of the Articles' provisions, including a one-house
legislature and equal power for the states. One of the plan's
innovations was a "plural" executive branch, but its primary concession
was to allow the national government to regulate trade and commerce.
Meeting as a committee of the whole, the delegates discussed the two
proposals beginning with the question of whether there should be a
single or three-fold executive and then whether to grant the executive
veto power.
After agreeing on a single executive who could veto legislation, the
delegates turned to an even more contentious issue, legislative
representation. Larger states favored proportional representation based on population, while smaller states wanted each state to have the same number of legislators.
By mid-July, the debates between the large-state and small-state factions had reached an impasse. With the convention on the verge of collapse, Roger Sherman of Connecticut introduced what became known as the Connceticut (or Great) Compromise.
Sherman's proposal called for a House of Representatives elected
proportionally and a Senate where all states would have the same number
of seats. On July 16, the compromise was approved by the narrowest of
margins, 5 states to 4.
The proceedings left most delegates with reservations. Several went home early in protest, believing the convention was overstepping its authority. Others were concerned about the lack of a Bill of Rights safeguarding individual liberties.
Even Madison, the Constitution's chief architect, was dissatisfied,
particularly over equal representation in the Senate and the failure to
grant Congress the power to veto state legislation.
Misgivings aside, a final draft was approved overwhelmingly on
September 17, with 11 states in favor and New York unable to vote since
it had only one delegate remaining, Hamilton. Rhode Island, which was in a dispute over the state's paper currency, had refused to send anyone to the convention.
Of the 42 delegates present, only three refused to sign: Randolph and
George Mason, both of Virginia, and Elbridge Gerry of Massachusetts.
State ratification conventions
The U. S. Constitution faced one more hurdle: approval by the legislatures in at least nine of the 13 states.
Within three days of the signing, the draft was submitted to the
Congress of the Confederation, which forwarded the document to the
states for ratification.
In November, Pennsylvania's legislature convened the first of the
conventions. Before it could vote, Delaware became the first state to
ratify, approving the Constitution on December 7 by a 30–0 margin. Pennsylvania followed suit five days later, splitting its vote 46–23.
Despite unanimous votes in New Jersey and Georgia, several key states
appeared to be leaning against ratification because of the omission of a
Bill of Rights, particularly Virginia where the opposition was led by
Mason and Patrick Henry, who had refused to participate in the
convention claiming he "smelt a rat".
Rather than risk everything, the Federalists relented, promising that
if the Constitution was adopted, amendments would be added to secure
people's rights.
Over the next year, the string of ratifications continued.
Finally, on June 21, 1788, New Hampshire became the ninth state to
ratify, making the Constitution the law of the land. Virginia followed suit four days later, and New York did the same in late July. After North Carolina's assent in November, another year-and-a-half would pass before the 13th state would weigh in.
Facing trade sanctions and the possibility of being forced out of the
union, Rhode Island approved the Constitution on May 29, 1790, by a
begrudging 34–32 vote.
New form of government
The Constitution officially took effect on March 4, 1789 (234 years ago), when the House and Senate met for their first sessions. On April 30, Washington was sworn in as the nation's first president. Ten amendments, known collectively as the United States Bill of Rights, were ratified on December 15, 1791.
Because the delegates were sworn to secrecy, Madison's notes on the
ratification were not published until after his death in 1836.
The Constitution, as drafted, was sharply criticized by the
Anti-Federalists, a group that contended the document failed to
safeguard individual liberties from the federal government. Leading
Anti-Federalists included Patrick Henry and Richard Henry Lee, both from
Virginia, and Samuel Adams of Massachusetts. Delegates at the
Constitutional Convention who shared their views were Virginians George
Mason and Edmund Randolph and Massachusetts representative Elbridge
Gerry, the three delegates who refused to sign the final document.
Henry, who derived his hatred of a central governing authority from his
Scottish ancestry, did all in his power to defeat the Constitution,
opposing Madison every step of the way.
The criticisms are what led to the amendments proposed under the
Bill of Rights. Madison, the bill's principal author, was originally
opposed to the amendments, but was influenced by the 1776 Virginia Declaration of Rights, primarily written by Mason, and the Declaration of Independence, by Thomas Jefferson.
Jefferson, while in France, shared Henry's and Mason's fears about a
strong central government, especially the president's power, but because
of his friendship with Madison and the pending Bill of Rights, he
quieted his concerns. Alexander Hamilton, however, was opposed to a Bill of Rights believing the amendments not only unnecessary but dangerous:
Why declare things shall not be done, which there is no
power to do ... that the liberty of the press shall not be restrained,
when no power is given by which restrictions may be imposed?
Madison had no way of knowing the debate between Virginia's two
legislative houses would delay the adoption of the amendments for more
than two years. The final draft, referred to the states by the federal Congress on September 25, 1789, was not ratified by Virginia's Senate until December 15, 1791.
The Bill of Rights drew its authority from the consent of the people and held that,
The enumeration in the Constitution, of certain rights, shall not be
construed to deny or disparage others retained by the people. — Article 11.
The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor
prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively,
or to the people. — Article 12.
Madison came to be recognized as the founding era's foremost
proponent of religious liberty, free speech, and freedom of the press.
Ascending to the presidency
The first five U.S. presidents
are regarded as Founding Fathers for their active participation in the
American Revolution: Washington, John Adams, Jefferson, Madison, and
Monroe. Each of them served as a delegate to the Continental Congress.
The
Founding Fathers represented the upper echelon of political leadership
in the British colonies during the latter half of the 18th century. All were leaders in their communities and respective colonies who were willing to assume responsibility for public affairs.
Of the signers of the Declaration of Independence, Articles of
Confederation, and U.S. Constitution, nearly all were native born and of
British heritage, including Scots, Irish, and Welsh. Nearly half were lawyers, while the remainder were primarily businessmen and planter-farmers. The average age of the founders was 43. Benjamin Franklin, born in 1706, was the oldest, while only a few were born after 1750 and thus were in their 20s.
The following sections discuss these and other demographic topics
in greater detail. For the most part, the information is confined to
signers/delegates associated with the Declaration of Independence,
Articles of Confederation, and Constitution.
Political experience
All of the Founding Fathers had extensive political experience at the national and state levels. As just one example, the signers of the Declaration of Independence and
Articles of Confederation were members of Second Continental Congress,
while four-fifths of the delegates at the Constitutional Convention had
served in the Congress either during or prior to the convention. The
remaining fifth attending the convention were recognized as leaders in
the state assemblies that appointed them.
Following are brief profiles of the political backgrounds of some of the more notable founders:
John Adams began his political career as a town council member in Braintree
outside Boston. He came to wider attention following a series of essays
he wrote during the Stamp Act crisis of 1765. In 1770, he was elected
to the Massachusetts General Assembly,
went on to lead Boston's Committee of Correspondence, and in 1774, was
elected to the Continental Congress. Two decades later, Adams would
become the second president of the nation he helped found.
John Dickinson was one of the leaders of the Pennsylvania Assembly
during the 1770s. As a member of the First and Second Continental
Congress, he wrote two petitions for the Congress to King George III
seeking a peaceful solution. Dickinson opposed independence and refused
to sign the Declaration of Independence, but served as an officer in the
militia and wrote the initial draft of the Articles of Confederation.
In the 1780s, he served as president of Pennsylvania and president of Delaware
Benjamin Franklin retired from his business activities in 1747 and was elected to the Pennsylvania Assembly in 1751. He was sent to London in 1757 for the first of two diplomatic missions on behalf of the colony.
Upon returning from England in 1775, Franklin was elected to the Second
Continental Congress. After signing the Declaration of Independence in
1776, he was appointed Minister to France and then Sweden, and in 1783
helped negotiate the Treaty of Paris. Franklin was governor of Pennsylvania from 1785 to 1788 and was a delegate to the Constitutional Convention.
John Jay was a New York delegate to the First and Second Continental Congress and in 1778 was elected Congress president.
In 1782, he was summoned to Paris by Franklin to help negotiate the
Treaty of Paris with Great Britain. As a supporter of the proposed
Constitution, he wrote five of the Federalist Papers and became the
first Chief Justice of the Supreme Court following the Constitution's adoption. Minister to Spain
Thomas Jefferson
was a delegate from Virginia to the Second Continental Congress
(1775–1776) and was the primary author of the Declaration of
Independence. He was elected the second governor of Virginia (1779–1781) and served as Minister to France (1785–1789).
More
than a third of the Founding Fathers attended or graduated from
colleges in the American colonies, while additional founders attended
college abroad, primarily in England and Scotland. All other founders
either were home schooled, received tutoring, completed apprenticeships,
or were self-educated.
American colleges
Following
is a listing of founders who graduated from six of the nine colleges
established in the Americas during the Colonial Era. A few founders,
such as Alexander Hamilton and James Monroe, attended college but did not graduate. The other three colonial colleges, all founded in 1760s, included Brown University (originally College of Rhode Island), Dartmouth College, and Rutgers University (originally Queen's College).
College of William & Mary: Thomas Jefferson, John Blair Jr., James McClurg, James Francis Mercer, Edmund Randolph
Columbia University (originally King's College): John Jay, Robert R. Livingston, Gouverneur Morris,
Harvard University (originally Harvard College): John Adams, Samuel Adams, Francis Dana, William Ellery, Elbridge Gerry, John Hancock, William Hooper, William Samuel Johnson (also Yale), Rufus King, James Lovell, Robert Treat Paine, Caleb Strong, Joseph Warren, John Wentworth Jr., William Williams
Princeton University (originally The College of New Jersey): Gunning Bedford Jr., William Richardson Davie, Jonathan Dayton, Oliver Ellsworth, Joseph Hewes, William Houstoun, Richard Hutson, James Madison, Alexander Martin, Luther Martin, William Paterson, Joseph Reed, Benjamin Rush, Nathaniel Scudder, Jonathan Bayard Smith, Richard Stockton
Yale University (originally Yale College): Andrew Adams, Abraham Baldwin, Lyman Hall, Titus Hosmer, Jared Ingersoll, William Samuel Johnson (also Harvard), Philip Livingston, William Livingston, Lewis Morris, Oliver Wolcott
United Kingdom colleges
Following are founders who graduated from colleges in Great Britain:
Inner Temple, is one of the four Inns of Court in London offering legal studies for admission to the English Bar. William Houstoun, William Paca (also University of Pennsylvania graduate)
Middle Temple, also one of the four Inns of Court: John Banister, John Blair, John Dickinson, Thomas Heyward Jr., Thomas Lynch Jr. (also University of Cambridge graduate), John Matthews, Charles Cotesworth Pinckney, Peyton Randolph, John Rutledge
University of Cambridge, England: Thomas Lynch Jr. (also Middle Temple graduate), Thomas Nelson Jr.
Most of the founders were natives of the American Colonies, while just nineteen were born in other parts of the British Empire.
England: William Richardson Davie, William Duer, Button Gwinnett, Robert Morris, Thomas Paine
Ireland: Pierce Butler, Thomas Fitzsimons, James McHenry, William Paterson, James Smith, George Taylor, Charles Thomson, Matthew Thornton
Scotland: Edward Telfair, James Wilson, John Witherspoon
Wales: Francis Lewis
West Indies: Alexander Hamilton, Daniel Roberdeau
Occupations
While
the Founding Fathers were engaged in a broad range of occupations, most
had careers in three professions: about half the founders were lawyers,
a sixth were planters/farmers, another sixth were
merchants/businessmen, and the others were spread across miscellaneous
professions.
Ten founders were physicians: Josiah Bartlett, Lyman Hall, Samuel Holten, James McClurg, James McHenry (surgeon), Benjamin Rush, Nathaniel Scudder, Matthew Thornton, Joseph Warren, and Hugh Williamson.
John Witherspoon was the only minister, although Lyman Hall had been a preacher prior to becoming a physician.
George Washington, a Virginia planter, was a land surveyor before becoming a colonel in the Virginia Regiment.
Benjamin Franklin was a successful printer and publisher and an
accomplished scientist and inventor, in Philadelphia. Franklin retired
at age 42 to focus first on scientific pursuits and then politics and
diplomacy, serving as a member of the Continental Congress, first
postmaster general, minister to Great Britain, France, and Sweden, and
governor of Pennsylvania.
A few prominent Founding Fathers were anti-clerical, notably Jefferson.
Historian Gregg L. Frazer argues that the leading Founders (John Adams,
Jefferson, Franklin, Wilson, Morris, Madison, Hamilton, and Washington)
were neither Christians nor Deists, but rather supporters of a hybrid "theistic rationalism". Many Founders deliberately avoided public discussion of their faith. Historian David L. Holmes uses evidence gleaned from letters, government documents, and second-hand accounts to identify their religious beliefs.
Everyone
cites the Founders. Constitutional originalists consult the Founders'
papers to decide original meaning. Proponents of a living and evolving
Constitution turn to the Founders as the font of ideas that have grown
over time. Conservatives view the Founders as architects of a free
enterprise system that built American greatness. The more
liberal-leaning, following their sixties parents, claim the Founders as
egalitarians, suspicious of concentrations of wealth. Independents look
to the Founders to break the logjam of partisan brinksmanship. Across
the political spectrum, Americans ground their views in a supposed set
of ideas that emerged in the eighteenth century.
But, in fact, the Founders disagreed with each other....they had vast
and profound differences. They argued over federal intervention in the
economy and about foreign policy. They fought bitterly over how much
authority rested with the executive branch, about the relationship and
prerogatives of federal and state government. The Constitution provided a
nearly limitless theater of argument. The founding era was, in
reality, one of the most partisan periods of American history.
Independence Day (colloquially called the Fourth of July) is a United States
national holiday celebrated yearly on July 4 to commemorate the signing
of the Declaration of Independence and the founding of the nation. Washington's Birthday is also observed as a national federal holiday and is also known as Presidents' Day.
The Founding Fathers were portrayed in the Tony Award–winning 1969 musical 1776,
which depicted the debates over and eventual adoption of the
Declaration of Independence. The stage production was adapted into the 1972 film of the same name. The 1989 film A More Perfect Union, which was filmed on location in Independence Hall,
depicts the events of the Constitutional Convention. The writing and
passing of the founding documents are depicted in the 1997 documentary
miniseries Liberty!, and the passage of the Declaration of Independence is portrayed in the second episode of the 2008 miniseries John Adams and the third episode of the 2015 miniseries Sons of Liberty. The Founders also feature in the 1986 miniseries George Washington II: The Forging of a Nation, the 2002–2003 animated television series Liberty's Kids, the 2020 miniseries Washington, and in many other films and television portrayals.
Jefferson left the Continental Congress to return to Virginia to
join the fight for religious freedom, which proved difficult since many
members of the Virginia legislature belonged to the established church.
While Jefferson was not completely successful, he managed to have
repealed the various laws that were punitive toward those with different
religious beliefs. Jefferson was the architect for separation of Church and State,
which opposed the use of public funds to support any established
religion and believe it was unwise to link civil rights to religious
doctrine.
Freedom of religion and freedom of speech ultimately were affirmed as the nation's law in the Bill of Rights. The first enumerated right in the Bill of Rights, which was adopted in 1791, was the First Amendment, which proclaims the right to freedom of religion.
Washington was also a strong proponent of religious freedom, once
assuring Virginia Baptists worried that the Constitution might not
protect their religious liberties, that, "... certainly, I would never
have placed my signature to it." Along with Christians, Jews
also viewed Washington as a champion of freedom and sought his
assurances that they would enjoy complete religious freedom. Washington
responded by declaring America's revolution in religion stood as an
example for the rest of the world.
The Founding Fathers were not unified on the issue of slavery and
continued to accommodate it within the new nation. Some were morally
opposed to it and some attempted to end it in several of the colonies,
but at the national level, slavery remained protected. In her study of
Jefferson, historian Annette Gordon-Reed notes, "Others of the founders
held slaves, but no other founder drafted the charter for American
freedom".
As well as Jefferson, Washington and many other Founding Fathers were
slaveowners. Some were conflicted by the institution, seeing it as
immoral and politically divisive; Washington gradually became a cautious
supporter of abolitionism
and freed his slaves in his will. Jay and Hamilton led the successful
fight to outlaw the slave trade in New York, with efforts beginning in
1777.
Founders such as Samuel Adams and John Adams were against slavery
their entire lives. Rush wrote a pamphlet in 1773 which criticized the
slave trade as well as the institution of slavery. In the pamphlet, Rush
argued on a scientific basis that Africans are not by nature
intellectually or morally inferior, and that any apparent evidence to
the contrary is only the "perverted expression" of slavery, which "is so
foreign to the human mind, that the moral faculties, as well as those
of the understanding are debased, and rendered torpid by it." The
Continental Association contained a clause which banned any Patriot involvement in slave trading.
Franklin, though he was a key founder of the Pennsylvania Abolition Society, originally owned slaves whom he later manumitted
(released). While serving in the Rhode Island Assembly, in 1769 Hopkins
introduced one of the earliest anti-slavery laws in the colonies. When
Jefferson entered public life as a member of the House of Burgesses, he
began as a social reformer by an effort to secure legislation permitting
the emancipation of slaves. Jay founded the New York Manumission Society in 1785, for which Hamilton became an officer. They and other members of the Society founded the African Free School
in New York City, to educate the children of free blacks and slaves.
When Jay was governor of New York in 1798, he helped secure and signed
into law an abolition law; fully ending forced labor as of 1827. He
freed his slaves in 1798. Hamilton opposed slavery, as his experiences
left him familiar with it and its effect on slaves and slaveholders, though he did negotiate slave transactions for his wife's family, the Schuylers. Evidence suggests Hamilton may have owned a house slave. After the Jay Treaty
was signed, Hamilton advocated that American slaves freed by the
British during the Revolutionary War be forcibly returned to their
enslavers. Some Founding Fathers never owned slaves, including John Adams, Samuel Adams, and Paine.
Henry Laurens, on the other hand, ran the largest slave trading house
in North America. In the 1750s alone, his firm, Austin and Laurens,
handled the sales of more than 8000 Africans.
Slaves and slavery are mentioned only indirectly in the 1787 Constitution. For example, Article 1, Section 2, Clause 3 prescribes that "three-fifths of all other Persons" are to be counted for the apportionment of seats in the House of Representatives and direct taxes. Additionally, in Article 4, Section 2, Clause 3, slaves are referred to as "persons held in service or labor".
The Founding Fathers, however, did make efforts to contain slavery.
Many Northern states had adopted legislation to end or significantly
reduce slavery during and after the revolution. In 1782, Virginia passed a manumission law that allowed slave owners to free their slaves by will or deed. As a result, thousands of slaves were manumitted in Virginia. In the Ordinance of 1784,
Jefferson proposed to ban slavery in all the western territories, which
failed to pass Congress by one vote. Partially following Jefferson's
plan, Congress did ban slavery in the Northwest Ordinance, for lands north of the Ohio River. The international slave trade
was banned in all states except South Carolina by 1800. Finally in
1807, President Jefferson called for and signed into law a federally
enforced ban on the international slave trade throughout the U.S. and
its territories. It became a federal crime to import or export a slave.
However, the domestic slave trade was allowed for expansion or for
diffusion of slavery into the Louisiana Territory.
The
Founding, Reconstruction (often called "the second founding"), and the
New Deal are typically heralded as the most significant turning points
in the country's history, with many observers seeing each of these as
political triumphs through which the United States has come to more
closely realize its liberal ideals of liberty and equality.
Scholars such as Eric Foner have expanded the theme into books. Black abolitionists played a key role by stressing that freed blacks needed equal rights after slavery was abolished. Biographer David Blight states that Frederick Douglass,
"played a pivotal role in America's Second Founding out of the
apocalypse of the Civil War, and he very much wished to see himself as a
founder and a defender of the Second American Republic." Constitutional provision for racial equality for free blacks was enacted by a Republican Congress led by Thaddeus Stevens, Charles Sumner and Lyman Trumbull. The "second founding" comprised the 13th, 14th and 15th
amendments to the Constitution. All citizens now had federal rights
that could be enforced in federal court. In a deep reaction, after 1876
freedmen lost many of these rights and had second class citizenship in
the era of lynching and Jim Crow laws. Finally in the 1950s the U.S., Supreme Court started to restore those rights. Under the leadership of Martin Luther King and James Bevel, the Civil Rights movement made the nation aware of the crisis, and under President Lyndon Johnson major civil rights legislation was passed in 1964–65, and 1968.
Historians who wrote about the American Revolution
era and the founding of the United States government now number in the
thousands. Their inclusion would go well beyond the scope of this
article. Some of the most prominent ones, however, are listed below.
While most scholarly works maintain overall objectivity, historian
Arthur H. Shaffer notes that many of the early works about the American
Revolution often express a national bias, or anti-bias. Shaffer
maintains that this bias lends a direct insight into the minds of the
founders and their adversaries respectively. He notes that any bias is
the product of a national interest and prevailing political mood, and as
such cannot be dismissed as having no historic value for the modern
historian. Conversely, various modern accounts of history contain anachronisms,
modern day ideals and perceptions used in an effort to write about the
past and as such can distort the historical account in an effort to
placate a modern audience.
Early historians
Several of the earliest histories of the founding of the United States and its founders were written by Jeremy Belknap, author of his three-volume work, The history of New-Hampshire, published in 1784.
Henry Adams, grandson of John Quincy Adams, wrote a nine-volume work, The History of the United States of America During the Administrations of Thomas Jefferson and James Madison, which is acclaimed for its literary style, documentary evidence, and first-hand knowledge of major figures during the early Revolutionary era.
Rufus Wilmot Griswold authored Washington and the Generals of the Revolution, a two-volume work, in 1885.
Mercy Otis Warren, who wrote extensively about the Revolution and post-Revolution eras, published all her works anonymously until 1790.
Mason Locke Weems
authored the first biography of Washington in 1800, which includes the
famed story about a young Washington cutting down a cherry tree.
William Wirt wrote the first biography on Patrick Henry in 1805, but was accused for excessive praise of Henry.
Modern historians
Articles
and books by these and other 20th- and 21st-century historians,
combined with the digitization of primary sources such as handwritten
letters, continue to contribute to an encyclopedic body of knowledge
about the Founding Fathers:
Douglas Southall Freeman wrote an extensive seven volume biography on Washington. Historian and George Washington biographer John E. Ferling maintains that no other biography for Washington compares to that of Freeman's work.
Dumas Malone is noted for his six-volume biography Jefferson and His Time, for which he received the 1975 Pulitzer Prize, and for his co-editorship of the 20-volume Dictionary of American Biography.
Annette Gordon-Reed is an American historian and Harvard Law School professor. She is noted for changing scholarship on Jefferson regarding his alleged relationship with Sally Hemings
and her children. She has studied the challenges faced by the Founding
Fathers, particularly as it relates to their position and actions on
slavery.
Jack P. Greene is an American historian who specializes in colonial-era American history.
David McCullough's Pulitzer Prize–winning 2001 book John Adams focuses on Adams, and his 2005 book, 1776
details Washington's military history in the American Revolution and
other independence events carried out by America's founders.
According to American historian Joseph Ellis,
the concept of the Founding Fathers of the U.S. emerged in the 1820s as
the last survivors died out. Ellis says the founders, or the fathers
comprised an aggregate of semi-sacred figures whose particular
accomplishments and singular achievements were decidedly less important
than their sheer presence as a powerful but faceless symbol of past
greatness. For the generation of national leaders coming of age in the
1820s and 1830s, such as Andrew Jackson, Henry Clay, Daniel Webster, and John C. Calhoun,
the founders represented heroic but anonymous abstraction whose long
shadow fell across all followers and whose legendary accomplishments
defied comparison.
We can win no laurels in a war for independence. Earlier and worthier
hands have gathered them all. Nor are there places for us ... [as] the
founders of states. Our fathers have filled them. But there remains to
us a great duty of defence and preservation.
Founders Online,
a searchable database of over 184,000 documents authored by or
addressed to George Washington, John Jay, Benjamin Franklin, John Adams
(and family), Thomas Jefferson, Alexander Hamilton, and James Madison
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