...question of "name at least three founding fathers of The United States," we could easily come up with George Washington, Benjamin Franklin, or Alexander Hamilton. Now if that same survey asked instead "name one defining characteristic of these founding fathers," or "describe in your own words the significance of these individuals," we would get various responses. Despite the randomness of answers we would receive on such a survey, a common consensus could be reached about America's Founding Fathers, that is these individuals were great figures in our nation's history. The role they played in the 18th century to establish the basis for a nation that would continue to grow for centuries was significant....
Words: 1200 - Pages: 5
...Brothers to each other and Fathers to the nation, James Adams, Thomas Jefferson, George Washington, Alexander Hamilton, John Jay, Benjamin Franklin, and James Madison led the United States to independence over a series of revolutionary events. Joseph Ellis’s Founding Brothers successfully brings to life the issues and personalities of this period in time and is able to characterize these figures beyond their distinguished names, but as characters in a dramatic and remarkable history. Ellis succinctly analyzes six major events in the late 18th century: the Burr-Hamilton duel, the Compromise of 1790, the issue of slavery, Washington’s Farewell Address, the Adams Administration, and the friendship between Adams and Madison. He is able to vividly...
Words: 1037 - Pages: 5
...12/17/2014 Professor Anderson Back in the eighteenth century America was drastically different than what it is today. Then, Americans would have to build their own houses, raise cattle, sow seeds, make their own clothing just to sustain themselves; let alone the people around them. Now, we go into the nearest department store for our clothes, grocery store for food, and call a real estate agent to buy a new home. If America’s founding fathers were to travel in time to the present day, I think that they would be proud of our country’s ingenuity with how far we advanced ourselves in a couple hundred years, and our diversity. However, I also think that they would be disappointed in the way we interpret our rights, and rapid degeneration of our natural resources. Out of all of our founding fathers, our early inventors such as Benjamin Franklin and Thomas Jefferson would be exceptionally happy in American’s ingenuity. Since World War II, the U.S. has led the world in research and development spending; As a result of this investment the United States has continued to lead the world in aerospace, the Internet, computer science, health care, engineering as well as many other industries (Smith). Our world is now interconnected with social media, so that any news can be shared in an instant, and just as fast as information is being shared, new technology is being improved. From radios, to T.V.’s, and movies we now have cell phones that you can do all of that on while texting your...
Words: 1054 - Pages: 5
...The Constitution of the United States of America was signed on September 17, 1787. It was important as it established a federal governing system, fundamental laws, and gave the citizens guaranteed rights. But, it was not created overnight; it was a lengthy and complex process. It encompasses ideas and opinions from all of the multiple individuals who had to agree on it. In order to understand the Constitution and the political system in the United States, it is helpful to be aware of its roots and what influenced the ideas of the Founding Fathers. This paper dives into those influences on the development of the political system that has been successful for all of these years. The Founding Fathers drew upon the writings and history of a number...
Words: 1573 - Pages: 7
...I think the reason that the “Founding Fathers” of the United States chose Neoclassicism as the national architecture style of the United states is mainly because the symbolism and the moral values in Neoclassicism. What we learned in the module is that Neoclassicism was in favor of heroism, moral virtue and patriotic behavior. They rejected the lavish decoration and the playful atmosphere in Rococo period. Therefore, I think the “Founding Fathers” was trying to establish an impression by applying Neoclassical influence of the new nation. It was based on a ideal of a fearless, strong and fresh yet humble with good morals impression showing to their people. It was the root of the nation- having faith with the new leaders. Neo-classical architecture...
Words: 268 - Pages: 2
...United States of America is the freest, most lawful, and most democratic nation in this world’s history. This is reflected absolutely in the documents that set the law of the land, written by our founding fathers. The Declaration of Independence and the Virginia Declaration of Rights represent the idea that “all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness”, while our Constitution encourages a “separation of powers” that keeps the governing bodies from assuming total control over the governed. Some of these ideas are also highlighted in Thomas Paine’s Common Sense, which was written as a means to convince the citizens of the colonies to secede from the oppressive Great Britain. While we take great pride in the fact that the likes of Thomas Jefferson, James Madison, and George Mason employed these ideas in the forging of the United States, these ideas were not their own. In fact, they were utilized by men that existed long before the founding fathers were born. Men like John Locke, Charles de Montesquieu, and Jean-Jacques Rousseau held these beliefs and articulated them in many of their works, which the founders would use centuries later as references in the drafting of our founding documents. So, it’s only fair that we take an in-depth look at how these three men influenced the founders of our great country. When John Locke wrote the Second Treatise of Civil Government...
Words: 1352 - Pages: 6
...ounding A History of Anthropology: Chapter 3 – Four Founding Fathers Introduction: End 19th century: cultural globalisation, cultural imperialism, colonialism → evolutionist theories give a legitimation for ‘superior western culture’ Authoritarian, conformist, evolutionist Begin 20th century: Modernity/modernism: ambivalent view on truth, morality and progress More liberal and tolerant thought (cfr. 18th century - Enlightenment) WW I: 4 founding fathers [in what follows ‘4ff’] of anthropology: Franz BOAS (USA) Bronislaw MALINOWSKI (Britain) Alfred RADCLIFFE-BROWN (Britain) Marcel MAUSS (France) → caused modern, largely non-evolutionist revolution in respectively American, British and French anthropological thinking. German tradition remains: diffusionism → 4ff no shared programme, significant methodological & theoretical differences → evolutionism had failed, but evolutionists (Morgan, Tylor) established basic parameters of anthropological discipline Boas and historical particularism: • Influence from German diffusionism (critical to evolutionism) • Development of theory = sufficient empirical grounding → collect and systematize detailed data on particular cultures → theoretical generalisations (but with great care) • Four-field-approach: linguistics, physical anthropology, archaeology, cultural anthropology (↔ France, Britain: not specialized, but generalistic...
Words: 983 - Pages: 4
...Film Review 1 Savannah Crawley In the film “Founding Fathers” You Say You Want a Revolution we are introduced to our founding fathers. We are taught about their life and hardships that they have encountered during their life. You Say You Want a Revolution is written in third person point of view. Although the thesis may not have the same effect on everyone I found it to be that sometimes-ordinary people can do extraordinary things. In the film, we are shown many hardships that our founding fathers had to face as children all the way up into adulthood. For example, Thomas Jefferson. Thomas Jefferson’s father died when Jefferson was only 14 years old. This left Jefferson with his mother in which he did not have a good relationship with. While Jefferson grew up dealing with his family problems he also experienced migraine headaches. Thomas Jefferson owned over 200 slaves over his life time they were all just like his children....
Words: 698 - Pages: 3
...The Founding Fathers of the U.S. Constitution May 25, 1787, the founding fathers with 55 delegates from 12 states in attendance, created the United States Constitution in order to establish the foundation that would govern our country for future generations. However, it should be noted that when the U.S. Constitution was developed, it was understood that it was likely going to require modifications to maintain applicability in an ever changing world. The founding fathers' foresight led to Article V of the U.S. Constitution, which details the steps for processing changes to the Constitution (The Constitutional Convention, 32). Article V of the U.S. Constitution specifies that there are two formal ways to amend the constitution. The first requires a two-thirds vote by both the House of Representatives and the Senate. The alternative method for amending the Constitution requires no less than 34 States calling for a convention to come together and re-write the legislation. A current event is the confederate flag in South Carolina that is being called to be taken down by Gov. Nikki Haley. This is a prime example of three fourths congressional vote for the law to be passed that has been being fought for many years, but still no conclusion to the votes (Fieldstadt). In years past, there have been proposals to take down the confederate flag, but because there hasn’t been a majority rule, the law hasn’t changed. Situations have led up to dissatisfied communities, like the young man...
Words: 1219 - Pages: 5
...Many scholars have firing debates about Founding Fathers’ Christian faith. Some historians said most of them were deists. However, it should be noted that, according to Mark David Hall, the professor of Politics at George Fox, “there is virtually no evidence that more than a handful of civic leaders in the Founding era—notably Benjamin Franklin, Ethan Allen, Thomas Jefferson, John Adams, and (if we count him as an American) Tom Paine—embraced anything approximating this view.” When the critics argued that the Founding Fathers should not be called Christians because they did not attend church, did not take communion, and attended un-christian-like war with Britain, Mark Hall asserted that, “In some cases, these critiques do not take into account historical context, such as the difficulty of joining Calvinist churches in 18th century America....
Words: 547 - Pages: 3
...maintain our country. I for one do not believe it is even close to possible to single out one person and say that he or she was the most important or influential. The founding fathers were more than justified in rebelling against the British government based upon what treatment they had received. To create an argument on who did more than the other person is purely ludicrous. Everyone contributed their own part and made our nation the way it is today. Freedom is taken for granted today by most American's, but there are still the ones who wake up every morning knowing they live in the greatest country on Earth. Ben Franklin, Abe Lincoln, George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Martin Luther King Jr., the list goes on and on. In my eyes all of these people contributed in their own way and we should be more than grateful for them. The hardships endured by the colonists and citizens is just one example of how appreciative we should be. The greatest American in your eyes could be someone completely different than in mine and its not fair to ask which one was the greatest. If narrowed down to a list, there is no possible way I could simply choose one. I do, in fact,...
Words: 515 - Pages: 3
...The time of Nationalism consisted of many of the founding fathers creating America. During this time many were very Pro America or wanting of their freedom. They're writing styles in this time clearly shows this. The work of the man Patrick Henry is deep in American history has a well-known politician and a founding father. As a founding father he gave forth too many ideas there are still major in the U.S. today. He's the man that gave the idea of “Give me liberty give or give me death.” This had inspired many Americans to fight for their freedom at the time of the Revolutionary War and it still applies to this day. The people of America had in essence been the men and women that fought for their freedom to become a proud nation. With...
Words: 391 - Pages: 2
...The Founding Father The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin by Benjamin Franklin Socrates once said “Employ your time in improving yourself by other men’s writings.” This is exactly what the men known as the wisest American achieved: self-betterment through readings and writings of other authors. In his Autobiography Benjamin Franklin takes us not only into a tour of his life but also in the journey he traveled in the 18th century, which allowed him to become the person we know of today. Franklin’s determination to persevere and learn from writings of other authors is the key points of the Autobiography that help make it an inspirational self-empowered autobiography. Unlike many other autobiographies Franklin starts this one as a letter to his son and governor of New Jersey in 1771, William Franklin. He writes in an attempt to inform his son of the life he once traveled. In this part of the Autobiography we are introduced to his family genealogy. Through this we find out that he is the youngest of the youngest son, Josiah, who though he made and sold candles and soap was a well-respected man. His mother Abiah, being a woman, had only one choice and that was to be a stay at home mom and take care of their children. Though at the time most men were put into trades and molded into being apprentices, Josiah saw something unique in Franklin and decided to enroll him into grammar school, marking the beginning of Franklin’s lifelong and impressive career. At age twelve Franklins...
Words: 1534 - Pages: 7
...Cole McKay Mr. George Gray 1-B APUSH 25 September 2015 Founding Fathers Paper George Washington, born in Virginia on February 22, 1732, played an extremely important role in the history of the United States. He was a planter and a slave holder, real estate land speculator, and Commander in Chief of the Continental Army. He also was very prominent in politics. He was present at the Virginia House of Burgesses from 1759-1774 and was present at the Constitutional Congress from 1774-1775 where he was elected to be the first president of the United States. He was and still is a truly remarkable man in society and is a symbolic face of the history of the United States. George Washington, after being convinced to attend the convention, was made the first president of the United States. He had a unanimous vote in his favor and began his first term. Washington’s position as president gave him great influence over the people of the United States. His decision to support the ratification of the constitution influenced many others to ratify, and among all of the precedents that were established in the new nation’s first eight years, the most important was the careful and thoughtful manner by which he acted in areas where the new Constitution was vague or silent. It was from the implications of what was written and, in some cases, not written in the Constitution that the role and power of the presidency was largely derived, and it was Washington’s actions that established...
Words: 425 - Pages: 2
...Alexander Hamilton was one of the Founding Fathers of the United States. He was an interpreter of the U.S. Constitution and the founder of many important things that had a significant impact on history, including the nation’s financial system, the federalist party, the United States coast guard, and The New York Post Newspaper. He was also General George Washington's assistant and served as the nation's first secretary of the treasury. Hamilton was born on January 11, 1755 on the island of Nevis, which is in the British West Indies. Hamilton's parents were Rachel Fawcett Lavien and James Hamilton. At the time of Alexander's birth, Rachel was married to John Lavien. Her parents had pressured her to marry John when she was a teenager. They had...
Words: 329 - Pages: 2
