John Adams was 40 years of ages when he argued for American self-reliance. You Can Try This Source was 36 years old when he was at the Constitutional Convention. John Jay was 43 years old when he ended up being the first Chief Justice of the Supreme Court. Alexander Hamilton was 33 years old when he was made Secretary of the Treasury.
Reality # 7: The expression "Establishing Fathers" was promoted by Warren G. Harding. Now a commonly utilized phrase, the term did not appear widely till after the 29th President of the United States, Warren G. Harding, started using it in a number of his speeches in the late 1910s and early 1920s.
Like other generations, much of the founders were not sure if being successful generations would be up to the job of securing the liberty they had successfully protected. When Benjamin Franklin was asked after signing the Constitution if they had actually developed a monarchy or a republic, Franklin responded: "A republic, if you can keep it." Truth # 9: The Founding Fathers were not perfect.
Nearly half of them were slaveholders and all of them benefited from the system of slavery in the United States. The country they produced ensured that the rights of white, property-owning males were protected, but it would take nearly 200 years to ensure that all Americans were supplied those very same protections.
Maybe more than any other group of people in history, this little group of males distilled years of enlightenment thought into a kind of government that looked for to limit central power, secure the rights of the citizens, and ensure the permission of the governed. To attain this, they pledged their lives, their fortunes, and their sacred honor.
As Soon As Gouverneur Morris was offered a bet of one supper if he would approach George Washington, slap him on the back and offer him a friendly greeting. He wanted to reveal people how "close" he was to the "chief." Morris performed the bet, but later admitted that after seeing the cold look from Washington, he would not do it once again for a thousand dinners! George Washington was born on February 11, 1731 under the Julian calendar.