Who is the greatest Founding Father of the United States?

Generals, lawyers, printers and pamphleteers, and still no agreement about which of them mattered most.

1. 1
   Benjamin Franklin

   Printer, scientist and diplomat, and the only Founder who signed the Declaration, the French alliance, the Treaty of Paris and the Constitution.
2. 2
   George Washington

   Commander of the Continental Army and the first President of the United States.
3. 3
   Thomas Jefferson

   Principal author of the Declaration of Independence and the third President.
4. 4
   John Adams

   Advocate for independence in the Continental Congress and the second President.
5. 5
   Alexander Hamilton

   First Treasury Secretary and the architect of the American financial system.
6. 6
   James Madison

   Chief drafter of the Constitution and the Bill of Rights, later the fourth President.
7. 7
   John Jay

   Co-author of the Federalist Papers and the first Chief Justice of the Supreme Court.
8. 8
   Thomas Paine

   Pamphleteer whose Common Sense turned colonial argument into a case for independence.
9. 9
   Samuel Adams

   Boston agitator who organised resistance to British taxes and helped spark the Revolution.
10. 10
    Patrick Henry

    Virginia orator remembered for the 'give me liberty or give me death' speech.
11. 11
    John Hancock

    President of the Continental Congress and the first and largest signature on the Declaration.
12. 12
    James Monroe

    Revolutionary officer, diplomat and the fifth President, author of the Monroe Doctrine.
13. 13
    Gouverneur Morris

    Delegate who wrote the final polished text of the Constitution, including its preamble.
14. 14
    Roger Sherman

    Connecticut delegate whose Great Compromise created the two-chamber Congress.

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