Under the Articles of Confederation, the United States of America was formed on March 1, 1781, with John Hanson becoming the first President.
There is an ongoing debate on when the United States was founded. Many historians opine the United States of America was founded when Thomas Jefferson drafted and proclaimed the 'Declaration of Independence'. All the delegates who drafted and signed the declaration are known as the Founding Fathers.
On July 4, 1776, the thirteen colony states revolted against the British rule and declared independence. The American Revolutionary War, the culmination of the American Revolution, was fought against the British under the able leadership of George Washington.
Founding Fathers of United States
Here is the list of names who were the signatories of the Declaration of Independence.
| Founding Fathers |
| John Adams |
| Samuel Adams |
| Josiah Bartlett |
| Carter Braxton |
| Charles Carroll |
| Samuel Chase |
| Abraham Clark |
| George Clymer |
| William Ellery |
| William Floyd |
| Benjamin Franklin |
| Elbridge Gerry |
| Button Gwinnett |
| Lyman Hall |
| John Hancock |
| Benjamin Harrison |
| John Hart |
| Joseph Hewes |
| Thomas Heyward, Jr. |
| William Hooper |
| Stephen Hopkins |
| Francis Hopkinson |
| Samuel Huntington |
| Thomas Jefferson |
| Francis Lightfoot Lee |
| Richard Henry Lee |
| Francis Lewis |
| Philip Livingston |
| Thomas Lynch, Jr. |
| Thomas McKean |
| Arthur Middleton |
| Lewis Morris |
| Robert Morris |
| John Morton |
| Thomas Nelson, Jr. |
| William Paca |
| Robert Treat Paine |
| John Penn |
| George Read |
| Caesar Rodney |
| George Ross |
| Benjamin Rush |
| Edward Rutledge |
| Roger Sherman |
| James Smith |
| Richard Stockton |
| Thomas Stone |
| George Taylor |
| Matthew Thornton |
| George Walton |
| William Whipple |
| William Williams |
| James Wilson |
| John Witherspoon |
| Oliver Wolcott |
| George Wythe |
| Charles Thomson |
Delegates of the Constitutional Convention
Fifty-five delegates attended the Constitutional Convention Sessions, but only thirty-nine actually signed the Constitution. Here is the list of these delegates.
| Delegates of the Convention |
| Richard Bassett |
| Gunning Bedford, Jr. |
| John Blair |
| William Blount |
| David Brearley |
| Jacob Broom |
| Pierce Butler |
| Daniel Carroll |
| George Clymer |
| Jonathan Dayton |
| John Dickinson |
| William Few |
| Thomas Fitzsimons |
| Benjamin Franklin |
| Nicholas Gilman |
| Nathaniel Gorham |
| Alexander Hamilton |
| Jared Ingersoll |
| Daniel of St. Thomas Jenifer |
| William Samuel Johnson |
| Rufus King |
| John Langdon |
| William Livingston |
| James Madison |
| James McHenry |
| Thomas Mifflin |
| Gouverneur Morris |
| Robert Morris |
| William Paterson |
| Charles Cotesworth Pinckney |
| Charles Pinckney |
| George Read |
| John Rutledge |
| Roger Sherman |
| Richard Dobbs Spaight |
| George Washington (President of the Convention) |
| Hugh Williamson |
| James Wilson |
| William Jackson |
Though all the attendees of the convention did not sign on the declaration, they still will be considered as our founders, because they took part in gaining independence and creating the United States of America.
