The 100 Most Important American Founders - 2020 Rankings
This is the third installment of my annual Top 100 Founders list.
The list changes annually based on what I have learned over the previous year.
Of note, Tench Coxe and Albert Gallatin have had pretty massive jumps while George Rogers Clark makes the list for the first time.
Note: This is all subjective, so feel free to let me know what you disagree with.
The List:
George Washington - He’s the ‘Father of the Country’ for a reason. Leader of the Continental Army. Chairman of the Constitutional Convention. First President of the United States of America. Need I say more?
Benjamin Franklin - Revered by his contemporaries for his wisdom. His presence was reassuring for those signing both the Declaration of Independence and Constitution. Built America’s international reputation and contributed much to the foundation of our society in general.
Thomas Jefferson - Wrote the Declaration. Leader of the first opposition party. Second Vice President and Third President of the United States. Has an entire style of government named for him (Jeffersonian Democracy).
John Adams - Ever underrated, John Adams was the quintessential American Revolutionary. From writing pamphlets before the war, to representing the United States throughout Europe, and through the First Vice Presidency and Second Presidency, Adams had the Patriot Cause boiling up to his ears.
Alexander Hamilton - Climbed the ranks to a leadership position during the war. Major player in the Constitutional Convention. First Secretary of Treasury who built the foundation of the American financial system.
James Madison - A latecomer on the revolutionary scene, Madison shot to prominence after the war and convinced the young nation's leaders to create a new form of government. Perhaps you’ve heard of it, the US Constitution. While Madison didn’t ‘write’ the Constitution (it was the work of many hands), he had the biggest influence on it’s creation. Oh yeah, and he would be the Fourth President of the United States.
John Dickinson - Penman of the Revolution. Wrote early pamphlets against British aggression. Did not sign the Declaration on principal but went on to write the Articles of Confederation and play a leading role at the Constitutional Convention.
John Jay - Early rebel from New York. Negotiated trade with Spain and signed the Treaty of Paris. First Chief Justice of the Supreme Court.
Robert Morris - Financier of the Revolution. Perhaps the most powerful man in the young nation. Secretary of both Marine and Finance during the war. Signer of the Constitution.
Roger Sherman - Signed all four major Founding Documents. Elder statesman during the Constitutional Convention. Main organizer of the Great Compromise.
Nathanael Greene - One of the most important Major Generals of the war. Took over the Southern Department when things looked bleak. Turned things around and was a significant contributor to America's victory.
Elbridge Gerry - Signed the Declaration. Attended the Constitutional Convention but refused to sign the document on several grounds. Contributed much to the Bill of Rights, became a Minister to France, and Fifth Vice President of the United States.
Silas Deane - First foreign Minister. Secretly purchased the supplies which won the Battle of Saratoga. Returned to America on the flagship of the French Navy. The war would have been lost without his services.
Patrick Henry - The leader of Revolutionary Virginia. That State’s first Governor. 'Give me liberty or give me death.’
James Monroe - Fought in the war before going to the Continental Congress. Made the Louisiana Purchase before becoming Secretary of State and War during the War of 1812. Fifth President of the United States of America.
John Marshall - A late bloomer on the Revolutionary Stage, Marshall held small roles in the first decade under the Constitution. Became the Fourth Chief Justice of the Supreme Court and arguably the most important ever.
Samuel Adams - The loudest voice in creating the Revolution. Signed the Declaration and Articles. Fell into state politics after the war.
Gouverneur Morris - Wrote most of the New York State Constitution. Helped with the Articles of Confederation. Authored the Preamble to the US Constitution. Served the first President as Minister to France.
Richard Henry Lee - Another Virginia leader. Proposed the colonies 'are, and of right ought to be, free and independent State.’. This led directly to independence.
John Hancock - Rich kid turned Revolutionary. Signed the Declaration first and largest. Spent the rest of his life as Governor of Massachusetts.
James Wilson - Signed the Declaration. Helped author and signed the Constitution. Associate Justice of the First Supreme Court.
John Sullivan - General who led an expedition against Native American in Upstate New York. Member of the First Continental Congress and twice Governor of New Hampshire.
Marquis de Lafayette - Frenchman who volunteered to serve in the war. Distinguished himself in Battle and became an adopted son of Washington. Bonus points for going back to France and starting another Revolution.
Baron von Steuben - Prussian General who wrote the book (literally) on how to be an American soldier. Also taught the troops basic cleanliness to cut down on diseases.
Joseph Warren - Early rebel who wrote the Suffolk Resolves. Appointed General but served on the front lines at Bunker Hill. 'I hope I shall die up to my knees in blood!’
Rufus King - Signed the Constitution. First Senator from New York. Minister to Britain. Last Federalist candidate for President before the party collapsed.
Charles Thomson - Secretary of the Continental Congress (AKA doing all the actual labor) for the entire Revolution.
Benedict Arnold - Yeah he was a traitor, but he's the reason America was successful in the first half of the war, sending him way up this list.
John Rutledge - Attended the Stamp Act Congress, signed the Continental Association and Constitution, First Governor of South Carolina, Second Chief Justice of the Supreme Court.
Henry Laurens - South Carolina leader who served as President of the Continental Congress for a time. One of the few Americans ever imprisoned in the Tower of London. Present for the signing of the Treaty of Paris.
Henry Knox - Commanded artillery during the Revolution. First Secretary of War.
Tench Coxe - The Father of the American Economy. Created most of the financial plan which Alexander Hamilton receives credit for.
Francis Marion - The Swamp Fox. Helped General Greene win the war in the South by harassing the British with guerrilla warfare.
Philip Schuyler - Major General, Served in the Continental Congress, First Senator from New York.
Oliver Ellsworth - Signed the Declaration, Third Chief Justice of the United States, Major General during the war, Commissioner of Indian Affairs, Governor of Connecticut.
Benjamin Rush - Doctor for the Founders. Signed the Declaration. Changed the way medicine is studied.
George Wythe - Teacher of many younger Founders. Signed the Declaration and Constitution.
George Clinton - Governor of New York throughout the Founding Period. Leading Anti-Federalist. Fourth Vice President.
Aaron Burr - Yes he shot Hamilton, but he was also the Third Vice President. You don't get to that position without some pretty Revolutionary street cred.
Edmund Randolph - Governor of Virginia who attended the Constitutional Convention but refused to sign. Became First US Attorney General and Second Secretary of State.
Lambert Wickes - Most successful Officer of the Continental Navy. Brought the war to the shores of Great Britain.
Thomas Paine - Author whose work swayed the colonists in favor of Independence and built morale within the Continental Army. 'These are the times that try men’s souls.’
John Langdon - General at Saratoga, Governor of New Hampshire, signer of the Constitution.
Horatio Gates - Spent most of the war as number four Major General in the Continental Army. Celebrated in his own time but less so today.
Paul Revere - Famous rider who helped stir up the rebellion in Boston. Underrated for his contribution to the Industrial Revolution.
Charles Cotesworth Pinckney - General who declined to be in the First Cabinet. Signed the Constitution. Minister to France. Federalist Presidential Candidate.
Charles Lee - Highest ranking Major General in the Continental Army for most of the war. Was a thorn in Washington's side but his rank made him extremely important.
George Clymer - Treasurer of the Continental Congress. Signer of the Declaration and Constitution.
Christopher Gadsden - The Sam Adams of the South. Attended the Stamp Act Congress and the Continental Congress. Created the yellow 'Don't tread on me’ flag we see everywhere today.
Robert Hanson Harrison - George Washington's Chief of Staff during the Revolutionary War.
George Mason - One of the most respected Virginians who wrote the State Constitution and Bill of Rights. Attended the Constitutional Convention but left without signing and actively campaigned against ratification.
Artemas Ward - First Commander in Chief when hostilities broke out in Boston. Handed his command over when Washington was appointed by the Continental Congress.
Robert Livingston - Early supporter of Independence. Chancellor of New York for most of the Revolution. Made Louisiana Purchase with Monroe.
Thomas Mifflin - First aide de camp to Washington, Quartermaster General, President of the Continental Congress, Governor of Pennsylvania, signer of the Constitution.
George Read - Signed the Continental Association, Declaration of Independence and Constitution.
Timothy Pickering - Postmaster General, Secretary of War, Secretary of State. Treated with the Iroquois.
Albert Gallatin - Secretary of the Treasury through Jefferson and into Madison Administrations.
George Rogers Clark - ‘Father of the Northwest Territory’
John Paul Jones - ‘Father of the US Navy’
Anthony Wayne - After notable events in the Revolutionary War, became Commander of The Legion of the United States in the Northwest Indian War.
Caesar Rodney - Rode through the night in a thunderstorm to vote in favor of the Declaration, without whom the resolution would not have passed. Governor of Delaware.
William Samuel Johnson - Attended the Stamp Act Congress, sailed to London in an effort to prevent war and signed the Constitution. Represented Vermont in Congress before it was a State.
James Otis - Coined the term 'no taxation without representation’ and attended the Stamp Act Congress. Lost his marbles and therefore plummeted down this list.
Henry Dearborn - Wrote historically important diary during war service. Secretary of War for the entire duration of the Jefferson Administration. Senior Officer in the Army during the War of 1812.
Lord Sterling - Major General who fought bravely with the men, trusted by Washington to stand in as Commander in Chief while George was meeting with Congress.
William Moultrie - Won an important early battle which gave the Continental Army confidence. Basically created South Carolina’s identity.
Daniel Morgan - General at Cowpens, the only historically unique military strategy devised during the war.
Esek Hopkins - First Commodore of the Continental Navy.
William Livingston - Signer of the Constitution. Governed New Jersey for most of the Founding Period.
Bushrod Washington - Long time Supreme Court Justice during the Marshall Court.
Nathaniel Gorham - Played a leading role at the Constitutional Convention as Chairman of the Committee of the Whole.
Elizabeth Freeman - Fought for her freedom in court based on the new MA constitution and won, leading to abolition in the North.
Richard Montgomery - Led the assault on Montreal and Quebec. Killed in the latter and became an early martyr to the Americans.
Nicholas Gilman - Continental Officer through the entire war, signed the Constitution, inaugural US Congressman and longtime Senator.
Joseph Reed - Signed the Declaration. First President of Pennsylvania.
Edmund Pendleton - Chairman of the Virginia Convention which declared independence and a longtime Chief Justice of the State Supreme Court.
Haym Salomon - Jewish Founding Father who helped fund the Continental Army.
Francis Dana - Helped Washington organize the Continental Army, met with Catherine the Great as first Minister to Russia.
David Brearley - Chairman of the Committee of Postponed Parts which settled many of the final details of the Constitution.
Ethan Allen - Won the Battle of Ticonderoga which was the first time the colonists captured a fort.
William Blount - Signer of the Constitution and inaugural Senator from Tennessee.
Jonathan Trumbull - Governor of Connecticut. Only Royal Governor to side with the colonists and keep his job through the Revolution.
James McHenry - Surgeon in the Army, Secretary of War during Washington and Adams Administrations.
Benjamin Harrison - Signed the Declaration and was a Governor of Virginia. His son and great grandson were both Presidents.
Edward Rutledge - Signed the Declaration, Governor of South Carolina.
Oliver Wolcott - Signed the Declaration, Major General in the Connecticut Militia, Governor of Connecticut.
Robert Treat Paine - Signed the Declaration, prosecuted Boston Massacre soldiers.
Daniel Shays - Led a rebellion for fair treatment of rural citizens. His resistance pushed the movement towards the Constitution.
Benjamin Tallmadge - Washington's head of intelligence. Most notably the spymaster of the Culper Ring
Thomas Nelson Jr. - Organized the Yorktown Tea Party, became Governor of Virginia, ordered his house fired on when the British were thought to be inside.
Ebenezer Hazard - Postmaster General throughout the Revolutionary War.
Mercy Otis Warren - Trailblazing female author. Promoted independence, published under her real name and became a leading Anti-Federalist.
William Ellery - Signed the Declaration and Articles of Confederation.
Daniel Boone - Hardworking frontiersman known more for building Kentucky than his role in the Revolution.
Gunning Bedford - Major player in limiting the size of government under the Constitution, which he signed.
Stephen Hopkins - Put aside political differences within Rhode Island to focus on the Revolution. Signed the Declaration. 'My hand trembles but my heart does not.’
Robert Howe - First General of the Southern Department, led a failed invasion of Florida, ran West Point, suppressed mutinies.
Casimir Pulaski - Father of the American Cavalry
Alexander McDougall - Pamphleteer, Major General in the Continental Army, Secretary of the Marine.
William Whipple - Declaration signer and General at Saratoga. Planted a Liberty Tree which still stands.
Here are the last two draft rankings, if you’d like to compare to this one:
Founding Fathers Fantasy Draft Ranking (2018)
2019 America Founders Draft Rankings
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