Bryan didn't actually drop the term "Founding Fathers," but he does engage in some serious name-dropping. By throwing out names like Patrick Henry, George Washington, and Thomas Jefferson, Bryan wanted to show that he means business.

But he's actually doing a bit more than that. By invoking these people, he helped to create a sort of persona or myth around the Founding Fathers. Shocker: Thomas Jefferson wasn't as cool as Bryan made him out to be. Bryan gave these people a little too much credit—his words were a little too lovey-dovey to represent reality.

Just check out this statement:

Rights never conflict; duties never clash. Can it be our duty to usurp political rights which belong to others? Can it be our duty to kill those who, following the example of our forefathers, love liberty well enough to fight for it? (64)

Simmer down there, Bryan.

The "forefathers" he mentioned were the Founding Fathers. And they had their own problems with the notion of democratic liberty. (Like, um, slavery.)

But Bryan's ultimate point was to characterize the American political system and its foundation as something pure. Something that the pro-imperialists were getting totally dirty with their Republican shoes and expansionist mud-wrestling competitions.