John Locke (1632–1704) was an English philosopher and a major influence upon the Founding Fathers. A founder of British empiricism with an unabashed faith in the natural sciences and the rising m...

David Hume (1711–1776) was a Scottish philosopher, essayist, economist, and historian known for his philosophical empiricism. He influenced the Founding Fathers with his combination of scien...

John Dickinson (1732–1808) was a highly successful lawyer and legislator in Philadelphia who became a leading political figure in the state and a conservative opponent of Benjamin Franklin. ...

George Mason (1725–1792), a Virginian, was one of the most important delegates to the Constitutional Convention, one of the richest men in his state, and one of the most prominent Founding Father...

Thomas Paine (1737–1809) was a radical writer who emigrated from England to America in 1774. Just two years later, early in 1776, Paine published Common Sense, a hugely influential pamphlet that...

King George III (1738–1820), or George William Frederick, was king of Great Britain and Ireland from 1760 to 1820. He ascended to the throne just as the French and Indian War was coming to a...

Thomas Jefferson (1743–1826) is considered one of the most important Founding Fathers of the United States of America for the central role he played in drafting the Declaration of Independence. D...

John Adams (1735–1826) was the second President of the United States and an ardent supporter of the American Revolution. A Massachusetts lawyer, Adams gained prominence during the controvers...

Benjamin Franklin (1706–1790) was one of the most celebrated of America's Founding Fathers, a man who enjoyed success as an inventor, scientist, printer, politician, and diplomat. He helped to dr...

Mercy Otis Warren (1728–1814) was an American poet, historian, and dramatist whose brother James Otis was an important activist in the American Revolution. Though Mercy received no formal sc...

Daniel Shays (1747–1825) was a popular Revolutionary War Captain and poor farmer who led an attack of some 1,200 frustrated farmers on the Massachusetts state arsenal at Springfield in late Janua...

George Washington (1732–1799) was Commander of the Continental Army during the American Revolution and the first President of the United States of America. A Virginia planter, surveyor, and land...