Poll: Who’s Your Favorite Founding Father?

Frank McGrath
George Washington could have been a perpetual President. If he had asked there is little doubt he would have been named President for Life. However, he well understood what the Revolution had been fought for. He would not assent to the throwing off of one monarchy to replace it with another. As the first President to voluntarily relinquish power after an election he has set the standard that has guided this country ever since.

J. Madison Davis (University of Oklahoma)
Washington didn't have the intellect of Jefferson or the sophistication of some of the others, but we can see in what Jefferson wrote about him exactly what is so important about the man. He was impressive, solid, and avoided appearing self-interested. Napoleon took the crown. Washington declined the possibility of one. Perhaps it is largely symbolic, Washington's stature, but he was exactly who was needed as a stabilizing presence in the young nation.

Fred Simonelli (Mount St. Mary's College,Los Angeles)
I nominate George Washington, the"indispensable man." Washington's tireless devotion to a higher vision led, more than any other factor, to the creation of a Republic from the 13 colonies. No one else in Revolutionary America had the stature and commanded the respect to compel individuals and groups to put aside misgivings and differences and to see themselves as one people.

David Forsmark
Without Washington, the war would have been lost, as would the peace. He set the precedents for the Presidency (and Adams did his damndest to undo them) that lasted until King William in 1992.

Roger Zeimet ((Command Historian U.S. Army Infantry School & Center, Fort Benning, Georgia)
He put up with a lot of guff from Congress, setting a precedent for civilian control of the military that has enabled us to avoid the trauma and turmoil of military dictatorship and coups that have plagued so many other nations. One shudders to think what might have been the result had a Benedict Arnold been in command instead of GW. I doubt that Arnold would have nipped a potential military coup in the bud as GW did in 1783 at Newburgh, NY. Therefore although many would and have denigrated GW for being an aloof, arrogant light weight with an overly padded expense account, I still rate him as the most significant of the lot. Without him the Biritish would never have left and probably both Adams and Jefferson would have wound up swinging from a gallows.

Ken Tucker (CNN producer)
For George Washington.

Alex Primm
I'm for George W., the original, because of his crossing the Delaware, one of the single most exciting, crucial, brave, crazy & successful moments of history.

David Woodworth
In keeping with modern standards for judging public figures, I vote for Thomas Jefferson: nice house!

Wayne Cobb, Jr.
Thomas Jefferson is my favorite 'Founding Father', barely, but just barely, squeaking by G. Washington!

John-Michael"JM" Bodi (Bridgewater State College, Bridgewater, Massachusetts)
I believe that Thomas Jefferson is the most significant founding father because of the philosophy he articulated and his deft handling of the Federalists. I think he managed to transcend the centralization debate, and could be claimed legitimately by both major political parties today (and a number of minor groups).

Sean Wilentz (Princeton)
Jefferson.

Deb Avery (Butte, Montana)
Thomas Jefferson had the courage to stand up to the"Religious Right" of his day, and for that reason I honor him above the other Founders.

Dan Herman
Jefferson because of his role in writing the Decl. of Ind. Simple.

Mike Adams (Baltimore Sun)
I like John Adams for two reasons: My father was named after him, and I know little about our nation's second president. Familiarity breeds contempt, and I know enough about Washington and Jefferson to dislike them. Washington was a slave owner and so was Jefferson, who is believed to have sired children by a slave, Sally Hemmings. And while Jefferson felt comfortable in the woodpile with Sally, his late wife's half-sister, he was steadfast in his belief that his other slaves were inherently unequal to white men. It has been said that Hemmings' mother was half white, sired by a white man, and Sally's father was white. The irony is that under English law, Sally and her mother would have been labled white because an offspring's race was determined by the race of the father. But under Virginia law, the race of the mother determined the race of the offspring. Consequently, Jefferson and others could spread their genes among their slaves and turn around and sell them. God bless America.

Stuart Hobbs (Ohio Historical Society)
I know that Adams is obnoxious and disliked, but not only was he an important leader in the revolution, he showed great political courage during his presidency in resisting war with France, a move which cost him a second term. (by the way: I have liked Adams for years, and have not read McCullough's recent biography).

Paul Motzenbecker, Jr.
Greetings and hallucinations from just north of Fantasy Land (Washington, DC)!

John Adams is my favorite founding father because he was one of the few who did not"own" slaves. This was illegal in the colonies, if they followed their charters. Each colony had in its Royal Charter a provision that they would follow English Common Law. Slavery became illegal in England in 1120 during the reign of Henry I. This was affirmed by the matter of Cartwright in the Court of the Star Chamber in 1569 and again in Sommersett vs. Stuart in 1772. The latter case is particularly pertinant because James Sommersett was a Negro slave brought from Virginia to London. He sued his so-called master in court by seeking a writ of habeas corpus. Slavery was illegal in the USA until the wrongheaded Scott vs. Sanford decision in 1857. While John Adam's writings were not as good a read as Mr. Jefferson's or Mr. Madison's, they were based on solid knowledge. He was an able lawyer for his time and he was a good, but not spectacular president.

BEN FRANKLIN

Thomas Fleming (novelist, historian, and HNN board member)
Washington is unquestionably the indispensable founding father. Without him the American Republic would have been still-born. But the word"favorite" allows a commentator some latitude beyond the question of political importance. In that context, my favorite founding father is unquestionably Benjamin Franklin. He was not far behind Washington in the indispensability contest, at least during the eight year struggle to win independence. Without Franklin, there might never have been a French alliance, the crucial factor in ultimate victory. Without his diplomatic finesse, the paranoia of envoys John Adams and John Jay, who hated the French almost as much as the English, would have destroyed this vital source of guns, men and money. More important in some ways was the prestige Franklin gave the Revolution, simply by being Benjamin Franklin, the most famous American of his time. His discoveries in electricity had amazed the civilized world. His books and witty essays were read throughout Europe. Today, he is the most relevant of the founding fathers, the only one who had a real affinity for urban life and gave serious thought to how to solve its problems. Finally, he had a gift which none of the other founders possessed -- a marvelous sense of humor.

MONROE

Robert Forbes (Yale)
I vote for James Monroe. He's the only Virginian whose cosmopolitan nationalist vision grew with age, instead of contracting. Mounting evidence places him among the most effective wielders of executive power in the early republic--effective, in large part, because exercised so discreetly. His plans to"amalgamate" Republicans and Federalists into a patriotic coalition placing nation above party may have been naive, but it was admirable.

HAMILTON

William Willingham
Alexander Hamilton--For his role in the ratification of the constitution and the brillience of his contribution to the founding of the new national government as Secretary of the Treasury. He role in championing a strong national government was essential to the launching of the new Republic.

PAINE

Bozin
Thomas Paine, even if he doesn't count!

HANCOCK

P.M.Carpenter (HNN Columnist)
John Hancock, because he was an unrepentant smuggler who managed to exploit principles for personal gain.

BURR

Puzzleelement@aol.com
Sorry, I vote for Aaron Burr, although most don't consider him a founding father. He was THE most wrongly vilified man in this nation's history, but if you read some of his letters, bills, and speeches, if you studied him with an open mind as I have, and compared him to Jefferson, Washington, Adams, Hamilton, etc., you might agree with me that he would have made an excellent statesman. He was known for his disciplined and skilled handling of the Senate (including the impeachment trial of Justice Chase) and other public forums (including conducting Courts Martial as an officer in the American Revolution at 20 years of age). He was known as a brave soldier and officer, leading his men time and again to battle and safely back with few losses. He believed in democratic principles more than Jefferson did, as there is now strong evidence that Jefferson made a deal with Federalists to obtain the swing-votes which gave him the Presidency while accusing Burr of doing so himself, while it is clear that Burr merely refused to resign if elected instead of Jefferson. Jefferson had no qualms about betraying Burr on several occasions, yet he accused Burr of doing so.

SAM ADAMS

Erik Maiershofer (Mira Costa College)
My favorite"founding father" - as I always tell my US Survey courses, there is no contest - Samuel Adams. Boston occupied a central role in the years leading up to the Revolution, and there is no other founder who had the same rapport with the common people as did Sam Adams. While others (like his cousin, John) debated the issues somewhat removed from"the real world," Samuel Adams was on the docks, in the taverns and inns and on the streets, talking to workers and telling them what was at stake for them in the Revolution. Two things most people don't know about him - 1) he greatly mistrusted George Washington (he reportedly told his cousin that he was sure GW was too ambitious to be a good leader); and 2) although he is most famous to most people today as a beer icon, his own brewery was a short-lived financial failure.

MADISON

Glenda428@aol.com
James Madison is my favorite founding father because he was the most meticulous and had the greatest vision of their legacy. James Madison took the time to write every detail of the negotiations and his specific recordings have helped us understand each man, his view, his personal agenda and his character. Without James Madison's records, we would be more speculative instead of factual in our understanding of what happened in Philadelphia.

James Madison was diligent in keeping the representatives on focus and he always made sure that a sense of fairness to all the people was being considered. Madison could visualize a growing country and how the actions being taken by the representives could correctly or adversely affect future generations.

To my mind, Madison was the smartest and the one with the most foresight of how decisions being made could impact a country long-term.