Founding Fathers Educational History Posters Series

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John Adams, Founding Fathers, Poster

John Adams
b. 10-30-1735; Braintree, MA
d. 7-4-1826, Braintree, MA

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Benjamin Franklin
b. Jan 17, 1706, Boston, MA
d. April 17, 1790

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Thomas Jefferson, Founding Fathers, Poster

Thomas Jefferson
b. 4-13-1743, Albemarle Co., VA
d. 7-4-1826, Monticello, VA

Poster Text:
"Were it left to me to decide whether we should have a government without newpapers or newspapers without a government, I would not hesitate for a moment to prefer the latter. - letter to Edward Carrington, January 16, 1787

Enlighten the people, generally, and tyranny and oppression of body and mind will vanish like spirits at the dawn of day. - letter to Pierre Samuel Dupont de Nemours, April 24, 1816

I would rather be exposed to the inconveniencies attending to much liberty than those attending too small a degree of it. - letter to Archibald Steward, December 23, 1791

Thomas Jefferson was one of the most influential of America's founders. The main author of the Declaration of Independence, he set out a case for independence that continues to inspire people around the world.
Jefferson was born in Virginia in 1743. His father was a well to do landowner, and his mother came from one of the area's most prominent families. A serious student, at the College of William and mary, he studied for 15 hours and practiced his violin for another three hours every day. In 1775, he went to the Continental Congress as a delegate from Virginia. tall and awkward, Jefferson was a poor public speaker, but his gift for writing was well known. In June of 1776, he was asked to write the first draft of what would become the Declaration of Independence. Although the other delegates made some changes, the most memorable phrases are Jefferson's.
He believed that the common people whould have as much voice in their povernment as the wealthy. In the Declaration of Independence, he wrote that "all men are created equal." However, like other wealthy Southerners, including George Washing to and James Madison, Jefferson owned slaves. This contradiction is difficult for many people to understand. Jefferson believed in the strict separation of church and state. He also supported state's rights and favored limiting the size and strength of the federal government.
After losing a close election to John Adams in 1796, Jefferson became the third president in 1800. His most famous achievement as president came just three years later. President Jefferson sent representatives to France to buy the port of New Orleans. To the Americans' surprise, France offered to sell the United States all of its territory for $15 million. The Louisiana Purchase nearly doubled the size fo the United States. In 1804, Jefferson sent Meriwether Lewis and William Clark to explore the new territory and look for a Northwest Passage to the Pacific.
After his presidency, Jefferson retired to his home, Monticello. In his final years, he founded the University of Virginia; he was involved in everything from designing the building to planning the curriculum. He died on July 4, 1826 – 50 years to the day after the adoption of the Declaration of Independence.

James Madison, Founding Fathers, Poster

James Madison
b. 3-16-1751; Port Conway, King George, VA
d. 6-28-1836, Montpilier, VA

George Washington, Founding Fathers, Poster

George Washington
b. 2-22-1732; Westmoreland Co., VA
d. 12-14-1799, Mt. Vernon, VA

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Founding Fathers Composite Poster

Founding Fathers Composite Poster
Twenty portraits of Founding Fathers accompanied by introductory paragraph and brief biographical captions: John Adams, Samuel Adams, George Clymer, John Dickinson, Benjamin Franklin, Alexander Hamilton, John Hancock, Patrick Henry, Samuel Huntington, John Jay, Thomas Jefferson, Richard Henry Lee, James Madison, John Marshall, Robert Morris, George Read, John Rutledge, Roger Sherman, George Washington, and James Wilson.

Chief Justice John Jay, Gilbert Stuart Giclee Print

Chief Justice John Jay 1st Chief Justice, 1789-1794
b. 12-12-1745; New York
d. 5-17-1829

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