Unraveling History: British Ties of America’s Founders

To figure out the Founding Fathers’ British influences, we must verify their birthplaces, associations, and loyalties. The Founders needed 100% allegiance to America-not the British Crown. This would be the first crucial step to achieving liberty and independence for the future United States.

17 of 152 Founding Fathers had British influence. This is where they were born: 4-Scotland, 4-England, 8-Ireland, and 1-Wales. Alexander Hamilton was another Founder born outside the 13 original colonies in Charlestown, Saint Kitts and Nevis.

Now, that you know the birth statistics of the Founding Fathers, let’s see how their British influences affected the American Revolution. Birthplace is important. But, were they loyal to their homeland?

Ancestry of the Founders

Answering your question about the Founding Fathers requires us to explore their ancestry in greater detail.

Origin of the Statistics

My research to answer this query required that I find a list of the Founding Fathers. A definitive list became hard to find. I scoured the internet, but I acquired a list of the founders here.

Then, I had to figure out how I classified these historic figures. I asked myself a series of questions.

• What documents did they sign against the British?
• What historical significance did these individuals stand for?
• Did the Founders with British influence have a passion for liberty?

After much thought, I settled on a few basic premises.

• Founding Fathers did not let their backgrounds deter them from their goal of independence.
• Founding Fathers had to sign a document proclaiming liberty from the British.

In other words, they had to show independence mindset from the British Crown- whether that was before or after the American Revolution. I didn’t want them displaying allegiance to Great Britain even if they had relatives from there.

These are the documents that the Founding Fathers had to sign:

• Articles of Association (1774)
• Declaration of Independence (1776)
• Articles of Confederation (1777)
• The Constitution (1787)

After making those conclusions, I did my research on the origins of each founder to prove my statistics.

My results for each founder are in the graph below:

Birthplace of America’s by J liberty

Did the Famous Founders Have British Influence?

Growing up as 2^nd or 3^rd generation American boys, the Founders saw the British influence represented in daily American culture. They knew America’s struggles, aspirations, and dreams. Would they let that influence their decisions?

In American history class, you are going to hear these famous names:

• George Washington
• John Adams
• Thomas Jefferson
• James Madison
• Benjamin Franklin
• Alexander Hamilton

These founders had the most power and influence. Their future decisions would affect generations of unborn Americans.

Their origins are listed below:

• George Washington
  • His dad- Augustine Washington- attended school in England
• John Adams
  • Puritan background
    • Most Puritans came over in the 16^th and 17^th centuries as English Protestants
• Thomas Jefferson
  • Family Origins in Wales
• James Madison
  • Earliest Madison family predecessor-Captain Isaac Madison born in London, England 1590
• Benjamin Franklin
  • Josiah Franklin (Ben Franklin’s father)- born directly in England
  • Ben Franklin spent a great deal of time as a diplomat in London
• Alexander Hamilton
  • James Hamilton (Alexander Hamilton’s father)- a Scottish tradesman

As seen above, the Founding Fathers had immediate family ties to British influence. These ties played crucial roles in the fight for independence.

Where Were the Founders’ Loyalties? Britain or America?

If America were to gain independence from the British, loyalty and unity became the primary virtues.

Many of you proudly fly the American flag outside of your home. My grandfather- a Marine- always flew the American flag. I couldn’t imagine him flying a British flag or any other country’s flag outside his house. Growing up, I never questioned his loyalty to America and the values that America represented.

Much like my grandfather, the Founding Fathers’ loyalty never wavered. They may have had British roots. But, with loyalty and sacrifice to liberty, no other country’s flag mattered except the American flag.

Specifically, John Adams, Thomas Jefferson, and Benjamin Franklin spent considerable time abroad in Great Britain. They learned British customs and traditions but kept American values closer.

Benjamin Franklin-the most experienced U.S. ambassador- educated John Adams and Thomas Jefferson on British customs.

Franklin saw the pros and cons of the British system. He became an advocate for instituting the positive changes made after years of struggle. The British fought a multitude of civil wars with workers wanting better representation, rights, and cheaper taxes.

Adams and Franklin knew fair representation and basic human dignity belonged in the new American government.

There was no way they wanted to bring a monarchy system back to America. John Adams despised the absolute rule of the British monarchy.

Furthermore, Thomas Paine receives- the honorary American award- even though he did not sign any of the founding documents.

His British roots persuaded the Americans to make a clean break. Thus, Common Sense became the sole document to rally Americans to independence.

As you have seen, the core Founders believed in America. They wanted liberty from the British Crown. While there were famous traitors during the American Revolution, like Benedict Arnold, those were isolated incidents.

Conclusion

One of the most common questions asked when you meet someone is: “Where are you from?” I know you wondered the same about the American Founding Fathers.

Yes, the Founding Fathers had British ancestry and a select few were from the present-day United Kingdom. Some had influence from parents or grandparents directly from Britain.

Many of the Founding Fathers traveled abroad to experience and explore British culture. Famous Founders as John Adams, Thomas Jefferson, and Benjamin Franklin discussed their knowledge of British culture to inspire Americans about the need for British separation.

Their loyalty to liberty never wavered. Britain didn’t mean as much to them since their loyalties belonged to their American families and friends.

Which Founding Father is most interesting to you?

J. Liberty

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