Ideological Origins of the American Revolution People

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 mid...

David Hume (1711-76) was a Scottish philosopher, essayist, economist, and historian known for his philosophical empiricism. He influenced the Founding Fathers with his combination of scientific met...

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. He was...

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 Fathers....

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 co...

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

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 controversy surro...

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 draf...

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 schooling...

Daniel Shays (c.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 sp...