Modern America has its uncanonized saints. These are the so-called Founding Fathers - those people who played a key role in the founding and establishment of American statehood, winning independence and creating the principles of a new political system. They founded the modern USA. The largest American cities are named after them, their portraits are depicted on banknotes, they are still spoken of with reverence, and their phrases are so fond of being quoted by American high-ranking figures. Who created America as we know it today?

Washington

First on the list is George Washington, commander-in-chief of the Continental Army, winner of the Revolutionary War, the man who created the institution of the American presidency and himself became the first president of the United States. Americans call him Father of the Fatherland. An ideal politician and a man of impeccable reputation. Father of American Democracy.

However, he was a very controversial person.

George was born into the family of a small landowner in Virginia, a classic American colony where slavery flourished and Indians and blacks were not recognized as people. He grew up in the family of a slave owner and, naturally, had a slave-owning mentality. At the age of 24, Washington married a wealthy middle-aged widow, receiving as a dowry 17 thousand acres of land, 300 slaves and a mansion in Williamsburg.

George soon significantly increased the income of his estate and became one of the richest landowners in Virginia. It is easy to guess that the father of American democracy managed to achieve this thanks to slave labor. By the time Washington was elected president, he was one of the richest men in the country. By the way, he is generally one of the richest US presidents in history. Washington's fortune (plantations, real estate, etc.) today can be valued at $900 million.

The enterprising Washington also successfully moved up the career (military and political) ladder: with the rank of colonel, he actively participated in military operations against the French, British, and Indians who laid claim to their lands.

Washington, together with like-minded people Thomas Jefferson and Patrick Henry, created the first liberal political technologies. For example, he organized an association in Virginia to boycott British goods. American leaders still actively use similar methods; in particular, what is called sanctions today.

In June 1775, Washington was unanimously elected commander in chief of the Continental Army. It was this army that coped with the task of total conquest of the Indians, their forced assimilation or forced relocation to reservations. Between 1775 and 1890 alone, according to the US Census Bureau, more than 40 wars occurred, and these were wars primarily against civilians.

After Washington, 58 volumes of letters remained, and this does not include public speeches. On paper, the first US president advocated “fair treatment of the indigenous population,” relied on their “ability to assimilate,” and even personally talked with the leaders of Indian tribes. But as soon as the tribe started talking about “its own identity or territories,” the peace-loving Washington gave orders: “Destroy!”, “Eradicate!”

As a smart politician, George understood that his soldiers, who, as a rule, were immigrant colonists, would not fight for the idea. They need new lands and money - this is what American patriotism was originally built on. Therefore, Washington and Congress, in the event of victory, for example, over Britain, promised each soldier 50 acres of land.

The war with England for independence was sometimes strange. “Often, the soldiers of Washington’s army did not even fight for the land; their commander in chief simply sent troops to “stake out” the land for his private company. For example, the soldiers went, built a house on the land and “staked out” the land,” says Dmitry Mikheev, a former senior researcher at the US Hudson Institute for Strategic Studies. “The new Americans are nouveau riche: greedy, unprincipled, dishonest. They did not consider Indians to be people. And Washington commanded this parade of nouveau riche. He burned dozens of villages. Cleared the territory. He exterminated the Indians without bothering. Ostensibly acting in the interests of European settlers,” continues Mikheev.

Next, the scientist reveals another secret of Washington, which is not written about in American history textbooks: “When Washington had already become president, when the Constitution had already been adopted (freedom, democracy, the human right to personal happiness), the settlers who fought in his army (the Irish , Scots), did not receive any land! He didn't keep his promise!

It’s easy to guess who owned the occupied territories after the war - 500 thousand acres of land came into the personal possession of George Washington himself. Theoretically, he should have fulfilled his promise and settled 10 thousand migrants there for free, but he chose to resell the land to them at 30 times the market value.

To Washington's credit, he freed all of his slaves because he despised slavery. But this does not mean disdain for money. Money and power are a completely different matter.

Modern historians are increasingly writing about the “uncontrolled power of Washington.” And here again we should remember the policy of double standards. On the one hand, Washington and his associates preached equality, democracy, and freedom guaranteed by the Constitution. On the other hand, in fact, this man created a central government that suppressed riots, destroyed dissenters, and conquered the continent.

Washington's merit is considered to be the founding of the capital of the United States, a city named in his honor. It is worth saying that, like most leaders of the United States, George was a Freemason, a member of Alexandria Lodge No. 22. Therefore, the design of the city was carried out according to the Masonic type: so that the streets, wide diagonal avenues, squares and avenues remained open to view the monumental structures of Masonic significance, the creation of which was supervised by Washington's close friend and adviser, a member of the Order of the Knights Templar, architect Pierre Charles Lenfante. Thanks to its special architecture and symbolism, today Washington is called the most Masonic city on earth.

The first president of the United States was imbued with Masonic ideas. His funeral in 1799 took place according to strict rites: the coffin was covered with a Masonic apron, each of the Masons present threw an acacia branch into the grave, symbolizing rebirth.

By the way, in the history of the United States there have been 13 Masonic presidents, starting with Washington and ending with Truman, whose huge photograph in a Masonic apron and with a trowel in his hand now hangs on the wall of the fourth floor of the White House. Harry Truman is captured at the very moment when he made the decision to bomb Hiroshima and Nagasaki in 1945.

Jefferson

Another founding father of the United States, Thomas Jefferson, the third American president, the author of the most important document in US history - the Declaration of Independence, is depicted on two American banknotes: a two-dollar bill and a five-cent coin.

This person is also interesting and extremely contradictory in all respects. In him, like no one else, a talented philosopher, a liberal, a humanist and a cold-blooded slave owner, a prudent entrepreneur, and a convinced Freemason miraculously coexisted.

Studying his thoughts and activities, one can come to the conclusion that he considered equality, freedom and fraternity the prerogative of people only of the “first category”. And all the rest are nothing more than upright walking animals. Here, for example, is a quote about blacks from his book “Notes on the State of Virginia”: “Their life consists more of sensations than of thoughts. This also includes their desire to sleep when they are not working or having fun. An animal whose body is at rest and which does not think must, of course, tend to sleep. Regarding memory, intelligence and imagination, it seems to me that in memory they are equal to whites, in intelligence they are significantly inferior. I think it is hardly possible to find a black person who can understand the works of Euclid. Their imagination is dull, tasteless and abnormal... They excrete less through the kidneys and more through the skin, which gives them a very strong and unpleasant odor. Because of this increased sweating, they are better adapted to heat and worse adapted to cold than whites.”

But, despite such views, at the beginning of his political career, Jefferson loved to talk about the abolition of slavery and even inserted a clause about its abolition into the Declaration. But he soon deleted it. As his contemporary, writer and priest Moncur Convey wrote about the father of American independence, “never before had a man achieved such fame for what he did not do.”

A hereditary slave owner, the third president of the United States, a fighter for democracy and equality, Thomas Jefferson during his lifetime owned 600 slaves, not counting servants, and plantations comparable in size to a city. In the American school history textbook, in the section “Thomas Jefferson: Fighter for Freedom and Human Rights,” it is said: “In his industrial hive there was no discord or insult: there was not the slightest traces of discontent... Women sang while they worked, and grown-up children made nails at their leisure, without overwork and for the sake of pleasure.”

Now let's take a look at the Farm Book, written by Jefferson himself: “Child slaves under the age of 10 serve as nannies, from 10 to 16, boys make nails, girls spin, at the age of 16 they go to work in the fields or begin learn a craft."

And now quotes from eyewitness accounts: “Locked in a stuffy, smoky workshop, the boys minted 5-10 thousand nails a day, which in 1796 brought Jefferson $2 thousand in total income. At the time, his nail factory competed with the state penitentiary.”
The politician's son-in-law, Randolph, in one report told Jefferson that the black boys who made nails, "the work is going very well, because the children are being whipped."

Once, for a fight in the workshop, an American humanist sold a slave boy to the southern plantations to intimidate other children, in Jefferson’s own words, “as if death itself had taken him.”

After Jefferson's death, his beloved slave, blacksmith Joseph Fossett, was granted freedom by will, but his entire family - his wife and seven children - remained enslaved. Soon they were resold to other owners; Fossett only managed to buy back his wife. The unfortunate Joseph worked at the anvil for ten years to earn money to ransom his children, but even after saving money, he could not do this: the new owners of his children changed their minds about selling them. The family was never reunited. In 1898, already a free man, the 83-year-old son of a blacksmith, Peter Fossett, recalled: “I will never forget when they put me on the auction platform and sold me like a horse.”

It’s funny to remember another philosophical work of this president, which he modestly titled “Jefferson’s Bible.” Its main character, named Jesus, is a clever man, a manager who has created a grandiose corporation called “Christianity” from scratch. Well, in addition to the “Bible,” there is another unique commandment of this founding father to his followers: “Carrot and stick are good, but not enough, other methods of control are needed.”

It was Jefferson who created the original institution of informants from among free citizens on his estates. For little money (20–50 cents per month), these people had to observe the movements of slaves, their conversations, actions and report their observations to the overseers. Thanks to such informants, with their appearance not a single slave ran away from Jefferson, and if someone managed to steal something (a nail or clothing), the loss was immediately found, and the thief was punished. Thus, the world's first network of secret informants was created, which was later called the “second level of intelligence services” in the United States and has proven itself to be excellent.

And here is what Dmitry Mikheev, a former senior researcher at the US Hudson Institute for Strategic Studies, already mentioned here, says about Jefferson: “The essence of Jefferson’s activities is hypocrisy and lies. He himself wrote laws prohibiting interracial mixing. Even if there is one drop of African blood, you are already a Negro! Even if you are blonde."

Already being the President of the United States, having a respectable wife (who was his second cousin) and six children, Jefferson actively cohabited with a mulatto slave, who also gave him six offspring.

Franklin and Hamilton

The group of founding fathers also includes John Adams, John Jay and James Madison. But we will focus on two other figures.

Benjamin Franklin is the only one of the Founding Fathers who affixed his signature to all three of the most important documents that to this day form the basis of the statehood of the United States: the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution and the Treaty of Versailles of 1783.

Writer, diplomat, active member of the Masonic order and philosopher, Franklin became the spiritual leader of the new American nation in the second half of the 18th century and the first half of the 19th. But, based on his own views, spirituality is always inextricably linked with material gain. It is not surprising that the portrait of Benjamin Franklin is depicted on the hundred dollar bill - his descendants valued him so highly. And by the way, it was Franklin who coined the phrase “time is money.”

Franklin developed the theoretical basis for American statehood, but his young follower Alexander Hamilton put materialist ideas into practice. The “Grey Cardinal”, Secretary of the Treasury under two American presidents (Washington and Adams), Alexander Hamilton was also included in the canonical seven Founding Fathers of the United States.

Hamilton fought throughout his life for a centralized federal state with strong presidential power. He spoke loudly about militaristic plans, advocated imperial policies in Latin America and participation in European affairs. We can say that it was Hamilton who laid all the foundations of modern American statehood: the US Army, the National Bank, the institution of the presidency, the federal character of the state.

By the way, this man deserves admiration not only for his strength of thought, but also for his strength of spirit. Unlike most politicians, who enjoyed complete impunity, Hamilton paid for his ideas with his life. In 1804, during the election campaign for governor of New York, Alexander Hamilton sharply and harshly criticized his political opponent and ideological enemy Aaron Burr. Unable to withstand the attacks, Burr challenged Hamilton to a duel. After the command “To the barrier!” was sounded, Burr fired, but Hamilton deliberately did not fire. In his suicide note, he wrote: “My religious and moral principles are strongly against the practice of dueling. To be forced to shed the blood of a human being in a private fight prohibited by law will cause me pain.” Burr's shot was fatal for Hamilton, but it also ingloriously ended Burr's own political career.

However, the lives of many American leaders ended tragically. And in this regard, we should remember the so-called “presidential curse”, or “Tecumseh’s curse”.

According to legend, in the 18th century, the Indian leader Tecumseh, deceived by white colonists, said a prayer while dying. He asked the gods that every American leader (president) elected in a year evenly divisible by 20 would die or be assassinated before the end of his term of leadership (presidential powers).

Incredibly, the curse worked clearly right up to the seventh generation. The first to die, just a month after his inauguration, was American President William Henry Harrison (who took about 12 thousand square kilometers of land from the Indians). Following him, all presidents elected or re-elected in a year divisible by 20 died in office (either by their own death or from an assassin's bullet). Namely: Abraham Lincoln, James Garfield, William McKinley, Warren Harding, Franklin Roosevelt and John Kennedy. The curse was broken on Reagan.

The future scientist and diplomat was born in 1706 into the family of a craftsman. He was the 15th child, and his parents had no money for his education. Therefore, Franklin independently studied chemistry, mathematics, physics and ancient languages. In 1724 he moved to London to become familiar with the printing business. Returning to Philadelphia, the young man published the Pennsylvania Gazette. Franklin also came up with the idea of ​​creating the first public library in the colonies.

The range of scientific interests of the future founding father of the United States was wide: he studied the Gulf Stream and atmospheric electricity, invented bifocal glasses, a rocking chair and a small stove for the home. For writing scientific works, Franklin was recognized as a member of the Royal Scientific Society of England, as well as the St. Petersburg Academy of Sciences. Benjamin became one of the first American Freemasons. He was known to the general public for his aphorisms: “don’t put off until tomorrow what you can do today,” “time is money,” “laziness, like rust, eats away faster than labor wears out.” Franklin also gave practical advice on saving money: “Spend one penny less than you earn.”

Benjamin Franklin died at the age of 85. More than 20 thousand people attended his funeral.

Thomas Jefferson: prominent politician and wealthy slave owner

Jefferson headed the committee that drafted the Declaration of Independence. After two days of discussions, part of the text that dealt with criticism of the slave trade was removed from his draft. It is noteworthy that the politician opposed slave labor, but used it on his plantations; he inherited 2,750 acres of land from his father. And here is a record from contemporaries about working conditions in his workshop: “Locked in a stuffy, smoky workshop, the boys minted 5-10 thousand nails a day, which in 1796 brought Jefferson 2 thousand dollars in total income. At the time, his nail factory competed with the state penitentiary.”

In 1779, Thomas Jefferson became governor of Virginia, and in 1785 he went to France as ambassador. Four years later, he served as Secretary of State under President George Washington. In 1801 he was elected head of state.

John Adams: unknown president

A brilliant lawyer who became famous for his trial in 1770. English soldiers who were accused of killing five townspeople in Boston turned to him for protection. Despite enormous public pressure and risks to his reputation, Adams took on this case. The man had a talent for speaking; the audience listened to him in complete silence. He won the case, six soldiers were acquitted.

John Adams co-created the US Constitution in 1787 and became vice president in 1789. On March 4, 1797, he was elected head of state (at the same time, Adams himself did not participate in the election campaign; instead of public speaking and fighting for votes, he sat at home). His presidency was marred by diplomatic conflict that led to an undeclared war at sea between the United States and the French Republic in 1798–1800. It was under Adams that the White House was built. The President was criticized for his lack of decisive action in the conflict between the Federalist and Democratic-Republican parties.

John Adams. (wikipedia.org)

After the end of his presidential term, the “founding father” left big politics. He died on July 4, 1826. On the same day, his main opponent, Thomas Jefferson, died.

Pamphleteer Alexander Hamilton

Alexander Hamilton became US Secretary of the Treasury in the first American government. On his initiative, the National Bank was created. During the financial crisis of 1792, when securities lost a quarter of their value, Hamilton ordered the issuance of $150,000 to purchase government bonds. In addition, he proposed offering loans secured by American debt securities. It took the Finance Minister just over a month to stabilize the market.

Hamilton was known for his incisive pamphlets. Because of them, the politician died. In July 1804, he was mortally wounded during a duel with Vice President Aaron Burr and died the next day, six months shy of his 50th birthday.

John Jay

In 1789, Jay became the first Chief Justice of the United States Supreme Court, and in 1795 he was elected governor of New York.

The politician did not seek re-election for a second term. He moved out of town and took up farming. John Jay died in May 1829 at the age of 83.

James Madison

James Madison studied at a private school, after which he entered the prestigious Princeton University (then the College of New Jersey). In 1775, he headed the Committee of Safety in Orange County, and two years later became a member of the Governor's Council of Virginia. In 1785 he proposed a bill on freedom of religion. He became the author of a series of articles in defense of the Constitution, the purpose of which was to ratify the document in the states. In March 1809, Madison assumed the presidency. In 1810, he ordered a ban on the entry of British ships into American ports. In the same year, he initiated the expansion of West Florida, which at that time belonged to Spain. In 1812, a devastating war with Great Britain began for the United States.

After his resignation, Madison settled in Virginia. He died at the age of 85.

The Founding Fathers were military leaders, rebels, politicians, and writers who were diverse in character, status, and background, yet played a role in shaping the new nation and laying the foundation for the fledgling democracy of the United States.

Who are the Founding Fathers?

All of the Founding Fathers, including the first four US presidents, initially considered themselves British subjects. But they rebelled against the restrictive rule of King George III, articulating their grievances in the Declaration of Independence, a powerful (if incomplete) call for freedom and equality, and won a stunning military victory over the world's then preeminent superpower.

What role did Thomas Jefferson play there?

The well-educated and prosperous Thomas Jefferson was a Virginia lawyer and politician who came to the conclusion that the British Parliament had no authority over the thirteen colonies. In 1776, he was given the important task of writing the Declaration of Independence, in which he declared that “all men are created equal” and “that they are endowed by their creator with certain unalienable rights” such as “life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.” .

As Washington's Secretary of State, Jefferson constantly clashed with Hamilton over foreign policy and the role of government. He later served as John Adams' vice president before becoming president himself in 1801.

Contributions of the Founding Fathers to the Development of the United States

The Founding Fathers proved to be as adept in times of peace as they were in times of war. When the British federal government made concessions under the Articles of Confederation, prominent citizens reconvened to craft the U.S. Constitution, overcoming major divisions between states large and small, southern and northern, to form a stable political system. In a show of foresight, they included a Bill of Rights that enshrined many civil liberties and served as a model for other fledgling democracies.

There is no official consensus on who should be considered a founding father, and some historians object to the term altogether. In general, however, it applies to those leaders who started the revolutionary war and created the Constitution.

Here are the eight most influential characters in the American origin story:

• George Washington.
• Alexander Hamilton.
• Benjamin Franklin.

• John Adams.
• Samuel Adams.
• Thomas Jefferson.
• James Madison.
• John Hay.

Many other figures have also been called Founding Fathers (or Mothers). Among them is John Hancock, best known for his colorful signature on the Declaration of Independence. Governor Morris, who wrote most of the Constitution. Thomas Paine, British author of Common Sense. Paul Revere, the Boston silversmith whose "midnight ride" warned of the approach of the redcoats.

George Mason, who helped draft the Constitution but ultimately refused to sign it. Charles Carroll, the lone Catholic signer of the Declaration of Independence. John Marshall, Revolutionary War veteran and longtime Chief Justice of the Supreme Court. and Abigail Adams, who implored her husband John to “remember the ladies” when forming the new country.

Conclusion

Without the Founding Fathers there would be no United States of America. A group of mostly wealthy plantation owners and businessmen united thirteen disparate colonies, fought for independence from Britain, and wrote a series of influential governing documents that govern the country to this day.

Modern America has its uncanonized saints. These are the so-called Founding Fathers - those people who played a key role in the founding and establishment of American statehood, winning independence and creating the principles of a new political system. They founded the modern USA. The largest American cities are named after them, their portraits are depicted on banknotes, they are still spoken of with reverence, and their phrases are so fond of being quoted by American high-ranking figures. Who created America as we know it today?

Washington

First on the list is George Washington, commander-in-chief of the Continental Army, winner of the Revolutionary War, the man who created the institution of the American presidency and himself became the first president of the United States. Americans call him Father of the Fatherland. An ideal politician and a man of impeccable reputation. Father of American Democracy.

However, he was a very controversial person.

George was born into the family of a small landowner in Virginia, a classic American colony where slavery flourished and Indians and blacks were not recognized as people. He grew up in the family of a slave owner and, naturally, had a slave-owning mentality. At the age of 24, Washington married a wealthy middle-aged widow, receiving as a dowry 17 thousand acres of land, 300 slaves and a mansion in Williamsburg.

George soon significantly increased the income of his estate and became one of the richest landowners in Virginia. It is easy to guess that the father of American democracy managed to achieve this thanks to slave labor. By the time Washington was elected president, he was one of the richest men in the country. By the way, he is generally one of the richest US presidents in history. Washington's fortune (plantations, real estate, etc.) today can be valued at $900 million.

The enterprising Washington also successfully moved up the career (military and political) ladder: with the rank of colonel, he actively participated in military operations against the French, British, and Indians who laid claim to their lands.

Washington, together with like-minded people Thomas Jefferson and Patrick Henry, created the first liberal political technologies. For example, he organized an association in Virginia to boycott British goods. American leaders still actively use similar methods; in particular, what is called sanctions today.

In June 1775, Washington was unanimously elected commander in chief of the Continental Army. It was this army that coped with the task of total conquest of the Indians, their forced assimilation or forced relocation to reservations. Between 1775 and 1890 alone, according to the US Census Bureau, more than 40 wars occurred, and these were wars primarily against civilians.

After Washington, 58 volumes of letters remained, and this does not include public speeches. On paper, the first US president advocated “fair treatment of the indigenous population,” relied on their “ability to assimilate,” and even personally talked with the leaders of Indian tribes. But as soon as the tribe started talking about “its own identity or territories,” the peace-loving Washington gave orders: “Destroy!”, “Eradicate!”

As a smart politician, George understood that his soldiers, who, as a rule, were immigrant colonists, would not fight for the idea. They need new lands and money - this is what American patriotism was originally built on. Therefore, Washington and Congress, in the event of victory, for example, over Britain, promised each soldier 50 acres of land.

The war with England for independence was sometimes strange. “Often, the soldiers of Washington’s army did not even fight for the land; their commander in chief simply sent troops to “stake out” the land for his private company. For example, the soldiers went, built a house on the land and “staked out” the land,” says Dmitry Mikheev, a former senior researcher at the US Hudson Institute for Strategic Studies. “The new Americans are nouveau riche: greedy, unprincipled, dishonest. They did not consider Indians to be people. And Washington commanded this parade of nouveau riche. He burned dozens of villages. Cleared the territory. He exterminated the Indians without bothering. Ostensibly acting in the interests of European settlers,” continues Mikheev.

Next, the scientist reveals another secret of Washington, which is not written about in American history textbooks: “When Washington had already become president, when the Constitution had already been adopted (freedom, democracy, the human right to personal happiness), the settlers who fought in his army (the Irish , Scots), did not receive any land! He didn't keep his promise!

It’s easy to guess who owned the occupied territories after the war - 500 thousand acres of land came into the personal possession of George Washington himself. Theoretically, he should have fulfilled his promise and settled 10 thousand migrants there for free, but he chose to resell the land to them at 30 times the market value.

To Washington's credit, he freed all of his slaves because he despised slavery. But this does not mean disdain for money. Money and power are a completely different matter.

Modern historians are increasingly writing about the “uncontrolled power of Washington.” And here again we should remember the policy of double standards. On the one hand, Washington and his associates preached equality, democracy, and freedom guaranteed by the Constitution. On the other hand, in fact, this man created a central government that suppressed riots, destroyed dissenters, and conquered the continent.

Washington's merit is considered to be the founding of the capital of the United States, a city named in his honor. It is worth saying that, like most leaders of the United States, George was a Freemason, a member of Alexandria Lodge No. 22. Therefore, the design of the city was carried out according to the Masonic type: so that the streets, wide diagonal avenues, squares and avenues remained open to view the monumental structures of Masonic significance, the creation of which was supervised by Washington's close friend and adviser, a member of the Order of the Knights Templar, architect Pierre Charles Lenfante. Thanks to its special architecture and symbolism, today Washington is called the most Masonic city on earth.

The first president of the United States was imbued with Masonic ideas. His funeral in 1799 took place according to strict rites: the coffin was covered with a Masonic apron, each of the Masons present threw an acacia branch into the grave, symbolizing rebirth.

By the way, in the history of the United States there have been 13 Masonic presidents, starting with Washington and ending with Truman, whose huge photograph in a Masonic apron and with a trowel in his hand now hangs on the wall of the fourth floor of the White House. Harry Truman is captured at the very moment when he made the decision to bomb Hiroshima and Nagasaki in 1945.

Jefferson

Another founding father of the United States, Thomas Jefferson, the third American president, the author of the most important document in US history - the Declaration of Independence, is depicted on two American banknotes: a two-dollar bill and a five-cent coin.

This person is also interesting and extremely contradictory in all respects. In him, like no one else, a talented philosopher, a liberal, a humanist and a cold-blooded slave owner, a prudent entrepreneur, and a convinced Freemason miraculously coexisted.

Studying his thoughts and activities, one can come to the conclusion that he considered equality, freedom and fraternity the prerogative of people only of the “first category”. And all the rest are nothing more than upright walking animals. Here, for example, is a quote about blacks from his book “Notes on the State of Virginia”: “Their life consists more of sensations than of thoughts. This also includes their desire to sleep when they are not working or having fun. An animal whose body is at rest and which does not think must, of course, tend to sleep. Regarding memory, intelligence and imagination, it seems to me that in memory they are equal to whites, in intelligence they are significantly inferior. I think it is hardly possible to find a black person who can understand the works of Euclid. Their imagination is dull, tasteless and abnormal... They excrete less through the kidneys and more through the skin, which gives them a very strong and unpleasant odor. Because of this increased sweating, they are better adapted to heat and worse adapted to cold than whites.”

But, despite such views, at the beginning of his political career, Jefferson loved to talk about the abolition of slavery and even inserted a clause about its abolition into the Declaration. But he soon deleted it. As his contemporary, writer and priest Moncur Convey wrote about the father of American independence, “never before had a man achieved such fame for what he did not do.”

A hereditary slave owner, the third president of the United States, a fighter for democracy and equality, Thomas Jefferson during his lifetime owned 600 slaves, not counting servants, and plantations comparable in size to a city. In the American school history textbook, in the section “Thomas Jefferson: Fighter for Freedom and Human Rights,” it is said: “In his industrial hive there was no discord or insult: there was not the slightest traces of discontent... Women sang while they worked, and grown-up children made nails at their leisure, without overwork and for the sake of pleasure.”

Now let's take a look at the Farm Book, written by Jefferson himself: “Child slaves under the age of 10 serve as nannies, from 10 to 16, boys make nails, girls spin, at the age of 16 they go to work in the fields or begin learn a craft."

And now quotes from eyewitness accounts: “Locked in a stuffy, smoky workshop, the boys minted 5-10 thousand nails a day, which in 1796 brought Jefferson $2 thousand in total income. At the time, his nail factory competed with the state penitentiary.”
The politician's son-in-law, Randolph, in one report told Jefferson that the black boys who made nails, "the work is going very well, because the children are being whipped."

Once, for a fight in the workshop, an American humanist sold a slave boy to the southern plantations to intimidate other children, in Jefferson’s own words, “as if death itself had taken him.”

After Jefferson's death, his beloved slave, blacksmith Joseph Fossett, was granted freedom by will, but his entire family - his wife and seven children - remained enslaved. Soon they were resold to other owners; Fossett only managed to buy back his wife. The unfortunate Joseph worked at the anvil for ten years to earn money to ransom his children, but even after saving money, he could not do this: the new owners of his children changed their minds about selling them. The family was never reunited. In 1898, already a free man, the 83-year-old son of a blacksmith, Peter Fossett, recalled: “I will never forget when they put me on the auction platform and sold me like a horse.”

It’s funny to remember another philosophical work of this president, which he modestly titled “Jefferson’s Bible.” Its main character, named Jesus, is a clever man, a manager who has created a grandiose corporation called “Christianity” from scratch. Well, in addition to the “Bible,” there is another unique commandment of this founding father to his followers: “Carrot and stick are good, but not enough, other methods of control are needed.”

It was Jefferson who created the original institution of informants from among free citizens on his estates. For little money (20–50 cents per month), these people had to observe the movements of slaves, their conversations, actions and report their observations to the overseers. Thanks to such informants, with their appearance not a single slave ran away from Jefferson, and if someone managed to steal something (a nail or clothing), the loss was immediately found, and the thief was punished. Thus, the world's first network of secret informants was created, which was later called the “second level of intelligence services” in the United States and has proven itself to be excellent.

And here is what Dmitry Mikheev, a former senior researcher at the US Hudson Institute for Strategic Studies, already mentioned here, says about Jefferson: “The essence of Jefferson’s activities is hypocrisy and lies. He himself wrote laws prohibiting interracial mixing. Even if there is one drop of African blood, you are already a Negro! Even if you are blonde."

Already being the President of the United States, having a respectable wife (who was his second cousin) and six children, Jefferson actively cohabited with a mulatto slave, who also gave him six offspring.

Franklin and Hamilton

The group of founding fathers also includes John Adams, John Jay and James Madison. But we will focus on two other figures.

Benjamin Franklin is the only one of the Founding Fathers who affixed his signature to all three of the most important documents that to this day form the basis of the statehood of the United States: the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution and the Treaty of Versailles of 1783.

Writer, diplomat, active member of the Masonic order and philosopher, Franklin became the spiritual leader of the new American nation in the second half of the 18th century and the first half of the 19th. But, based on his own views, spirituality is always inextricably linked with material gain. It is not surprising that the portrait of Benjamin Franklin is depicted on the hundred dollar bill - his descendants valued him so highly. And by the way, it was Franklin who coined the phrase “time is money.”

Franklin developed the theoretical basis for American statehood, but his young follower Alexander Hamilton put materialist ideas into practice. The “Grey Cardinal”, Secretary of the Treasury under two American presidents (Washington and Adams), Alexander Hamilton was also included in the canonical seven Founding Fathers of the United States.

Hamilton fought throughout his life for a centralized federal state with strong presidential power. He spoke loudly about militaristic plans, advocated imperial policies in Latin America and participation in European affairs. We can say that it was Hamilton who laid all the foundations of modern American statehood: the US Army, the National Bank, the institution of the presidency, the federal character of the state.

By the way, this man deserves admiration not only for his strength of thought, but also for his strength of spirit. Unlike most politicians, who enjoyed complete impunity, Hamilton paid for his ideas with his life. In 1804, during the election campaign for governor of New York, Alexander Hamilton sharply and harshly criticized his political opponent and ideological enemy Aaron Burr. Unable to withstand the attacks, Burr challenged Hamilton to a duel. After the command “To the barrier!” was sounded, Burr fired, but Hamilton deliberately did not fire. In his suicide note, he wrote: “My religious and moral principles are strongly against the practice of dueling. To be forced to shed the blood of a human being in a private fight prohibited by law will cause me pain.” Burr's shot was fatal for Hamilton, but it also ingloriously ended Burr's own political career.

However, the lives of many American leaders ended tragically. And in this regard, we should remember the so-called “presidential curse”, or “Tecumseh’s curse”.

According to legend, in the 18th century, the Indian leader Tecumseh, deceived by white colonists, said a prayer while dying. He asked the gods that every American leader (president) elected in a year evenly divisible by 20 would die or be assassinated before the end of his term of leadership (presidential powers).

Incredibly, the curse worked clearly right up to the seventh generation. The first to die, just a month after his inauguration, was American President William Henry Harrison (who took about 12 thousand square kilometers of land from the Indians). Following him, all presidents elected or re-elected in a year divisible by 20 died in office (either by their own death or from an assassin's bullet). Namely: Abraham Lincoln, James Garfield, William McKinley, Warren Harding, Franklin Roosevelt and John Kennedy. The curse was broken on Reagan.

What was the fate of the politicians who drafted the US Constitution and achieved its ratification?

On September 15, 1776, British troops occupied New York, and George Washington almost fell into enemy hands. After the end of the war, the American commander retired to his estate in the hope of a measured life as a landowner. However, there was no escaping the glory of a national hero; The commander in chief of the Continental Army was unanimously elected chairman of the Constitutional Convention. On April 30, 1789, he assumed the presidency of the United States.

Washington was not the only “founding father” of the States. What was the fate of the politicians who drafted the US Constitution and achieved its ratification?

Benjamin Franklin: Self-taught Encyclopedist

The future scientist and diplomat was born in 1706 into the family of a craftsman. He was the 15th child, and his parents had no money for his education. Therefore, Franklin independently studied chemistry, mathematics, physics and ancient languages. In 1724 he moved to London to become familiar with the printing business. Returning to Philadelphia, the young man published the Pennsylvania Gazette. Franklin also came up with the idea of ​​creating the first public library in the colonies.

The range of scientific interests of the future founding father of the United States was wide: he studied the Gulf Stream and atmospheric electricity, invented bifocal glasses, a rocking chair and a small stove for the home. For writing scientific works, Franklin was recognized as a member of the Royal Scientific Society of England, as well as the St. Petersburg Academy of Sciences. Benjamin became one of the first American Freemasons. He was known to the general public for his aphorisms: “don’t put off until tomorrow what you can do today,” “time is money,” “laziness, like rust, eats away faster than labor wears out.” Franklin also gave practical advice on saving money: “Spend one penny less than you earn.”

Benjamin Franklin died at the age of 85. More than 20 thousand people attended his funeral.

Thomas Jefferson: prominent politician and wealthy slave owner

Jefferson headed the committee that drafted the Declaration of Independence. After two days of discussions, part of the text that dealt with criticism of the slave trade was removed from his draft. It is noteworthy that the politician opposed slave labor, but used it on his plantations; he inherited 2,750 acres of land from his father. And here is a record from contemporaries about working conditions in his workshop: “Locked in a stuffy, smoky workshop, the boys minted 5-10 thousand nails a day, which in 1796 brought Jefferson 2 thousand dollars in total income. At the time, his nail factory competed with the state penitentiary.”

In 1779, Thomas Jefferson became governor of Virginia, and in 1785 he went to France as ambassador. Four years later, he served as Secretary of State under President George Washington. In 1801 he was elected head of state.

John Adams: unknown president

A brilliant lawyer who became famous for his trial in 1770. English soldiers who were accused of killing five townspeople in Boston turned to him for protection. Despite enormous public pressure and risks to his reputation, Adams took on this case. The man had a talent for speaking; the audience listened to him in complete silence. He won the case, six soldiers were acquitted.

John Adams co-created the US Constitution in 1787 and became vice president in 1789. On March 4, 1797, he was elected head of state (at the same time, Adams himself did not participate in the election campaign; instead of public speaking and fighting for votes, he sat at home). His presidency was marred by diplomatic conflict that led to an undeclared war at sea between the United States and the French Republic in 1798–1800. It was under Adams that the White House was built. The President was criticized for his lack of decisive action in the conflict between the Federalist and Democratic-Republican parties.

After the end of his presidential term, the “founding father” left big politics. He died on July 4, 1826. On the same day, his main opponent, Thomas Jefferson, died.

Pamphleteer Alexander Hamilton

Alexander Hamilton became US Secretary of the Treasury in the first American government. On his initiative, the National Bank was created. During the financial crisis of 1792, when securities lost a quarter of their value, Hamilton ordered the issuance of $150,000 to purchase government bonds. In addition, he proposed offering loans secured by American debt securities. It took the Finance Minister just over a month to stabilize the market.

Hamilton was known for his incisive pamphlets. Because of them, the politician died. In July 1804, he was mortally wounded during a duel with Vice President Aaron Burr and died the next day, six months shy of his 50th birthday.

John Jay

In 1789, Jay became the first Chief Justice of the United States Supreme Court, and in 1795 he was elected governor of New York. The politician did not seek re-election for a second term. He moved out of town and took up farming. John Jay died in May 1829 at the age of 83.

James Madison

James Madison studied at a private school, after which he entered the prestigious Princeton University (then the College of New Jersey). In 1775, he headed the Committee of Safety in Orange County, and two years later became a member of the Governor's Council of Virginia. In 1785 he proposed a bill on freedom of religion. He became the author of a series of articles in defense of the Constitution, the purpose of which was to ratify the document in the states. In March 1809, Madison assumed the presidency. In 1810, he ordered a ban on the entry of British ships into American ports. In the same year, he initiated the expansion of West Florida, which at that time belonged to Spain. In 1812, a devastating war with Great Britain began for the United States.

After his resignation, Madison settled in Virginia. He died at the age of 85.