America's founding father and scientist. Founding Fathers of the USA: lists, history and interesting facts. What is the difference between the democracy of Cleisthenes and that proposed by the founders of the United States?

33\34. Founding Fathers of the USA.

Paine on State and Law

Thomas Paine (1737-1809) is one of the most radical representatives of the democratic political and legal ideology of the Revolutionary War period. Later than its other representatives, having joined the liberation movement of the colonies (Paine in 1774, i.e. on the eve of the War of Independence, moved from England to North America), he was the first among them in 1775 in the article “Serious Thought” to raise the question of separation of the colonies from England and the creation of an independent state. In his pamphlet "Common Sense" - his most famous work - he showed the imperfection of the political system of England and proposed the name of the state that the colonists should form - "United States of America". The ideas of this pamphlet were reflected in the Declaration of Independence of the United States, authored by T. Jefferson. After the outbreak of the revolution in France, Paine published the work "Rights of Man", in which he defended the democratic rights and freedoms proclaimed in the French Declaration of the Rights of Man and Citizen of 1789.

Like many other representatives of the natural law theory of that time, Paine distinguished between natural and civil rights of man." The former are inherent in him by nature, "by the right of his existence." To them Paine included the right to happiness, freedom of conscience, freedom of speech. These are the rights of man possessed in a state of nature, which, according to Paine, was a historical fact (here he is close to Locke) and which, in his opinion, was still preserved among the North American Indians.

With the formation of society and the state, people transferred part of their natural rights to the “common fund”. This is how civil rights arise that belong to a person as a member of society. These are the rights that a person is not able to protect with his own power. Paine also included the right of ownership among them - an acquired right, not a natural one.

Like Rousseau, Paine believed that in the state of nature there was no private property in land—land was “the common property of the human race.” Private property appears with the transition to agriculture, and also as a result of “underpayment of workers.” Along with it, a division of people into rich and poor arises. By nature, all people are equal in their rights, and the division into rich and poor is a consequence of the emergence of private property (for Paine's ideological opponent A. Hamilton, the division into rich and poor has a natural origin).

Back in 1775, Paine was one of the first in North America to speak out against slavery and demand the emancipation of slaves.

The state, according to Paine, arises after the unification of people into society, because united people are not able to maintain justice in their relations among themselves. It is created by people according to a social contract - the only possible way to form a state. Therefore, the supreme power in the state must belong to the people themselves. From this idea of ​​popular sovereignty, Paine deduces the right of the people to establish or destroy any form of government - the right of the people to revolt and revolution. With the same ideas of popular sovereignty and the right to revolution, Paine substantiated the admissibility and necessity of separating the colonies from England and forming their own independent state.

Analyzing the forms of the state, Paine distinguished between “old” (monarchical) and “new” (republican) forms. The basis of this one. The classification is based on the principles of education (government - inheritance or election. Paine sharply criticized the political system of England and pre-revolutionary France. He called government based on the transfer of power by inheritance “the most unjust and imperfect of all systems of government.” Without any legal basis , such a power is inevitably tyrannical, usurping popular sovereignty.

Republican government, according to Paine's ideas, should be based on the principle of popular representation. It is “a government instituted in the interests of the community and carried on in its interests, both individual and collective.” Since it is based on popular sovereignty, the supreme power must be vested in the legislative body, elected on the basis of universal suffrage as the realization of the natural equality of people.

From these positions, Paine criticized the US Constitution of 1787, during the period of which he was in Europe. Thus, in enshrining the system of “checks and balances” in the Constitution, he rightly saw the influence of Montesquieu’s theory of separation of powers, with which he did not agree. He also saw a drawback of the Constitution in the creation of a bicameral legislative body, formed on the basis of the qualification suffrage that existed in the states. In his opinion, the term of office of senators was too long (six years). He preferred a collegial one to the sole head of the executive branch (president), provided for by the Constitution. He also objected to giving the president the right of veto, and to the irremovability of judges, who, he believed, should be re-elected and be responsible to the people. Finally, Paine argued that each generation should determine for itself what was in its best interest and therefore have the right to change the Constitution.

Paine's political views expressed democratic and revolutionary tendencies in the liberation movement of the colonists and the interests of the broadest strata. They had a tremendous impact on the course and outcome of the War of Independence. Moreover, they influenced the liberation movement in Latin America against Spanish colonial rule and even “crossed” the Atlantic Ocean and in Paine’s homeland, England, they contributed to the formation of the political ideology of the Chartist movement with its demands for universal suffrage and annual parliamentary elections.

§ 3. Political and legal views of T. Jefferson

The political views of Thomas Jefferson (1743 - 1826) were close to those of Paine. Like Paine, Jefferson accepted the natural law doctrine in its most radical and democratic interpretation. Hence the closeness of his political and legal views to the ideas of Rousseau. True, before the start of the Revolutionary War, Jefferson hoped for a peaceful resolution of the conflict with England and was influenced by Montesquieu's theory of separation of powers. But this did not stop him from subsequently criticizing the US Constitution of 1787, which perceived the separation of powers as a system of “checks and balances” and gave the president the opportunity to be re-elected an unlimited number of times and thereby, according to Jefferson, turn into a lifelong monarch. He considered the absence of a Bill of Rights, especially freedom of speech, press, and religion, to be a big drawback of the Constitution.

The radical and democratic interpretation of the natural law concept was manifested in Jefferson's idea of ​​the social contract as the basis of the structure of society, giving all its participants the right to constitute state power. From here the idea of ​​popular sovereignty and equality of citizens in political, including voting, rights flowed logically.

Jefferson criticized capitalism, which was gaining strength in the United States, leading to the ruin and impoverishment of large sections of the population. However, he considered the main cause of these disasters to be the development of large-scale capitalist production and idealized small farming. His ideal was a democratic republic of free and equal farmers. This ideal was utopian, but Jefferson's active promotion of it played a major role in attracting the broad masses of the colonies to active participation in the War of Independence.

Even more important was the fact that Jefferson was the author of the draft Declaration of Independence - a constitutional document that, based on the democratic and revolutionary interpretation of natural law doctrine, substantiated the legality of the separation of the colonies from England and their formation of an independent state.

A break with religious ideas about state power, still characteristic of that era (mention of the creator God is made in passing in the Declaration and does not change anything in its content), and natural law argumentation, popular sovereignty and the right to revolution, protection of individual freedom and rights citizens - all this made the Declaration of Independence the outstanding theoretical and political document of its time. It should not be forgotten that feudal-absolutist tyranny still reigned on the continent of Europe in those years, and the English monarchy tried to maintain its dominance in the North American colonies using practically feudal-absolutist means.

To Jefferson, as the author of the Declaration, “these truths are evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.” The natural equality of people proclaimed in the preamble of the Declaration was directly opposed to the class privileges inherited from feudalism, and inalienable rights to feudal lawlessness. These ideas also had a specific practical and political meaning in the struggle against the British colonialists, who denied the equality of colonists with the residents of the metropolis and encroached on the rights of the colonists.

The list of inalienable rights named in the Declaration does not include the right of property contained, as noted, in the Declaration of Rights of the First Continental Congress. The absence of this most important, sacred right for bourgeois society is explained by the influence of Paine, who in American historical literature was sometimes called the author of the Declaration of Independence, although he himself clearly indicated that its author was Jefferson (it was said above that Paine considered the right of property to be an acquired right and, therefore, not related to inalienable human rights). It is necessary to keep in mind another, practically no less important, political circumstance. When drafting the Declaration, Jefferson took into account that as the conflict between the colonists and England intensified, their ideas about freedom and property became increasingly fused. After all, the source of the conflict lay primarily in England’s encroachments on the material interests of the colonists. It was these attacks that helped the colonists realize that they were not free. The colonists saw their freedom in the unhindered development of property; The main thing for them was not abstract theoretical freedom from foreign power, but practical freedom that ensured their material interests. Therefore, freedom as a natural and inalienable right was seen by the colonists (and Jefferson had to take this into account) as a guarantee of freedom of property. In practice, freedom in the Declaration of Independence included the right to freely use and dispose of one’s material goods, i.e. right to property.

Government, Jefferson wrote in the Declaration of Independence, is created by the people to protect the natural rights of man, and the power of government derives from the consent of the people to obey it. Consistently developing the idea of ​​popular sovereignty, Jefferson concludes that due to this origin of government power (created by the people) and such a condition of its existence (the consent of the people), the people have the right to change or destroy the existing form of government (the existing government), which is the “duty and right” of the people overthrow of a government bent on despotism. The right to revolution is thus justified, and convincingly justified.

Further, the Declaration of Independence contains 27 points accusing the English king of striving for despotism, which gives grounds to proclaim in the Declaration “in the name and authority of the good people of our colonies” the separation of the colonies from England (the overthrow of a government striving for despotism is the right to revolution) and the formation of independent U.S.A.

To characterize Jefferson's political views, it is important to pay attention to the fact that in the draft Declaration of Independence he compiled there were not 27, but 28 points of accusation against the English king. The clause, which did not make it into the final text of the Declaration as a result of strong objections from the planters of the southern colonies, condemned the slavery of blacks that flourished in the southern colonies. Jefferson was convinced that it was contrary to human nature and the natural rights of people and accused the English king of “capturing people and enslaving them in another hemisphere, and often they died a terrible death, unable to withstand transportation.”

Jefferson entered the history of political thought and the history of modern times as a whole as the author of the Declaration of Independence of the United States. The significance of the Declaration is not only that it proclaimed the formation of the United States, but even more so in the proclamation of the most advanced political and legal ideas and ideas at that time. The ideas of the Declaration and of Jefferson himself had and continue to influence political life in the United States.

§ 4. A. Hamilton’s views on state and law

Alexander Hamilton (1757-1804) was one of the most prominent political figures of the US founding period, whose theoretical views and practical activities had a decisive influence on the content of the US Constitution of 1787.

During the period of immediate preparation of the Constitution, and especially after its adoption, a sharp political struggle broke out in the country between federalists and anti-federalists. Externally, the basis for the split into these political groups was the attitude towards the federal form of government of the United States intended by the Constitution.

Hamilton was one of the most influential Federalist leaders who believed that the federal structure overcomes the weakness of the confederal organization of the United States, enshrined in the Articles of Confederation of 1781. Only a strong central government, in their opinion, is capable of creating a strong state and preventing the further development of the democratic movement of the masses, increased after the victory in the Revolutionary War. A federation, Hamilton argued, would be a barrier against internal strife and popular uprising.

The Federalists actually represented the interests of the large commercial and industrial bourgeoisie and planters. The Anti-Federalists expressed the aspirations of the poor and disadvantaged sections of the population - farmers, small entrepreneurs and traders, wage workers.

Hamilton's political positions were determined in the period preceding the War of Independence, when he advocated a peaceful resolution of the conflict, a compromise with England. His theoretical views completely coincided with this position. They were formed under the decisive influence of the theory of separation of powers of Montesquieu, who, as is known, was greatly impressed by the constitutional structure of the English monarchy. Hamilton considered this device to be the basis of the US Constitution.

However, the logic of the liberation struggle of the colonies forced Hamilton to recognize the possibility of a republican system. But he considered the creation of a strong presidential power, not much different from the power of a constitutional monarch, to be a prerequisite for this. The president, in his opinion, should be elected for life and have broad powers, including the ability to control the representative body of the legislative branch, which, under pressure from voters, can make “arbitrary decisions.” The same idea was contained in Hamilton's proposal to make ministers appointed by the president practically not responsible to parliament.

He envisioned the parliament itself as bicameral, created on the basis of suffrage with a high property qualification. The division of people into rich and poor, and accordingly into enlightened and unenlightened, capable and incapable of managing the affairs of society, is, according to Hamilton, of natural origin and irremovable. The rich and, therefore, the enlightened by their very nature have the right to be represented in the highest organs of state. Only they are capable of ensuring the stability of the political system, because any changes in it will not give them anything good. Giving the people the opportunity to actively participate in state affairs will inevitably lead to mistakes and delusions due to the irrationality and fickleness of the masses and thereby weaken the state.

Not all of Hamilton's ideas were accepted by the US Constitution (president for life, qualified suffrage). But both the general thrust and most of Hamilton's specific proposals were adopted by the Constitutional Convention. In this regard, it should be noted that of the 55 members of the Constitutional Convention, only 8 participated in the adoption of the Declaration of Independence. Therefore, it is clear that the Convention supported Hamilton, who even objected to the inclusion of a Bill of Rights in the text of the Constitution, although such bills were already contained in the constitutions of the founding states of the United States.

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?

Well educated and successful, 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 the 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.

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 short 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.

In her blog, the legendary presenter of the BBC Russian Service, Seva Novgorodtsev, sometimes looks at the news of the day from the most unexpected angle.

Audio version of the section "Caution, people!" listen also in the BibiSeva program, which airs on the Internet on the website bbcrussian.com every weekday at 19:00 Moscow time (16:00 London time). The program's podcast can be downloaded.

History belongs to us, especially to those of us who study history and, more importantly, to those who write it. With each new generation of historians, the most socially conscious and politically correct ones come forward, looking at the old in a new way.

On the eve of the presidential debates in America, it is noticeable that the founding fathers of the United States, who gave their descendants the Constitution and the Bill of Rights, do not enjoy the same respect among modern historians and are losing points.

They write that many of the founders were white, from a privileged class, had slaves and were not averse to profiting from lands taken from the indigenous population - the Indians. If they were so progressive, then why didn’t they say a word about women’s equality? In those historical documents, only one female name appears - Betsy Ross, and only because she was assigned to sew the flag.

American radio journalist Tom Hartmann wrote the book “What Would Jefferson Do?”, in which he provides interesting facts. It turns out that the richest among the American revolutionaries was John Hancock, whose fortune in modern money is $750 thousand. That is, not an oligarch. Another signatory of the Declaration, Thomas Nelson, the British confiscated all the lands, he died at the age of fifty, in poverty.

Today it is taken for granted that overthrowing the British colonial yoke was the right thing to do. However, at that time, most colonists did not think so, arguing that America was better off remaining an English colony until the end of time.

The 56 people who signed the Declaration of Independence understood that by doing so they were signing their own death warrant. Under existing English law, they were traitors to the King and the Empire. The punishment for betrayal is death. Benjamin Franklin then told his colleagues: “If we do not stick together, we will be hanged individually.”

John Hancock was the first to sign the declaration. His signature is the largest. “I want King George III to view it without glasses,” he explained. Hancock then had to flee from the advancing English army; his wife was pregnant, and later gave birth to a stillborn baby.

Of those 56 signatories, nine died in the Revolutionary War, 17 people lost their homes and all their wealth. None of the descendants of those 56 families are among the political or business elite today.

The oldest of them, Benjamin Franklin, was 76 years old, Jefferson was 33 years old, almost all were relatively young men. They stood face to face with the world's largest global power, the British Empire. King George III had a powerful army at his disposal and colossal financial power in his hands. He was the owner of the largest multinational corporation of that time - the East India Company.

It was against her that the first action, the famous “Boston Tea Party,” was directed.

On December 16, 1773, a group of “sons of liberty” in national Indian costumes with axes and clubs boarded the tea clippers Dartmouth, Eleanor and Beaver. A team of professional longshoremen quickly emptied the holds and threw overboard bales of tea, 45 tons in total, approximately two million dollars at today's exchange rate.

Vandalism and robbery. Or the brave act of freedom fighters.

Your comments

who were the founding fathers of america?

Well, it’s a no brainer! - Scoundrels and carbonari!

Sherman was a shoemaker, our Yasha Sverdlov was an engraver

Franklin made soap and candles, and our Leiba Bronstein-Trotsky also hasn’t worked at all since he was 17...

Adams - refused the priesthood EXACTLY like our unforgettable Koba!

Jaeferson is a lawyer, like Lenin

In the USA there is such a sketch-speech - quite stupid and moderately stupid - in the spirit of the English! - A ship with 300 lawyers sank. Audience reaction: Not a bad start...

We don’t understand what the big deal is if we don’t know the eternal hatred of people towards lawyers in the USA.

A lawyer, a shoemaker, a soap maker and a pop singer stirred up a meanness - a revolution... Everything is logical and understandable...

ONE thing is not clear! - Why spoil tea and burn cars, as is now customary in France!?

albor.ru,

From the point of view of the heirs of King George, vandalism and robbery. From the point of view of the sons of freedom, a brave act of fighters

(they didn’t throw it into their carts, mind you).

Who are you for, anyway?

Jerry

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The enormous creative heritage of this talented and versatile person includes political treatises, natural science works, philosophical essays and satirical pamphlets. Benjamin Franklin's "Autobiography" is considered a classic of American literature, a source of excellent advice on self-improvement, and also, to quote D. Carnegie, one of "life's most fascinating stories." The famous scientist is one of the Founding Fathers of the United States of America, which includes several political figures who played key roles in the creation of the American state and made an invaluable contribution to winning independence and creating the principles of a new political system. Three historical documents that formed the basis of the formation of the United States were sealed with the signature of this outstanding historical figure.

Signature on the Declaration of Independence

Politician and diplomat, inventor and scientist, publisher and Freemason Benjamin Franklin was among the 56 delegates to the Continental Congress whose names are immortalized in American history. It was they who signed the Declaration of Independence, the most important document that proclaimed the separation of the thirteen North American colonies from Great Britain. Franklin was elected to the committee that would write the text of the Declaration. The authorship of the document expressing American aspirations belongs to Thomas Jefferson, who managed to clearly formulate the principle of state sovereignty and the most important ideas of democracy - equality and the inalienable rights of people. Benjamin Franklin made editorial changes to the text of the document. He, along with the delegates of the congress on June 2, 1776, participated in the signing of the “birth certificate” of the new state, reproduced on parchment. Two days later, the Declaration was unanimously approved and endorsed by the certifying signatures of the President of the Congress and his Secretary. The 4th of July has forever gone down in history as Independence Day, which is celebrated every year in the United States.

Franklin's participation in the signing of the Treaty of Versailles and the US Constitution

The life of Benjamin Franklin was filled with events that often had great significance for the destinies of states. The War of Independence, in particular its official conclusion, is closely connected with the name of this remarkable man. Along with John Adams, a prominent figure in the Revolutionary War, Benjamin Franklin represented the American side in France at the signing of the peace treaty between the United States and Great Britain (September 3, 1873). The most important article of this treaty was the recognition by Great Britain of the Thirteen Colonies as sovereign and independent states, as well as the renunciation of the former mother country's claims to govern them.

Returning to America (1785), Benjamin Franklin headed the Pennsylvania state legislature, and two years later actively participated in the preparation and organization of the congress at which the US Constitution was adopted. He also became one of the authors of the fundamental law (Constitution) of the United States.