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John Witherspoon (With her Spoon)
Witherspoon represented New Jersey with his signature on the Declaration of Independence. He was a Presbyterian minister and the only college president to sign the Declaration. That college is now Princeton! Though the British forces tore down the college in 1776, Witherspoon devoted his life to rebuilding it. He also served twice in the state legislature. -
John Hancock
Patriot of the American Revolution, John Hancock is most famous for writing his name very largely at the bottom of the Declaration of Independence. He did this because signing the document was an act of treason and he wanted to show that he didnt care about the British Crowns laws by making sure that his name was clearly shown on the document. We now refer to a signiture by using his name i.e. "Can I have your John Hancock?". He served as president of the Second Continental Congress. -
Charles Carroll of Carrollton
Carroll was a wealthy planter in Maryland before he served as a delegate to the Continental Congress and Confederation Congress and later as first United States Senator for Maryland. He had always believed in getting away from the British Crown and was definitely on the list to sign the Declaration of Independence. He was actually the longest living man who signed the Declaration of Independence, dying at the age of 95. -
John Jay
An American statesman, Patriot, diplomat, one of the Founding Fathers of the United States, signer of the Treaty of Paris, and first Chief Justice of the United States, Jay served as the President of the Continental Congress. He was a busy guy. Most importantly, Jay, along with Alexander Hamilton and James Madison, wrote the Federalist Papers in hopes of persuading people to ratify the Constitution. -
Benjamin Rush
Founding Father of the United States, Rush was a leader in Philadelphia, where he was a physician, politician, social reformer, educator and humanitarian. Rush signed the Declaration of Independence and attended the Continental Congress. He also served as Surgeon General in the Continental army. A supporter of the American Revolution, Rush believed in free public schools and education for women. He also was against slavery. -
John Peter Muhlenberg
Muhlenberg was a general in the contental army, member of the Virginia House of Burgesses, member of the Pennsylvania assembly, governor of Pennsylvania, and a member of both the U.S. House and Senate. He was a commited Lutherine but was told to have thrown off his church clothes to reveal his military uniform and said "There is a time to pray and a time to fight, and that time has now come!" . He was an important figure in battles such as Yorktown and Valley Forge. -
John Trumbull Sr.
A harvard graduate, Trumbull is known for being one of the most well-known Connecticut governors and for his contribution in the Revolutionary War. He was a friend and advisor for General Washington (the first U.S. President). Trumbull was the only colonial governor to continue in office through the American revolution. Washington gave his name fame when he said "let us consult brother Johnathan". Washington valued his advice and opinions. -
Declaration of Independence
This document, written by Thomas Jefferson, was how we declared ourselves as separate from the king and created our own nation. This document was also meant to unify the people that lived in the states so that they would start seeing themselves as Americans rather than being part of the crown. This document called upon other countries to help us while we went on our voyage to independence. -
U.S. Constitution
This document is the supreme law of the United States. The U.S. Constitution established America’s national government and fundamental laws, and guaranteed certain basic rights for its citizens. The document insured that the government would be restricted in what they may do to avoid the monarchy that they were trying to escape. The Bill of Rights, which is attached to this document , also has rights that limit governments from taking away certain rights. -
Bill of Rights
This document was added to our Constitution to insure the basic rights of Americans. These rights were put in place in order to keep everyone protected and equal. The Constituion would not be complete without the Bill of Rights. The Bill of Rights contains the 10 ammendments. -
Fifth Amendment
The Fifth Amendment of the United States Constitution protects citizens from being held for committing a crime unless they have been correctly taken by the police. The Fifth Amendment is also where due process comes from, meaning that the state and the country have to respect your legal rights to say whether or not you are guilty. It protects you from saying something stupid and encriminating yourself. -
E Pluribus Unum
Latin for "out of many, one", is a phrase on the Seal of the United States. This phrase was meant to band the colonies together, meaning that out of many colonies there is one nation. This is important because one of the reasons that they even wrote the Declaration of Independence was to band the colonies together. For so long they had thought of themselves as separate nations with no connection. The colonies needed a battle cry, if you will, to make them feel like one big happy family. -
Alex de Tocqueville and his Five Principles
As a French sociologist he traveled to America to study our prisons and left with a book that he wrote called "Democracy in America". In this book you can see his Five Principles:
Liberty- Can be described as your basic freedoms.
Egalitarianism- Is another word for equality. If you lose egalitarianism that means you are becoming less equal.
Individualism- The principal of having independent thoughts and actions.
Populism-A political philosophy
Laissez-faire- Little government interfearance. -
Eminent Domain
Eminent Domain is a rule that ensures that our land belongs to us and is not permitted to be used for "public use". The Fifth Amendment protects us by requiring the government to provide just compensation to the owner of the private property to be taken. This can be seen in cases where the government might want to build a road through a neighborhood. For taking these peoples homes away, the government would be required to give them a form of compensation, which is normally given as money. -
"In God We Trust"
This is the replacement moto for the phrase "E pluribus unum". This moto was replaced because the American Civil War had people going crazy over religion so they wanted something to connect America with Christianity. Atheists have expressed objections to its use, and want to have the religious reference removed from U.S. money, under the grounds that it violates the First Amendment.
