It is amazing to me that our Founding Fathers were so intelligent and brave for what they did in leading our country through its birth. What is really amazing to me is that the average age of these great men was 44 years! The oldest signer of course was our wonderful Benjamin Franklin but few even know that there were 2 men who were in their 20’s! Edward Rutledge from South Carolina and Thomas Lynch Jr. also from South Carolina.
So, let’s look at the statistics of age: 4 signers of the Declaration of Independence were 30 or younger. 21 were 40 or younger and 43 were 50 or younger. There were 6 Founding Fathers who were 60 or older with Grandpa Ben being the oldest. These men weren’t all old! They were men with skin in the game, most had children with 11 men having more than 10 children! Carter Braxton had 18 and had gone through 2 wives. Now I am not saying all the children were still alive or born by the time the Declaration was signed, but these men were looking to the future and the future of their children when they wrote their name on that document.
The Founding Fathers came from many walks of life, with some having several vocations; 2 were ministers, many were lawyers, merchants and owned plantations. There were land owners, a farmer, 4 physicians and 3 scientists. Yes, they were all educated men and most were formally educated except John Morton from Pennsylvania. He was home schooled so to speak by his step father and what he learned from him gave him the wisdom needed to represent Pennsylvania.
When one looks at the statistics and starts reading about these men, it is amazing to think about how they all had such passion for freedom! Their defiance of King George III and his armies when looked at from a common sense view must have seemed suicidal and it could have been, had the PEOPLE not stood up with them against the tyranny of the King.
These great men, set up a country, a REPUBLIC, for the people and by the people, giving them freedom to worship, own land and to be whatever a person dreamed of being. These men served our country and then retired to their homes. Not one of them decided to continue to serve longer than needed, they all had lives, and once those lives and livelihoods were protected, they could live life as they chose. Yes, a few were called into service, to serve as Presidents, or other offices but they all went HOME!
Fast forward to present day politics and we have career politicians who “serve” decades. I don’t believe for one minute that there aren’t people better than Nancy Pelosi, Maxine Waters or Chucky Schumer and Mitch McConnell. They MIGHT have been good when they started but 12 years in DC is long enough, not 40-50 years and yes our oldest serving politician is Chuck Grassley with OVER FIFTY YEARS IN DC!
Career politicians are just as bad as King George III or those in England’s House of Lords or Parliament, back when our country was born! We need to shift back to SERVE AND GO HOME, not “Go to DC and make millions!”
Another thing we need to look at as well; the age of those serving. Sadly, there are very few young people who are capable of tying their own shoes much less be a leader. But we only have ourselves to blame and the Department of Education! Our youth in public education are not learning, they are being ‘brainwashed’ to be followers and not leaders, workers not thinkers. What would our Founding Fathers have to say about this travesty? Education in their time was a treasure and a path to success and dreams to fulfill. Then again, there were several Founding fathers who had informal educations (Home schooled) and then look at Abraham Lincoln, our 16th president, he was self taught. Our colleges and Universities aren’t teaching they are brainwashing nowadays and that is why we have so many perverted deviants, antifa followers and Karen’s. Which leads me back to how simply amazing our Founding Fathers were!
Educated Cowpuncher 