Why America Could Produce Great Founding Fathers

Why America, even though under a colonial regime, could give birth to one of the earliest republics in the world? Why could they make up some of the most logical, tight, and scientific documents, notably The Declaration of Independence (1776), The Constitutions of the United States (1787), and The Bills of Rights (1791) - that became the inspiration for a lot of countries. And why could this outer region have such great founding fathers?

The appearance of these great people wasn’t due to luck. It was the combination of the English regime, the education, and the cultural trend.

The birth of the United States was not just a day; this was the result of over 150 years. The purpose of establishing colonies by the English was just for trade. So they just controlled some of the important harbors. That left a huge power vacuum in the region, especially in the inland. To solve this problem, the English used the local people to manage their own lives. As a result, these people had to learn tax, law, and economics, and learn how to apply this knowledge in real life - like how to convince people and how to unite people into groups. This knowledge and these skills are very important to building up a government. And they had over a century to practice it.

The English, by accident or by design, also helped the independence process of Americans. They didn’t see North America as just a land to rob. They wanted it to be an extension of England. And having civilized citizens in these colonies was necessary. Before 1776, there were nine colleges in the colonies, some of which are still considered top-tier today, like Harvard, Yale, Princeton, and Penn. The initial purpose of these colleges was to train ministers. But from the 18th century, since the Enlightenment movement, the curriculum shifted toward moral philosophy, classical history, and debate. Students from all over the 13 colonies met up and shared their knowledge together. Out of 56 signers of The Declaration of Independence, more than half had a college degree - an impressive number.

And the founders of America, they were not only politicians, they were also educated to be polymaths, following the belief of the Enlightenment era: an educated person had to assert comprehensive knowledge. Many of the Founders (especially the Virginians) were wealthy landowners; they had plenty of free time to learn about Greek and Latin languages, to study Greek and Roman history to determine why ancient republics failed, or to learn English Common Laws to build up their own law.

In conclusion, the founding of America wasn’t the contribution of only several dozen people. It was the organic accumulation of 150 years of self-governance, supported - perhaps unintentionally - by the very British systems they eventually overthrew.