John Jay of New York and John Dickinson of Delaware and Pennsylvania: You name it and one if not both of these Founding Fathers did it.
Although both were governors, Continental Congress delegates and treaty-brokers, Jay and Dickinson contributed the most to the Patriot cause and Revolution’s ideals with the pen (indeed, Dickinson was dubbed "Penman of the Revolution"). Along with Alexander Hamilton and James Madison, Jay helped write the Federalist Papers essays to convince reluctant Americans to ratify the new Constitution. Dickinson composed essays and articles before the Revolution to protest Parliament’s policies governing the colonies, which helped spark the Revolution’s onset. Their incredible careers can only be overshadowed by their immeasurable contributions to the Revolution and founding of America.
John Jay
• Chief Justice of New York Supreme Court
• Delegate to Continental Congress
• President of Continental Congress
• Founder of New York Manumission Society
• Minister to Spain
• Co-author of the Federalist Papers
• Secretary of Foreign Affairs
• First Supreme Court Chief Justice
• Brokered the Jay Treaty
• Governor of New York
• Jay, New York, Jay, Vermont, Jay County, Indiana, and the John Jay College of Criminal Justice at the City University of New York are named in his honor
John Dickinson
• State politician
• Delegate to Stamp Act Congress
• Author of "Letters from a Pennsylvania Farmer"
• Delegate to Continental Congress
• Co-author of "Declaration of the Causes and Necessity of Taking Up Arms"
• Co-wrote Olive Branch Petition
• Continental Army veteran
• Chairman of Pennsylvania’s Committee of Safety and Defense
• Delegate to Constitutional Convention
• President (governor) of Pennsylvania
• President (governor) of Delaware
FORGOTTEN FOUNDING FATHERS TOURNAMENT BRACKET
Round 2
Washington Bracket
1. George Mason 88%
- John Witherspoon 12%
*
- Frederick Muhlenberg 38%
2. William Penn 62%
Jefferson Bracket
1. Nathanael Greene 75%
- Edmund Randolph 25%
*
- John Carroll 20%
2. Richard Henry Lee 80%
Madison Bracket
1. Roger Williams 71%
- Isaac Shelby 29%
*
3. Henry Knox 55%
- Roger Sherman 45%
Franklin Bracket
- John Jay
- John Dickinson
*
- John Paul Jones
- Friedrich Wilhelm von Steuben
FFFs and match-ups are determined by my interpretation of who I believe were the 32 greatest FFFs. Personal politics, favoritism and reader response was NOT a factor in selection or seeding. As for the tournament itself: each match-up will be conducted every 24 hours with a synopsis written by yours truly and readers can determine using the poll function who the winner should be for that match-up; there is no #1 overall seed; FFFs retain their seeds throughout; the winner of the Washington bracket will face the winner of the Jefferson bracket, and the winner of the Madison bracket will face the winner of the Franklin bracket; after having the first tie, I've decided the higher seed will win ties. I am not voting nor will I pick sides in discussion. I wish I could somehow do a more rigid time duration period for each round but there’s no guarantee I’ll be on a computer or awake at that time so I’m gonna say polling lasts until I post the next match-up, or roughly 24 hours later. Readers may choose whichever FFF contestant they wish, but the point of the tournament is to select the greatest Forgotten Founding Father — the most influential, most important, most impactful, who contributed the most to the Revolution and/or seeds of American liberty. Please read the original diaries in addition to the information provided above so you have all the information before voting. Have fun!