“We tend to see them as much older than they were, because we’re seeing them in portraits by Gilbert Stuart and others when they were truly the Founding Fathers—when they were president or chief justice of the Supreme Court and their hair, if it hadn’t turned white, was powdered white. We see the awkward teeth. We see the elder statesmen. At the time of the revolution, they were all young. It was a young man’s–young woman’s cause.”
Several of the signers of the Declaration of Independence were in their 20's. James Monroe was only 18 years old when he signed, John Marshall and Aaron Burr were 20, Alexander Hamilton was 21, and James Madison was the eldest of the group at 25.
These men relied on the age and experience of Thomas Jefferson to draft the document. Jefferson was 33 when he penned the immortal words. In 1780, Madison would be the architect of the Constitution at the ripe old age of 29.
In comparison with today’s legislative body, he would be the youngest delegate in the House of Representatives. We have been conditioned to believe that in order to effect great change, we must be established and influential. We need to recognize that the founding fathers were the original American millennials.
They allowed their frustration with their system to lead them to action. They sought to add meaning to their lives by contributing to something of greater importance than themselves. They were a diverse group of individuals committed to a common goal of improving their situation and the situation of those who would follow them.
Ours is the inheritance of standing up and causing change. Ours is the responsibility of assessing what needs to change and mustering the courage to stand and create the change that will lead to a better society for those who follow us.