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We have this myth of the founding fathers as wisened, street smart old men. In reality, many of the signatories were in their 20s, often early 20s, hell the Dec

We have this myth of the founding fathers as wisened, street smart old men. In reality, many of the signatories were in their 20s, often early 20s, hell the Declaration of Independence has a few teenage signatories.

Dracophoenix 2y ago
Past a certain point, age has little to do with prudence. There are rational and knowledgable teenagers just as there are middle-aged dullards. One must also keep in mind that the man of the 18th century achieved the necessary milestones to become a self-sufficient adult by his late teens. He will have already lived a full life at the age his 21st century counterpart crosses the starting line.
- FireBeyond 2y ago
  Of course. Although being self-sufficient does not mean that you have a fully developed brain and cognition, either. And absolutely, rational and knowledgeable is certain. But we seem to treat their edicts as the height of infallible perfection in government, and view it as anathema to even suggest ideas that don't precisely align with their statements.
Keyframe 2y ago
many of the signatories were in their 20s, often early 20s, hell the Declaration of Independence has a few teenage signatories. really? i tried sourcing this and I can see there were only two in their 20s (26 each) out of 56. no teenage. 2 in 20s, 17 in 30s, 12 in 40s, 9 in 50s, 6 in 60s, and 1 in 70s (well, 70 exact - Benjamin Franklin).
- FireBeyond 2y ago
  https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2013/08/how-old-were-the-founding-fathers-the-leaders-of-the-american-revolution-were-younger-than-we-imagine.html https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2013/08/how-old-were-the... "As it turns out, many Founding Fathers were younger than 40 years old in 1776 ... more than a dozen of them were 35 or younger." Peter Salem was the youngest signatory at 16. Alexander Hamilton, 21. Thomas Lynch, Jr, and Edward Rutledge, 26. George Walton, 27, and Thomas Heyward, Jr, 29.
  - Keyframe 2y ago
    Are we talking about signers of the Declaration of Independence or more broadly.. not sure what Salem has with Declaration or if he's counted as a Founding Father. I'll give you Hamilton though since he was involved and neither did George Washington nor James Madison sign the Declaration but are still counted as Founding Fathers - https://www.archives.gov/founding-docs/signers-factsheet https://www.archives.gov/founding-docs/signers-factsheet
    - FireBeyond 2y ago
      I was going off of this: "An asterisk signifies that the individual was a signer of the Declaration of Independence" in my source. That being said, I take the National Archives as a more authoritative source than a Slate article!

Dracophoenix 2y ago

Past a certain point, age has little to do with prudence. There are rational and knowledgable teenagers just as there are middle-aged dullards. One must also keep in mind that the man of the 18th century achieved the necessary milestones to become a self-sufficient adult by his late teens. He will have already lived a full life at the age his 21st century counterpart crosses the starting line.

FireBeyond 2y ago
Of course. Although being self-sufficient does not mean that you have a fully developed brain and cognition, either. And absolutely, rational and knowledgeable is certain. But we seem to treat their edicts as the height of infallible perfection in government, and view it as anathema to even suggest ideas that don't precisely align with their statements.

Keyframe 2y ago

many of the signatories were in their 20s, often early 20s, hell the Declaration of Independence has a few teenage signatories. really? i tried sourcing this and I can see there were only two in their 20s (26 each) out of 56. no teenage. 2 in 20s, 17 in 30s, 12 in 40s, 9 in 50s, 6 in 60s, and 1 in 70s (well, 70 exact - Benjamin Franklin).

FireBeyond 2y ago
https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2013/08/how-old-were-the-founding-fathers-the-leaders-of-the-american-revolution-were-younger-than-we-imagine.html https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2013/08/how-old-were-the... "As it turns out, many Founding Fathers were younger than 40 years old in 1776 ... more than a dozen of them were 35 or younger." Peter Salem was the youngest signatory at 16. Alexander Hamilton, 21. Thomas Lynch, Jr, and Edward Rutledge, 26. George Walton, 27, and Thomas Heyward, Jr, 29.
- Keyframe 2y ago
  Are we talking about signers of the Declaration of Independence or more broadly.. not sure what Salem has with Declaration or if he's counted as a Founding Father. I'll give you Hamilton though since he was involved and neither did George Washington nor James Madison sign the Declaration but are still counted as Founding Fathers - https://www.archives.gov/founding-docs/signers-factsheet https://www.archives.gov/founding-docs/signers-factsheet
  - FireBeyond 2y ago
    I was going off of this: "An asterisk signifies that the individual was a signer of the Declaration of Independence" in my source. That being said, I take the National Archives as a more authoritative source than a Slate article!