why is the Founding Fathers an important topic of study?

Answer 1

Because many people in America have nothing else to depend on,
to be proud of, to base their personality on!

You are welcome

Answer 2

The Founding Fathers are important because they provide a backdrop for the study of America as a whole. It is generally agreed on by Historians that they played a very small role in founding America apart from signing a document to make it legally a free nation.

There was a distinctly American economy, political system, social structures and international relations long before the Founding Fathers decided that a Declaration of Independence would be prudent. Their actual role was minimal, but what they claimed to have done opens the door for the study of America before they separated from Britain and makes one look at it more closely. The story of The Founding Fathers just emphasizes the absurdity of American values at the time and if you study them closely, you'll find that American history was forged long before the Founding Fathers came along.

It is also an important topic in the discussion on slavery. The Founding Fathers gave rise of the Master Narrative, which is a telling of the history of America without even considering that slavery was more than a labor force. It was the main historical view until the mid-20th century. Slaves were completely left out of the Declaration of Independence and until recently people ignored the fact that it was slaves that creating the nation and NOT the Founding Fathers. They were the economy, they were the center of politics and slavery provided the system of intricate social relations that made America what it was. The American paradox is that American freedom was based on the bondage of others. Without slavery, America would not exist.

If you'd like to know more I would suggest looking for "Generations of Captivity" by Ira Berlin. The introduction goes into depth on the Master Narrative and for more info on the small role the Founding Fathers played in American history, read "Becoming America" by Jon Butler or "The Unknown American Revolution" by Gary Nash. Very informative.

Answer 3

Like any other culture. You study history of your culture so you will know your roots and the origin of your government and the reason it was formed like it was. i.e why the constitution? i.e. why not a King or Queen? i.e why a Republic instead of a confederacy? i.e elected Representatives instead of directly voting on every bill. i.e limiting of federal power. i.e. dividing power up between states and federal government.
Those are some of the reasons to study the founding fathers to see what motivated them.

Answer 4

One doesn't know where they are going unless they know where they are coming from. For Americans, it all started with the founding fathers.
Yes, that's an arguable point, but apt nonetheless.

Study history....or as they say, those who fail to learn from history are doomed to repeat it.

Answer 5

Sorry, this is a really LONG answer, but it is really important to know this stuff. Good for you for asking!
We tend to forget that to sign the Declaration of Independence was to commit an act of treason -- and the punishment for treason was death. To publicly accuse George III of "repeated injuries and usurpations," to announce that Americans were therefore "Absolved from all Allegiance to the British Crown," was a move fraught with danger -- so much so that the names of the signers were kept secret for six months

They were risking everything, and they knew it. That is the meaning of the Declaration's soaring last sentence:

"And for the support of this Declaration, with a firm Reliance on the Protection of divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes, and our sacred Honor."

Most of the signers survived the war; several went on to illustrious careers.

Two of them became presidents of the United States, and among the others were future vice presidents, senators, and governors. But not all were so fortunate.

Nine of the 56 died during the Revolution, and never tasted American independence.

Five were captured by the British.

Eighteen had their homes -- great estates, some of them - looted or burnt by the enemy.

Some lost everything they owned.

Two were wounded in battle.

Two others were the fathers of sons killed or captured during the war.

"Our Lives, our Fortunes, and our sacred Honor." It was not just a rhetorical flourish.

We all recognize John Hancock's signature, but who ever notices the names beneath his? William Ellery, Thomas Nelson, Richard Stockton, Button Gwinnett, Francis Lewis -- to most of us, these are names without meaning.

But each represents a real human being, some of whom paid dearly "for the support of this Declaration" and American independence.

Lewis Morris of New York, for example, must have known when he signed the Declaration that he was signing away his fortune. Within weeks, the British ravaged his estate, destroyed his vast woodlands, butchered his cattle, and sent his family fleeing for their lives.

Another New Yorker, William Floyd, was also forced to flee when the British plundered his property. He and his family lived as refugees for seven years without income. The strain told on his wife; she died two years before the war ended.

Carter Braxton of Virginia, an aristocratic planter who had invested heavily in shipping, saw most of his vessels captured by the British navy. His estates were largely ruined, and by the end of his life he was a pauper.

The home of William Ellery, a Rhode Island delegate, was burned to the ground during the occupation of Newport.

Thomas Heyward Jr., Edward Rutledge, and Arthur Middleton, three members of the South Carolina delegation, all suffered the destruction or vandalizing of their homes at the hands of enemy troops. All three were captured when Charleston fell in 1780, and spent a year in a British prison.

"Our Lives, our Fortunes, and our sacred Honor."

Thomas Nelson Jr. of Virginia raised $2 million for the patriots' cause on his own personal credit. The government never reimbursed him, and repaying the loans wiped out his entire estate. During the battle of Yorktown, his house, which had been seized by the British, was occupied by General Cornwallis. Nelson quietly urged the gunners to fire on his own home. They did so, destroying it. He was never again a man of wealth. He died bankrupt and was buried in an unmarked grave.

Richard Stockton, a judge on New Jersey's supreme court, was betrayed by loyalist neighbors. He was dragged from his bed and thrown in prison, where he was brutally beaten and starved. His lands were devastated, his horses stolen, his library burnt. He was freed in 1777, but his health had so deteriorated that he died within five years. His family lived on charity for the rest of their lives.

In the British assault on New York, Francis Lewis's home and property were pillaged. His wife was captured and imprisoned; so harshly was she treated that she died soon after her release. Lewis spent the remainder of his days in relative poverty.

And then there was John Hart. The speaker of the New Jersey Assembly, he was forced to flee in the winter of 1776, at the age of 65, from his dying wife's bedside. While he hid in forests and caves, his home was demolished, his fields and mill laid waste, and his 13 children put to flight. When it was finally safe for him to return, he found his wife dead, his children missing, and his property decimated. He never saw any of his family again and died, a shattered man, in 1779.

The men who signed that piece of parchment in 1776 were the elite of their colonies. They were men of means and social standing, but for the sake of liberty, they pledged it all -- their lives, their fortunes, and their sacred honor. We are in their debt to this day.