That whacky, younger, generation...

[The_War_Wagon]

Just how old were the Founding Fathers, on July 4, 1776?

And what would they think of their contemporaries of the SAME age, today? :confused:

http://allthingsliberty.com/2013/08/ages-of-revolution-how-old-1776/

Many, like Ben Franklin, were already "seasoned citizens." The average age of the signers of the Declaration of Independence was 44, but there were quite a FEW under 35 as well...

To wit:

Andrew Jackson, 9
(Major) Thomas Young, 12
Deborah Sampson, 15
James Armistead, 15
Sybil Ludington, 15
Joseph Plumb Martin, 15
Peter Salem, 16*
Peggy Shippen, 16
Marquis de Lafayette, 18
James Monroe, 18
Charles Pinckney, 18
Henry Lee III, 20
Gilbert Stuart, 20
John Trumbull, 20
Aaron Burr, 20
John Marshall, 20
Nathan Hale, 21
Banastre Tarleton, 21
Alexander Hamilton, 21*
John Laurens, 21
Benjamin Tallmadge, 22
Robert Townsend, 22
George Rodgers Clark, 23
David Humphreys, 23
Gouveneur Morris, 24
Betsy Ross, 24
William Washington, 24
James Madison, 25
Henry Knox, 25
John Andre, 26
Thomas Lynch, Jr., 26^
Edward Rutledge, 26^
Abraham Woodhull, 26
Isaiah Thomas, 27
George Walton, 27*^
John Paul Jones, 28
Bernardo de Galvez, 29
Thomas Heyward, Jr., 29^
Robert R. Livingston, 29
John Jay, 30
Tadeusz Kosciuszko, 30
Benjamin Rush, 30^
Abigail Adams, 31
John Barry, 31
Elbridge Gerry, 31^
Casimir Pulaski, 31
Anthony Wayne, 31
Joseph Brant, 33
Nathanael Greene, 33
Thomas Jefferson, 33^
Thomas Stone, 33*^
William Hooper, 34^
Arthur Middleton, 34^
James Wilson, 34*^
Benedict Arnold, 35
Samuel Chase, 35^
Thomas Knowlton, 35
William Paca, 35^
John Penn, 35^
Hercules Mulligan, 36
Andrew Pickens, 36
Haym Solomon, 36
John Sullivan, 36
George Clymer, 37^
Charles Cornwallis, 37
Thomas Nelson, Jr., 37^
Ethan Allen, 38
Charles Carroll, 38^
King George III, 38
Francis Hopkinson, 38^
Carter Braxton, 39^
George Clinton, 39
John Hancock, 39^
Daniel Morgan, 39
Thomas Paine, 39
Patrick Henry, 40
Enoch Poor, 40
John Adams, 40^
Daniel Boone, 41
William Floyd, 41^
Button Gwinnett, 41*^
John Lamb, 41*
Francis Lightfoot Lee, 41^
Paul Revere, 41
Thomas Sumter, 41
Robert Morris, 42^
Thomas McKean, 42^
George Read, 42^
John Dickinson, 43
John Glover, 43
Benjamin Edes, 43
Samuel Huntington, 44^
Richard Henry Lee, 44^
Charles Lee, 44
Francis Marion, 44
Lord North, 44
George Washington, 44
Joseph Galloway, 45
Robert Treat Paine, 45^
Friedrich von Steuben, 45
Richard Stockton, 45^
Martha Washington, 45
William Williams, 45^
(Dr.) Thomas Young, 45*
Josiah Bartlett, 46^
Henry Clinton, 46
Joseph Hewes, 46^
William Howe, 46
George Ross, 46^
William Whipple, 46^
Caesar Rodney, 47^
John Stark, 47
Mercy Otis Warren, 47
William Ellery, 48^
Horatio Gates, 48
Artemas Ward, 48
Oliver Wolcott, 49^
Abraham Clark, 50^
Benjamin Harrison, 50^
George Mason, 50
Lewis Morris, 50^
Lord Stirling, 50
George Wythe, 50*^
Guy Carleton, 51
John Morton, 51*^
Comte de Rochambeau, 51
Lyman Hall, 52^
James Rivington, 52*
Samuel Adams, 53^
Comte de Grasse, 53
John Witherspoon, 53^
John Burgoyne, 54
Johann de Kalb, 55
Roger Sherman, 55^
Thomas Gage, 56
James Smith, 56^
Israel Putnam, 58
Comte de Vergennes, 58
Lewis Nicola, 59*
George Germain, 60
Philip Livingston, 60^
George Taylor, 60*^
Matthew Thornton, 62^
Francis Lewis, 63^
John Hart, 65*^
Stephen Hopkins, 69^
Benjamin Franklin, 70^
Samuel Whittemore, 81

*Evidence may exist that this age is not precise, or only a birth year is known
^Signers of the Declaration of Independence (average signer age was 44)

[montanadave]

No country for old men, eh? :)

[skijunkie55]

Nathan Hale @ 21 - "I only regret that I have but one life to lose for my country."
Never realized he was so young.

[Magic_Salad0892]

Andrew Jackson age 9?

What?

[Ryno12]

Andrew Jackson age 9?

What?

He was born in 1767.

1776-1767=9 ;)

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[BIGUGLY]

Just thinking here, what was the life expectancy of those times, checking google, it shows the average was 45 years old during their time frame.

you would definitely have to grow up fast and accomplish a lot with your life expectancy that low.

[Dienekes]

Contrast that with the gerontocracy we have in Congress now. It looks like a nursing home...

Often sounds like one, too.

[austinN4]

There are some, actually many, on that list I would not consider to beFounding Fathers. For example, Andrew Jackson and King George III, just to name a couple.

[Heavy Metal]

Just thinking here, what was the life expectancy of those times, checking google, it shows the average was 45 years old during their time frame.

you would definitely have to grow up fast and accomplish a lot with your life expectancy that low.

High infant mortailty greatly skews that number. A very large percentage of children never made it to adulthood.

[skijunkie55]

There are some, actually many, on that list I would not consider to beFounding Fathers. For example, Andrew Jackson and King George III, just to name a couple.

The original article was titled "Ages of Revolution: How Old were they on July 4, 1776"

OP forgot to remove a couple names :)

[.46caliber]

It seems to me that the expectation bar has been lowered for our youth over the generations, perhaps in connection to life expectancy.

I can only dream of a US where a 17 year old is expected to carry himself as an adult and held responsible as one.

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[RogerinTPA]

That is great gouge you posted on our founding fathers. I wonder what will motivate the youth these days to take an interest in such a defiant idea as preserving freedom at all cost...

[SteyrAUG]

Crap I know a bunch of people that age who still live at home with Mom and Dad.