Greetings, loyal minions. Your Maximum Leader promised you two, or even three, post today. Alas, he’d hoped to write sooner. But events overtook your Maximum Leader’s ability to blog at will… Regardless of that, here is a somewhat abbreviated second post.

Your Maximum Leader, in his previous post, ranked some great presidents of the US. In this post he thought he would shift his gaze somewhat to the founders of our great republic. This is post he wanted to throw out a few (ranked) names in terms of their importance to the founding of our republic. The men in this list will be those who played an important role in the founding of our republic. That is to say the period from 1775 to 1788, the period from Independence to Constitution. So… Here is the list…

1) George Washington. Yes… The (Political) Father of His Country tops another of your Maximum Leader’s lists. Were it not for Washington being able to hold together (against long odds) the rag-tag army there would be no United States of America. Washington was able to fight the British, the Congress, the various states, his officers, and the press and keep himself and the army together. Your Maximum Leader seriously doubts that any military commander had quite as many different factors affecting his ability to wage (much less win) a war than did George Washington. Then after the war, Washington becomes the central figure in the Constitutional Convention. By central your Maximum Leader doesn’t mean that Washington was the intellectual power behind the Convention. But he was the central organizing figure and the man who gave the meeting stature and respectability.

2) John Adams. John Adams was the man most responsible for moving our country towards political independence He urged, cajoled, pushed, shoved, browbeat, and compelled the first Congress towards declaring independence from Britain.

3) Benjamin Franklin. The (biological) father of his country was a seminal figure during the Revolution and Constitutional Convention. His diplomatic efforts (much to the dismay of John Adams) eventually led to French intervention in the war. His counsel at the Constitutional Convention helped bridge the gaps between regional factions. Also his early push for the abolition of slavery (which technically occured outside of the period under review here) is a testament to his dedication to the rights of all men.

4) Thomas Jefferson. He wrote the words that have inspired generations of men across the globe.

5) James Madison. Father of the Constitution. His analysis and knowledge was heavily drawn upon during the Constitutional Convention. He mediated many disputes between delegates, and suggested the framework that eventually became our Consitution.

Your Maximum Leader has other names he would like to add, but he cannot rank them very well. The non-comprehensive list includes: Alexander Hamilton, Gouverneur Morris, Patrick Henry, and George Mason. Alas, your Maximum Leader has grown weary and finds he can no longer write cogently. (Assuming of course that he could write cogently before.)

Tomorrow is a big day. (Very very big day in fact.) So your Maximum Leader needs a goo night of sleep to prepare.

Carry on.