Founding Era

Madison served in the Continental Congress and the Annapolis Convention before becoming the chief draftsperson of the 1787 Constit...

Sherman is the only person to sign the Continental Association, the Declaration of Independence, the Articles of Confederation, an...

After a brief disputed stint in the Senate, Gallatin represented western Pennsylvania in the House from 1795 to 1801, where he bec...

Morris signed the Declaration of Independence, the Articles of Confederation, and the Constitution. As Superintendent of Finance f...

King was a delegate to the Constitutional Convention, where he spoke often and signed the Constitution, then moved to New York and...

Ellsworth served as one of Connecticut's first two senators from 1789 to 1796 and was the principal author of the Judiciary Act of...

Maclay served a single term from 1789 to 1791 and left no landmark legislation, but his detailed, acerbic diary of the first Senat...

Ames served from 1789 to 1797 and made his name in the first Congress with speeches defending the funding of the national debt. Hi...

Muhlenberg, a Lutheran minister from a prominent Pennsylvania family, presided over the launch of the federal government as Speake...

Baldwin, a Yale-educated minister turned lawyer, moved to Georgia, served in the Continental Congress, and was a delegate to the C...

Gerry signed both the Declaration of Independence and the Articles of Confederation, then attended the 1787 Constitutional Convent...

Macon entered the House in 1791 and served there until 1815, presiding as Speaker from 1801 to 1807 during Thomas Jefferson's pres...