| A | B |
|---|
| John Locke | English philosopher who believed in natural rights and the social contract theory of government. |
| Thomas Paine | Author of the pamphlet Common Sense, which challenged the rule of the American colonies by the King of England. |
| Thomas Jefferson | Author of the Declaration of Independence, served as Secretary of State in the Washington administration, leader of the Democratic Republican Party, 3rd President of the United States, purchased the Louisiana Territory from France |
| Patrick Henry | Virginian who inspired the patriot cause with dynamic speeches ("Give me liberty or give me death!" |
| Benjamin Franklin | American patriot who negotiated a treaty of alliance with France, which provided the struggling American army with the assistance it needed to defeat the British in the Revolutionary War. |
| George Washington | General of the American army during the Revolution, presided over the Constitutional Convention |
| James Madison | Known as the "Father of the Constitution," author of the Virginia Plan, authored most of the Bill of Rights, fourth President of the United States |
| George Mason | Author of the Virginia Declaration of Rights (which became the model for the Bill of Rights) |
| John Adams | One of the leaders of the Federalist Party, first Vice President of the United States, second President of the United States |
| Alexander Hamilton | One of the leaders of the Federalist Party, served as Secretary of Treasury in the Washington administration, developed a comprehensive program to pay the American debt afte the Revolutionary War, was killed in a duel with Aaron Burr. |
| John Marshall | Fourth Chief Justice of the United States Supreme Court, established the federal courts as an equal branch of government, wrote Marbury v. Madison (judicial review, giving the federal courts power to declare laws unconstitutional) and McCulloch v. Maryland (national supremacy, "the power to tax is the power to destroy") decisions. |
| Merriweather Lewis and William Clark | Explorers selected by President Thomas Jefferson to explore the Louisiana Purchase and other territory west of the Mississippi River. |
