Revolutionary-Era Leadership
For the revolutionary era prior to 1789, we present the following generational breakdowns.
| Leader Category | Awakening | Liberty | Republican | Total | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| n | % | Avg. Age |
n | % | Avg. Age |
n | % | Avg. Age |
n | % | Avg. Age |
||
| Colonial Delegates to the Stamp Act Congress (New York City; October 7–25, 1765) |
14 | 52 | 51 | 13 | 48 | 36 | 0 | 0 | n/a | 27 | 100 | 44 | |
| Known Members of the Boston Tea Party Riot (Boston; December 16, 1773) |
1 | 1 | 57 | 15 | 19 | 39 | 62 | 79 | 23 | 78 | 100 | 27 | |
| Signers of the Declaration of Independence (Philadelphia; July–August, 1776) |
11 | 20 | 61 | 35 | 63 | 44 | 10 | 18 | 32 | 56 | 100 | 45 | |
| Signers of the U.S. Constitution (Philadelphia; September 17, 1787) |
4 | 10 | 69 | 13 | 33 | 52 | 22 | 56 | 37 | 39 | 100 | 46 | |
| Revolutionary-Era Governors (%) | |||||||||||||
| 1775 | 80 | 10 | 10 | 100 | |||||||||
| 1777 | 33 | 67 | 0 | 100 | |||||||||
| 1779 | 25 | 50 | 25 | 100 | |||||||||
| 1781 | 23 | 62 | 15 | 100 | |||||||||
| 1783 | 23 | 77 | 0 | 100 | |||||||||
| 1785 | 23 | 77 | 0 | 100 | |||||||||
| 1787 | 23 | 62 | 15 | 100 | |||||||||
| Delegates to the Continental Congress at End of Year (%) | |||||||||||||
| 1775 | 22 | 66 | 12 | 100 | |||||||||
| 1777 | 17 | 58 | 25 | 100 | |||||||||
| 1779 | 16 | 61 | 22 | 100 | |||||||||
| 1781 | 13 | 53 | 34 | 100 | |||||||||
| 1783 | 5 | 47 | 48 | 100 | |||||||||
| 1785 | 0 | 43 | 57 | 100 | |||||||||
| 1787 | 2 | 24 | 75 | 100 | |||||||||
| Name | Generation | Lifespan | State | Term | Age |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Peyton Randolph | Awakening | 1721–1775 | VA | 1774, 1775 | 53, 54 |
| Henry Middleton | Awakening | 1717–1784 | SC | 1774–1775 | 57–58 |
| John Hancock | Liberty | 1737–1793 | MA | 1775–1777 | 38–40 |
| Henry Laurens | Liberty | 1724–1792 | SC | 1777–1778 | 53–54 |
| John Jay | Republican | 1745–1829 | NY | 1778–1779 | 33–34 |
| Samuel Huntington | Liberty | 1731–1796 | CT | 1779–1781 | 48–50 |
| Thomas McKean | Liberty | 1734–1817 | DE | 1781 | 47 |
| John Hanson | Awakening | 1721–1783 | MD | 1781–1782 | 60–61 |
| Elias Boudinot | Liberty | 1740–1821 | NJ | 1782–1783 | 42–43 |
| Thomas Mifflin | Republican | 1744–1800 | PA | 1783–1784 | 39–40 |
| Richard Henry Lee | Liberty | 1732–1794 | VA | 1784–1786 | 52–54 |
| Nathaniel Gorham | Liberty | 1738–1796 | MA | 1786–1787 | 48–49 |
| Arthur St. Clair | Liberty | 1736–1818 | PA | 1787–1788 | 51–52 |
| Cyrus Griffin | Republican | 1748–1810 | VA | 1788–1789 | 40–41 |
