"Founding Father" is a term in the dictionary, first coined by historians in 1886, which refers to the men who were most important in the founding of the United States. The term "Framers" is more common today to refer specifically to those who participated in the Constitutional Convention of 1787 which drafted the U.S. Constitution.
[[File:Declaration of Independence.jpg|right|300px|thumb|Agreeing on the Declaration of Independence, as painted later by the artist John Trumbull]]
The Founding Fathers, ranked roughly by their importance, include: