Stephen, You may be right, but I wonder about the designation "Founding Fathers" and whether it is as inclusive in your mind as it is in people who were educated in other states. What about Governor Clinton in New York who battle the tories in his state hot and heavy to keep the new nation from becoming an aristocracy instead of a true democracy? What about the brave men from New England who did the actual fighting in the Revolutionary War. I've read some reports that do not credit Washington with great military gifts - I once told a class of first graders about a little story that Washington had a special uniform made to attend the Continental Congress to improve his chancs of being named Commander of the forces, along with the other more usual details. The next week when the class was to put into a powerpoint what they knew of each of the Famous Americans we'd discussed, one boy, who was asked to provide the text for Washington, said with the clear surety of a little one, that Washington became General because he had the best looking uniform. Sometimes the real gems of history spill forth from the rosy, innocent lips of our children! BTW, in some parts of the country, the identity of the woman who made the first American flag is controversial. Again, the evidence that it was Betsy Ross was handed down in oral history which does not suit all historians. I don't know that they have proposed any other instead of Ms Ross, but I've seen some ugly comments about historial "proofs" in that controversy as well as this one. Anne Anne Pemberton [log in to unmask] http://www.erols.com/apembert http://www.educationalsynthesis.org ______________________________________ To subscribe, change options, or unsubscribe please see the instructions at http://listlva.lib.va.us/archives/va-hist.html