A pop quiz on our Founding Fathers

Happy 250th Independence Day! I hope you are enjoying the food, fireworks and parades. However, do you remember the people that made this day possible? Let's find out. Time for another 250-pop quiz, this one on the "Founding Fathers." So, take a brief break from the festivities, find a shady spot, and see how you do. As always, you are playing for pride and bragging rights. 1) This Founding Father from New York was a lawyer who helped organize American opposition to British policies. He was elected to the First Continental Congress and then served as a president of the Second Continental Congress. He served as the ambassador to Spain and was a signatory of the Treaty of Paris. He would become the first Chief Justice of the United States, being appointed by President George Washington. 2) Also from New York, this Founding Father fought in the Revolutionary War, first as an artillery officer and then as aide-de-camp to George Washington. He would lead one of the final assaults that forced the British to surrender at the Siege of Yorktown. After the war he would become a delegate to the Philadelphia Convention where the U.S. Constitution was drafted. He would also become a member of President Washington's Cabinet, serving as the first U.S. secretary of the treasury. He would later be killed in a pistol duel against a former vice president. 3) Hailing from Virginia, this Founding Father was a member of both the Virginia House of Delegates and the Continental Congress during and after the Revolutionary War. Dissatisfied with the weak national government established by the Articles of Confederation, he helped organize the Constitutional Convention and took the lead in advocating for several constitutional amendments, becoming the Bill of Rights. His actions earned him the nickname "Father of the Constitution." 4) This Founding Father was a member of the North Carolina delegation at the Constitution Convention of 1787 and is one of the signers of the Constitution. He served as a paymaster during the Revolutionary War and served two terms in the Continental Congress. He would later serve as governor of the Southwest Territory and played a leading role in Tennessee statehood. There is a town in Sullivan County named after him. 5) His father made him a partner in the family's malthouse where malt was produced for the brewing of beer. This Founding Father from Massachusetts organized the Sons of Liberty as well as the Boston Tea Party. He was a signatory of the Declaration of Independence and eventually elected governor. 6) This Founding Father was one of the richest men in the 13 colonies. Born in Massachusetts, he became a leading political figure in Boston and had several disputes with the British, especially when they would seize and board his ships in the harbor. He was the longest-serving president of the Continental Congress and the first signer of the Declaration of Independence. His flamboyant signature on the Declaration turned his name into an informal synonym for signature. 7) This Founding Father from Pennsylvania was a successful newspaper publisher and printer in Philadelphia. He helped establish and was the first president of the Academy and College of Philadelphia in 1751, now known as the University of Pennsylvania. He was an active abolitionist and promoted the education and integration of Black Americans into U.S. society. He served on the Committee of Five, which drafted the Declaration of Independence. He was then dispatched to France as commissioner for the United States. He was the only person to sign the Declaration of Independence, the Treaty of Paris peace with Britain, and the Constitution. His face is now on the $100 bill. 8) A planter from Virginia, this Founding Father represented that state in the Second Continental Congress. As a member of the Committee of Five, he played a major role in the creation of the Declaration of Independence. After the revolution, Congress would appoint him as U.S. Minister to France. He would then be appointed the nation's first secretary of state by George Washington. He would later become president himself and double the size of the country. 9) This Founding Father from Massachusetts served on the Continental Congress and was a member of the Committee of Five that drafted the Declaration of Independence. He would later be sent to Europe as a diplomat where he would help negotiate a peace treaty with Great Britain. However, before all that he was known for successfully defending British soldiers against murder charges arising from the Boston Massacre. He would later be the second president of the United States. 10) Another Founding Father from Virginia, he was appointed as special envoy to the French in control of the Ohio River Valley in 1753. Later, he would play a key role in the French and Indian War. He would be elected to the Virginia House of Burgesses for seven years starting in 1758. As tensions between the colonies and England rose, he organized and enforced a boycott of British goods instituted by the Congress. He was selected as a delegate to the First Continental Congress. He would leave Congress in 1775 to take a more active role in the war. OK, pencils down, time to see how you did. Answers: 1) John Jay 2) Alexander Hamilton 3) James Madison 4) William Blount 5) Samuel Adams 6) John Hancock 7) Benjamin Franklin 8) Thomas Jefferson 9) John Adams 10) George Washington Ned Jilton II is a photographer, history lover and columnist. You can contact him at ndjphoto@aol.com.