Many Founding Fathers Were Shockingly Young When The Declaration Of Independence Was Signed In 1776

How old were the Founding Fathers when the Declaration of Independence was signed in 1776?

Some were older, like Thomas Jefferson who was 33, John Hancock who was 39, or Benjamin Franklin who was 70. Others were shockingly young - even teenagers. James Monroe, for example, was 18 and Alexander Hamilton was 21.

All Things Liberty compiled a list of the ages of key people during the American Revolution (a period spanning from 1765-1783) when the Declaration of Independence was signed.

Here's everyone who was younger than 30 on July 4, 1776, including a few signers of the nation-changing document:

• Andrew Jackson, 9
• (Major) Thomas Young, 12
• Deborah Sampson, 15
• James Armistead, 15
• Sybil Ludington, 15
• Joseph Plumb Martin, 15
• Peter Salem, 16
• Peggy Shippen, 16
• Marquis de Lafayette, 18
• James Monroe, 18
• Charles Pinckney, 18
• Henry Lee III, 20
• Gilbert Stuart, 20
• John Trumbull, 20
• Aaron Burr, 20
• John Marshall, 20
• Nathan Hale, 21
• Banastre Tarleton, 21
• Alexander Hamilton, 21
• John Laurens, 21
• Benjamin Tallmadge, 22
• Robert Townsend, 22
• George Rogers Clark, 23
• David Humphreys, 23
• Gouveneur Morris, 24
• Betsy Ross, 24
• William Washington, 24
• James Madison, 25
• Henry Knox, 25
• John Andre, 26
• Thomas Lynch, Jr., 26
• Edward Rutledge, 26
• Abraham Woodhull, 26
• Isaiah Thomas, 27
• George Walton, 27
• John Paul Jones, 28
• Bernardo de Galvez, 29
• Thomas Heyward, Jr., 29
• Robert R. Livingston, 29