National founders of Libertas Omnium Maximus

The National Founders of Libertas Omnium Maximus, sometimes called the Founding Fathers, were a group of 19th century political, intellectual, military, and commercial leaders who overthrew the provisional Iustitian regime and established a second, constitutional state based on republican principles including universal male suffrage, abolition of the landed gentry class, freedom of the press, and religious liberty. The notion that a small cadre of enlightened men were overwhelmingly responsible for the formation and trajectory of the modern nation has existed in the public conscience since as early as the late 1860s, but the phrase, "founding fathers," did not become widespread until the turn of the 20th century. A few dozen figures have been identified as "founding fathers," but historians often focus on the six foremost of these individuals, recognizing the impressive scope and magnitude of their leadership as particularly formative for the nation: Michael Chaucer, Francis Green, Anthony Harris, James Duncan, Gerald Hart, and William Brand.

Michael "Calceolarias" Chaucer

In a 1940 survey honoring the centennial anniversary of the Maximusian constitution and responded to by around a hundred of the most reputable Maximusian historians, Michael Chaucer (1794-1871) was identified most frequently as the "central figure" in the formation of the modern state. Chaucer was a firebrand printer and political theorist who penned and distributed pro-republican newsletters and pamphlets in the years leading up to the civil war. Chaucer spent the conflict in exile with his family, but contributed strategically to the republican war effort and was instrumental in constructing the new government after provisional forces were defeated in 1840. Chaucer was later elected first president of the Maximusian Republic, taking office in 1841. Chaucer had a long post presidency, and continued to publish treatises on government and public policy until his death in 1871.

James Duncan

James Duncan (1797-1859) was the heir to a mercantile business who became central to the republican war effort at the outbreak of the civil war. Duncan sacrificed his personal fortune to keep the republican army well provisioned and negotiated with neutral Iustitian gentry to convince them to abandon the provisional government. Duncan proved a quite capable logistician and served as a senior support staff to the republican army throughout the conflict. Historians often characterize Duncan as a foil to Chaucer; Duncan was not an idealist, but was, instead, a level headed politician who used his business acumen to provide the fledgling nation with the funds and manpower needed to survive a tumultuous inception. Duncan was the first vice president of Libertas Omnium Maximus, and succeeded Chaucer as president when his successor left office in 1845. Duncan continued to serve in government after his presidency, entering the national legislature, where began a notorious rivalry with Arthur Blayne. The rivalry culminated in Blayne and Duncan's duel in 1859, where Blayne shot fatally shot Duncan.

Francis Green

Unlike Duncan and Chaucer, who are both associated with the presidency, Francis Green (1795-1852) is often considered the "father of the Maximusian legislature," though he was, in reality, the primary author of the entire Maximusian constitution. Green was a former attorney and officer for the republican faction during the civil war who was later sent to the Chaucer Committee, where he stood out as one of the committee's most vocal proponents of a codified supreme law and of a strong central government. Green proved persuasive, and served as the nation's first chancellor (and also the third, holding nonconsecutive terms), defining the role and establishing many of the standards of procedure central to the modern Senate. Green's meteoric career was cut short when he died relatively young in 1852.

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  Green

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  Duncan

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  Chaucer