Topic George Washington. Thesis: Many of the founding fathers were towers of intellect, yet in contrast to Benjamin Franklin, Thomas Jefferson, James Madison, and Alexander Hamilton stood the figure of George Washington. He was neither a man of letters or political genius but rather a man of leadership and wisdom. Washington's cautious but relentless revolutionary military leadership combined with his sincere dedication to the office president made almost incalculable contributions first to achieving American independence and to the later success of the American experiment in constitutional republican-democracy.