George Washington, James Madison, and Benjamin Franklin are portrayed proudly so visitors will recognize the strength that Americans offered to the Enlightenment. Each of these men not only helped to form America into a new nation but left behind great ideals of Enlightenment thinking. James Madison wrote some of the Federalist Papers that helped to state how a government should run. Benjamin Franklin was an ambassador for our nation and an inventor that provided strong beliefs that are still revered. George Washington was the first President of the United States and set the precedent for how our nation should be run. He modeled the ideal form of liberty within a nation. Each of these men were thought to be of great importance to Jefferson or else they would not be displayed on his home. Jefferson had a deep respect for these men and the things which they accomplished and wanted to remember them with their paintings proudly displayed in