Perhaps most closely associated with ethics and virtue in the early United States was Benjamin Franklin. In his Autobiography, Franklin enumerates thirteen virtues - temperence, silence, order, resolution, frugality, industry, sincerity, justice, moderation, cleanliness, tranquility, chastity, and humility - and explains how he went about incorporating them all into his own character. He is also well known for Poor Richard's Almanac, in which he included sayings he considered to contain wisdom or virtue.
Autobiography
Poor Richard's Almanac