Historical Research Library

Discover the people, events, and key documents that shaped the Founding Era.

Singers and dancers focused on Chris Jackson playing George Washington

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The Farmer Refuted: or, A More Impartial and Comprehensive View of the Dispute between Great-Britain and the Colonies</em> (James Rivington: New York, 1775) (Courtesy New-York Historical Society)

The Farmer Refuted, 1775

A defense of American colonial rights against British tyranny secretly written by Alexander Hamilton—fueling revolutionary sentiment

Key Document

The Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equiano; or, Gustavas Vassa, the African, Written by Himself, by Olaudah Equiano, 1789 (1809 edition) (Courtesy of Burns Library, Boston College)

The Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equiano, 1789

Autobiography detailing Olaudah Equiano’s enslavement, his journey to freedom, and fight against the slave trade

Key Document