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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Paul Revere, "The Bloody Massacre in King-Street, March 5, 1770," Boston, 1770 (The Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History)

Boston Massacre, 1770

A “massacre” of civilians in Boston by British troops fueled colonial resentment of British rule

Event
“Bloody Butchery by the British Troops,” broadside by Ezekiel Russell, 1775 (The Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History)

Battles of Lexington and Concord, 1775

The first military engagements of the American Revolutionary War in 1775—marked by confrontations between colonial militia and British troops

Event
Washington at Valley Forge, F. Heppenheimer, 1853 (Library of Congress)

Winter at Valley Forge, 1777–1778

The Continental Army faced extreme hardships at Valley Forge during the harsh winter of 1777–1778—strengthening their resilience and unity

Event
A 19th-century engraving of the Hamilton-Burr Duel (Granger)

Hamilton-Burr Duel, 1804

A fatal confrontation between Alexander Hamilton and Aaron Burr that stemmed from political and personal animosities and shaped American political history

Event