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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A New Display of the United States, by Amos Doolittle, 1799 (Library of Congress)

Presidential Election of 1800

A fierce contest between John Adams, Charles Pinckney, Thomas Jefferson, and Aaron Burr that was marked by party polarization and scandal—testing the peaceful transfer of power

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