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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John Adams, by John Trumbull, 1793 (National Portrait Gallery)

John Adams

A leading proponent of independence, a congressman, a diplomat, and the second President of the United States

Person
Detail of Richard Allen, "From the plantation to the Senate," lithograph by Gaylord Watson, 1883 (Library of Congress)

Richard Allen

Prominent Philadelphia advocate for abolition and civil rights and founder of the African Methodist Episcopal Church

Person
Benjamin Banneker, from the title page of "Benjamin Bannaker's [sic] Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland, and Virginia Almanac, for the Year of Our Lord 1795" (Maryland Historical Society)

Benjamin Banneker

Scientist, mathematician, and author who challenged racial prejudices

Person
Paul Cuffee, painting attributed to Chester Harding

Paul Cuffe

Black and Wampanoag businessman and shipbuilder who advocated for abolition, civil rights, and African colonization

Person
Benjamin Franklin, ca. 1789 (The Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History)

Benjamin Franklin

A polymath and statesman who was a leading figure in science, literature, diplomacy, and governance

Person
Portrait of Prince Hall from the Grand Logde of British Culumbia and Yuko, (Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons)

Prince Hall

Founder of the first African American Masonic lodge, in Boston, and advocate for abolition and civil rights

Person
Alexander Hamilton, John Trumbull Copy after: Giuseppe Ceracchi 1806, National Portrait Gallery

Alexander Hamilton

A poor immigrant from the Caribbean who became a key figure in the Revolution and in establishing the US government

Person
Lemuel Haynes (Library of Congress)

Lemuel Haynes

African American clergyman and Revolutionary War veteran known for his writings on racial equality

Person
Silhouette of unidentified woman or girl, by Charles Willson Peale (Library of Congress)

Sally Hemings

Enslaved woman in the household of Thomas Jefferson, who was likely the father of her six children

Person
Patrick Henry by George Bagby Matthews, oil on canvas, ca. 1891 (US Senate Collection)

Patrick Henry

A leading figure in the Revolutionary era in Virginia, known for his “Give me liberty or give me death” speech

Person
Colonel David Humphreys by Gilbert Stuart, ca. 1808-1810. (Courtesy Yale University Art Gallery)

David Humphreys

Revolutionary War veteran, poet, and abolitionist who advocated a new, uniquely American literature

Person