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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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Engraving of Abigail Adams, n.d. (Gilder Lehrman Collection)

Abigail Adams

Influential First Lady, advocate for women’s rights, and prolific writer

Person
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
Theodosia Burr (Mrs. Joseph Alston) by John Vanderlyn, 1802-1803 (Yale University Art Gallery)

Theodosia Burr Alston

Daughter of Aaron Burr and prominent figure in early American society who disappeared at sea in 1813

Person
"Mrs. John Barker Church, Son Philip, and Servant," by John Trumbull, 1785 (Private Collection)

Angelica Schuyler Church

The charming, intelligent, politically active oldest daughter of Philip Schuyler and sister of Elizabeth Hamilton

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
Portrait of King George III by Thomas Frye (The Gilder Lehrman Collection)

George III

King of Great Britain viewed as a tyrant by colonists and a symbol of imperial rule

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
Absalom Jones by Raphaelle Peale, 1810. (Courtesy Delaware Art Museum)

Absalom Jones

Abolitionist, religious leader, and founder of the first Black Episcopal church in the United States

Person
Henry Knox, engraved by H. W. Smith, based on a painting by Edward Savage, ca. 1860 (The Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History)

Henry Knox

A poor bookseller in Boston who became a close confidant of George Washington, a general, and first Secretary of War

Person
Silhouette of Mrs. Henry Knox, ca. 1790 (Massachusetts Historical Society)

Lucy Knox

A daughter of eminent loyalists and wife of the Revolutionary War general Henry Knox

Person