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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Front page of The Boston Gazette and the Country Journal, Nov. 26, 1787, containing a letter to the editor from "A Federalist." (Library of Congress)

Antifederalist No. 1, 1787

An early critique of the proposed Constitution, arguing the dangers of a centralized government and advocating state sovereignty

Key Document
The Federalist: A Collection of Essays, Written in Favour of the New Constitution, 1788 (The Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History)

Federalist No. 84, 1788

One of 85 essays advocating the ratification of the Constitution, focusing on Antifederalist concerns about the need for a Bill of Rights

Key Document
Detail from A New Map of North America, 1780. (The Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History)

Antifederalist No. 46, 1788

An expression of Antifederalists’ concerns over federal power and the potential for tyranny in the proposed US Constitution

Key Document
The Federalist: A Collection of Essays, Written in Favour of the New Constitution, 1788 (The Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History)

Federalist No. 51, 1788

One of 85 essays advocating the ratification of the Constitution, providing insight into the different branches of government, particularly the importance of checks and balances and the separation of powers 

Key Document