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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Marie-Joseph-Paul-Yves-Roch-Gilbert Du Motier, Marquis de La Fayette, based on a painting by Alonzo Chappel (The Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History)

Marquis de Lafayette

French nobleman and American general during the American Revolution who was a key figure in the Franco-American alliance

Person
James Madison, by H. E. Hall and Sons, n.d. (The Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History)

James Madison

Fourth President of the United States known as the “Father of the Constitution”

Person
Lithographed portrait print, “The Reverend Sampson Occom” (circa 1830), (Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History)

Samson Occom

Mohegan clergyman, writer, and orator who was a key figure in Native American rights and education

Person
Philip Schuyler, engraved by T. Kelly, based on a painting by John Trumbull, 1835 (Library of Congress)

Philip Schuyler

American general, influential New Yorker of Dutch descent, and father-in-law to Alexander Hamilton

Person
George Washington, by Rembrandt Peale, ca. 1852 (The Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History)

George Washington

The first President of the United States and a symbol of American independence and integrity

Person
Frontispiece, "Poems on Various Subjects, Religious and Moral," 1773, by Phillis Wheatley, 1773 (The Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History)

Phillis Wheatley

First published African American female author and supporter of American independence

Person