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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Paul Revere, "The Bloody Massacre in King-Street, March 5, 1770," Boston, 1770 (The Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History)

Boston Massacre, 1770

A “massacre” of civilians in Boston by British troops fueled colonial resentment of British rule

Event
Bostonian’s Paying the Excise-man, or Tarring and Feathering

Boston Tea Party, 1773

Colonial tax protest in which American patriots dumped British tea into Boston Harbor

Event
“Bloody Butchery by the British Troops,” broadside by Ezekiel Russell, 1775 (The Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History)

Battles of Lexington and Concord, 1775

The first military engagements of the American Revolutionary War in 1775—marked by confrontations between colonial militia and British troops

Event
Washington at Valley Forge, F. Heppenheimer, 1853 (Library of Congress)

Winter at Valley Forge, 1777–1778

The Continental Army faced extreme hardships at Valley Forge during the harsh winter of 1777–1778—strengthening their resilience and unity

Event
James S. Baillie, Surrender of Cornwallis, 1845 (The Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History)

Battle of Yorktown, 1781

A decisive victory of American and French forces that led to British surrender and American independence

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
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
Aaron Burr, 1836 (Library of Congress)

Aaron Burr

Complex and controversial early American politician known for his fatal duel with Alexander Hamilton

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
John Laurens, by Charles Willson Peale, 1780 (National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institution)

John Laurens

South Carolina officer and close friend of Alexander Hamilton who advocated abolition and recruitment of Black troops

Person
Hand colored portrait engraving of a middle-age Dolley Madison, drawn by J. Heravring after J. Wood. ca 1830-1880 (The Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History)

Dolley Madison

The influential First Lady who saved the portrait of George Washington during the War of 1812

Person