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

Explore our Resources

Filter by person, event, document, and theme.

“To the Right Honourable William, Earl of Dartmouth,” by Phillis Wheatley, in Poems on Various Subjects, Religious and Moral, London, 1773 (The Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History)

Phillis Wheatley’s Poem on Tyranny and Slavery, 1772

An eloquent condemnation of oppression and slavery, written for the British secretary of state for the colonies, showcasing Wheatley’s literary talent, and advocacy for freedom

Key Document

The Farmer Refuted: or, A More Impartial and Comprehensive View of the Dispute between Great-Britain and the Colonies</em> (James Rivington: New York, 1775) (Courtesy New-York Historical Society)

The Farmer Refuted, 1775

A defense of American colonial rights against British tyranny secretly written by Alexander Hamilton—fueling revolutionary sentiment

Key Document

Map showing Howe's attack on Washington's forces on Long Island, August 1776 (The Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History, GLC04177)

New York and New Jersey Campaigns, 1776

A series of Revolutionary War military actions in which British forces gained control over New York and New Jersey

Event

Sample of James Madison's handwriting from a letter from James Madison to Major Dana (The Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History)

James Madison’s Memorial and Remonstrance against Religious Assessments, 1785

An argument against state-sponsored religion, defending religious freedom and the separation of church and state

Key Document

Detail from the Bill of Rights. (National Archives)

Bill of Rights, 1791

The first ten amendments to the United States Constitution—hard-fought additions that protect some individual liberties and limit government power

Key Document

“Washington Reviewing the Western Army at Fort Cumberland, Maryland,” attributed to Frederick Kemmelmeyer, 1795 (Metropolitan Museum of Art)

Whiskey Rebellion, 1794

Pennsylvania farmers violently resisted a federal whiskey tax—illustrating the tensions between frontiersmen and the new government’s authority

Event

A New Display of the United States, by Amos Doolittle, 1799 (Library of Congress)

Presidential Election of 1800

A fierce contest between John Adams, Charles Pinckney, Thomas Jefferson, and Aaron Burr that was marked by party polarization and scandal—testing the peaceful transfer of power

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