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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The Looking Glass for 1787, Amos Doolittle, 1787, Library of Congress.

Antifederalist No. 9, 1787

A critique of the proposed Constitution, expressing concerns over centralized power and the potential threat of an elite ruling class

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. 10, 1787

One of 85 essays advocating the ratification of the Constitution, addressing the dangers of factionalism and promoting the strengths of a large republic

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
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