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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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Silhouette of unidentified woman or girl, by Charles Willson Peale (Library of Congress)

Sally Hemings

Enslaved woman in the household of Thomas Jefferson, who was likely the father of her six children

Person
Absalom Jones by Raphaelle Peale, 1810. (Courtesy Delaware Art Museum)

Absalom Jones

Abolitionist, religious leader, and founder of the first Black Episcopal church in the United States

Person
Henry Knox, engraved by H. W. Smith, based on a painting by Edward Savage, ca. 1860 (The Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History)

Henry Knox

A poor bookseller in Boston who became a close confidant of George Washington, a general, and first Secretary of War

Person
Silhouette of Mrs. Henry Knox, ca. 1790 (Massachusetts Historical Society)

Lucy Knox

A daughter of eminent loyalists and wife of the Revolutionary War general Henry Knox

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
Okieriete "Oak" Onaodowan as James Madison. Photo by Josh Lehrer using a camera lens from the mid-1800s.

Hercules Mulligan

Irish immigrant who befriended Hamilton and served as a spy for Washington in British-held New York City

Person
Thomas Paine, by Romney Illman & Sons (The Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History)

Thomas Paine

Author of “Common Sense” and “The Rights of Man” who was influential in the American and French Revolutions

Person
Paul Revere, 1887 (Library of Congress)

Paul Revere

Boston patriot, famed for his “midnight ride,” whose art turned a local skirmish into a “Massacre”

Person
Mrs. James Warren (Mercy Otis), by John Singleton Copley. ca. 1763. (Courtesy of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston)

Mercy Otis Warren

Patriot, playwright, and poet who chronicled the American Revolution and corresponded with Revolutionary War leaders

Person