Historical Research Library
Discover the people, events, and key documents that shaped the Founding Era.
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The Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equiano, 1789
Autobiography detailing Olaudah Equiano’s enslavement, his journey to freedom, and fight against the slave trade
Key Document
George Washington’s First Inaugural Address, 1789
Precedent-setting speech that emphasized national unity, civic duty, and the importance of the Constitution, which set the tone for his presidency
Key Document
Debate on a National Bank, 1790–1791
Intense deliberations over Hamilton’s proposal for a central bank—highlighting the federal government vs. state government power struggle
Event
Hamilton’s Report on the Subject of Manufactures, 1791
The third part of Alexander Hamilton’s vision for the economy advocated industrialization, tariffs, and government support for infrastructure
Key Document
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
Whiskey Rebellion, 1794
Pennsylvania farmers violently resisted a federal whiskey tax—illustrating the tensions between frontiersmen and the new government’s authority
Event
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
Samuel Adams
One of the first Americans to challenge British rule and resist their policies in the 1760s and 1770s
Person
John Adams
A leading proponent of independence, a congressman, a diplomat, and the second President of the United States
Person
Richard Allen
Prominent Philadelphia advocate for abolition and civil rights and founder of the African Methodist Episcopal Church
Person
![Benjamin Banneker, from the title page of "Benjamin Bannaker's [sic] Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland, and Virginia Almanac, for the Year of Our Lord 1795" (Maryland Historical Society)](/sites/default/files/styles/research_thumbnail/public/2023-10/ms2700_banneker2RET.png.webp?itok=xv1YyBkk)