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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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
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
George Washington, by Rembrandt Peale, ca. 1852 (The Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History)

George Washington

The first President of the United States and a symbol of American independence and integrity

Person
Martha Washington, by Currier & Ives, ca. 1860 (Library of Congress)

Martha Washington

The nation’s first “First Lady,” who married George Washington in 1759 when she was a wealthy young widow

Person
Frontispiece, "Poems on Various Subjects, Religious and Moral," 1773, by Phillis Wheatley, 1773 (The Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History)

Phillis Wheatley

First published African American female author and supporter of American independence

Person