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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James S. Baillie, Surrender of Cornwallis, 1845 (The Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History)

Battle of Yorktown, 1781

A decisive victory of American and French forces that led to British surrender and American independence

Event
Daniel Shays and Job Shattuck, 1787, National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institution

Shays’ Rebellion, 1786

An armed uprising by indebted Massachusetts farmers protesting economic injustice and demanding debt relief

Event
A North West View of the State House in Philadelphia taken 1778, from C.W. Peale (Library of Congress)

Antifederalist No. 1, 1787

An early critique of the proposed Constitution, arguing the dangers of a centralized government and advocating state sovereignty

Key Document
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
Washington at the Constitutional Convention of 1787, by Junius Brutus Stearns, 1856 (Virginia Museum of Fine Arts. Creative Commons CC-BY-NC.)

Constitutional Convention, 1787

Delegates meet in Philadelphia to address weaknesses of the Articles of Confederation, resulting in a new form of government 

Event
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