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 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

Thomas Jefferson (The Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History)

Thomas Jefferson on Manumitting Slaves, 1789

Letter sent from Paris reflecting on freeing slaves—revealing his conflicting beliefs on liberty and equality amid the revolution

Supporting Document

Excerpt from the first page of Washington's First Inaugural Address (National Archives)

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

First Bank of the United States (Library of Congress)

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

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

Farewell Address, Claypoole's Advertiser, September 19, 1796 (The Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History)

George Washington’s Farewell Address, 1796

Washington’s warning against political divisions and foreign entanglements

Key Document

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

A 19th-century engraving of the Hamilton-Burr Duel (Granger)

Hamilton-Burr Duel, 1804

A fatal confrontation between Alexander Hamilton and Aaron Burr that stemmed from political and personal animosities and shaped American political history

Event