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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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
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
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
Engraving of Abigail Adams, n.d. (Gilder Lehrman Collection)

Abigail Adams

Influential First Lady, advocate for women’s rights, and prolific writer

Person
Samuel Adams, from "An Impartial History of the War in America," 1780 (The Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History)

Samuel Adams

One of the first Americans to challenge British rule and resist their policies in the 1760s and 1770s

Person
John Adams, by John Trumbull, 1793 (National Portrait Gallery)

John Adams

A leading proponent of independence, a congressman, a diplomat, and the second President of the United States

Person
Detail of Richard Allen, "From the plantation to the Senate," lithograph by Gaylord Watson, 1883 (Library of Congress)

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)

Benjamin Banneker

Scientist, mathematician, and author who challenged racial prejudices

Person