Historical Research Library
Discover the people, events, and key documents that shaped the Founding Era.
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Benjamin Banneker to Thomas Jefferson, 1791
A letter turning the Declaration of Independence against Jefferson’s views on slavery
Supporting 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
James Madison Asks “Who Are the Best Keepers of the People’s Liberties?” 1792
Essay on the best form of government based on classical histories and the works of philosophers
Supporting Document
Jefferson to Lafayette on the Haitian Revolution, 1792
Letter sharing concerns about the lingering impact of the American, French, and Haitian revolutions
Supporting Document
The Black Community and the Yellow Fever Outbreak in Philadelphia, 1793
Documentation and defense of aid efforts that helped the city cope with a devastating yellow fever outbreak
Supporting Document
The Jay Treaty, 1794
Diplomatic agreement between the United States and Britain—while not popular, it resolved issues left from the Revolutionary War
Supporting Document
Thomas Jefferson to James Madison on the Whiskey Rebellion, 1794
A letter from the former secretary of state on the course of the US government
Supporting Document
“A Poem on Industry,” 1794
A passionate poem calling for the abolition of slavery
Supporting Document
Whiskey Rebellion, 1794
Pennsylvania farmers violently resisted a federal whiskey tax—illustrating the tensions between frontiersmen and the new government’s authority
Event
George Washington Reacts to the Whiskey Rebellion, 1794
A presidential proclamation urging rebels to disperse under the Militia Act
Supporting Document
Hamilton Asks for Militia to Quell Whiskey Rebellion, 1794
A letter calling for federal intervention to suppress the Whiskey Rebellion
Supporting Document
Martha Washington on Slavery, 1795
Letter discussing the “inconveniences” of slaveholding
Supporting Document