Historical Research Library
Discover the people, events, and key documents that shaped the Founding Era.
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An Act for the Gradual Abolition of Slavery, New York State, 1799
A law for manumission of enslaved people at twenty-five (women) and twenty-eight (men) that passed the New York legislature
Supporting Document
Rules for Philip Hamilton, 1800
A study schedule that Alexander Hamilton wrote for his oldest son, who was training to be a lawyer
Supporting Document
“A Poem on the Death of General Washington,” 1800
A verse from a poem praising Washington's decision to free people he had enslaved
Supporting Document
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 Democratic-Republican on the Election of 1800
A letter discussing the historic presidential election of 1800, party shifts, and Adams’s presidency
Supporting Document
“Jefferson is in every view less dangerous than Burr,” 1800
Hamilton’s support of Jefferson over Burr in the contested election of 1800—one factor in Burr’s 1804 challenge
Supporting Document
“The Nature and Importance of True Republicanism,” 1801
A treatise by Haynes that expresses his only public statement during his lifetime on race or slavery
Supporting Document
Alexander Hamilton on Peggy’s Death, 1801
A letter carrying news of Peggy’s death to Eliza and offering his warm condolences
Supporting Document
Burr Writes to Jefferson about Hamilton, 1801
A letter on political matters and Hamilton's reaction to Democratic-Republican success in New York races
Supporting Document
John Adams on the Abolition of Slavery, 1801
A letter discussing the growth of slavery and advising caution about radical abolitionism
Supporting Document
John Quincy Adams’s Poetic Message to Thomas Jefferson, 1802
A poem mocking Thomas Jefferson for his affair with Sally Hemings
Supporting Document
“A Valedictory Discourse,” 1804
An anti-slavery poem delivered in speech to Revolutionary War veterans
Supporting Document