America250 — 250 years since 1776. Explore two and a half centuries of American history. Start the tour

#Founding Era

95 entries

People (28)

Third Vice President of the United States — and Alexander Hamilton's killer

First Lady, political advisor, and the founding era's most insistent voice for women's rights

Alexander Hamilton

Founding Father, first Secretary of the Treasury, and architect of American capitalism

Benedict Arnold

Revolutionary War hero turned traitor, 1741–1801

Benjamin Banneker

Self-taught astronomer, mathematician, and the first Black man to receive a presidential appointment

Benjamin Franklin

Printer, diplomat, and scientist who helped engineer American independence

The First Lady who saved Washington's portrait and defined the social power of the presidency

Author of the Virginia Declaration of Rights and the conscience of the Constitutional Convention

George Washington

Commander of the Continental Army and First President of the United States

Father of the Constitution and fourth President of the United States

5th President of the United States and the last of the Founding Fathers to hold the office

Second President of the United States, 1797–1801

President of the Continental Congress and the bold first signer of the Declaration

First Chief Justice of the United States and co-author of The Federalist Papers

Chief Justice who forged the Supreme Court into a coequal branch of government

John Quincy Adams

6th President of the United States, diplomat, and antislavery congressman

Martha Washington

The first First Lady — a wealthy widow who built the presidency alongside her husband

Continental Army Spy and American Martyr, 1776

Nathanael Greene

Self-taught general who drove the British from the American South

The orator whose words gave the American Revolution its voice

Boston silversmith and the most famous midnight rider of the American Revolution

Richard Henry Lee

The Virginian who moved the resolution for independence in 1776

Robert R. Livingston

The Committee of Five member who helped draft the Declaration — and later bought Louisiana

The only person to sign all four of the great founding documents

Puritan exile who founded Rhode Island and first argued that church and state must be separate

Founding Father, master agitator, and the man who made revolution seem inevitable

Thomas Jefferson

Author of the Declaration of Independence and Third President of the United States

The radical pamphleteer who talked a continent into revolution

Places (21)

Birthplace of the American Revolution and one of the republic's oldest cities

One of the original Thirteen Colonies — the Constitution State

One of the original Thirteen Colonies — the First State

The last of the original Thirteen Colonies, founded as a debtors' refuge

Independence Hall

The Philadelphia building where the Declaration of Independence and Constitution were signed

The first permanent English settlement in North America, founded 1607 on the Virginia tidewater

One of the original Thirteen Colonies — founded as a Catholic refuge

Cradle of the American Revolution and of American intellectual life

One of the original Thirteen Colonies — first to declare independence

One of the original Thirteen Colonies — the Crossroads of the Revolution

One of the original Thirteen Colonies — a colony of small farmers

Northwest Territory

The Ohio Valley land first organized under the Northwest Ordinance of 1787

Birthplace of American government and site of the war's turning point

The city where American independence and the Constitution were forged

Plymouth Colony

The Pilgrim settlement of 1620 — first successful English colony in New England

One of the original Thirteen Colonies — founded on religious liberty

Statue of Liberty

The French gift that became America's most enduring symbol of freedom and welcome

The Liberty Bell

The cracked Philadelphia bell that became an emblem of freedom

The Pennsylvania encampment where the Continental Army survived its darkest winter

The oldest English colony and the birthplace of American leadership

Washington, D.C.

The designed capital of the United States, seat of federal power since 1800

Eras (1)

Colonial America

The 168 years of English settlement that built the society the Revolution would transform, 1607–1775

Events (19)

Battle of Bunker Hill

The 1775 bloodbath that proved American militiamen could stand against British regulars

Battle of Lexington and Concord

The First Shots of the American Revolution, April 1775

Battle of Yorktown

The 1781 siege that ended the Revolutionary War and secured American independence

Boston Massacre

The 1770 Street Confrontation That Ignited a Revolution

Constitutional Convention

The 1787 Philadelphia gathering that scrapped one government and invented another

Continental Congress

The revolutionary assembly that declared independence, fought a war, and built a nation

Election of 1800

Jefferson's "Revolution of 1800" — America's first peaceful transfer of power between parties

The June 14 observance marking the adoption of the Stars and Stripes

French and Indian War

The North American theater of a world war that made the American Revolution inevitable, 1754–1763

Great Compromise

The Connecticut Plan of 1787 that created the bicameral Congress and saved the Constitutional Convention

Independence Day

The Fourth of July, the birthday of the United States

The 1794 agreement that kept peace with Britain — and nearly tore the republic apart

Louisiana Purchase

The 1803 land acquisition that doubled the size of the United States

Shays' Rebellion

The 1786 Uprising That Made the Constitution Necessary

The American Revolution

The colonial war of independence that created the United States, 1775–1783

The Boston Tea Party

The 1773 harbor protest that pushed the colonies toward revolution

The strange second war with Britain that nobody won — and that made America a nation

Whiskey Rebellion

The 1794 tax revolt that tested federal authority under the new Constitution

The French bribery scandal that nearly dragged the young republic into another war

Documents (17)

Alien and Sedition Acts

The 1798 laws that tested the limits of free speech and nearly tore the young republic apart

Articles of Confederation

America's first constitution and the document that proved insufficient

Thomas Paine's 1776 pamphlet that made independence a popular cause

Declaration of Independence

The 1776 founding document asserting American independence and natural rights

Give Me Liberty or Give Me Death

Patrick Henry's call to arms, 1775

Marbury v. Madison

The 1803 ruling that established the Supreme Court's power to strike down laws

Mayflower Compact

The 1620 shipboard agreement that planted the seed of American self-governance

Monroe Doctrine

The 1823 declaration that the Western Hemisphere was closed to further European colonization

Northwest Ordinance

The 1787 law that established the framework for American territorial expansion

The 1765 British tax that turned colonial discontent into revolutionary purpose

The 1773 law that provoked the Boston Tea Party and made revolution inevitable

The Bill of Rights

The first ten amendments to the U.S. Constitution, ratified 1791

The Federalist Papers

The 85 essays that explained the Constitution to a skeptical public — and defined American political thought

The Second Amendment

Twenty-seven words at the center of America's gun debate

Treaty of Paris (1783)

The agreement that ended the Revolutionary War and recognized American independence

U.S. Constitution

The 1787 framework of government that has governed the United States ever since

Washington's Farewell Address

The 1796 letter in which the first president warned against the dangers that would define American history

Concepts (2)

The theology that named America a chosen nation — and what survived when the faith faded

The citizen-soldiers who answered the alarm at a minute's notice

Organizations (3)

The First Bank of the United States

Hamilton's 1791 experiment in national finance — and the fight it started

The Sons of Liberty

The secret agitators who lit the fuse of the American Revolution, 1765

The Virginia Company

The joint-stock venture that founded Jamestown — and seeded corporate America

Symbols (4)

National Symbols of the United States

The flag, the eagle, and the emblems that stand in for the nation

The American Flag

The Stars and Stripes, from the 1777 Flag Resolution to Old Glory

The national bird and living emblem of the United States

The Great Seal of the United States

The eagle, the motto, and the unfinished pyramid of the republic

All Tags

Politics 169 Economy 147 Military 115 Presidency 113 Civil Rights 112 Reform 111 Law & Justice 99 Founding Era 95 Foreign Policy 90 Race 82 Constitution 74 Industry 71 Science & Technology 71 Cold War 62 Civil War 61 Protest 58 Westward Expansion 57 Arts & Culture 56 Revolution 55 Slavery 54 Women 51 War 49 Modern America 46 Indigenous 42 Diplomacy 41 Media & Press 38 Labor 33 Immigration 31 Supreme Court 30 Religion 29 Environment 28 Congress 28 World War II 28 Exploration 24 Disaster 22 Reconstruction 22 Abolition 21 Progressive Era 21 Finance 20 Democracy 19 Assassination 15 Education 14 Colonial America 13 Gilded Age 12 Public Health 12 Suffrage 11 World War I 8 Sports 8 Corruption 8 Prohibition 1