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#Founding Era
#Founding Era
84 entries
People
(28)
Aaron Burr
Third Vice President of the United States — and Alexander Hamilton's killer
Abigail Adams
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
Dolley Madison
The First Lady who saved Washington's portrait and defined the social power of the presidency
George Mason
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
James Madison
Father of the Constitution and fourth President of the United States
James Monroe
5th President of the United States and the last of the Founding Fathers to hold the office
John Adams
Second President of the United States, 1797–1801
John Hancock
President of the Continental Congress and the bold first signer of the Declaration
John Jay
First Chief Justice of the United States and co-author of The Federalist Papers
John Marshall
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
Nathan Hale
Continental Army Spy and American Martyr, 1776
Nathanael Greene
Self-taught general who drove the British from the American South
Patrick Henry
The orator whose words gave the American Revolution its voice
Paul Revere
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
Roger Sherman
The only person to sign all four of the great founding documents
Roger Williams
Puritan exile who founded Rhode Island and first argued that church and state must be separate
Samuel Adams
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
Thomas Paine
The radical pamphleteer who talked a continent into revolution
Places
(20)
Boston
Birthplace of the American Revolution and one of the republic's oldest cities
Connecticut
One of the original Thirteen Colonies — the Constitution State
Delaware
One of the original Thirteen Colonies — the First State
Georgia
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
Jamestown
The first permanent English settlement in North America, founded 1607 on the Virginia tidewater
Maryland
One of the original Thirteen Colonies — founded as a Catholic refuge
Massachusetts
Cradle of the American Revolution and of American intellectual life
New Hampshire
One of the original Thirteen Colonies — first to declare independence
New Jersey
One of the original Thirteen Colonies — the Crossroads of the Revolution
North Carolina
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
Pennsylvania
Birthplace of American government and site of the war's turning point
Philadelphia
The city where American independence and the Constitution were forged
Plymouth Colony
The Pilgrim settlement of 1620 — first successful English colony in New England
Rhode Island
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
Valley Forge
The Pennsylvania encampment where the Continental Army survived its darkest winter
Virginia
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
(17)
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
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
Jay Treaty
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
War of 1812
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
XYZ Affair
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
Common Sense
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
Stamp Act
The 1765 British tax that turned colonial discontent into revolutionary purpose
Tea Act
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
(1)
Puritanism
The theology that named America a chosen nation — and what survived when the faith faded
All Tags
Politics
123
Economy
109
Civil Rights
107
Military
99
Presidency
93
Founding Era
84
Law & Justice
82
Foreign Policy
76
Race
73
Reform
62
Civil War
59
Protest
58
Cold War
57
Westward Expansion
57
Slavery
53
Science & Technology
53
Industry
52
Constitution
51
War
49
Revolution
49
Women
45
Modern America
44
Indigenous
40
Arts & Culture
36
Diplomacy
34
Media & Press
31
Immigration
28
World War II
28
Labor
25
Supreme Court
25
Religion
24
Environment
23
Exploration
23
Disaster
22
Congress
22
Reconstruction
21
Progressive Era
21
Abolition
20
Assassination
15
Gilded Age
13
Finance
13
Colonial America
13
Public Health
12
Education
10
Democracy
8
Sports
8
World War I
7
Suffrage
7
Corruption
7
Prohibition
1