Essays

The Early Republic

The essays in this section have been written by leading scholars of American history. They provide additional depth on events and ideas referred to in the introductory essay and, in some cases, different interpretations by historians looking at the same events. These essays are particularly useful in introducing your students to one of the most exciting aspects of studying history—understanding the past from a variety of perspectives.

“His Excel: G: Washington,” by C. W. Peale, 1787.(LC-DIG-ppmsca-17515)

George Washington and the Constitution

Author: Theodore J. Crackel Curriculum Subjects: Government and Civics Grade Levels: 9, 10, 11, 12, 13+
Martha Washington. Gilder Lehrman Collection)

Martha Washington Creates the Role of First Lady

Author: Patricia Brady Curriculum Subjects: Government and Civics Grade Levels:
Resolutions for amending the Constitution . . . , 1800. (GLC00927.02)

The Presidential Election of 1800: A Story of Crisis, Controversy, and Change

Author: Joanne B. Freeman Curriculum Subjects: Government and Civics Grade Levels: 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13+
George Washington to Sir John Sinclair, December 11, 1796. (GLC08095p12)

Washington Encourages a Prospective Immigrant: The Economic Potential of the States in 1796

Author: Mary-Jo Kline and Theodore J. Crackel Curriculum Subjects: Geography Grade Levels: 9, 10, 11, 12, 13+
George Washington, by Rembrandt Peale, ca. 1852 (Gilder Lehrman Collection)

“No Event Could Have Filled Me with Greater Anxieties”: George Washington and the First Inaugural Address, April 30, 1789

Author: Phillip Hamilton Curriculum Subjects: Government and Civics Grade Levels:

Essays from Other Sub-Eras

Cover of Puck, November 25, 1903. (Library of Congress)

A History of the Thanksgiving Holiday

Author: Catherine Clinton Curriculum Subjects: Government and Civics Grade Levels: 9, 10, 11, 12, 13+
Million Native American March, 2003, Washington, DC. (Carol Highsmith, LOC)

A New Era of American Indian Autonomy

Author: Ned Blackhawk Curriculum Subjects: Government and Civics Grade Levels: 9, 10, 11, 12, 13+
“Washington and Lafayette at Valley Forge,” by Brown & Bigelow, 1907. (LOC)

Advice (Not Taken) for the French Revolution from America

Author: Susan Dunn Curriculum Subjects: World History Grade Levels: 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13+

Avast! How the US Built a Navy, Sent in the Marines, and Faced Down the Barbary Pirates

Author: Christopher L. Miller Curriculum Subjects: Economics, Government and Civics, Science, Technology, Engineering and Math, World History Grade Levels: 9, 10, 11, 12, 13+
Dolley Madison (Gilder Lehrman Collection)

Dolley Madison: First Lady and Queen

Author: Catherine Allgor Curriculum Subjects: Government and Civics Grade Levels:
GLC04315

Early America’s Jewish Settlers

Author: Eli Faber Curriculum Subjects: Religion and Philosophy Grade Levels:
Abigail Adams, engraving by John Sartain, n.d. (Gilder Lehrman Collection)

First Ladies’ Contributions to Political Issues and the National Welfare

Author: Betty Boyd Caroli Curriculum Subjects: Government and Civics Grade Levels:
Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Susan B. Anthony, ca. 1890. (Library of Congress P&P)

Nineteenth-Century Feminist Writings

Author: Anne Firor Scott Curriculum Subjects: Literature Grade Levels: 9, 10, 11, 12, 13+
Detail from the Preamble to the US Constitution, 1787. (GLC03585)

Ordinary Americans and the Constitution

Author: Gary B. Nash Curriculum Subjects: Government and Civics Grade Levels: 9, 10, 11, 12, 13+
Indian peace medal, 1829. (GLC02772.02)

The Indian Removal Act

Author: Elliott West Curriculum Subjects: Government and Civics Grade Levels: 9, 10, 11, 12, 13+
Proclamation of 1763 (GLC05214)

The Indians’ War of Independence

Author: Colin G. Calloway Curriculum Subjects: Geography, Government and Civics, World History Grade Levels: 9, 10, 11, 12, 13+
Destruction of the statue of George III in New York, 1776. (GLC)

The Invention of the Fourth of July

Author: David Waldstreicher Curriculum Subjects: Government and Civics, World History Grade Levels: 9, 10, 11, 12, 13+

The League of the Iroquois

Author: Matthew Dennis Curriculum Subjects: Government and Civics Grade Levels:
“The Life and Age of Woman,” by A. Alden, Barre, MA, ca. 1835. (LC-DIG-pga-0350)

The Legal Status of Women, 1776–1830

Author: Marylynn Salmon Curriculum Subjects: Government and Civics Grade Levels: 9, 10, 11, 12, 13+
"History of the Rise, Progress and Termination of the American Revolution," fron

The Righteous Revolution of Mercy Otis Warren

Author: Ray Raphael Curriculum Subjects: Government and Civics, Literature, Religion and Philosophy Grade Levels: 9, 10, 11, 12, 13+

The Rise of an American Institution: The Stock Market

Author: Brian Murphy Curriculum Subjects: Economics, Government and Civics, Science, Technology, Engineering and Math Grade Levels: 9, 10, 11, 12, 13+
“Entrance of the American Army into New York, Novr. 25th, 1783,” published by Vi

The Social and Intellectual Legacy of the American Revolution

Author: Gary B. Nash Curriculum Subjects: Government and Civics Grade Levels: 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13+

The Supreme Court Then and Now

Author: A. E. Dick Howard Curriculum Subjects: Government and Civics Grade Levels: 9, 10, 11, 12, 13+

The US and Spanish American Revolutions

Author: Jay Sexton Curriculum Subjects: Economics, Geography, Government and Civics, World History Grade Levels:
Note of 1 shilling, 6 pence, printed in the colony of New Jersey, 1776. (GLC)

The US Banking System: Origin, Development, and Regulation

Author: Richard Sylla Curriculum Subjects: Economics, Government and Civics Grade Levels: 9, 10, 11, 12, 13+

Two Revolutions in the Atlantic World: Connections between the American Revolution and the Haitian Revolution

Author: Laurent Dubois Curriculum Subjects: Economics, Government and Civics, World History Grade Levels:
Monticello, Charlottesville, VA, ca. 1978. (Library of Congress, P&P, HABS)

When the Past Speaks to the Present: Thomas Jefferson and Sally Hemings

Author: Annette Gordon-Reed Curriculum Subjects: Science, Technology, Engineering and Math Grade Levels: 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13+