83 Items
Activist for Equality: Frederick Douglass at 200
Born to Harriet Bailey, an enslaved woman in Maryland in February 1818, Douglass lived twenty years as a slave and nearly nine years as a fugitive. From the 1840s to his death in 1895, he attained international fame as an abolitionist, reformer, orator of almost unparalleled stature, and author of three classic autobiographies.
Alexander Hamilton and the Ratification of the Constitution
Return to Alexander Hamilton: Witness to the Founding Era .
Alexander Hamilton Establishes the US Economy
Return to Alexander Hamilton: Witness to the Founding Era .
Alexander Hamilton and Washington’s Presidency
Return to Alexander Hamilton: Witness to the Founding Era .
The American Revolution through the Eyes of Hamilton
Return to Alexander Hamilton: Witness to the Founding Era .
Hamilton's New York: Lower Manhattan Walking Tour
Join the Gilder Lehrman Institute and Professor Cindy Lobel on a virtual walking tour of Alexander Hamilton’s Lower Manhattan.
Why Documents Matter: An Interactive Digital Edition
Welcome to Why Documents Matter: An Interactive Digital Edition —a selection of primary sources from the Gilder Lehrman Collection curated and annotated for K–12 classrooms (print edition available here ). Scroll through the entire edition in document view , download a complete pdf (bottom of the navigation menu on the right), or use the pages view to go directly to a specific page or document. Annotations include additional commentary on the document or time period and links to additional resources. We welcome your comments on how you use Why Documents Matter: An Interactive...
African American Voting Rights
African American Voting Rights from The Gilder Lehrman Institute on Vimeo .
Margaret Corbin
Margaret Corbin Revolutionary War Margaret “Molly” Corbin was the first woman in the United States to earn a military pension, based on her service at the Battle of Fort Washington. Image Source: Herbert Knotel, Twentieth-century sketch representing Margaret Corbin, 1955, West Point Museum Art Collection
Margaret Corbin’s Biography Revolutionary War Veterans Margaret Corbin Cuffee Saunders Henry Knox All Conflicts Revolutionary War Civil War World War I World War II Cold War Iraq & Afghanistan
Cuffee Saunders
Cuffee Saunders Revolutionary War Born into slavery, Cuffee Saunders secured his freedom by serving during the Revolutionary War. Image Source: Benjamin Huntington, Oath certifying Cuffee Saunders's purchase of freedom, 1821, Gilder Lehrman Institute, GLC00318
Cuffee Saunders’s Biography Primary Source: Oath certifying Cuffee Saunders’s freedom This document is composed of two oaths attesting to Cuffee Saunders’s freedom . At the time, Saunders was still registered with the enslaved name of Wells. aria-labelledby="par-1830-figcaption" > Benjamin Huntington, [Oath...
Henry Knox
Henry Knox Revolutionary War Henry Knox rose through the ranks during the American Revolution to become chief of artillery in George Washington’s army. Image Source: Gilbert Stuart, Oil painting of Henry Knox, 1806, The Museum of Fine Arts Boston
Henry Knox’s Biography Primary Source: Henry Knox to his wife, Lucy Knox In this July 8, 1776, letter to his wife , Lucy, Henry Knox wrote from New York City that “the eyes of all America are upon us” after the landing of “the enemy . . . on Staten Island.” aria-labelledby="par-1863-figcaption" > Henry Knox in New York...
Federico Fernández Cavada
Federico Fernández Cavada Civil War Cuban-born Federico Fernández Cavada served in the Union Army during the Civil War as an engineer and topographer with the Balloon Corps, sketching Confederate forces from the air. Image Source: Mathew B. Brady, View of Professor Thaddeus Lowe and staff inflating reconnaissance balloon, ca. 1862, Gilder Lehrman Institute, GLC05111.02.1345
Federico Fernández Cavada’s Biography Primary Source: “Sketch of Virginia, and the Rebel Camps and Batteries” Col. William F. Small, a member of the 26th Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry, drew this...
Pauline Cushman
Pauline Cushman Civil War Pauline Cushman served as a spy for the Union Army and is buried at San Francisco National Cemetery. She was an actress who used her skills to gather intelligence for the Union Army. Image Source: Mathew Brady Studio, Photograph of Pauline Cushman in uniform, ca. 1860-1870, National Portait Gallery
Pauline Cushman’s Biography Civil War Veterans Federico Fernández Cavada Pauline Cushman Edward Day Cohota All Conflicts Revolutionary War Civil War World War I World War II Cold War Iraq & Afghanistan
Edward Day Cohota
Edward Day Cohota Civil War Edward Day Cohota served in the Union Army for thirty years and was one of approximately 300 Asians and Pacific Islanders who fought in the Civil War. Image Source: Photograph of Edward Day Cohota, ca. 1880-1890, Cape Ann Museum
Edward Day Cohota’s Biography Civil War Veterans Federico Fernández Cavada Pauline Cushman Edward Day Cohota All Conflicts Revolutionary War Civil War World War I World War II Cold War Iraq & Afghanistan
Louis Santop Loftin
Louis Santop Loftin World War I Louis Santop Loftin, Hall of Fame baseball player and WWI Veteran, is buried at the Philadelphia National Cemetery. Loftin played baseball in the Negro Leagues from 1909 to 1926 and was one of the league’s first star players. Image Source: Photograph of Louis Santop, ca. 1920-1930, National Baseball Hall of Fame Library
Louis Santop Loftin’s Biography Where did Louis Santop Loftin play baseball? During his seventeen-year career, Louis Santop Loftin played for nine different baseball teams (some of them more than once). This interactive...
Ella Osborn
Ella Osborn World War I Ella Jane Osborn, a nurse deployed to France during World War I, is buried at Wainscott Cemetery in New York. She kept a remarkable diary in 1918 and 1919 that captured her experiences during the war. Image Source: Ella Jane Osborn, View of a page in the diary of World War I army nurse Ella Jane Osborn, ca. 1918-1919, Gilder Lehrman Institute, GLC06570
Ella Osborn’s Biography Primary Source: Ella Osborn’s Diary Osborn kept a diary from January 1918 through April 1919 that offers unique and humanizing insight into the lives of World War I...
Yeiichi “Kelly” Kuwayama
Yeiichi “Kelly” Kuwayama World War II Yeiichi Kuwayama served as a platoon medic in the 442nd Regimental Combat Team, composed of Japanese Americans. His unit fought in some of the fiercest World War II battles in Italy and France. Image Source: Photograph of Kuwayama presenting President Truman with a donation contributed by members of the 442nd for a memorial to President Roosevelt, 1945, Library of Congress
Yeiichi “Kelly” Kuwayama’s Biography World War II Veterans Yeiichi “Kelly” Kuwayama Joe Morris Sr. Annie Fox John W. Rogers Sr. All Conflicts Revolutionary War...
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