Founding Fathers

"Scene at the Signing of the Constitution of the United States" by Howard Chandler Christy. James Madison is at center, seated, to the right of Ben Franklin.

Inside the Founding Fathers’ Debate Over What Constituted an Impeachable Offense

If not for three sparring Virginia delegates, Congress’s power to remove a president would be even more limited than it already is

Excavations Begin on Paul Revere's Privy

Archaeologists in Boston hope the outhouse will reveal the diet and detritus of the families that lived on the site

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Alexander served as the first U.S. Secretary of the Treasury, and was a prominent Founding Father before his untimely death.

Get Your Hamilton Fix With This New Trove of Digitized Documents

The Library of Congress has uploaded 12,000 items relating to the 'ten-dollar Founding Father without a father'

The dead letter office circa 1922. The contents of unresolvable dead letters and packages are periodically sold off by the USPS.

A Brief History of American Dead Letter Offices

The United States postal system was established on this day in 1775, and mail started going "dead" very soon after

Where Did the Term “Gerrymander” Come From?

Elbridge Gerry was a powerful voice in the founding of the nation, but today he's best known for the political practice with an amphibious origin

The Lenox Madeira

New Jersey Museum Discovers Stash of Madeira from 1796

Liberty Hall Museum owns the wine and will decide if anyone will be allowed to sample the Revolutionary libation

The hearth Hemings may have warmed herself by in Monticello's south wing.

Sally Hemings Gets Her Own Room at Monticello

A renovation at Thomas Jefferson's estate will give the slave he likely fathered at least six children with a display in what may have been her quarters

This famous Capitol Hill painting shows the June 28, 1776 moment when the first draft of the Declaration of Independence was brought to the Second Continental Congress. Its painter, John Turnbull, was trying to capture the drama of the moment, but the painting isn't historically accurate.

Suggested Alternative Dates for Independence Day

The reason Independence Day is on July 4 isn’t very robust

Bronze sculpture of Mercy Otis Warren stands in front of Barnstable County Courthouse, Massachusetts.

The Woman Whose Words Inflamed the American Revolution

Mercy Otis Warren used her wit to agitate for independence

The flag of North Carolina includes the dates traditionally associated with the Mecklenburg Declaration of Independence and the 1776 Declaration of Independence.

The First Declaration of Independence Drafted in the 13 Colonies Was (Probably) a Hoax

Although some are still very invested in the Mecklenburg Declaration of Independence, the scholarly community maintains it was never real

The second parchment Declaration of Independence

Found: A Second Parchment Copy of the Declaration of Independence

Likely commissioned in the 1780s by James Wilson, the handwritten copy's signatory order appears to emphasize national unity

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How Alexander Hamilton Tackled the National Debt

Facing $80 million in debt as Secretary of the Treasury, Alexander Hamilton got creative

The 4D theater tells the story of the Battle of Yorktown.

Telling the Forgotten Stories of the Everyday Americans of the Revolutionary War

Near where the Battle of Yorktown was waged, a new museum fuses innovative technology with storytelling techniques to connect with visitors

Archaeologists Worked Feverishly to Excavate Colonial-Era Graves at Philly Construction Site

The First Baptist Cemetery was supposed to have been moved in 1859, but as it turned out many of the graves were left behind

Thaddeus Kosciuszko

The Polish Patriot Who Helped Americans Beat the British

Thaddeus Kosciuszko engineered the colonial defenses in some of the Revolution's most critical battles

Benjamin Franklin's portrait on the 2009 design of the hundred dollar bill.

Benjamin Franklin Was a Middle-Aged Widow Named Silence Dogood (And a Few Other Women)

The founding father wrote letters in the voice of female pseudonyms throughout his life

A photo of Bill Clinton taken in 1993, the first year of his presidency.

Presidents Can Be Impeached Because Benjamin Franklin Thought It Was Better Than Assassination

The founding fathers struggled with the idea of whether the top leader should be impeachable

"America is lost!" wrote George III.

Now We’ll Finally Get to See the American Revolution Through the Eyes of King George

A treasure trove of nearly 350,000 documents, about to be released to the public, reveals new insights about how George III lost the colonies

How the Heated, Divisive Election of 1800 Was the First Real Test of American Democracy

A banner from the Smithsonian collections lays out the stakes of Jefferson vs. Adams

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