Search | Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History

1,977 items

Lesson Plan

Andrew Jackson and the Bank War

9, 10, 11, 12

Introduction When Alexander Hamilton called for a Bank of the United States in his Report on a National Bank , he envisioned a central bank that would sustain a developing national economy. The bank would, through the creation of bank...

Lesson Plan

The Promise of Democracy

Government and Civics

7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13+

Source JFK’s Radio and Television Report to the American People on Civil Rights, June 11, 1963 , John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum (full text and audio available) Background Information This document will be used to...

Video

Dred Scott and the Constitutionality of Slavery

Government and Civics

9, 10, 11, 12, 13+

History Now Essay

From the Editor

Carol Berkin

Jewish Americans have made contributions to American society that far exceed their percentage of our country’s population. This is a minority culture that has touched every aspect of American society, from the arts, to medicine and...

Appears in:

71 | The Jewish Legacy in American History Summer 2024

History Now Essay

Unruly Americans in the Revolution

Woody Holton

Economics, Government and Civics

9, 10, 11, 12, 13+

Nearly all of the blockbuster biographies of the Founding Fathers—whether the subject is George Washington, Benjamin Franklin, or John Adams—portray the vast majority of ordinary Americans as mere bystanders. Although the authors of...

Appears in:

21 | The American Revolution Fall 2009

About page

George Washington Prize Nominees Announced

Special Author Discussion and Book Signing at Mount Vernon, August 24 Mount Vernon, VA, July 20, 2023 —Four books published in 2022 by the nation’s most prominent historians were recently named finalists for the George Washington...

Collection Item

Autograph document

1783-1815

Unknown

[Recipe for consumption]

GLC01450.600. 015

Collection Item

Autograph note signed

1783-1815

Matkin, David (fl. ?-)

[Request for 2 gallons of brandy]

GLC01450.600.039

Collection Item

Manuscript document

16 June 1786

Knox, Henry, 1750-1806

to Marquis de Lafayette

Later copy of letter written by Knox to Lafayette at GLC02437.03276. Thanks Lafayette for the kind treatment given to his brother William. Discusses the affair of Major Pierre Charles L'Enfant, who had been sent to France in 1783 to purchase...

GLC02437.03275

Collection Item

Autograph letter signed

June 16, 1786

Knox, Henry, 1750-1806

to Marquis de Lafayette

Knox references Lafayette's letter from February 11, 1786. He thanks Lafayette for his kindness toward his brother, William, when he was ill. Says that William has recovered and has been with him since October 1785. Hopes the recovery is permanent...

GLC02437.03276