Marquis de Lafayette: The Hero of Two Revolutions

Marie-Joseph Paul Yves Roch Gilbert du Motier, Marquis de Lafayette, was born on September 6, 1757, in the rugged Auvergne region of south-central France. He came from a long line of military aristocrats, and his family’s legacy was inseparable from service to the French crown. His father, Michel Louis Christophe Roch Gilbert du Motier, served…

The Louisiana Purchase: A Gamble that Redefined America

On October 20, 1803, the United States Senate voted to approve the treaty that made the Louisiana Purchase official. With that ratification, a young republic doubled its size overnight, securing control of the Mississippi River and opening vast new lands for exploration and settlement. What had begun as a negotiation for the port of New…

Haym Salomon: The Financier Who Helped Pay for American Independence

Haym Salomon’s story begins far from the battlefields of the American Revolution in Leszno, Poland, around 1740. He was born into a Sephardic Jewish family of modest means, descendants of Jews who had fled persecution in Spain centuries earlier. As a young man, Salomon received a classical education and proved gifted in languages and trade,…

The Birth of the United States Navy: From Colonial Waters to a Permanent Fleet

Before independence, the American colonies relied on the sea for their survival. Ships brought manufactured goods from Britain and carried out exports of tobacco, rice, lumber, fish, and furs. New England had developed a robust maritime tradition of shipbuilding, whaling, and fishing, while the middle and southern colonies depended on coastal shipping for their agricultural…

The Great Chicago Fire: A City in Ashes and Rebirth

By 1871, Chicago was the fastest-growing city in the United States. In 1833, it had been little more than a frontier outpost of 300 people. Less than four decades later, it had swelled to nearly 300,000 residents, making it the hub of the Midwest. Its location on Lake Michigan and its network of railroads made…

America’s Founding Generation

We honor the men and women of America’s founding generation who broke barriers and shaped the early republic by stepping into roles never before held. From the first signers of the Declaration of Independence and Constitution to the first voices calling for liberty, equality, and expanded rights, their bold service turned individual acts of courage…

Abigail Adams: The Conscience of a Revolution

Abigail Adams stands as one of the most influential women of America’s founding era—not because she held office or commanded armies, but because she wielded intellect, moral conviction, and a pen that never stopped challenging the boundaries of her time. As the wife of John Adams, the nation’s second president, and mother of John Quincy…

Mercy Otis Warren: The Conscience of the American Revolution

Mercy Otis was born on September 14, 1728, in Barnstable, Massachusetts, into one of the colony’s most politically engaged families. Her father, Colonel James Otis Sr., was a wealthy farmer, militia officer, and prominent local leader. Her mother, Mary Allyne Otis, came from a respected New England family. Though colonial society offered few opportunities for…

Benjamin Harrison: The Patriarch of a Founding Dynasty

Benjamin Harrison of Virginia was a man whose life intertwined privilege, political conviction, and a steadfast dedication to the colonial cause. Best remembered as a signer of the Declaration of Independence and as governor of Virginia during the Revolution’s critical years, Harrison was also the patriarch of a political family that would, in later generations,…

The Battle of Yorktown: The Day the Revolution Was Won

By the autumn of 1781, the American Revolution had dragged on for six long years. Cities had been burned, armies scattered, and fortunes lost. Yet the question of independence remained unresolved. The British, under General Charles Cornwallis, had shifted their campaign to the South, hoping to rally Loyalist support and break the rebellion from its…