Historical Foundations of the United States

Paul Cuffe believed citizenship carried obligations as well as rights. Born free in 1759 on Cuttyhunk Island, Massachusetts, he grew up at the crossroads of cultures and histories that shaped his understanding of responsibility and independence. His father, Kofi Slocum, had been enslaved after being taken from West Africa and later purchased his freedom; his…

Benjamin Banneker was born free in 1731 on a small farm near the Patapsco River in Maryland, far from the centers of political power shaping the young nation. He never held office, never voted, and never addressed a legislature in person. Yet Banneker became one of the most widely known Black intellectual figures of the…

Elizabeth Freeman—often remembered by the name Mum Bett—did not wait for freedom to be handed to her. She claimed it through the law. Born enslaved around 1744 in Claverack, New York, Freeman spent much of her early life under the control of the Ashley family in western Massachusetts. By the time of the American Revolution,…

From Africa to Enslavement in New England Prince Whipple was born in Africa around 1750 and enslaved as a child before being brought to New England. Little is known about his early life before enslavement, a reflection of how frequently the identities of enslaved people were erased from the historical record. By the time of…

Prince Hall was born around 1735, likely in Boston, Massachusetts, into a society that limited opportunities for African Americans even in free communities. Despite these barriers, Hall became a central figure in early Black civic life, combining religious leadership, educational advocacy, and the creation of enduring institutions to support African Americans in the young republic.¹…

A South Carolina Beginning Arthur Middleton was born in South Carolina in 1742 into one of the colony’s most prominent families. Raised near Charleston, he grew up at the center of South Carolina’s political, economic, and social life. His family’s wealth provided access to education and influence, but it also carried expectations of public responsibility…

A Connecticut Beginning in a Divided World The story of the Founding Generation is not only one of unity and triumph, but also of conflict, ambition, and human fallibility. Few figures illustrate this complexity more clearly than Benedict Arnold. Born in Connecticut in 1741, Arnold grew up in a colony shaped by commerce, faith, and…

In the long struggle for American independence, victory did not belong only to ideas debated in halls and pamphlets, but to the individuals willing to test those ideas on the battlefield. Among the Revolutionary War’s most daring leaders was a Continental Army general whose boldness, resilience, and fierce determination earned him the unforgettable nickname “Mad…

When Americans reflect on the Founding Generation, they often picture figures who lived and worked in the colonies. Yet some of the most influential voices shaping the ideas behind American independence came from across the Atlantic. One of the most important—and least remembered—was Catharine Macaulay, an English historian whose writings and correspondence helped advance ideas…

Button Gwinnett’s story begins far from the battlefields of the American Revolution — in the rolling countryside of England. Born in 1735 in the village of Down Hatherley, Gloucestershire, to Anglican vicar Samuel Gwinnett and his wife Anne, he was one of at least seven children raised in an era of British imperial power and…