Colonial Period

Before the United States, thirteen separate colonies settled throughout the eastern coast of North America. As separate communities with their own goals and needs, they were not created to join together. However, external forces during the 1770s pushed these colonies to form the United States of America.

Patrick Henry’s “Liberty or Death” Speech

Every year on March 23, our On This Day feature at Civics for Life highlights a defining moment ...

Hannah Adams: Scholar of Religion and Civic Understanding

Hannah Adams (1755–1831), one of early America’s first professional women authors and historians. In the early years of ...

Ann Bailey: Frontier Courage in the Revolutionary Era

A Life on the Edge of a New Nation In the unsettled lands along the western frontier of ...

Boston Massacre: A Snowy Night That Ignited Colonial Resistance

A City on Edge In early March 1770, Boston was a city simmering with tension. British soldiers had ...

Eliza Hamilton: Service, Legacy, and Civic Leadership

Early Life and Revolutionary Roots Eliza Hamilton, civic leader and co-founder of the New York Orphan Asylum Society. ...

Esther de Berdt Reed: Civic Organization and Patriot Support in the Revolution

A Transatlantic Beginning Esther de Berdt Reed, organizer of women’s relief work and author of Sentiments of an ...

Dolley Madison: Civic Leadership and National Unity in the Early Republic

A New Kind of Public Role Dolley Madison reshaped the role of First Lady, using social leadership to ...

Martha Washington and the Meaning of Public Service

Martha Washington as a young woman before the Revolutionary War. In the story of America’s founding, few figures ...

Peter Salem: A Soldier of the American Revolution

From Enslavement to Military Service Peter Salem was born into slavery in Framingham, Massachusetts, in 1750, where he ...

Ona Judge: A Life of Courage in the Founding Era

Born Into Enslavement at Mount Vernon Ona Judge, sometimes recorded as Oney Judge, was born into slavery around ...

Paul Cuffe: Commerce, Conscience, and Civic Duty

Paul Cuffe, shipowner, abolitionist, and civic leader. Paul Cuffe believed citizenship carried obligations as well as rights. Born ...

Benjamin Banneker: Science, Citizenship, and the Republic

Benjamin Banneker, astronomer, writer, and civic contributor. Benjamin Banneker was born free in 1731 on a small farm ...