George Washington
1732-1799
First President of the United States
- Founding Era
- Military
For Educators & Students
Ask History — Cited to the Source
Founders, civil-rights leaders, and statesmen across two and a half centuries — every answer grounded in the primary source, ready for the lesson plan or the research paper.
The primary source, cited — not a summary of a summary
Most AI will paraphrase history into a vague, unsourced gloss. We won't. Every response is built from an actual speech, letter, or document and retrieved with a citation, so a student can trace the claim back to the primary source. When the record is silent, the answer says so — it never fills the gap with an invented quote.
- Documented in the Record
The answer is grounded in their recorded words — a speech, letter, or document — quoted and cited.
- Inferred from Their Writings
No record addresses it directly, so the answer reasons from what they did write — and says so.
- Outside the Record
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A Cross-Curricular Roster
The Founding, the fight to make good on its promise, and the statesmen and philosophers beyond America — one roster, one citation standard.
Thomas Jefferson
1743-1826
Author of the Declaration of Independence
- Founding Era
- Liberty
Alexander Hamilton
1755-1804
First Secretary of the Treasury
- Founding Era
- Finance
Benjamin Franklin
1706-1790
Founding polymath. Poor Richard's wit.
- Politics
- Science
- History
Abraham Lincoln
1809-1865
The Union, and a new birth of freedom.
- Politics
- History
Frederick Douglass
1818-1895
From bondage to the nation's conscience.
- Civil Rights
- History
- Politics
Martin Luther King Jr.
1929-1968
Minister and civil rights leader
- Civil Rights
- History
Coming Soon 
Rosa Parks
1913-2005
Mother of the modern civil rights movement
- Civil Rights
- History
Marcus Aurelius
121-180 AD
Roman emperor and Stoic philosopher
- Philosophy
- History
Coming Soon 
Winston Churchill
1874-1965
Wartime Prime Minister of the United Kingdom
- History
- Statesmanship
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The Classroom Source Library
70 primary sources — speeches, letters, and founding documents — across 8 figures. Every answer is grounded here and cited.
George Washington
Rules of Civility and Decent Behaviour
Book · 1744
Public domainFirst Inaugural Address (1789)
Speech · 1789
Public domainThird Annual Message to Congress (1791)
Speech · 1791
Public domainFourth Annual Message to Congress (1792)
Speech · 1792
Public domainSecond Inaugural Address (1793)
Speech · 1793
Public domainFifth Annual Message to Congress (1793)
Speech · 1793
Public domainSixth Annual Message to Congress (1794, Whiskey Rebellion)
Speech · 1794
Public domainWashington's Letters to Bushrod Washington and Others
Letter · 1796
Public domainFarewell Address (1796)
Speech · 1796
Public domainAmerican Revolution — Wikipedia
article · 2024
LicensedGeorge Washington — Wikipedia
article · 2024
LicensedWashington: Writings
Book
Free use
Thomas Jefferson
Declaration of Independence
Speech · 1776
Public domainNotes on the State of Virginia
Book · 1785
Public domainFirst Inaugural Address (1801)
Speech · 1801
Public domainSecond Inaugural Address (1805)
Speech · 1805
Public domainWritings of Thomas Jefferson Vol. 1 (incl. Autobiography)
Book · 1821
Public domainThomas Jefferson — Wikipedia
article · 2024
LicensedThomas Jefferson and slavery — Wikipedia
article · 2024
LicensedAmerican Revolution — Wikipedia
article · 2024
LicensedJefferson: Writings
Book
Free use
Alexander Hamilton
The Federalist Papers (complete)
Book · 1788
Public domainAlexander Hamilton — Wikipedia
article · 2024
LicensedThe Federalist Papers — Wikipedia
article · 2024
LicensedReport on Manufactures — Wikipedia
article · 2024
LicensedGreat Men — Emerson Essays
article · 2024
Public domainHamilton: Writings
Book
Free use
Benjamin Franklin
Poor Richard's Almanack
Book · 1733
Public domainBagatelles and Miscellaneous Writings
Book · 1784
Public domainFranklin Constitutional Convention Speech (1787)
Speech · 1787
Public domainThe Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin
Book · 1791
Public domainBenjamin Franklin — Wikipedia
article · 2024
LicensedAmerican Revolution — Wikipedia
article · 2024
LicensedGreat Men — Emerson Essays
article · 2024
Public domainFranklin: Writings
Book
Free use
Abraham Lincoln
Lincoln–Douglas Debates (complete)
Transcript · 1858
Public domainFirst Inaugural Address (1861)
Speech · 1861
Public domainEmancipation Proclamation (1863)
Speech · 1863
Public domainGettysburg Address (1863)
Speech · 1863
Public domainSecond Inaugural Address (1865)
Speech · 1865
Public domainLincoln's Speeches and Letters
Speech · 1907
Public domainLife of Lincoln
article · 2024
Public domainAbraham Lincoln and slavery — Wikipedia
article · 2024
LicensedAbraham Lincoln — Wikipedia
article · 2024
LicensedAmerican Civil War — Wikipedia
article · 2024
LicensedLincoln: Speeches and Writings 1832-1858
Book
Free useLincoln: Speeches and Writings 1859-1865
Book
Free use
Frederick Douglass
Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass (1845)
Book · 1845
Public domainWhat to the Slave Is the Fourth of July? (1852)
Speech · 1852
Public domainMy Bondage and My Freedom (1855)
Book · 1855
Public domainLife and Times of Frederick Douglass (1892)
Book · 1892
Public domainAbolitionism in the United States — Wikipedia
article · 2024
LicensedFrederick Douglass — Wikipedia
article · 2024
LicensedGreat Men — Emerson Essays
article · 2024
Public domain
Martin Luther King Jr.
Letter from Birmingham Jail
Letter · 1963
Free useWhy We Can't Wait
Book · 1964
Free useWhere Do We Go from Here: Chaos or Community?
Book · 1967
Free useThe Trumpet of Conscience
Book · 1967
Free useI Have Been to the Mountaintop
Speech · 1968
Public domainCivil rights movement — Wikipedia
article · 2024
LicensedMartin Luther King Jr. — Wikipedia
article · 2024
LicensedMontgomery bus boycott — Wikipedia
article · 2024
LicensedA Testament of Hope: The Essential Writings and Speeches
Book
Free useA Call to Conscience: The Landmark Speeches of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
Book
Free use
Marcus Aurelius
Meditations (George Long translation)
Book · 180
Public domainMeditations (C.R. Haines translation)
Book · 180
Public domainMarcus Aurelius — Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy
article · 2024
LicensedMarcus Aurelius — Wikipedia
article · 2024
LicensedStoicism — Wikipedia
article · 2024
LicensedMeditations (Casaubon translation)
Book
Free use
Built for the classroom, the homeschool table, and the research paper
A primary-source companion, not a substitute for reading the real text — every answer points back to the letter, speech, or document it came from.
Is this appropriate for students?
Every figure — across the ideological and historical spectrum — is quoted from their own recorded words, not editorialized. Answers are marked as documented, inferred, or outside the record, the same standard for every figure in the library.
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AI reconstructions grounded in primary sources — not the real people, and not a substitute for assigned reading.