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Presidential Founders

A navigational guide to materials related to the U.S. Presidential Founders at The Huntington Library

The Huntington Library holds significant material related to America’s presidential Founders George Washington, John Adams, Thomas Jefferson, and James Madison. Material includes several discrete presidential collections, single manuscript items, and various items located within non-presidential archival collections. See each individual president in this research guide for details on material locations and restrictions.

Image Credit: George Washington autograph letter signed to John Langdon, 1788, Apr. 2 (detail). L. Dennis Shapiro collection. Promised gift of L. Dennis and Susan R. Shapiro.

The Shapiro Center

The Shapiro Center was created to advance scholarship, knowledge, and understanding of American history and culture—especially of the early Republic and of the nation's founders and leaders. It also promotes use of The Huntington's premier library collections in this field, which are unique west of the Mississippi. Learn more about The Shapiro Center.

The Huntington Library’s Presidential Founders material has been cataloged and reprocessed by Melissa Haley as part of the American Presidential Papers Project made possible by the Shapiro Center gift, 2020-2023.