Additional face molds were later developed for other dolls, and the line to date includes ten characters covering the period 1764 to 1999. This accommodated the low necklines of Late Colonial/Revolutionary period gowns produced for the Felicity Merriman character (also introduced in 1991).

The first dolls were created with white muslin bodies, but these cloth bodies were changed in 1991 from a white muslin to a matching flesh tone. The first dolls in the American Girl/Historical line (Samantha, Kirsten and Molly) shared the same face mold but had different hair and eye colors. Although the books are written for a target market of eight-to-thirteen-year-old girls, they endeavor to cover topics such as child labor, child abuse, poverty, racism, slavery, alcoholism, animal abuse, and war in a manner appropriate for the understanding and sensibilities of said market. This product line aims to teach aspects of American history through a six book series from the perspective of a nine-year-old girl living in that time period.

The Historical Characters (originally known as 'The American Girls Collection' or, colloquially, 'Historical Characters') were initially the main focus of Pleasant Company. In 2014, the Historical line was rebranded to BeForever this change was reverted in 2019.īelow is a list of characters from the Historical series, Contemporary Characters, Girl of the Year, World by Us, and WellieWishers lines. Originally the stories focused on various periods of American history, but were expanded in 1995 to include contemporary characters and stories. They are sold with accompanying books told from the viewpoint of the girls. The dolls portray eight to thirteen-year-old girls of a variety of backgrounds. American Girl is an American line of 18-inch (46 cm) dolls released originally in 1986 by Pleasant Company (now Mattel).

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