Document 13: The United States Constitution – Signed, sealed, and ratified; I’m Now YOURS!
The United States Constitution, the supreme law of the United States, is a foundational document of governance and civil rights.…
Document 12: George Mason and the Anti-Federalists’ Struggle for A Bill of Rights
The Anti-Federalist Papers, a collection of writings from 1787 to 1789, emerged as a critical voice during the ratification debates…
Document 11: The Federalist Papers: A Timeless Guide to the U.S. Constitution
The Federalist Papers, a cornerstone of American political philosophy, are a collection of 85 articles and essays written under the…
Document 10: Debates at 1787 Constitutional Convention: The ‘Bait and Switch’ that Made a Nation
A Step Back in Time Imagine traveling back to the summer of 1787 in Philadelphia, where significant history was unfolding.…
Document 9: Northwest Ordinance and the Confederation Congress: Expanding a Nation, 1787
Although the Confederation Congress may have had little authority and did very little, it did one thing very well in…
Document 8: Annapolis Convention, 1786 – Quiet Beginnings of a Constitutional Revolution
In a room where ostensibly nothing happened, the Annapolis Convention of 1786 quietly set the stage for a monumental shift…
Document 7: The Articles of Confederation: America’s First Governing Experiment
When the ink dried on the Declaration of Independence in 1776, it was more than just a symbolic break from…
Document 6: A Witness to Revolution: The Declaration of Independence’s Defiant Leap
Document 5 on our path to the Founding of the American Republic was Thomas Paine’s “Common Sense.” But, Document 6…
Document 5: Thomas Paine’s “Common Sense”: Catalyzing the American Revolution
Introduction “Common Sense,” a pamphlet by Thomas Paine published in January 1776, stands as one of the most influential writings…
Document 4: The Virginia Declaration of Rights – Precursor to the US Constitution’s Bill of Rights
This is the fourth installment of historical antecedents to the Constitution of the United States. Prior documents were: the Magna…