Document 13a: 27 Amendments to the Constitution
Article V: Amendment Process (1787) The Congress, whenever two thirds of both Houses shall deem it necessary, shall propose Amendments to this Constitution, or, on the Application of the Legislatures…
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. Structured into seven articles, it outlines the federal government’s framework…
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 of the U.S. Constitution. Contrasting the Federalist Papers, these works…
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 pseudonym “Publius.” Alexander Hamilton, James Madison, and John Jay were…
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. The Pennsylvania State House, now known as Independence Hall, served…
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 passing the Northwest Ordinance to set up the future states…
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 in American history. In the aftermath of the Revolutionary War,…
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 British rule; it was the dawn of a new, uncertain…
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 in our list, the Declaration of Independence, was America’s point…
Document 2: The Mayflower Compact – A Foundation for Religious Freedom and Representative Governance
Imagine standing on the edge of the known world, about to step into the unknown. You just crossed the Atlantic Ocean in a tiny ship with your home and civilization…