National Constitution Center
National Constitution Center: Constitution Hall Pass: The Judicial Branch
Video introduced by Judge Sandra Day O'Connor where she talks about the judicial branch. It then takes us on a tour of the National Constitution Center where we are told about the Constitutional Convention, with statues of the Founding...
National Constitution Center
National Constitution Center: Constitution Hall Pass: Freedom of Expression
Video introduced by Judge Sandra Day O'Connor where she talks about the Supreme Court's role in making decisions about freedom of speech. We then learn about why a Constitution was needed, the struggle for ratification, and how the three...
Center For Civic Education
60 Second Civics: Ratifying Constitution Pt. 1: Constitution as Social Contract
James Madison proposed conventions made up of delegates elected by the people to approve the Constitution. This popular approval made the document a social contract.
Center For Civic Education
60 Second Civics: Ratifying Constitution Pt. 3: Debates Over Ratification
The ratification debates were intense and often bitter. The debates in New York produced a series of articles now known as The Federalist.
Center For Civic Education
60 Second Civics: Ratifying Constitution Pt. 4: The Anti Federalists
George Mason, Elbridge Gerry, Richard Henry Lee, Patrick Henry, and Mercy Otis Warren were all notable Anti-Federalists. Their strongest objection to the Constitution was that it lacked a Bill of Rights.
Center For Civic Education
60 Second Civics: Compromise and Ratification
In order to ratify the Constitution for New York and Virginia, Federalists and Anti-Federalists had to agree to compromise.
Center For Civic Education
60 Second Civics: Ratifying Constitution Pt. 2: A Plan for Ratification
James Madison's plan for ratification of the Constitution would not give Anti-Federalists much time to organize their opposition. The Federalists wanted to stack the odds in their favor.
Center For Civic Education
60 Second Civics: Ratifying Constitution Pt. 5: The Lack of a Bill of Rights
The lack of a bill of rights was the most powerful weapon in the Anti-Federalist arsenal.
Center For Civic Education
60 Second Civics: Ratifying Constitution Pt. 6: The Constitution Is Ratified
New Hampshire was the ninth state to ratify the Constitution. The Federalists had to concede one point, however: to add a bill of rights.
Center For Civic Education
60 Second Civics: Ratification: New York and Virginia
New York and Virginia were two critical states that at first refused to ratify the Constitution.
Center For Civic Education
60 Second Civics: The Last Two States to Ratify the Constitution
The road to ratification of the Constitution for North Carolina and Rhode Island was a rocky one.
Khan Academy
Khan Academy: The Constitution and the Bill of Rights: Amendments 1 3
In this video, historian Joe Ellis and Aspen Institute President and CEO Walter Isaacson discuss the Constitution's Bill of Rights, Amendments 1-3. [6:41]
Khan Academy
Khan Academy: The Federalist Papers
Lynne Cheney, author of "James Madison: A Life Reconsidered" in conversation with Walter Isaacson of the Aspen Institute about the Federalist Papers. [3:58]
Khan Academy
Khan Academy: Overview: James Madison
Madison was "the most important person responsible for creating what America is today" and played many roles in the founding of America. Lynne Cheney, author of "James Madison: A Life Reconsidered" gives an overview of his life. [6:04]