A collection which uses primary sources to explore the creation of the US Constitution.

The Constitution was written in the summer of 1787 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, by delegates from 12 states, in order to replace the Articles of Confederation with a new form of government. It created a federal system with a national...

Two informative charts, one of which compares the Articles of Confederation and the Constitution, the other which lays out the positions of the Federalists and Anti-Federalists concerning the Constitution.

This tutorial examines the weaknesses of the Articles of Confederation and why they were replaced with the Constitution. A PDF file of the tutorial is available.

Read the text of the Land Ordinance of 1785, which was written to manage the land controlled by the Confederation government west of the Appalachian Mountains, land that became part of the United States after the Revolutionary War.

This site provides a collection of material regarding the work of the Continental Congress and the Constitutional Convention. Content includes a focus on how the Revolutionary War was organized, fanning the flames of patriotism,...

With this resource, you can search by keyword for particular subjects within the Federalist Papers, or you can access by number each of the Papers. Also available are links to four related documents: The Annapolis Convention, Articles of...

Students explore how the U.S. government was created in the years following the Articles of Confederation.

[Free Registration/Login Required] This website documents the United States through its struggles to become a new nation. Site includes primary source documents for the Articles of Confederation, US Constitutional Convention, and George...

The creation and growth of the new nation of the United States is the focus of this article. Being divided into time periods makes this site easy to understand.

Offers lesson plans that guide students to understanding the structure of the Declaration of Independence. Throughout the course of the instructional activity, students will be working on writing their own declaration of grievances...

This unit explores the timeless qualities of The U.S. Constitution, the opportunities to amend it, and how it is a pillar of the American identity, through these activities, videos, and outside resources.

The links in the New Nation, which is provided for by the Library of Congress, will lead you to sets of selected primary sources on a variety of topics,such as the Constitution, governmental policy on Native Americans, and problems and...

The sources in this primary set document the creation of the US Constitution. Includes teaching guide.

Quiz yourself on how well you know the events leading up to writing the United States Constitution.

Born near Charles Town (now Charleston), South Carolina, Charles Pinckney was the child of a wealthy family. He received a first-rate education and became an accomplished lawyer. Pinckney joined the state militia during the American...

An article by the CATO institute about James Madison's vision for his writing and contribution for the U.S. Constitutional Convention. Includes information on his views of a limited government for citizens' rights.

Direct online access to the basic Federal Government documents that define our democratic society, a core group of current and historical Government publications.

This site from the American Revolution Project discusses the state of the union at the end of the Revolutionary War and how the events of the time led to the failure of the Continental Congress and the Articles of Confederation.

This article summarizes the Articles of Confederation, its strengths and weaknesses, and how it led to the Constitution.

The National Archives and Records Administration provides a lesson plan on the American Revolution. Content includes excellent historical background, as well as several primary source documents, pictures, and engravings detailing various...

Essay covers from the Articles of Confederation and the problems of disunity of the new states after the Revolutionary War, internally as well as externally, to the Constitutional Convention, an attempt to address the Articles' problems....

During the Revolutionary War, the Continental Congress became America's de facto government. Over a period of 15 years, from 1774 to 1789, the Continental Congress underwent a profound evolution. Starting out as a temporary group that...

With the end of the Revolution, the United States again had to face the old unsolved Western question -- the problem of expansion, with its complications of land, fur trade, Indians, settlement and local government. Lured by the richest...