[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...

Overview of a biography of Hugh Williamson, 1735-1819, a delegate to the Constitutional Convention from North Carolina.

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.

This teacher's guide provides a list of resources for information about the Constitution and its signers.

Using primary texts and prior study of Colonial America and the Revolution, students examine "what type of government would best represent the ideals of the American Revolution." Worksheets, discussions, and role-playing within this...

The constitutional convention of 1835 was convened to modify the North Carolina Constitution of 1776. Some provisions of the 1776 document were rooted in the colonial experience, and a growing segment of the population came to consider...

The Three-Fifths Compromise that was presented at the Constitutional Convention resolved the issue of counting slaves towards the population in regards to representation in the House of Representatives.

Covers details of the Great Compromise which was presented at the Constitutional Convention. It consisted of the idea of proportional representation in the lower house (House of Representatives) and equal representation of the states in...

The Commerce and Slave Trade Compromise was reached at the Constitutional Convention by stating that Congress could not prohibit the slave trade until 1808, but that any imported slaves could be taxed.

Primary source text of Patrick Henry's speech objecting to the Constitution, June, 1788.

The lesson plan provides varies information and links to help teach about the Constitutional Convention and learn about the Founding Fathers.

After the Constitution was written, debated, and finally adopted by the Constitutional Convention, it was sent to the states to ratify. Read about the fears of those who did not want to ratify it and see how their fears were addressed.

The original text from the University of Chicago Press of a 1780 letter from Alexander Hamilton to James Duane, who later became a delegate to the Constitutional Convention, on the weaknesses of the existing U.S. government under the...

The delegates at the Constitution established strict guidelines for writing the document. Read about the general housekeeping rules, and the way they reached compromises.

The delegates to the Constititional Convention produced a new governing document for the new United States. Read about how they determined to take the ratification process to the people of the states.

A good biography on Pinckney and his role in the formation of the Constitution.

Presents key ideas for examining how the Articles of Confederation were replaced with the Constitution and the compromises that were reached during debates.

This lesson provides discussion, culminating, and extension activities to enhance student understanding of the Constitution, and the Committees of Detail and Style. Students have the opportunity to compare the work of those two...

This site is from a unit called 'Writing the US Constitution.' It looks at the documents that preceded the Constitution, and the major issues that were debated while the Constitution was being created.

Those writing the Constitution had many issues to deal with in forming a document to govern the country. One thorny issue was the status of the states in regard to representation in the federal legislature. Read about the Virginia Plan...

Read online from James Madison's report of William Patterson's proposal of the New Jersey Plan at the Federal Convention, 1787. Link to related document: Articles of Confederation as related specifically to each proposal in the New...

How did we go from thirteen British colonies to the United States of America? Explore the major hardships of life under British rule, how the colonists decided to break away, and how they set a path for a new and independent government....

With the freeing of slaves following the Emancipation Proclamation, African-Americans, including former slaves, began to take part in the government. Read about African-American Charles W. Bryant, Constitutional Convention delegate, and...

The original text of a statement by John Tyler, member of the Virginia Constitutional Ratifying Convention, on his opposition to the new Constitution.