Learners learn about the rights guaranteed by the Bill of Rights and other important constitutional amendments.

This resource from Khan Academy provides the full text of Brutus I. This lesson is intended for students taking high school or college level American Government and Civics courses, including the AP Government course.

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...

In the debate over the Constitution, the Bill of Rights was a deal-breaker. In this lesson, students learn why the federalists thought the Constitution didn't need a bill of rights and why the anti-federalists refused to accept the...

Although difficult to comprehend, after the demise of the Federalists, there was essentially just one political party in the United States for about a decade. Read about the rise of the new two-party system and how the attack on...

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.

This encyclopedia article from Wikipedia gives some background history to the creation of the Bill of Rights and contains a transcription of the first ten amendments to the Constitution in their original form.

Learning Adventure teaches about the differences between federal and state governments as written in the Constitution and shares reasons the founding fathers wanted it this way.

In this activity, students will observe the political climate at the time of the Constitutional Convention of 1787, and read the writings of the delegates who refused to sign the proposed Constitution, as well as those who supported it....

This resource presents links for different parts of George Mason's life. Information about his life includes links to relevant topics.

Read some historians' views about the Founding Fathers and their interests, perhaps economic, in writing the Constitution. Historians' views have changed over time, and in the suggested student exercises, students are asked to assess...

Read about the foreign policy problems the United States was having at the beginning of the Adams administration. See what led up the the passage of the Sedition Act and some ramifications of it, and the Kentucky and Virginia Resolutions...

Outline of the principles embedded in a Federal System of government attempting to balance states' rights with the need for a central government.

Read about the need for a Bill of Rights to be added to the Constitution. Find out what each of the first ten amendments means.

The National Humanities Center provides a full-length essay on the constitutional debate during the time of the Constitutional Convention.

Many Americans take for granted the freedoms contained in the first 10 amendments to the Constitution. As students play this game, they will discover surprising facts about the story behind the Bill of Rights and gain a clearer...

This Khan Academy resource provides and overview of the issues surrounding the Election of 1800.

A speech given by Luther Martin, the delegate from Maryland to the Constitutional Convention. Martin was a believer is state's rights and did not sign the finished document.

Describes the life of Luther Martin, a delegate to the Constitutional Convention from Maryland. He did not sign the Constitution, and he later served for many years as the Attorney General of Maryland.

Patrick Henry is known for being a steadfast patriot opposed to a strong centralized government. In 1765, Henry was elected to the Virginia House of Burgesses. By the 1770s, Henry had emerged as one of the most radical leaders of the...

Students become one of the famous men who argued for or against ratification of the Constitution. They research and present their argumets to the class, who will then vote whether or not to ratify the new Constitution.

This simulation game set in the 1780s focuses on the ratification of the Constitution.

This letter from George Mason shows his Anti-Federalist opinions and opposition to a planned centralized government.

This letter from George Mason shows his Anti-Federalist opinions and opposition to a planned centralized government.