The Founders' Constitution: Popular Basis of Political Authority

A good handout is a great find. Print this resource and hand out a simplified version of the US Constitution and Bill of Rights to your US government or US history class. The powers of the president, Congress, and the Senate are...

A government of the people, by the people, and for the people! Invite your class to really analyze the concept of consent of the governed and why it is one of the foundational principles of the United States Constitution and of...

This speech, "The Address and Reasons of Dissent of the Minority of the Convention of Pennsylvania to Their Constituents," contains some of the arguments for opposing the Constitution.

What a fun way to learn about the making of the American Constitution! This video does a great job of describing the circumstances that existed for the delegates in Philadelphia in 1787, where in a just a few days, they would effectively...

The University of Chicago provides thousands of primary source documents concerning the diverse contents of the Constitution. Documents underlying the proposed Constitution, as well as documents of the time debating the proposed...

Excerpts from John Locke's famous 1689 work "Two Treatises of Government" where he discusses his political ideas that came to influence the U.S. Revolutionaries.

The original and complete text of the letter approved by the Constitutional Convention on September 17, 1787 recommending the newly adopted U.S. Constitution to the Congress and the states for ratification.

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

With this address, Jefferson marked the first-ever peaceful transfer of power by election in the world. He used this address to calm the fears of the opposition Federalist party.

Travel back to 1787 as young scholars investigate the creation of the US Constitution. After first working in small groups to create sets of classroom rules, students go on to read a summary of the Constitution and watch a short video...