The original Articles of Confederation and Perpetual Union between thirteen states, created in 1777 and ratified in 1781. It preceded the Constitutional Convention in 1787.

Here one can view the five volumes of The Debates in the Several State Conventions on the Adoption of the Federal Constitution, which were put together by Jonathan Elliot in the mid-1800s. These debates extend from September 1787 to...

Three of the four volumes of Max Farrand's collection of the records of the Constitutional Convention of 1787. Called The Records of the Federal Convention of 1787, these documents are a critical part of American governmental history.

The introduction to the first volume of the Annals of Congress, in which there is a short history of the creation of the Constitution, and the text of the Constitution as it was first written.

In this activity, students will analyze documents pertaining to the women's suffrage movement as it intensified following passage of the 15th Amendment that guaranteed the right to vote for African American males. Documents were chosen...

Find assets by location and call up specific item information including films, connected themes and related classroom resources. A wealth of primary source images from events in American history.

After learning to distinguish between primary and secondary sources, students will examine four primary documents and address a set of questions for each.

A translation of the Magna Carta, broken into paragraphs for easier reading.

Find relationships among primary and secondary sources of information that identify where information from different sources converges and where it differs.

In this activity, learners will review and analyze the founding documents of the United States and understand Benjamin Frankin's contributions and connections to these founding documents. Franklin was the only man to help shape all of...

[Free Registration/Login Required] A letter from Jackie Robinson to President Eisenhower in response to a speech Eisenhower gave asking African Americans to be patient. A question sheet is available to help students build skills in...

[Free Registration/Login Required] This ReadWorks passage provides a brief analysis of the Declaration of Independence. A paired passage, a lower level passage with related content, a questions sheet, and an additional answer sheet are...

I-Feel-Like-I'm-Fixin'-To-Die-Rag' by Country Joe McDonald has been played with great success in classrooms for over twenty years. While it conveys literary elements such as theme, point of view, and irony, it also functions as an...