Imagine sitting down with representatives of your school to write a new student handbook. What arguments would ensue? How would compromises be made to finish the project? Scholars research the Constitutional Convention using a directory...

Supreme Court justices debate the meaning of the US Constitution, but we expect teachers to explain it to scholars with far less training and experience. A daunting task for sure, but it's not insurmountable with resources that simplify...

Most Americans profess their love for the US Constitution, but this was not always the case. An informative lesson overviews the debate between the Federalists and Anti-Federalists by summarizing the main arguments of each side. It...

There were 5 main issues that the delegates to the Constitutional Convention argued and debated: Slavery, Representation, State v. Federal Powers, Commerce, and Executive Powers. Analyze these issues by reading the following summaries,...

The National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) provides biographies of all 55 delegates to the Constitutional Convention.

One word can sum up the Constitutional Convention of 1787 - compromise. Find out which compromises were made and by which groups of people and/or states. This expansive site includes background on the convention, primary source...

Among the many weaknesses of the Articles of Confederation was the inability of the government to conduct foreign policy in an effective manner. Find out how the Constitutional Convention addressed this issue by allowing the Executive...

Committees, committee assignments, themes of the Constitutional Convention and more resources are provided. Go into depth studying the details of the significant convention.

An overview of the process of ratification which occurred following the Constitutional Convention proposed the first version of the Constitution. Meet the primary contributors and understand the six stages of the ratification.

The issue of slavery was a contentious one during debates in the Constitutional Convention. Read about the various issues, the quotes of several of the delegates, and see how the word "slave" is not even mentioned in the Constitution....

This site from the United States Senate provides information about the evolution of the Senate as the Constitution was being written by the Constitutional Congress.

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....

A look at the convening of a Constitutional Convention to address the problems inherent in the Articles of Confederation. Read a quote from George Washington, who addressed the legality of such a convention.

Dive into the times following the Constitutional Convention when the people and the leaders carried on in-depth conversations about the proposed constitution for the new nation. There were debates between Federalists and Antifederalists...

This site has a brief summary that describes the delegates to the Constitutional Convention. This group is sometimes called the "Founding Fathers."

Find the delegates of the Constitutional Convention listed both alphabetically and by the state they represented. Check out the biographical information for each one.

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

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 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.

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...

Strengthen understanding of the ratification of the Constitution. Study the state ratification conventions of Massachusetts, Virginia, and New York.

There was no Bill of Rights attached to the original Constitution, but it was a topic of discussion. Read a reconstruction of speeches of delegates to the Constitutional Convention who debated for and against the inclusion of a way to...