Bill of Rights Institute
Bill of Rights Institute: Charles Pinckney
Born near Charles Town (now Charleston), South Carolina, Charles Pinckney was the child of a wealthy family. He received a first-rate education and became an accomplished lawyer. Pinckney joined the state militia during the American...
Digital History
Digital History: Shays' Rebellion
A brief discussion of Shays' Rebellion and why it was but a symptom of a weak central government under the Articles of Confederation. See what some saw as a way to fix the problems.
Thomson Reuters
Find Law: History of the Constitution
This history of the American Constitution discusses how the Constitution served as a basis for inspiring and regulating laws made across the nation.
Siteseen
Siteseen: Government and Constitution: Constitutional Convention
The delegates of the Constitutional Convention framed the Constitution of the United States as a basis of government to address the weaknesses of the Articles of Confederation.
Yale University
Avalon Project: Madison Debates
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...
Ohio Test Prep
Ohio Test Prep: Northwest Ordinance
Ohio Test Prep video from which students learn how the Northwest Ordinance established a precedent for governing the United States.
Thomson Reuters
Find Law: Constitution
This site provides extensive information regarding several American constitutional issues such as: impeachment, war powers, interstate commerce, and the amendment process. Hyperlinks can be found throughout each constitutional issue to...
Ohio Test Prep
Ohio Test Prep: u.s. Constitution
Video test preparation module for Social Studies on the U.S. Constitution teaches students about provisions and compromises made during the Constitutional Convention and how the terms reflect Enlightenment thinking.
Digital History
Digital History: Writing a Constitution [Pdf]
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.
Independence Hall Association
U.s. History: Political Experience
Read about how the state governments in the new American nation served as the laboratory to try out new ideas of governing and treating citizens. See how remarkably similar the ideas put forth in state constitutions were to each other.
Thomson Reuters
Find Law: Supreme Court Justices: John Jay
A biography of the first Chief Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court and author of some of the Federalist Papers.
iCivics
I Civics: We're Free... Let's Grow!
Students explore the challenges the nation faced when it acquired the Northwest Territory, including America's doubling in geographical size and how the new territory was to be added to the U.S.
Colonial Williamsburg Foundation
Colonial Williamsburg: Politics in Colonial Virginia
This site explores the politics involved in Colonial Williamsburg, leading up to the American Revolution. Content focuses on famous speeches, documents, and influential people.
Smithsonian Institution
Smithsonian Education: Winning the Vote
Three lesson plans that take learners through three different steps in our election process.
Georgia Humanities Council and the University of Georgia Press.
New Georgia Encyclopedia: Stone Mountain
Highlights the history of Stone Mountain located in Georgia near Atlanta which is "the largest exposed mass of granite in the world". Once used by Native Americans as a ceremonial meeting place, it is now a state park and a major tourist...
Khan Academy
Khan Academy: Us History: 1754 1800: Shays's Rebellion
Armed rebellion in the newly-formed United States of America led to the creation of a stronger central government.
Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History
Gilder Lehrman Institute: American Revolution
[Free Registration/Login Required] Looking for an insight into the American Revolution? This site contains a collection of primary source documents that discuss personal experience, military, and political aspects of the war.
The Dirksen Congressional Center
Congress for Kids: Independence
Independence is so important to Americans. Congress for Kids provides a tutorial on this core value.
Curated OER
Educational Technology Clearinghouse: Clip Art Etc: Richard Henry Lee
(1732-1794) Six President of the United States in Congress assembled under the Articles of Confederation from 1784-1785.
Curated OER
Educational Technology Clearinghouse: Clip Art Etc: Robert Morris
(1734-1806) Morris was an American merchant and a signatory of the United States Declaration of Independence, the Articles of Confederation, and the United States Constitution. Morris was known as the "Financier of the Revolution,"...