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 Library of Congress provides several hundred documents relating to the Continental Congress and the Constitutional Convention. Content includes drafts of the Constitution, journals of Congress, resolutions, proclamations, committee...

After reading this section of the chapter on "Creating Republican Governments", students will be able to identify the central issues of the 1787 Constitutional Convention and their solutions and also describe the conflicts over the...

Explains why the Articles of Confederation were not strong enough to hold the country together. One result was a farmers' rebellion in Massachusetts led by Daniel Shays, which was precipitated by a debt crisis that caused many farmers to...

Information about a group of nine delegates to the Constitutional Convention, all of whom had attended Princeton University. Explains Princeton's role in the convention, with longer biographical entries for three Princeton-education...

The original text of official Resolutions by members of the Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia in 1787 during the debate creating a new national U.S. Constitution.

Comprehensive overview of the U.S. Constitution. Places the Constitution in context with two other founding charters of American democracy and government, the Declaration of Independence and the Bill of Rights. Includes access to digital...

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....

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.

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.

A transcript of the actual handwritten notes taken by Rufus King (delegate from Massachusetts) at the Constitutional Convention in 1787.

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.

Read about Checks and Balances, Balance of Power, the Electoral College, and much more in this informative lesson about the making of the Constitution.

View George Washington's annotated draft of the Constitution while discussing the ratification process. Specifically, the students will analyze changes to the Preamble of the Constitution. Critical thinking questions are provided.

A Constitutional Convention was held in Texas in 1875 as a reaction to Reconstruction. See how the gains made by the Republican Party, which included African American legislators, were negated by the Democratic Party when it gained control.

[Free Registration/Login Required] This website documents the United States through its struggles to become a new nation. Site includes primary source documents for the Articles of Confederation, US Constitutional Convention, and George...

An entry on the Butler family who owned large plantations on the Sea Islands. The "patriarch" was Pierce Butler who also served as a delegate to the Constitutional Convention.

A scholarly article on the life of George Mason, a delegate from Virginia to the Constitutional Convention. Mason is also considered the father of the Bill of Rights.

The sources in this primary set document the creation of the US Constitution. Includes teaching guide.

Lesson on immigration, conflict and nativism in which students examine primary source documents to evaluate public policy and attitudes towards Chinese immigrants in California, 1878-1879.

The lesson plan provides varies information and links to help teach about the Constitutional Convention and learn about the Founding Fathers.

The original text from the University of Chicago Press of a 1780 letter from Alexander Hamilton to James Duane, who later became a delegate to the Constitutional Convention, on the weaknesses of the existing U.S. government under the...

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.

This resource from Khan Academy provides a study resource about the weaknesses of the Articles of Confederation, Shay's Rebellion, and the needed call for a new Constitution. These questions are intended for students taking high school...