Was the Southern states' decision to secede from the Union protected by the United States Constitution? Eighth graders discuss the constitutionality of the South's justification for secession, particularly the secession of South...

Information about Connecticut's delegates to the Constitutional Convention. Includes information on Oliver Ellsworth, a key supporter of the Great Compromise, as well as William Samuel Johnson and Roger Sherman.

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...

Illustrated biographical sketches of delegates to the 1787 Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia, organized by state delegation.

George Washington wrote of the period between the Treaty of Paris and the writing of the Constitution that the states were united only by a "rope of sand."Disputes between Maryland and Virginia over navigation on the Potomac River led to...

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.

A short biographical sketch on George Wythe, a delegate to the Constitutional Convention from Virginia.

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.

Reforming the state's constitution was one of the most important and hotly debated political issues in antebellum North Carolina. The state's constitution of 1776, which remained largely unchanged until the convention of 1835, had...

Gives biographical details on the five delegates from North Carolina to the Constitutional Convention: William Blount, William Richard Davie, Alexander Martin, Richard Dobbs Spaight Sr., and Hugh Williamson.

A magazine article devoted to Princeton University offers a biography of its distinguished alumnus, who later became Governor of New Jersey and co-authored the New Jersey Plan which was presented to the Constitutional Convention.

Strong was born to Caleb and Phebe Strong on January 9, 1745 in Northampton, MA. He received his college education at Harvard, from which he graduated with highest honors in 1764. Like so many of the delegates to the Constitutional...

Like many of the delegates to the Constitutional Convention, Luther Martin attended the College of New Jersey (later Princeton), from which he graduated with honors in 1766. Though born in Brunswick, NJ., in 1748, Martin moved to...

A good biography on Pinckney and his role in the formation of the Constitution.

The constitutional convention of 1835 was convened to modify the North Carolina Constitution of 1776. Some provisions of the 1776 document were rooted in the colonial experience, and a growing segment of the population came to consider...

A very nice biography of the fifth vice president of the United States, Elbridge Gerry. Gerry died in office in 1814.

A brief biography of Oliver Ellsworth, the delegate from Connecticut to the Constitutional Convention. He also served as a senator and as a Chief Justice of the Supreme Court.

A brief biography of William Few, a delegate from Georgia to the Constitutional Convention, and a former member of the United States Senate.

A biography of this delegate from North Carolina to the Constitutional Convention. He was a strong federalist and helped with persuading North Carolina to endorse the new constitution. He later served as a Congressman.

A brief description of the life of Gunning Bedford, Jr. (1747-1812 CE). He was a delegate from Delaware to the Constitutional Convention. There is a nice portrait included.

A short but detailed biography of this delegate to the Constitutional Convention from Pennsylvania. Wilson later served as a U.S. Supreme Court Justice.

This resource offers a brief biographical entry on a delegate from Georgia to the Constitutional Convention, William Few, Jr., who later served as a United States Senator.

Gives biographical details on the five delegates from New Jersey to the Constitutional Convention: David Brearly, Jonathan Dayton, William C. Houston, William Livingston, and William Patterson.