Digital History
Digital History: The Founding Fathers' Motives [Pdf]
Read some historians' views about the Founding Fathers and their interests, perhaps economic, in writing the Constitution. Historians' views have changed over time, and in the suggested student exercises, students are asked to assess...
University of Groningen
American History: Outlines: George Washington as Chairman
Overview of the significant contributions of George Washington and his importance as an early leader in forming the U.S. government.
National Endowment for the Humanities
Neh: Edsit Ement: Jefferson vs. Franklin: Revolutionary Philosophers
In this lesson plan, students will consider "Jefferson vs. Franklin: Revolutionary Philosophers." The plan includes worksheets and other student materials that can be found under the resource tab.
National Endowment for the Humanities
Neh: Edsit Ement: The Constitutional Convention: What the Founding Fathers Said
In this lesson plan, young scholars will consider "The Constitutional Convention: What the Founding Fathers Said." The plan includes worksheets and other student materials that can be found under the resource tab.
Other
Founding Fathers
Find information about the founding fathers and what they accomplished. Presents the Federalist Papers, The Declaration of Independence, The Bill of Rights, and The U.S. Constitution. Also includes images, quotes, a history of the...
Other
Liberty Online: Locke's Second Treatise on Government: Of Conquest
At this site you can read Chapter XVI, Of Conquest, by John Locke stating that the basis of any government must be the consent of the people, and implying in the writing that war or revolution is often mistaken as consent. (Published in...
Other
Us Congress: Congress, the Court, and the Constitution
Transcript of a congressional hearing, held in 1994, to discuss whether Congress had given too much power to the Supreme Court, against the express intent of the Founding Fathers. This transcript is lengthy but informative, containing...
Other
Liberty Online: Patrick Henry: Give Me Liberty or Give Me Death
Full text of the "Give me Liberty or Give me Death" (1775) speech by Patrick Henry.
Other
University of Delware: Franklin and Friends
Using historically significant documents and photos from its collection, this exhibit probes the various interests of Franklin and the influential friends that shared his interests.
Other
Institute for American Liberty: The First Principles of the Constitution [Pdf]
This article contains information about the principles used to create the Constitution of the United States.
Other
Constitution facts.com: Which Founding Father Are You?
Answer five questions to learn which of six Founding Fathers you are most like.
US Government Publishing Office
Ben's Guide to u.s. Government: Branches of Government
A brief overview of the origins of the three branches of the federal government, with links to more in-depth information about each branch. Also discusses the concerns of the Founding Fathers about creating a government that had...
Cato Institute
James Madison's Vision of Liberty [Pdf]
An article by the CATO institute about James Madison's vision for his writing and contribution for the U.S. Constitutional Convention. Includes information on his views of a limited government for citizens' rights.
Other
American Presidents: John Adams
List of facts about John Adams and his presidency, with links to additional information, including the text of his inaugural address and a letter to Thomas Jefferson.
US National Archives
Nara: Founding Fathers: North Carolina
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.
Smithsonian Institution
National Portrait Gallery: Who Am I? (Portrait Puzzler)
Match the portraits of eight famous Americans who played major roles in the American Revolution with their famous deeds. A short exercise that can be used by individual learners to test their understanding of basic U.S. history content...
Bill of Rights Institute
Bill of Rights Institute: Founders Quotes
Liberty must at all hazards be supported. We have a right to it, derived from our Maker. But if we had not, our fathers have earned and bought it for us, at the expense of their ease, their estates, their pleasure, and their blood. -...
Bill of Rights Institute
Bill of Rights Institute: John Adams
Short, overweight, and quick-tongued, John Adams hardly fits the model of the typical Founder. But Adams's contributions to American independence and the formation of the United States government were great. Adams penned defenses of...
Bill of Rights Institute
Bill of Rights Institute: Charles Carroll
Charles Carroll is primarily remembered today for his political leadership in Maryland during the Revolutionary era. A wealthy planter, Carroll became a major figure in the patriot movement in 1773 when he penned the First Citizen...
Bill of Rights Institute
Bill of Rights Institute: John Dickinson
John Dickinson was called "The Penman of the American Revolution." During the 1760s and 1770s, he authored numerous important essays in defense of American rights, including The Late Regulations Respecting the British Colonies, the...
Bill of Rights Institute
Bill of Rights Institute: Benjamin Franklin
Although he was the old sage of the American Revolution and the Founding generation, Benjamin Franklin's considerable work in the areas of journalism, science, and invention often obscure his many contributions to the creation of the...
Bill of Rights Institute
Bill of Rights Institute: Richard Henry Lee
Richard Henry Lee in many ways personified the elite Virginia gentry. A planter and slaveholder, he was tall, handsome, and genteel in his manners. Raised in a conservative environment, Lee was nonetheless radical in his social and...
Bill of Rights Institute
Bill of Rights Institute: Roger Sherman
Although not the most charismatic or eloquent Founder, Roger Sherman was highly esteemed by his contemporaries. At Sherman's death, Ezra Stiles, president of Yale College, wrote, "He was an extraordinary man-a venerable uncorrupted...
Other
Monticello: Timeline of Jefferson's Life
Provides a parallel chronology of public and private events in Thomas Jefferson's life in vertical timeline format.