Thomson Reuters
Find Law: Proposing a Constitutional Amendment
The delegates to the Constitutional Convention had to decide the means of amending the Constitution. Discusses Madison's proposal for empowering Congress to propose amendments, either on its own initiative or upon application by the...
University of California
History Project: Debate Over the California Constitutional Convention, 1878 1879
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.
University of Groningen
American History: Outlines: Drafting the Constitution
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....
TED Talks
Ted: Ted Ed: The Making of the American Constitution
A brief video providing background information on the Constitutional Convention. [3:58] The video is followed by a quiz and a list of additional resources.
PBS
Pbs Learning Media: Slavery and the u.s. Constitution
Lesson focuses on the debate over slavery at the Constitutional Convention in 1787.
Other
Historical Scene Investigation: Hsi: I Smell a Rat: Constitution Controversy
Activity in which students act as detectves to investigate an historical issue. In this activity students analyze primary source material to learn about controversy surrounding the U.S. Constitution when they are asked to find out what...
Bill of Rights Institute
Bill of Rights Institute: Constitution of the United States of America (1787)
The Constitution was written in the summer of 1787 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, by delegates from 12 states, in order to replace the Articles of Confederation with a new form of government. It created a federal system with a national...
Digital History
Digital History: Was the Constitutional Convention Legal?
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.
Texas State Library and Archives Commission
Texas State Library and Archives Commission: Forever Free: The 1870s: The Constitutional Convention of 1875
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.
Teaching American History
Teaching American History: Ratification of the Constitution
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...
Library of Congress
Loc: Records of the Federal Convention: Farrand
This article offers discussion of various aspects of the Federal Constitutional Convention of 1787, along with images from original congressional documents.
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.
Alabama Learning Exchange
Alex: Constitution or Articles?
In this lesson, students will observe the political climate at the time of the Constitutional Convention of 1787, and read the writings of the delegates who refused to sign the proposed Constitution, as well as those who supported it....
Yale University
Notes of Rufus King in the Federal Convention of 1787
A transcript of the actual handwritten notes taken by Rufus King (delegate from Massachusetts) at the Constitutional Convention in 1787.
Library of Congress
Loc: Ferrand's Records: Records of the Federal Convention
A large collection of chronological links to the text of the official records of the Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia in 1787.
University of Chicago
The Founders' Constitution: The New Jersey Plan
The original text of The New Jersey Plan for the creation of a new constitution in the Constitutional Convention.
Michigan State University
Michigan State University: American Revolution: The Argument Over the Constitution
The National Humanities Center provides a full-length essay on the constitutional debate during the time of the Constitutional Convention.
University of Chicago
The Founders' Constitution: Luther Martin: Genuine Information
A speech given by Luther Martin, the delegate from Maryland to the Constitutional Convention. Martin was a believer is state's rights and did not sign the finished document.
Other
George Mason: Architect of Constitutional Liberty
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 Dirksen Congressional Center
Congress for Kids: Signing the Constitution
This site has a brief summary that describes the delegates to the Constitutional Convention. This group is sometimes called the "Founding Fathers."
Digital Public Library of America
Dpla: Creating the Us Constitution
The sources in this primary set document the creation of the US Constitution. Includes teaching guide.
University of Oklahoma
University of Oklahoma College of Law: The Annapolis Convention
Historical document reveals details of the Annapolis Convention, a national political convention held in 1786 Annapolis, Maryland, in which twelve delegates from five states gathered to discuss and develop a consensus about reversing the...
CPALMS
Florida State University Cpalms: Florida Students: From Confederation to Constitution
This tutorial examines the weaknesses of the Articles of Confederation and why they were replaced with the Constitution. A PDF file of the tutorial is available.
Quia
Quia: The Articles of Confederation and the Writing of the Constitution
Take a quiz on the Articles of Confederation and the writing of the Constitution.