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To Form a More Perfect Union Declaration of Independence. Painting by John Trumbull (1756-1843) photographed by Theodor Horydczak ca.1920-1950. Theodor Horydczak Collection, Prints and Photographs Division. Reproduction Number: LC-H8-CT-C01-063. Between 1774 and 1789, 13 colonies became a nation - the United States of America.
- Organizing a War
Instructions to the Captains and Commanders of Private Armed...
- Identifying Defects in The Constitution
By the United States in Congress Assembled. November 1,1783....
- Relations With Native Americans
[Detail] A Sachem of the Abenakee Nation, Rescuing an...
- Edmund Randolph
Edmund Randolph (1753-1813). John Angel James Wilcox (b....
- John Dunlap
Constitution of the United States. In The Pennsylvania...
- General George Washington
General Washington (1732-1799). Painted by John Trumbull...
- General Charles Lee
Major Gnl. Charles Lee (1731-1782). B. Rashbrooke (dates...
- James Wilson
James Wilson (1742-1798). Max Rosenthal (1833-1918)....
- Organizing a War
- A More Perfect Union: The Creation of The U.S. Constitution
- The Articles of Confederation
- The Delegates
- The Virginia Plan
- The New Jersey Plan
- Hamilton's Plan
- The Great Compromise
- The First Draft
- The Federalists and The Anti-Federalists
- Ratification
May 25, 1787, freshly spread dirt covered the cobblestone street in front of the Pennsylvania State House, protecting the men inside from the sound of passing carriages and carts. Guards stood at the entrances to ensure that the curious were kept at a distance. Robert Morris of Pennsylvania, the "financier" of the Revolution, opened the proceedings...
The determined Madison had for several years insatiably studied history and political theory searching for a solution to the political and economic dilemmas he saw plaguing America. The Virginian's labors convinced him of the futility and weakness of confederacies of independent states. America's own government under the Articles of Confederation, ...
Seventy-four delegates were appointed to the convention, of which 55 actually attended sessions. Rhode Island was the only state that refused to send delegates. Dominated by men wedded to paper currency, low taxes, and popular government, Rhode Island's leaders refused to participate in what they saw as a conspiracy to overthrow the established gov...
On Tuesday morning, May 29, Edmund Randolph, the tall, 34-year- old governor of Virginia, opened the debate with a long speech decrying the evils that had befallen the country under the Articles of Confederation and stressing the need for creating a strong national government. Randolph then outlined a broad plan that he and his Virginia compatriots...
This nationalist position revolted many delegates who cringed at the vision of a central government swallowing state sovereignty. On June 13 delegates from smaller states rallied around proposals offered by New Jersey delegate William Paterson. Railing against efforts to throw the states into "hotchpot," Paterson proposed a "union of the States mer...
On June 18 Alexander Hamilton presented his own ideal plan of government. Erudite and polished, the speech, nevertheless, failed to win a following. It went too far. Calling the British government "the best in the world," Hamilton proposed a model strikingly similar an executive to serve during good behavior or life with veto power over all laws; a...
Also crowding into this complicated and divisive discussion over representation was the North-South division over the method by which slaves were to be counted for purposes of taxation and representation. On July 12 Oliver Ellsworth proposed that representation for the lower house be based on the number of free persons and three-fifths of "all othe...
On Monday August 6, 1787, the convention accepted the first draft of the Constitution. Here was the article-by-article model from which the final document would result some 5 weeks later. As the members began to consider the various sections, the willingness to compromise of the previous days quickly evaporated. The most serious controversy erupted...
Because of its size, wealth, and influence and because it was the first state to call a ratifying convention, Pennsylvania was the focus of national attention. The positions of the Federalists, those who supported the Constitution, and the anti-Federalists, those who opposed it, were printed and reprinted by scores of newspapers across the country....
By January 9, 1788, five states of the nine necessary for ratification had approved the Constitution--Delaware, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Georgia, and Connecticut. But the eventual outcome remained uncertain in pivotal states such as Massachusetts, New York, and Virginia. On February 6, withFederalists agreeing to recommend a list of amendments amo...
We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defence, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.
Preamble: We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defence, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.
"We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America."
“We the people, in order to form a more perfect union.” Two hundred and twenty-one years ago, in a hall that still stands across the street, a group of men gathered and, with these simple words, launched America’s improbable experiment in democracy. . . . The document they produced was eventually signed but ultimately unfinished.
Apr 23, 2024 · We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic. Tranquility, provide for the common defence, promote the general Welfare, and secure the. Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the. United States of America.
