Articles by James Caldwell

2003 News Archive This page is an archive of articles presented on the Current News page of the USConstitution.net site. On this page are articles that were posted in 2003. 12/15/03 New rules for automotive arrests set by Court A unanimous Supreme Court authorized arrest of all passengers in a car...

2004 News Archive This page is an archive of articles presented on the Current News page of the USConstitution.net site. On this page are articles that were posted in 2004. 12/13/04 Edwards gets one electoral vote – for President Minnesota officials were not quite sure what to do when John...

2005 News Archive This page is an archive of articles presented on the Current News page of the USConstitution.net site. On this page are articles that were posted in 2005. 12/20/05 Pennsylvania court rebukes Intelligent Design instruction In a strongly-worded judgement against supporters of...

2006 News Archive This page is an archive of articles presented on the Current News page of the USConstitution.net site. On this page are articles that were posted in 2006. 12/26/06 President Ford dies President Gerald Ford, 38th president of the United States, died today. Ford rose to office in...

Madison’s Introduction of the Bill of Rights James Madison, is considered by many to be the father of the Constitution, and not without good reason . What is perhaps less well known is his role in the Bill of Rights , too. During the Convention, the delegates were mostly set against the inclusion...

The Magna Carta Advertisement Of all the documents that make up the ancestry of the Constitution , one of the oldest is the Magna Carta (also known as the Magna Charta or the Great Charter). It was created in 1215 in England. It was an agreement between King John and the nobility of the day. The...

The Massachusetts Government Act When Massachusetts was first chartered, a council of inhabitants was formed, the 28 members of which were to be chosen annually by the people of the colony. This bit of democratic representation was unique among the many colonies, and it was a right the people took...

The Mayflower Compact stories of survival, of relations with American Indians, of the first Thanksgiving, and of religious freedom found, are the stuff of American legend. One of the cornerstones of the Pilgrim ethos is the Mayflower Compact. The Pilgrims were a small group of people bound by...

The Miranda Warning Advertisement The Constitution reserves many rights for those suspected of crime. One of the fears of the Framers was that the government could act however it wished by simply saying an individual was a suspected criminal. Many of the rights in the Constitution and the Bill of...

Nations of the World The following table is a compilation of data gathered from different sources, but primarily from the data found in the Information Please online databases. See the notes at the bottom of the page for some details about each column. Country Capital Adjective Languages Off?...

2000 News Archive This page is an archive of articles presented on the Current News page of the USConstitution.net site. On this page are articles that were posted in 2000. 12/28/00 2000 census figures released The U.S. Census has released state population totals from the 2000 enumeration. Eight...

Jefferson’s Wall of Separation Letter Thomas Jefferson was a man of deep religious conviction — his conviction was that religion was a very personal matter, one which the government had no business getting involved in. He was vilified by his political opponents for his role in the passage of...

Richard Henry Lee’s Independence Resolution In the spring and early summer of 1776, war with Britain looked more and more likely. There had already been battles, but many of the leaders of the colonies felt that reconciliation with the Crown was still possible. But things deteriorated rapidly....

The Bill of Rights

The Bill of Rights The Bill of Rights More images

The Constitution

The Constitution – Page 1 The Constitution, Page 1 More images

The Constitution

The Constitution – Page 2 The Constitution, Page 2 More images

The Constitution

The Constitution – Page 3 The Constitution, Page 3 More images

The Constitution

The Constitution – Page 4 The Constitution, Page 4 More images

The Constitution

The Constitution – Page 5 The Constitution, Letter of Transmittal More images

The Gettysburg Address For three days in July 1863, Union and Confederate forces fought fierce battles at and near Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. The Union turned back one of the last major thrusts of the Confederate troops toward the North. Many consider it the turning point in the war; after...