Category: Important Documents

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 common religious beliefs. They did not believe…

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 seriously and enjoyed, given the…

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…

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 of a bill 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. King George sent Hessian troops to America, a…

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 the 1786 Virginia Statute for Religious…

The Declaration of Rights and Grievances In March, 1774, the British Parliament passed a series of laws they referred to as the Coercive Acts. The Americans called them the Intolerable Acts. The Acts were primarily designed to punish the colony of Massachusetts for defying British policies; specifically, for the Boston Tea Party. Outrage in the…

The Gettysburg Address – Page 2 The Gettysburg Address, Page 2 More images

The Gettysburg Address – Page 1 The Gettysburg Address, Page 1 More images

The Emancipation Proclamation – Page 5 The Emancipation Proclamation, Page 5 More images