Tag: usconstitution.net

The Report of the Hartford Convention As Britain and France battled each other in the early 1800’s, enterprising Americans wanted to take advantage of the war by transporting goods for both sides, across each nation’s blockade lines. The violation of the lines angered both governments, but Britain most of all. In a move widely hated…

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 Gettysburg, the South had to fight a…

The Fugitive Slave Act Advertisement The Compromise of 1850 was introduced to stave off conflict between the slave states and the free states upon the admission of California as a state. Under the Compromise, California was admitted as a free state, New Mexico and Utah were organized as slave territories, and Texas had its boundaries…

Benjamin Franklin’s Articles of Confederation Benjamin Franklin had long been a proponent of self-government and independence for the colonies of North America. In 1754, he had penned The Albany Plan for uniting the colonies, but the rest of the people were not ready at the time. He waited. The Second Continental Congress convened on May…

Speech of Benjamin Franklin Advertisement Monday, September 17, 1787, was the last day of the Constitutional Convention. Pennsylvania delegate Benjamin Franklin, one of the few Americans of the time with international repute, wanted to give a short speech to the Convention prior to the signing of the final draft of the Constitution. Too weak to…