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Here are some of the key founding documents from this period in US History. Below you can find the documents IN FULL (and with ALL original language). For some, there are also simplified/ modernized versions.
The link will take you to the FULL original text of Thomas Paine's work, which also includes some additions HE made to later versions of the work.
Declaration of Independence -- Full Text - Google Docs.pdfThe full Declaration of Independence, as written by Thomas Jefferson (and his committee).
A photograph of one of the original Dunlap Broadsides (currently on display at Independence Hall, Philadelphia, PA).
What are the Dunlap Broadsides?
After the Declaration of Independence was formally adopted on July 4, 1776, the Congress voted to authenticate the document by adding the signatures of the president of the Congress, John Hancock, and Secretary Charles Thomson. They further ordered, “That copies of the declaration be sent to several assemblies, conventions and committees or councils of safety, and to the several commanding officers of the continental troops.” That evening the Declaration was taken to a print shop at Second and Market Streets where John Dunlap printed an estimated 100-200 copies. The authenticated copy was not saved.
The Extant (Existing) Documents
There are 26 known Dunlap broadsides, three of which are in British repositories. The Continental Congress did not send any copies to King George III.
Some photos of Independence Hall (Philadelphia, PA), the room the Declaration of Indepence was debated and signed in, and the desk Jefferson used to write the document.
Am_US_Const.pdfThis is probably my favorite version of the Constution to use in class. It is from a textbook that we no longer use, The Americans. What I like about it is it
(1) Adds in headings/ titles that aren't in the original
(2) there are VERY helpful notes/ annotations in the margins.
(3) It clearly crosses out sections that have been changed by Amendments.
US-Constitution-in-Simple-English-updated.pdfThis includes both the ORIGINAL text of the US Constitution and a simplified version. Be careful with the simplified text. It is ACCURATE, but it OMITS some information.
During the Constitutional Convention, James Madison, a delegate from Virginia, took extensive notes on the debates and proceedings. They have since been collected and published. They are an invaluable resource on what the men attending the convention actually thought.
Originally published anonymously in NY & VA newspapers, these essays by Alexander Hamilton, James Madison, & John Jay make a forceful argument in favor of ratification of the "new" Constitution.
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