Ideals

We start in 1774, rebellion was brewing in the American "colonies". Parliament and King George III were not inclined to listen to the "provincials" petitioning for relief from arbitrary taxes imposed to support Britain's military actions in Europe as well as the restrictions on trade in goods. The rallying cry in Boston and elsewhere in the thirteen colonies was "No taxation without representation."

It is important to remember the men and women who spoke out against the British governors were committing treason. Had they been apprehended, their properties would've been seized by Crown agents. The individuals known to speak out and later take up arms against the British were executed as traitors (sometimes on sight), leaving their families destitute. In fact, many who were captured by the British during the War for Independence were summarily executed by the British. Had the War ended with the British winning, the "Patriots" who still lived when the War ended would've been executed. As for us, we would be living under far different laws today.

Based on historic documents and the writings of various thinkers of the day, the men we collectively describe as the "Founding Fathers" drafted the Declaration of Independence, and a series of governing instruments that culminated on March 1, 1781 with the Articles of Confederation.

In 1787, the Congress, meeting in New York City, then the Capital, authorized a Federal Convention to discuss much needed revisions to the Articles of Confederation. The Convention began in May 1787, with the delegates voting out a completely new document for governing the new United States of America in September of 1787.

The navigation above will allow you to explore brief discussions of the various documents related to the ideas that influenced our current Constitution. Links to the documents and other sources will be included in these brief articles. Where available, the sidebar to the right will open a PDF of the documents mentioned in this section. Otherwise, you will be directed to a website where you may view the document and other related information.