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Paving the road to the Constitution

Students will be able to assess the strengths and weaknesses of the Articles of Confederation as related to the United States and North Carolina. Students will be able to demonstrate an argument for or against ratification of the United States Constitution.

Format: lesson plan (grade 8 English Language Arts and Social Studies)

By Kim Bennett.

The first national government: The Articles of Confederation

In Revolutionary North Carolina, page 6.1

The Articles of Confederation served as the written document that established the functions of the national government of the United States after it declared independence from Great Britain. It established a weak central government that mostly, but not entirely, prevented the individual states from conducting their own foreign diplomacy.

Format: article

Liberation and deliberation: The North Carolina ratification debates of 1788

This lesson focuses on the deliberations over ratification of the US Constitution by the North Carolina legislators. In particular it traces the arguments of the Federalists and Anti-federalists found in the primary sources digitized in the Documenting the American South collection.

Format: lesson plan (grade 11–12 Social Studies)

By Mark Laskowski.

Timeline of the Revolution, 1780–1783

In Revolutionary North Carolina, page 5.1

Timeline of events of the American Revolution from the beginning of the Southern Campaign in 1780 to the 1783 Treaty of Paris that ended the war.

Format: article

Revolutionary North Carolina

Primary sources and readings explore North Carolina in the era of the American Revolution. Topics include the Regulators, the resistance to Great Britain, the War for Indpendence, and the creation of new governments.

Format: book (multiple pages)

The Articles of Confederation

In Revolutionary North Carolina, page 6.2

Full text of the Articles of Confederation, which established the first national government after the American colonies declared their independence from Britain. Includes historical commentary.

Format: constitution

The Constitutional Convention

In Revolutionary North Carolina, page 6.3

The Articles of Confederation proved too weak to govern the new United States effectively, and in 1787, Congress authorized a convention to revise the document. Instead, the convention wrote an entirely new constitution for the United States.

Format: article

Debating the Federal Constitution

In Revolutionary North Carolina, page 6.5

Excerpt of a speech given by William Richardson Davie at the convention called in North Carolina, 1788, to consider ratification of the United States Constitution. Davie explains why the new Constitution is necessary and why it is not a threat to liberty and argues for ratification. Includes historical commentary.

Format: speech

Timeline of the Revolution, 1775–1779

In Revolutionary North Carolina, page 3.1

Timeline of events of the American Revolution from the outbreak of war in 1775 to the end of 1779.

Format: article

North America

Discover Canada, Mexico, and Central America from this selection of great resources.

Format: bibliography/help

Does my vote count? Teaching the electoral college

In Election 2008, page 4.4

Students will learn about the electoral process and its history through reading, research, and discussion. They will then convene a constitutional convention to debate altering this process.

Format: lesson plan (grade 10 Social Studies)

By David Walbert.

Andrew Jackson calls for Indian removal

In North Carolina in the New Nation, page 10.3

Excerpt from President Andrew Jackson's first inaugural address, 1829, in which he argued that American Indians should be removed west of the Mississippi. Includes historical commentary.

Format: speech

Commentary and sidebar notes by Kathryn Walbert and L. Maren Wood.

The Constitution of the United States

In Revolutionary North Carolina, page 6.4

An original print copy of the Constitution, 1787. Page 2 of 2 of the original printed Constitution. We...

Format: constitution

Lincoln is inaugurated

Abraham Lincoln's first inaugural address, delivered March 4, 1861. Includes historical commentary.

Format: speech

Commentary and sidebar notes by David Walbert and L. Maren Wood.

Resources on the web

The Preamble to the Constitution: How do you make a more perfect union?

This page contains five EDSITEment lessons in which students will become familiar with the Preamble to the Constitution. They will study fundamental values and principles, as well as investigate the purposes of the U.S. Constitution, as expressed in the... (Learn more)

Format: lesson plan (grade 5 Social Studies)

Provided by: EDSITEment

Documents from the Continental Congress and the Constitutional Convention 1774 - 1789

The 274 broadsides in this collection chronicle the founding of our nation from Colonial resistance to British rule and the Revolutionary War, through the drafting and ratification of the Constitution. (Learn more)

Format: website/general

Provided by: Library of Congress