History Archives - Page 3 of 6 - The Founding Project

America’s First Congress

September 9, 2023 thefpAdmin 0

America’s First Congress The First Congress and Congress, as we now know it, officially began on March 4, 1789. It came into being due to America’s new Constitution, which was written in 1787. The new Constitution of the United States of America was written in 1787. It was ratified in 1788, when the 9th state (New Hampshire) ratified it on June 21, 1788. It officially began operation in 1789 and is the world’s longest surviving written charter of government. Charting a Course The First Congress’ necessary tasks were many and the new form of government meant the Congress was charting a new course of freedom. There were no examples for this Congress to follow, because […]

The Edenton Tea Rebellion

August 13, 2023 Margo Louis 0

The Edenton Tea Rebellion boldly railed against the King of England and made all of the Western world gasp. But, too few know about this courageous act or its impact. The Boston Tea Party is far more reported, but it wasn’t the only act of brazen pushback against the King of England. The Edenton Tea Rebellion had significant impact in America and England. Historically, it also marked the first political activism undertaken by American women. It demonstrated the power women had, even in the 1770’s, and was a courageous act of treason against the Crown. How It Began The American Revolution came about after years of heavy-handed pressure from the King of England. America’s […]

Sergeant Major Fleetwood, Civil War Hero

July 21, 2023 Peter Crowell Anderson 0

The battlefield recount of Christian Fleetwood and his heroic actions which led to his Medal of Honor. For perspective, history notes 180,000 black men fought for their freedom in the Civil War. Of those 180,000, roughly 40,000 gave their lives. And, among them, there were 25 who received the Medal of Honor. Twenty-five Black Men Received the Medal of Honor During the Civil War, Fleetwood is One of Those 25 Christian Abraham Fleetwood is one of those men and this is his story… Christian Abraham Fleetwood was born July 21, 1840 in Baltimore, Maryland, to Charles and Anna Marie Fleetwood, both free persons of color. He received an excellent early education thanks to the efforts of a […]

The Mayflower Compact

June 17, 2023 Margo Louis 0

The Mayflower Compact, the first governing document of Plymouth Colony Following several brutal months at sea, the area now known as Cape Cod was finally seen on the horizon by those aboard the ship, the Mayflower, which embarked on September 16, 1620. Most, who arrived on Plymouth Rock, were sick from intense sea sickness or other illnesses. Their original destination was intended to be Northern Virginia and the Hudson River, which is New York, today. After months of battling storms, high winds and horrible waves, the 102 people on board didn’t care they had missed their destination by many miles. “True Pilgrims” The voyagers included “True Pilgrims” (religious separatists fleeing religious persecution by the Church […]

The Constitution of the United States: An Exact Transcription

May 31, 2023 TFP Staff 2

The Constitution of the United States: A Transcription Note: The following text is a transcription of the Constitution as it was inscribed by Jacob Shallus on parchment (the document on display in the Rotunda at the National Archives Museum.) The spelling and punctuation reflects the original. We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defence, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America. Article. I. Section. 1. All legislative Powers herein granted shall be vested in a Congress of the United States, which […]

America ~ Historic Founding Timeline

May 27, 2023 TFP Staff 2

The Founding of the First Government of the United States…a Timeline. The Founding of The United States of America did not begin with a single event. Our Founding was prompted by a series of events that spanned decades. The Experience of Our Founders Founding Fathers and Mothers of the U.S.A. were learned citizens with great knowledge of European governance and considerable experience with self-government before the writing of the Constitution. Perhaps more importantly, the Founders were grounded in a knowledge of humankind and the forces of both good and bad government. Their combined experiences and knowledge and human truths, along with the well-documented strong grounding in their faiths, coupled with the trials handled as […]

Articles of Confederation, Part 2: Confederacy Lessons Learned

May 1, 2023 Shannon D. Hanson 0

The Articles of Confederation, Part 2 The Articles of Confederation formed the first government of America, but it did not last long. The idea of a weak central government and strong state governments appealed to colonists who had come to fear any type of strong central government. Their prior experiences with England warranted this. A confederacy appealed to the colonists, because of that fear. In Shannon D. Hanson’s first article about the Articles of Confederation, he explained the basics about that document. His follow-up article explains the difficulties that came with having a central government that was too weak. Links to Hanson’s first article about the Articles of Confederation and also the full text of […]

Shays Rebellion and Our Constitution

April 23, 2023 Shannon D. Hanson 0

Shays’ Rebellion, Impact That Led to Our Constitution Shays Rebellion was an uprising in Massachusetts that took place in 1787. It was in response to dire economic conditions after the Revolutionary War and Government indifference to the plight of rural Massachusettsans. Shays Rebellion highlighted deficiencies of the weak central government under the Articles of Confederation. As a result, many historians consider it a catalyst to the adoption of our current Constitution. Economic Hardship In 1780, Daniel Shays retired from service in the Revolutionary War after he became injured. The Fledging United States of America operated at that time under the Articles of Confederation. This first effort to organize a Government in the new World gave […]

Our First “Constitution”: The Articles of Confederation

April 17, 2023 thefpAdmin 4

Why the Articles of Confederation failed its New Nation The Articles of Confederation was the first constitution of the United States of America. It established a confederate style of government for America, which united 13 States with their own strong governments under one purposefully weak central government. A Confederacy was born The Founders established a confederacy, because they had just fought a war (the Revolutionary War) against the British to escape an oppressively strong central government. The Founders wanted to avoid any type of strong central government. They opted to give the States the power to establish their own governments, foreign relations, trade agreements, military and economic practices. This distribution of power was chosen by […]

Ben Never Said It ~ Beer and Our Founders

April 16, 2023 Maggie Dine 2

Beer and Benjamin Franklin and Our Founders No, he did NOT say it. Ben Franklin never said, “Beer is proof that God loves us and wants us to be happy.” What Ben Actually Said What Ben did say was in a letter to his wife, where he marveled of the gifts from God and specifically noted that the rain falls on the earth to water the grape plant, which is then turned to a lovely fruit that becomes wine, adding that this must be proof that God loves us and wants us to be happy. Yes, They Did But, that does not mean that Ben didn’t have his own love of beer. In fact, Ben […]