Our Constitution Archives - The Founding Project

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 Responsibility of Freedom

June 16, 2023 Tony Wyman 0

Responsibility: Freedoms carry with them the consequences of our choices “I think of a hero as someone who understands the degree of responsibility that comes with his freedom.” – Bob Dylan (1941 – ), American Singer-Songwriter, Musician, and Poet Every 4th of July, Americans gather together to do what we do best: drink beer, eat too much and blow stuff up. We do this on this particular day to celebrate our nation’s birth, the day we declared our liberation from the rule of the distant King of England…and embraced responsibility. But, even though the 4th of July is the day we became a free nation, we don’t call that holiday “Freedom Day.” We, instead, call […]

Why The Electoral College

June 16, 2023 John Barrett 0

The Electoral College and the Vote…Why An Electoral College? Americans have no constitutionally protected right to vote in a federal election. We have the right to not be discriminated against in voting, based on race, color, previous condition of servitude (15th amendment), sex (19th amendment), failure to pay a poll tax (24th amendment) or age, if at least 18 (26th amendment). But there is no right to vote in a federal election. How the electors for President are chosen is determined by each state’s legislature Following the 2000 presidential election, there was a dispute as to how votes were to be counted and recounted in Florida. The case went to the U.S. Supreme Court, twice. […]

Constitution and Founding Resources

June 3, 2023 TFP Staff 0

The Constitution and Founding Resources Consistently reliable resources for information about the Founding of the United States and the U. S. Constitution can be difficult to find. In particular, if you seek reliable interpretation of the Constitution in keeping with the original intent, those resources can be more difficult to find. Dedicated to the Founding Principles and the U. S. Constitution The Founding Project seeks good sources for our members to use when exploring our nation’s laws and documents. With that purpose in mind, outlined in this article are some good resources for our members to use, when your needs go beyond those offered on our website. The Library of Congress The most simple […]

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 […]

The Forgotten Articles of Confederation

March 24, 2023 Guest Writer 0

The Articles of Confederation: America’s Forgotten Constitution The story of the Articles of Confederation, Colonial America’s first and nearly forgotten, original Constitution. Before the Confederation Began, an Intro John Hancock’s signature is the largest one on the Declaration of Independence. Most people know this, but some do not know why or they only consider the popular legend that he did this, so “the fat old king could read it without his spectacles”. The fact is, Hancock was the president of the “Congress” at the time and, in that capacity, he would be the first to sign, centered below the text. The title was ceremonial for the most part. It also made him the most important […]