Founding Documents of the United States.

This week we will look at the founding of the United States. We will discuss the views of the Founding Fathers at the time of the Revolutionary War, and we will look at the history of where they formulated some of these ideas. The republican ideas they used to create this nation were not dreamed up over a bowl of hot oatmeal or even over a beer in a pub. They came from a long history of such ideas that evolved from the Greek and Roman Empire, to the signing of the Magna Carta in England, through the Enlightenment.

Highlights of this unit:
--the true meaning of the Declaration of Independence, including a bonus "English to English translation."
--an exciting lecture about the first attempt at governing this nation: The Articles of Confederation and Why They Failed.
--the Constitution and Bill of Rights

The following link will provide you with a copy of the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution, and the Bill of Rights:
http://www.archives.gov/exhibits/charters/charters.html

The following link will send you to the actual Articles of Confederation. Click on "document transcript" for a typed copy.
http://www.ourdocuments.gov/doc.php?flash=true&doc=3

[Note: Cut and paste the links--they don't seem to be working...thank you to Claudia for pointing this out. Archives.gov is the United States National Archives]