 to the SPIRIT OF '76 Constitution Page 
Declaration of Independence &
Constitution of the United States of America I typed in a plain ASCII version that can be used when plain text searches are desired, or if you would like to copy text into another document. For a hyper-linked version, see 'The Constitution' (below). Whatever happened to the 56 men who signed the Declaration of Independence? I'm glad you asked - here's the answer - their fates. The Constitution. (1k) A complete presentation of the constitution of the United States of America. This document, drafted in Philadelphia in 1788, is the basis of the U. S. Federal government. It consists of seven original articles, ten amendments that are referred to as the Bill of Rights, and the seventeen amendments that followed. In this presentation, portions of the constitution that have been amended are linked to the amending article. This document also includes The Declaration of Independence: perhaps the most powerful & popular statement of human aspiration ever written. The Declaration of Independence is made easy to understand with help from the Claremont Institute's web site. Whatever happened to the 56 men who signed the Declaration of Independence?. The Constitution of the United States of America - Analysis and Interpretation - Annotations of Cases Decided by the Supreme Court of the United States The Constitution For The United States, Its Sources and Its Applications
Bill of Rights More than a few signers of the U.S. Constitution signed provided that a 'Bill of Rights' be appended to this historic document that would guarantee certain unalienable rights. Notice that it guarantees existing rights, and does not 'grant' rights to the people of the several states comprising the United States of America. The framers of the Constitution beleived that these rights existed with or without the Constitution, but were important enough to specifically protect. Note also the use of the term 'the people' as it appears in the 1st, 2nd, 4th, 9th, and 10th Amendments. Does it make sense that it be interpreted in different ways for each different amendment, or should it mean the same thing wherever it is used in the Constitution or Bill of Rights? Guess what they cut off the Bill of Rights? An explicit statement that the Bill was enacted to prevent abuse of power by the FEDERAL GOVERNMENT by specifically protecting certain fundemental rights which exist as natural rights. Look in at: http://www.nidlink.com/~bobhard/consti10.html#140-4 Look at the pictures of both the handwritten Bill and the printed copies which were sent to the States for Ratification. It's there. The Preamble is NOT a caption, it is an integral part of the Bill of Rights and it spells out that the Articles limit the Government! WITH the Preamble there is no way that the prohibitions of the Articles (amendments) can be construed as restricting the People! The Amendments may ONLY be construed as limiting the activities of GOVERNMENT. How convenient an ommission! How utterly CORRUPT of our Congress and Judiciary! The Preamble reads: "The Conventions of a number of the States having, at the Time of their Adopting the Constitution, expressed a Desire, in Order to prevent Misconstruction or Abuse of its Powers, that further declaratory and restrictive Clauses should be added: And as exceeding the Ground of public Confidence in the Government will best insure the beneficent Ends of its Institution, RESOLVED, by the Senate, and House of Representatives, of the United States of America, in Congress assembled, Two Thirds of both Houses concurring, That the following Articles be proposed to the Legislatures of the several States, as Amendments to the Constitution of the United States: All, or any of, which Articles, when ratified by Three-Fourths of the said legislatures to be valid to all Intents and Purposes, as part of the said Constitution, viz. Articles in Addition to, and Amendment of, the Constitution of the United States of America, proposed by Congress, and ratified by the Legislatures of the several States, pursuant to the Fifth Article of the original Constitution."
Federalist Papers The Federalist Papers were written and published to educate the people of the several states about the rationale used for formulating the Constitution and Bill of Rights. Thomas Jefferson Papers The Federalist. (13k) A collection of 54 articles published in various New York newspapers in 1787 & 1788. Written by James Madison, John Jay, and Alexander Hamilton, these articles argued for ratification of the new Constitution of The United States. These works are know to historians as The Federalist Papers. They are an important testimony to the values of the Federal system of government employed by the United States.
We the People We the People. (3K) Documents relating to democracy in the centuries preceding our's, and in our times. This package includes historical American documents, The United Nations Declaration of Human Rights, and partial or complete constitutions of eleven nations.
The U.S. Code
Documents from American History Mayflower Compact
The first charter of government by the people was established aboard the Mayflower in 1620 with this document that established the new form of government. Fundamental Orders of Connecticut
Written in 1639, this was America's first written constitution of democratic government. Keigwin & Matthews Collection of Rare and Historical Documents
A private collection of historical newspapers maps & writings focusing on the period in American history from the Colonial Period through the Jefferson Presidency. Thomas Paine's Common Sense
The best-selling pamphlet of 1776; this manifesto was one of the motivating instruments to call Americans to rally for independence against Great Britain. Declaration of Independence
Thomas Jefferson's document served as our country's promise to "Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness". Written in 1776, this masterpiece put forth what the Colonists were fighting for, and what this new nation was to stand for. Articles of Confederation
After the Declaration of Independence, the Continental Congress drew up a document that would stand as the framework for the law for these newly united colonies. This document first in force in 1781, was replaced in 1789 with the great Constitution. Peace Treaty of 1783
Also known as the Paris Peace Treaty, this agreement ended the United States War for Independence, giving formal recognition of the United States, and established it's then-boundaries. Northwest Ordinance of 1787
The most important piece of legislation of the pre-Constitution government, this Ordinance set forth the manner in which the western states would be created and admitted to the Union. Federalist Papers
Written in 1787 and 1788 by Alexander Hamilton, James Madison and John Jay, these 85 essays outlining how our new government would work and why, originally appeared in New York newspapers in order to sway NY voters to ratify the new Constitution. Antifederalist Papers. Constitution of the United States of America
The document from which our laws (and in essence, our society) are derived.
Constitution of the United States of America from NARA (National Archives and Records Administration). Has a 'Founding Fathers' page, 'delegates' page, images of the document, ... The Militia Act of 1792
Acts of Congress providing federal authority to call out the militia and provide for the organization of the militia. Treaty of Greenville
The Treaty of Greenville, one of the most important Native-American treaties, marked the end of years of warfare between the United States and the Miami Confederacy. Monroe Doctrine
Our nation's foreign policy was put to parchment in 1825 by our nation's 5th president James Monroe. This document has dictated our foreign policy to this day; in that any attack in this hemisphere would be interpreted as an attack upon this nation. The Crittenden Compromise
The Crittenden Compromise was perhaps the last-ditch effort to resolve the secession crisis of 1860-61 by political negotiation. Authored by Kentucky Senator John Crittenden it was an attempt to resolve the crisis by addressing the concerns that led the states of the Lower South to contemplate secession. Declaration of Causes of Secession
Georgia, Mississippi, South Carolina and Texas give their causes for secession. A lengthy text site, but then, they had a lot to say. Constitution of the Confederate States of America
"We, the people of the Confederate States, ...establish justice, insure domestic tranquillity, and secure the blessings of liberty to ourselves and our posterity...do ordain and establish this Constitution for the Confederate States of America." Read it in it's entirety. Civil War Newspapers
Contains abstracts and selected transcriptions from two Augusta County and two Franklin County newspapers. Includes both transcripts and a search section. From the renowned Valley of the Shadow Research Project from the University of Virginia. Emancipation Proclamation
The proclamation that outlawed slavery only in States and territories wishing to leave the Union. The Gettysburg Address: Drafts
Of the five known manuscript copies, the Library of Congress has two. President Lincoln gave one of these to each of his two private secretaries, John Nicolay and John Hay. This site has holograph images and transcripts to both the Nicolay and Hay drafts. Truman Doctrine
Harry Truman's March 12, 1947 speech to Congress outlining U.S. aid to Greece and Turkey. More important, it spelled out our future foreign policy, "...it must be the policy to support free peoples who are resisting attempted subjugation." NATO Treaty
Signed on April 4, 1949, this treaty created an alliance for collective defense, linking the United States and Canada with 14 European countries. Warren Report-Summary & Conclusion
The report on the assassination of President Kennedy. Woody Allen once referred to it as "...the last work of fiction I read..." Judge for yourself. Presidential Inaugural Addresses
The speeches outlining the blueprints for each presidential administration. Historic Speeches Archive
Great speeches in first-rate sound clips.
General Interest
General Links and Information These links to various sites may be fun or useful (or both) for you or other members of your family or friends:
Reference Links and General Sources of Information - A Virtual Reference Desk, a mega-site that features encyclopedias, dictionaries, news wires and more.
- Encyclopedia.com features free access to 17,000 articles from The Concise Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, Third Edition.
- The Information Please Almanac online edition is much faster to use than the print version. And more current.
- How Things Work is where the author of How Things Work: the Physics of Everyday Life answers science queries.
- Yucky.com -- billed as "the yuckiest site on the Web"
If you have any questions or comments about these pages, e-mail  Spirit of '76 Greg .. I would love to hear from you ! Last Updated : 19 June 2000 Please note that ALL PAGES on my site are Copyright © 1997-2001, Spirit of '76 Pages - so please don't swipe them - LINK THEM. Thank you. 
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