Declaration of Independence

 The Declaration of Independence

American Political and Historical Documents

American Political and Historical Documents: The United States is a nation of laws and ideas. The fabric of American society is woven together by our reliance upon the words in these documents. Many of these links lead to various government archive sites and private websites, from which you can further explore the words and concepts that form the basis of our country.

The Declaration of Independence: The founding document of the United States of America. Written primarily by Thomas Jefferson, and approved by the Continental Congress, declaring the 13 British colonies in America to be a free and independent nation.

 
Virginia Declaration of Rights George Mason’s Virginia Declaration influenced The Declaration of Independence and the Bill of Rights.

Agrarian Justice—Thomas Paine’s political and economic essay which formed part of the intellectual foundations for America’s Social Security programs.

The Mayflower Compact- The founding governing document of the English Puritans we now call “The Pilgrims.” The men of this group wrote this “constitition” as they began settling in America.

The Gettysburg Address—by President Abraham Lincoln

Constitution of the United States Literally, this document is the “Law of the Land.”

The Federalist Papers—The justification for the adoption of the U.S. Constitution.

War of 1812: The Treaty of Ghent (December 24, 1814):

The Treaty of Ghent ended the second war between the United States and the British Empire. This war is commonly called The War of 1812. Despite the signing of the treaty in December, 1814, due to the slow communications inherent in sailing ship travel, the final battle of the war took place in January, 1815, in the Battle of New Orleans. No one in America at that time knew that a peace treaty had been signed.

Magna Carta “The Great Charter” of King John. Signed at Runnymede in 1205, this document granted various rights to Englishmen and limited the power of the King. This established English common law, which greatly influenced the Founding Fathers. This version is a translation from 1297.

World War 2 Documents—This new page features the texts of many important documents, speeches and treaties dealing with World War 2.