1. http://www.archives.gov/exhibits/charters/constitution_founding_fathers.html
"The Federal Convention convened in the State House (Independence Hall) in Philadelphia on May 14, 1787, to revise the Articles of Confederation. Because the delegations from only two states were at first present, the members adjourned from day to day until a quorum of seven states was obtained on May 25. Through discussion and debate it became clear by mid-June that, rather than amend the existing Articles, the Convention would draft an entirely new frame of government. All through the summer, in closed sessions, the delegates debated, and redrafted the articles of the new Constitution. Among the chief points at issue were how much power to allow the central government, how many representatives in Congress to allow each state, and how these representatives should be elected--directly by the people or by the state legislators. The work of many minds, the Constitution stands as a model of cooperative statesmanship and the art of compromise."
2. http://constitutioncenter.org/learn/educational-resources/founding-fathers/
The National Constitution Center is the first and only nonprofit, nonpartisan institution devoted to the most powerful vision of freedom ever expressed: the U.S. Constitution. Located on Independence Mall in Historic Philadelphia, the birthplace of American freedom, the Center illuminates constitutional ideals and inspires active citizenship through a state-of-the-art museum experience, including hundreds of interactive exhibits, films and rare artifacts; must-see feature exhibitions; the internationally acclaimed, 360-degree theatrical production Freedom Rising; and the iconic Signers' Hall, where visitors can sign the Constitution alongside 42 life-size, bronze statues of the Founding Fathers. As America's forum for constitutional dialogue, the Center engages diverse, distinguished leaders of government, public policy, journalism and scholarship in timely public discussions and debates. The Center also houses the Annenberg Center for Education and Outreach, the national hub for constitutional education, which offers cutting-edge civic learning resources both onsite and online
3. http://www.foundingfathers.info/
This very commercial site has some useful links: This highly readable e-text includes a Revolutionary War timeline, the causes of the Revolution, the story of the Declaration of Independence, Bunker Hill, Yorktown, and much more.
Founding Father Family Trees and Bios: Participants have started pages for Green Mountain Boy Ethan Allen, giant Virginian Peter Francisco, philosopher-entrepreneur Benjamin Franklin, bold Declaration-signer John Hancock, Federalist John Jay, President Thomas Jefferson, financial wizard Haym Salomon, General Henry Knox, President James Madison, rabble-rouser Thomas Paine, flag seamstress Betsy Ross, and cousin-of-George Lieutenant Colonel William Washington. There are also interesting pages for Founder of the Daughters of the American Revolution founder Flora Adams Darling and anthem-writer Francis Scott Key. Please check out WikiTree. You might be able to contribute something about one of the founding fathers, or you might want to start your own family history.
Founding Fathers Image Gallery: Browse Thomas Jefferson art prints, George Washington posters, founding fathers clip art, early American flag clip art, and more.
Founding Fathers Quotes: A collection of over 250 inspiring bits of wisdom and other quotes from our founding fathers.
4. http://www.foundingfathers.info/federalistpapers/fedi.htm
And online library of the Federalist papers in order, divided into sections: Importance of the Union (1-14); Defects of the Articles of Confederation (15-22); Arguments for the type of government contained in the Constitution (23-36); republican form of government (37-51); the Legislative Branch (52-66); the Executive Branch (67-77); the Judicial Branch (78-83); Conclusions and miscellaneous ideas (84-85).
5. https://www.biography.com/founding-fathers
Video biography of several of the Founders.
6. https://www.proquest.com/docview/215468195/fulltextPDF/59FDFEE39E0D467EPQ/12?accountid=4488
"How Christian Were the Founders?" A New York Times article by Russel Shorto published 11 February 2011, which explores the religiosity of the Founders in their own context and in ours.
7. http://online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB10001424052748704911704575326891123551892
“The Feuding Fathers”
published in the Wall Street Journal 26 June 2010
Americans lament the partisan venom of today's politics, but for sheer verbal savagery, the country's founders were in a league of their own. Ron Chernow [author of a biography on Alexander Hamilton] on the Revolutionary origins of divisive discourse.
8. http://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/founding-fathers-and-slaveholders-72262393/
The issue of the Founding Fathers and slavery is explored in this essay by noted American historian Stephen Ambrose:
“Founding Fathers and Slaveholders: To what degree do the attitudes of Washington and Jefferson toward slavery diminish their achievements?"
Smithsonian Magazine
9. https://research.colonialwilliamsburg.org/Foundation/journal/Spring09/deism.cfm
The issue of "deism" and its role as a religion in the beliefs of several of the Founding Fathers is explained in this article from the Colonial Williamsburg Journal, Spring 2009 issue: " Deism: One Nation Under A Clockwork God?" by James Breig.
10. http://www.conservapedia.com/Deism
From the conservative version of Wikipedia, an anonymous explanatory essay on "deism" as a religious belief and its adherents in the formative pre-Revolutionary period in American history.
11. http://www.archives.gov/historical-docs/
From the National Archives in Washington, DC, this site contains a number of important founding documents and commentaries on their history and contexts, as well as other documents, such as the Louisiana Purchase and the sale by Russia to America of Alaska.
12. http://founders.archives.gov/
A 2013 nominee for the Digitial Humanities Award, this site has over 149,000 searchable documents, fully annotated, from the authoritative Founding Fathers Papers projects, including the writings of George Washington, Benjamin Franklin, John Adams (and family), Thomas Jefferson, Alexander Hamilton, and James Madison, covering the time period from 1748 (colonial) to 1836 (the post-Madison administration). A joint project of the National Archives and the University of Virginia.
13. https://oll.libertyfund.org/page/founders-constitution
|
According to the website, "[This] collection brings together an enormous amount of primary source material to illustrate and explain the ideas behind each clause of the U.S. Constitution and Bill of Rights (Amendments) and consists of the following volumes:
The following pages reproduce the table of contents of that jointly hosted site in a format that might be more useful to readers. All links from these pages are to documents at that external site." |