Founding America: Documents from the Revolution to the Bill of Rights
Expanded Table of Contents
Introduction and Notes by Jack N. Rakove
Founding America: A Timeline vii
General Introduction xi
The Imperial Dispute: 3
Thomas Hutchinson: the Address of the Governor (1/6/73) 5
Benjamin Franklin: Rules by which a Great Empire May be Reduced ( 9/11/73) 12
Thomas Jefferson: A Summary View of the Rights of British America (7/14/74) 20
1st Continental Congress 37
Declaration & Resolves (10/14/74) 39
Association (10/20/74) 44
2nd Continental Congress 51
Declaration on Causes & Necessity of Taking Arms (7/6/75) 53
Benjamin Franklin: Plan of Confederation (7/21/75) 59
Remember the Ladies 65
Abigail Adams: Letter to John Adams ( 3/31/76) 67
John Adams: Letter to Abigail Adams (4/14/76) 70
John Adams: Letter to James Sullivan (5/26/76) 72
Inventing A Republic 77
John Adams: Thoughts on Government, 4/76 79 Resolution of the Continental Congress (5/10/76) 87
Resolution of the Continental Congress (5/15/76) 87
Virginia Declaration of Rights (6/12/76) 88
Virginia Constitution, (6/29/76) 90
Pennsylvania Constitution (9/28/ 76) 97
Concord Town Meeting Resolutions (10/21/76) 113
Independence 115
Thomas Jefferson: Notes of Proceedings in Congress (6/7-28/76) 117
Thomas Jefferson: Notes of Proceedings in Congress (including Jefferson's draft of Declaration
of Independence with deletions and additions indicated) (7/1-4/76) 122
John Dickinson: Notes for a Speech Opposing Independence (7/1/76) 129
John Adams: Letter to Abigail Adams (7/3/76) 134
The Declaration of Independence (7/4/76) 136
Drafting the Articles of Confederation 143
Thomas Jefferson: Notes of Proceedings in Congress (7/12-8/1/76) 145
Articles as Revised by Congress (8/20/76) 154
Articles as Approved (11/15/77) 160
Reforming the Articles of Confederation 169
Philip Schuyler: Letter to Pierre van Cortlandt & Evert Bancker (1/29/80) 173
Alexander Hamilton: Letter to James Duane (9/3 /80) 176
Proposed Impost Amendment (2/3/81) 194
Robert Morris: Report on Public Credit (7/29/81) 194
Proposed Revenue Amendments (4/18/83) 213
Proposed Commercial Amendments: Journals of Congress (4/30/84) 217
Amendments Considered by Congress (8/7/86) 218
The Northwest Ordinance (7/13/87) 223
George Washington 231
Speech to the Officers of the Army (3/15/83) 233
Samuel Shaw: Letter to the Rev. Eliot (4/83) 237
George Washington: Circular to the State Governments (6/8/83) 240
George Washington: Letter to James Duane (9/7/83) 250
George Washington: Farewell Address to the Armies of the United States (11/2/83) 256
Political Reformers 261
Thomas Jefferson: Excerpts from Notes on the States of Virginia, 1784
Query XIII: The constitution of the state and its several characters? 263
Q. XII: The administration of justice and the description of laws? 275
Q. XVII: The different religions received into that state? 287
Q. XVIII: particular customs and manners that may happen to be received in that state 291
Q. XIX: The present state of manufactures, commerce, interior and exterior trade? 293
James Madison: Memorial & Remonstrance against Religious Assessments (6/20/85) 294
Thomas Jefferson: Virginia Statute for Religious Freedom (1/16/86) 301
The Road to Philadelphia 305
James Madison: Letter to James Monroe (3/19/86) 307
Benjamin Rush: Address to the People of the United States (6/3/86) 308
Alexander Hamilton: Address of the Annapolis Convention (1786) 313
Resolution of Congress (2/21/87) 316
James Madison: Vices of the Political System of the United States (4/87) 317
James Madison: Letter to George Washington (4/16/87) 324
Rival Visions of Union 331
Edmund Randolph Introduces the Virginia Plan (5/29/87) 335
William Paterson Introduces the New Jersey Plan ( 6/15/87) 339
Alexander Hamilton Discusses 2 Proposed Plans & Introduces His own,6(/18/87) 343
James Madison Discusses the Plans (6/19/87) 352
Oliver Ellsworth Discusses Questions of Representation (6/29/87) 359
James Wilson, Oliver Ellsworth & James Madison Debate (6/30/87) 361
General Debate Following Decision for Equality of Suffrage in the Senate (7/16/87) 366
Getting down to Details 369
Resolutions Adopted by Convention (7/26/87) 371
Draft Constitution (8/6/87) 374
Debate on War Power (8/17/87) 386
Debate on Treaty Power (8/23/87) 387
Objections of Edmund Randolph, George Mason, & Elbridge Gerry (9/15/87) 390
Benjamin Franklin: Concluding Appeal for Unanimity (9/17/ 87) 392
The Constitution 395
The Constitution of the United States (9/17/87) 397
Concluding Resolution for Ratification (9/17/87) 410
George Washington: Letter of Conveyance to Congress (9/17/87) 411
A Perfect Union 413
James Madison : Letter to George Washington (9/30/87) 415
Alexander Hamilton: Conjectures about the Constitution (9/87) 417
Richard Henry Lee: letter to George Mason,1(0/1/87) 420
James Wilson: Speech on the Constitution (10/6/87) 422
George Mason: Objections to the Constitution (10/7/87) 428
The Case against the Constitution 433
Melancton Smith: letters from the Federal Farmer I-V (10/87) 435
Publius Replies 477
Alexander Hamilton, The Federalist , #1 (10/27/87) 481
James Madison, The Federalist, #10 (11/22/87) 485
James Madison, The Federalist, #14 (11/30/87) 492
Alexander Hamilton, The Federalist, #15 (12/1/87) 497
James Madison, The Federalist, #38 (1/12/88) 505
James Madison, The Federalist, #46 (1/29/88) 513
James Madison, The Federalist, #48 (2/1/88) 519
James Madison, The Federalist, #51 (2/6/88) 524
Alexander Hamilton, The Federalist, #70 (3/15/88) 529
Alexander Hamilton, The Federalist , #78 (6/14/88) 537
The Problem of Declaring Rights 545
James Madison: Letter to Thomas. Jefferson (10/24 & 11/1/87) 549
Thomas Jefferson: letter to James Madison (12/20/87) 561
James Madison: Letter to Thomas Jefferson (4/22/88) 565
Thomas Jefferson: Letter to James Madison (7/31/88) 566
James Madison: Letter to Thomas. Jefferson (10/17/88) 568
James Madison: Letter to Thomas Jefferson (12/8/88) 573
Thomas Jefferson: Letter to James Madison (3/15/89) 576
Thomas Jefferson: Letter to James Madison (9/6/89) 578
Proposing Amendments 589
Massachusetts Ratification Convention (2/6/88) 591
Virginia Ratification Convention (6/27/88) 594
New York Ratification Convention (7/26/88) 600
Framing the Bill of Rights 611
James Madison: Speech Introducing Amendments in the House of Representatives (6/8/89) 613
Roger Sherman: Draft Amendments (7/21-28/89) 627
Amendments Proposed by the House of Representatives (8/24/89) 629
Amendments Proposed by the Senate (9/14/89) 632
Amendments Proposed to the States (9/28/89) 635
The Bill of Rights as Ratified by the States (12/15/91) 638
Further Reading 641
List of Sources 643