Incidents of the insurrection in the western parts of Pennsylvania, in the year 1794 : Brackenridge, H. H. (Hugh Henry), 1748-1816 : Free Download, Borrow, and Streaming : Internet Archive
Whiskey Rebellion history written at the time of the event
03: The New Nation
Presidential Election of 1800: A Resource Guide (Virtual Programs & Services, Library of Congress)
Most students would be shocked to hear of the charges of each side in the election of 1800, or how difficult it was to determine the victor. Here is a collection of primary source documents (letters, newspapers, etc) related to that election
From Alexander Hamilton to Theodore Sedgwick, 2 February 1799
Teachers tell students about Hamilton's support of sending an army into western PA to suppress the Whiskey Rebellion - but he also thought about sending one to Virginia to combat the "Virginia Resolutions"
From Thomas Jefferson to James Madison, 23 August 1799
How many teachers know that Jefferson wrote Madison that if they could not get the Congress to listen to the Virginia and Kentucky Resolves that they would take Virginia and other states out of the United States. Jefferson himself was threatening secession decades before the Civil War
Virginia Resolutions, 21 December 1798
The Kentucky Resolutions of 1798 | The Papers of Thomas Jefferson
This editorial note accompanying Jefferson's draft of the Kentucky Resolutions and the text eventually adopted by the state legislature of Kentucky demonstrate the way in which "history is made". How long after the resolutions were passed did the general public know it was he who had written them? How did he reference his authorship of them in letters to his friends later in his life? All of the primary source documents that teachers use have a history of their own
Alien and Sedition Acts - Constitutional Rights Foundation
Teachers could grab a couple sentences from the CFR's description of the Alien and Sedition Acts and place them alongside another description and see clearly how the CFR supports the idea that these laws restricting free speech were proper and lawful
Avalon Project - Ratification of the Constitution by the State of New York; July 26, 1788
NY State's ratification of the Constitution included many contingencies, and a threat that it may withdrawal from the Union as well. Any teacher or student can also see the Bill of Rights in the New York ratification document
John Quincy Adams and John Calhoun discuss the Compromise, 1820
Notice how Cengage titles this as John Q Adams and John C Calhoun discuss compromise in 1820 - but it is only the diary entry of what John Q Adams said they discussed. This should make a difference to teachers and students.
1787 Address to the People of the United States Benjamin Rush
Benjamin RUsh made the distinction between the War and the Revolution - great quote to throw into a class or an open-ended assessment question
To George Washington from Henry Knox, 23 October 1786
More evidence that it was not the collection of taxes that motivated the Constitutional Convention as much as it was a desire to stop the states
1787 - Madison Debates - July 5
In the midst of the Constitutional Convention, G Morris said that if persuasion did not unite the states, than the sword would. Think about that the next time someone tries to get you to accept a "founding fathers" argument
‘Structural Parity’ in Unprecedented Board Restructuring | Montpelier
The Montpelier Foundation voted to include members of the Montpelier Descendants Committee on the Foundation Board, meaning that people who can trace their ancestry to the enslaved people who worked at Montpelier will now have representation on the Board. This is an example of how the past does not change, but history does.
The 1827 Monticello Dispersal Sale | Thomas Jefferson's Monticello
This 3 minute video produced by the Thomas Jefferson Foundation describes the estate sale of 1827 after Jefferson's death, at which his possessions, including 130 enslaved people were sold at auction. Contextual information regarding trusts and estates, Jefferson's insolvency at the end of his life should only take a few minutes to prepare students for this video. This raises questions of memory and how to understand both Jefferson's contributions to this country and his personal life and the hundreds of other who he owned. This video should be viewed with https://www.monticello.org/slaveauction/
The 1827 Slave Auction at Monticello
This is the basis for a lesson that asks - what records and events of the past make it into our public memory and which do not?
Why “The Framers Never Intended” Is Garbage - by Lindsay Chervinsky - Imperfect Union
Title does the justice to the essay and worth a quick look when teachers are confronted with the statement. It would be an interesting for teachers to discuss whether this should be assigned to students.
Why We Use "Enslaved" » Telfair Museums
The Owens-Thomas and Slave Quarters in Savannah explain why they have chosen to use the phrase "enslaved persons" rather than "slave" as well as the use of the term "enslaver" rather than master. Teachers should follow this lead.
1790 Gradual Abolition Act of Pennsylvania
This is the ext of the first abolition law in the United States. Notice that it has an exemption for Members of Congress meetings in Pennsylvania. As a gradual abolition act, slave owners could still sell slaves out of the state before they were to be freed by this law. They could also take their pregnant slaves out of the state to give birth to outside of the state to avoid the law
The Room where it happened? Only according to Jefferson
For years, teachers have described the meeting between Hamilton and Jefferson in 1790. How many realize that we only have Jefferson's account to go on?
Created Equal: How Benjamin Banneker Challenged Jefferson on Race and Freedom | Facing History and Ourselves
This article explains Benjamin Banneker and his letter to Jefferson and the response - very few people know about this event. It could serve to be a great lesson.
From George Washington to Henry Knox, 28 February 1785
George Washington fears for the future of the United States
From George Washington to Henry Lee, Jr., 31 October 1786
The fears of Washington laid bare in this letter, helpful in Shays lessons but also for teachers looking to make connections to today. How much of these fears could be seen in the United States of the 21st Century?
From George Washington to Benjamin Harrison, 18 January 1784
Washington worries about a weak central government
To Thomas Jefferson from David Ramsay, 7 April 1787
Evidence of the uncertainty of 1787 and fears that the young United States would not survive, that it would break up or become a monarchy. Note how he writes about debtors and creditors, a primary concern of many at this time that is entirely absent from the taught narrative canon
From Thomas Jefferson to James Madison, 8 December 1784
Jefferson though that Patrick Henry was such a gifted orator that he could prevent the adoption of the Constitution. He wrote to Madison saying that all they could do was pray for Henry to die.
Remembering the day Pennsylvania ratified the Constitution | The National Constitution Center
One The National Constitution Center is a well-respected and reliable source of information about the Constitution. it is considered neutral. Yet in one simple, vague sentence, is says that "some anti-federalists had to be forced to attend the convention". What? "had to be forced" - isn't that violence. What really happened? How could you ignore what really happened?
The Rhode Island State Referendum on the Constitution – Center for the Study of the American Constitution – UW–Madison
Rhode Island was the only state to have a statewide vote for the Constitution among the people, rather than a convention. The people voted the Constitution down - by more than three to one
Luther Martin argues against slavery and the Constitution
Teacher assign Federalist Papers - but why not this? Luther Martin complains about the omission of the word "slaves" he slavery's acknowledges the contradiction of the rights of man, but we never have students read this - why?
To Thomas Jefferson from John Jay, 9 February 1787
John Jay does not have confidence in the people
Shays' Rebellion - From Revolution to Constitution
Shays's Rebellion makes it into almost every US History and Civics course, but how often are the causes reduced to a less than ten word bullet point? This site provides much more of the story, fundamentally changing our understanding of him, the people with him and the event itself.