Other Historical American Documents

It is not my intention to become a repository for a grand collection of
historical American documents. There are other sites that
have a large collection and the resources to nurture such a project. However,
there are some very important documents that are related to the Constitution in much the same way as the Declaration of Independence or the Articles of Confederation are. This select number of
documents are listed below. Images of some of these documents are also available.

• The Magna Carta (1215)
• The Mayflower Compact (1620)
• The Albany Plan (1754)
• Declaration of Rights (1765)
• The Boston Port Act (1774)
• The Administration of Justice Act (1774)
• The Massacusetts Government Act (1774)
• The Quartering Act (1774)
• The Quebec Act (1774)
• Declaration of Rights and Grievances (1774)
• Articles of Association (1774)
• Benjamin Franklin’s Articles of Confederation (1775)
• Common Sense (1776)
• Virginia Declaration of Rights (1776)
• Richard Henry Lee’s Independence Resolution (1776)
• Declaration of Independence (1776)
• Articles of Confederation (1778)
• The Treaty of Paris (1783)
• Report of the Annapolis Conference (1786)
• The Virginia Plan (1787)
• Charles Pinckney’s Plan (1787)
• The New Jersey Plan (1787)
• The British Plan (1787)
• August 6 Draft of the Constitution (1787)
• September 12 Draft of the Constitution (1787)
• Speech of Benjamin Franklin (1787)
• The United States Constitution (1787)
• The Letter of Transmittal (1787)
• Washington’s Letter to Congress (1787)
• Wilson’s 4th of July Address (1788)
• Madison Introduces the Bill of Rights (1789)
• Twelve Articles of Amendment (1789)
• Treaty Between the United States and Tripoli (1797)
• Jefferson’s Wall of Separation Letter (1802)
• The Star-Spangled Banner (1814)
• The Report of the Hartford Convention (1815)
• Declaration of Sentiments (1848)
• Fugitive Slave Act (1850)
• Confederate Constitution (1861)
• Gettysburg Address (1863)
• Emancipation Proclamation (1863)
• The Pledge of Allegiance (1892)
• The American’s Creed (1917)
• The I Have a Dream Speech (1963)
• The Miranda Warning (1966)
• The Lemon Test (1971)
• Barack Obama’s Keynote Speech (2004)
• Virginia Joint Resolution 728 (2007)

The ratification documents of each of the original 13
states (plus Vermont) are also reproduced here:

• Delaware, December 7, 1787
• Pennsylvania, December 12, 1787
• New Jersey, December 18, 1787
• Georgia, January 2, 1788
• Connecticut, January 9, 1788
• Massachusetts, February 6, 1788
• Maryland, April 28, 1788
• South Carolina, May 23, 1788
• New Hampshire, June 21, 1788
• Virginia, June 26, 1788
• New York, July 26, 1788
• North Carolina, November 21, 1789
• Rhode Island, May 29, 1790
• Vermont, January 10, 1791
• Collated list

A list of current versions of each state’s constitution is available:

• State Constitutions

The following significant historical documents, not hosted on this site,
may be of interest:

• The
  Federalist Papers
• Madison’s Notes on the Convention
• The
  Papers of George Washington
• The
  Papers of James Madison
• The
  Papers of Thomas Jefferson
• Other
  Significant Documents of the 18th century

The following resources are also available for research into historical
American documents: