In pamphlets and pulpits of the colonies, one is reminded of the close, even familial ties extending across an ocean, strengthened by customs and values shaped over centuries.
Trade between colonies and with Great Britain and other nations called for orderly procedures, as did governance of growing communities and steady influx of immigrants.
As colonial constitutions were fashioned, the context within which deliberations and strategies were conducted was that of the Enlightenment. The United States was "founded" as much by ideas as by men.
The colonies had returned to the crown, over a period of years, revenues exceeding what was expected. What, then, was all the fuss about the Stamp Act, and why were 10 tons of Darjeeling sent to the bottom of Boston Harbor?
This document is the first of its kind: one that announces the creation of a new nation and the need to provide reasons for this precipitous measure. It is a veritable “text” on the manner in which political issues are to be understood.
In the colonies and Great Britain, the American Revolution was cast as a rebellion against the rule of law. This sheds light on colonial debates on political authority.
The "articles" were the product of danger and emergency; principles for joint action among the colonies for the express purpose of waging a war of independence.
In the brutally hot Philadelphia months, a diverse and argumentative assembly met for unclear purposes.
The "miracle" in Philadelphia was a great achievement of mind and will, accomplished through debate, the counsel of the wise, and the discipline of enlightened self interest.
The 85 Federalist Papers by Hamilton, Madison, and Jay comprise detailed and analytical arguments for and against governance as envisaged by the Constitution.
Once set forth, the Bill of Rights simply underscored the evil of slavery. How did the founders understand this?
How Tom Paine and Edmund Burke saw the French and American Revolutions clarifies tensions and unique potentialities embedded in the new nation's ideals and institutions.