Vol. 1: Major Themes

Source: The Founders' Constitution, edited by Philip B. Kurland and Ralph Lerner (Indianapolis: Liberty Fund, 2001), 5 vols.

Copyright: 1987 University of Chicago. This edition is reprinted by arrangement with the University of Chicago Press, Chicago, Illinois. Liberty Fund, in cooperation with Chicago University Press, publishes the paperback version of the 5 volume The Founders' Constitution, ed. Philip B. Kurland and Ralph Lerner (1987, 2000) and co-sponsors the online version hosted by the University of Chicago Press. Please visit Liberty Fund's online catalog to order a copy. The links on this page direct readers to an external web site hosted by the University of Chicago which retains copyright to the material.

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This page links to the primary sources at The Founder's Constitution website (jointly hosted by the University of Chicago and Liberty Fund) and follows the structure of volume I of the paperback book published by Liberty Fund.

1. Fundamental Documents

• Introduction
• 1.Continental Congress, Declaration and Resolves, 14 Oct. 1774
• 2.Edmund Burke, Speech on Conciliation with the Colonies, 22 Mar. 1775
• 3.Virginia Declaration of Rights, 12 June 1776
• 4.Virginia Constitution, 29 June 1776
• 5.Declaration of Independence, 4 July 1776
• 6.Massachusetts Constitution, 2 Mar. 1780
• 7.Articles of Confederation, 1 Mar. 1781
• 8.Northwest Ordinance, 13 July 1787
• 9.Constitution of the United States and the First Twelve Amendments 1787--1804

We the People of the United States,...

• 2. Popular Basis of Political Authority
  • Introduction
  • 1.John Locke, Second Treatise, §§ 4--15, 54, 119--22, 163, 1689
  • 2.Thomas Gordon, Cato's Letters, no. 38, 22 July 1721
  • 3.Montesquieu, Spirit of Laws, bk. 2, CH. 2, 1748
  • 4.David Hume, Of the Original Contract, 1752
  • 5.James Otis, The Rights of the British Colonies Asserted and Proved, 1764
  • 6.James Burgh, Political Disquisitions 1:3--4, 186--89, 190, 190--93, 201--2, 1774
  • 7.Thomas Jefferson to Edmund Pendleton, 26 Aug. 1776
  • 8.Instructions to the Delegates from Mecklenburg, North Carolina, to the Provincial Congress at Halifax, 1 Nov. 1776
  • 9.Statement of the Berkshire County, Massachusetts, Representatives, 17 Nov. 1778
  • 10.Thomas Jefferson, Preamble to a Bill for the More General Diffusion of Knowledge, Fall 1778
  • 11.Samuel Adams to Noah Webster, 30 Apr. 1784
  • 12.John Adams, Defence of the Constitutions of Government of the United States, 1787
  • 13.Caesar, no. 2, 17 Oct. 1787
  • 14.James Wilson, Pennsylvania Ratifying Convention, 4 Dec. 1787
  • 15.The Address and Reasons of Dissent of the Minority of the Convention of Pennsylvania to Their Constituents, 18 Dec. 1787
  • 16.Federal Farmer, no. 11, 10 Jan. 1788
  • 17.James Madison, Federalist, no. 39, 251, 16 Jan. 1788
  • 18.James Madison, Federalist, no. 46, 315, 29 Jan. 1788
  • 19.James Madison, Federalist, no. 49, 338--43, 2 Feb. 1788
  • 20.James Madison, Federalist, no. 63, 424--28, 1 Mar. 1788
  • 21.Alexander Hamilton, Federalist, no. 71, 482--83, 18 Mar. 1788
  • 22.Alexander Hamilton, Federalist, no. 78, 527--29, 28 May 1788
  • 23.Thomas Jefferson to James Madison, 6 Sept. 1789
  • 24.James Madison to Thomas Jefferson, 4 Feb. 1790
  • 25.James Wilson, Of Government, The Legislative Department, Of Citizens and Aliens, Lectures on Law, 1791
  • 26.James Madison, Public Opinion, 19 Dec. 1791
  • 27.Thomas Jefferson to Marquis de Lafayette, 14 Feb. 1815
  • 28.James Madison to Thomas Ritchie, 15 Sept. 1821
  • SEE ALSO:
• 3. Right of Revolution
  • Introduction
  • 1.Algernon Sidney, Discourses concerning Government 1698 (posthumous)
  • 2.John Locke, Second Treatise, §§ 149, 155, 168, 207--10, 220--31, 240--43, 1689
  • 3.William Blackstone, Commentaries 1:119--23, 157, 237--38, 243--44, 1765
  • 4.Samuel Adams, Boston Gazette, 27 Feb. 1769
  • 5.Alexander Hamilton, The Farmer Refuted, 23 Feb. 1775
  • 6.Thomas Jefferson to Garret Van Meter, 27 Apr. 1781
  • 7.Alexander Hamilton, Federalist, no. 16, 103--5, 4 Dec. 1787
  • 8.Thomas Jefferson to James Madison, 20 Dec. 1787
  • 9.Alexander Hamilton, Federalist, no. 28, 178--79, 26 Dec. 1787
  • 10.James Madison, Federalist, no. 40, 264--67, 18 Jan. 1788
  • 11.James Madison, Federalist, no. 46, 320--22, 29 Jan. 1788
  • 12.Brutus, no. 15, 20 Mar. 1788
  • 13.James Wilson, Of the Study of the Law in the United States, Lectures on Law, 1791
  • 14.James Madison to Daniel Webster, 15 Mar. 1833
  • SEE ALSO:
• 4. Republican Government
  • Introduction
  • 1.John Locke, Second Treatise, §§ 95--99, 1689
  • 2.Montesquieu, Spirit of Laws, bk. 20, CHS. 1--8, 1748
  • 3.David Hume, Of Commerce, 1752
  • 4.Thomas Paine, Common Sense, 10 Jan. 1776
  • 5.John Adams, Thoughts on Government, Apr. 1776
  • 6.Gouverneur Morris, Political Enquiries, 1776
  • 7.Thomas Jefferson, Autobiography, 1821
  • 8.The Essex Result, 29 Apr. 1778
  • 9.Thomas Jefferson, Notes on the State of Virginia, Query 19, 164--65, 1784
  • 10.John Adams, Defence of the Constitutions of Government of the United States, 1787
  • 11.James Madison, Vices of the Political System of the United States, Apr. 1787
  • 12.Records of the Federal Convention
  • 13.Northwest Ordinance, 13 July 1787
  • 14.Brutus, no. 1, 18 Oct. 1787
  • 15.James Madison to Thomas Jefferson, 24 Oct. 1787
  • 16.Cato, no. 3, Fall 1787
  • 17.Alexander Hamilton, Federalist, no. 6, 31--35, 14 Nov. 1787
  • 18.Alexander Hamilton, Federalist, no. 9, 50--53, 21 Nov. 1787
  • 19.James Madison, Federalist, no. 10, 56--65, 22 Nov. 1787
  • 20.Alexander Hamilton, Federalist, no. 11, 65--73, 24 Nov. 1787
  • 21.Alexander Hamilton, Federalist, no. 12, 73--74, 27 Nov. 1787
  • 22.James Madison, Federalist, no. 14, 88--89, 30 Nov. 1787
  • 23.Alexander Hamilton, Federalist, no. 22, 138--39, 14 Dec. 1787
  • 24.James Madison, Federalist, no. 39, 250--53, 16 Jan. 1788
  • 25.Federal Farmer, no. 18, 25 Jan. 1788
  • 26.James Madison, Federalist, no. 57, 384--85, 19 Feb. 1788
  • 27.James Madison, Federalist, no. 63, 422--29, 1 Mar. 1788
  • 28.Charles Pinckney, South Carolina Ratifying Convention, 14 May 1788
  • 29.John Adams to Roger Sherman, 18 July 1789
  • 30.Benjamin Rush to John Adams, 21 July 1789
  • 31.Alexander Hamilton, Report on Manufactures, 5 Dec. 1791
  • 32.Thomas Paine, Rights of Man, Part 2, 1792
  • 33.Thomas Jefferson, First Inaugural Address, 4 Mar. 1801
  • 34.Thomas Jefferson to Joseph C. Cabell, 2 Feb. 1816
  • SEE ALSO:

...in Order to form a more perfect Union,...

• 5. Deficiencies of the Confederation
  • Introduction
  • 1.Alexander Hamilton to Gov. George Clinton, 13 Feb. 1778
  • 2.Alexander Hamilton to James Duane, 3 Sept. 1780
  • 3.Robert Morris, Circular to the Governors of the States, 25 July 1781
  • 4.Gouverneur Morris to John Jay, 1 Jan. 1783
  • 5.James Madison, Notes on Debates in Congress, 28 Jan. 1783
  • 6.James Madison, Notes on Debates in Congress, 21 Feb. 1783
  • 7.Robert Morris to the President of Congress, 17 Mar. 1783
  • 8.Richard Henry Lee to Samuel Adams, 14 Mar. 1785
  • 9.George Washington to James Warren, 7 Oct. 1785
  • 10.Rufus King to Elbridge Gerry, 30 Apr. 1786
  • 11.George Washington to John Jay, 1 Aug. 1786
  • 12.Continental Congress, Report on Proposed Amendments, 7 Aug. 1786
  • 13.John Jay to Thomas Jefferson, 27 Oct. 1786
  • 14.Samuel Osgood to John Adams, 14 Nov. 1786
  • 15.John Jay to George Washington, 7 Jan. 1787
  • 16.James Madison, Vices of the Political System of the United States, Apr. 1787
  • 17.James Madison to George Washington, 16 Apr. 1787
  • 18.Richard Henry Lee to George Mason, 15 May 1787
  • 19.Edward Carrington to Thomas Jefferson, 9 June 1787
  • 20.Thomas Jefferson to Edward Carrington, 4 Aug. 1787
  • 21.Alexander Hamilton, Federalist, no. 15, 90--98, 1 Dec. 1787
  • 22.Alexander Hamilton, Federalist, no. 21, 129--33, 12 Dec. 1787
  • 23.Alexander Hamilton, Federalist, no. 22, 135--41, 143--46, 14 Dec. 1787
  • 24.Centinel, no. 6, 22 Dec. 1787
  • 25.Federal Farmer, no. 17, 23 Jan. 1788
  • 26.A Plebeian, An Address to the People of the State of New-York, Spring 1788
  • 27.Impartial Examiner, no. 5, 18 June 1788
  • 28.David Humphreys to Thomas Jefferson, 29 Nov. 1788
  • SEE ALSO:
• 6. Convention
  • Introduction
  • 1.Virginia General Assembly, 21 Jan. 1786
  • 2.Annapolis Convention, 11--14 Sept. 1786
  • 3.Virginia General Assembly, 1 Dec. 1786
  • 4.John Jay to George Washington, 7 Jan. 1787
  • 5.George Washington to Henry Knox, 3 Feb. 1787
  • 6.Continental Congress, 21 Feb. 1787
  • 7.Edmund Randolph to James Madison, 27 Mar. 1787
  • 8.George Washington to James Madison, 31 Mar. 1787
  • 9.James Madison to Edmund Randolph, 8 Apr. 1787
  • 10.Records of the Federal Convention
  • 11.Federal Convention, Resolution and Letter to the Continental Congress, 17 Sept. 1787
  • 12.Continental Congress, 26--28 Sept. 1787
  • 13.William Findley, Pennsylvania House of Assembly, 28 Sept. 1787
  • 14.Hugh Brackenridge, Pennsylvania House of Assembly, 28 Sept. 1787
  • 15.James Madison to George Washington, 30 Sept. 1787
  • 16.Richard Henry Lee to George Mason, 1 Oct. 1787
  • 17.Robert Whitehill, Pennsylvania Ratifying Convention, 28 Nov. 1787
  • 18.James Wilson, Pennsylvania Ratifying Convention, 4 Dec. 1787
  • 19.Luther Martin, Genuine Information, 1788
  • 20.James Madison, Federalist, no. 40, 258--67, 18 Jan. 1788
  • SEE ALSO:
• 7. Union
  • Introduction
  • 1.Albany Plan of Union, 10 July 1754
  • 2.Benjamin Franklin, Reasons and Motives for the Albany Plan of Union, July 1754
  • 3.Joseph Galloway, Plan of Union, 28 Sept. 1774
  • 4.Continental Congress, Letter Transmitting Proposed Articles of Confederation, 17 Nov. 1777
  • 5.George Washington, Circular to the States, 8 June 1783
  • 6.George Washington to Rev. William Gordon, 8 July 1783
  • 7.Benjamin Rush to Richard Price, 27 Oct. 1786
  • 8.Records of the Federal Convention
  • 9.Alexander Hamilton, Federalist, no. 1, 7, 27 Oct. 1787
  • 10.Alexander Hamilton, Federalist, no. 6, 28--36, 14 Nov. 1787
  • 11.Alexander Hamilton, Federalist, no. 7, 36--43, 17 Nov. 1787
  • 12.James Madison, Federalist, no. 10, 56--65, 22 Nov. 1787
  • 13.Alexander Hamilton, Federalist, no. 11, 65--73, 24 Nov. 1787
  • 14.Alexander Hamilton, Federalist, no. 12, 73--74, 27 Nov. 1787
  • 15.James Madison, Federalist, no. 14, 88--89, 30 Nov. 1787
  • 16.A [Massachusetts] Federalist, 3 Dec. 1787
  • 17.James Wilson, Pennsylvania Ratifying Convention, 11 Dec. 1787
  • 18.Centinel, no. 11, 12 Jan. 1788
  • 19.Charles Cotesworth Pinckney, South Carolina House of Representatives, 18 Jan. 1788
  • 20.A Freeman to the Minority of the Convention of Pennsylvania, no. 1, 23 Jan. 1788
  • 21.James Madison, Federalist, no. 51, 347--53, 6 Feb. 1788
  • 22.John Jay, An Address to the People of the State of New York, Spring 1788
  • 23.Alexander Hamilton, Report on Manufactures, Dec. 1791
  • 24.Timothy Pickering to George Cabot, 29 Jan. 1804
  • 25.John Quincy Adams to William Plumer, 16 Aug. 1809
  • 26.William Pinkney, Argument in McCulloch v. Maryland, 1819
  • 27.James Madison, Outline, Sept. 1829
  • 28.James Madison to Nicholas P. Trist, 15 Feb. 1830
  • SEE ALSO:
• 8. Federal v. Consolidated Government
  • Introduction
  • 1.Montesquieu, Spirit of Laws, bk. 8, CHS. 16, 17, 19, 20; BK. 9, CHS. 1--3, 1748
  • 2.Edward Rutledge to John Jay, 29 June 1776
  • 3.George Mason to Thomas Jefferson, 27 Sept. 1781
  • 4.James Wilson, Considerations on the Bank, 1785
  • 5.Thomas Jefferson to James Madison, 16 Dec. 1786
  • 6.James Madison to George Washington, 16 Apr. 1787
  • 7.Virginia Plan, 29 May 1787
  • 8.Edward Carrington to Thomas Jefferson, 9 June 1787
  • 9.New Jersey Plan, 15 June 1787
  • 10.Alexander Hamilton, Federal Convention, 18 June 1787
  • 11.Thomas Jefferson to James Madison, 20 June 1787
  • 12.Federal Farmer, no. 1, 8 Oct. 1787
  • 13.Brutus, no. 1, 18 Oct. 1787
  • 14.James Madison to Thomas Jefferson, 24 Oct. 1787
  • 15.Alexander Hamilton, Federalist, no. 9, 52--55, 21 Nov. 1787
  • 16.John Smilie, Pennsylvania Ratifying Convention, 28 Nov. 1787
  • 17.William Findley, Pennsylvania Ratifying Convention, 1 Dec. 1787
  • 18.James Wilson, Pennsylvania Ratifying Convention, 1--11 Dec. 1787
  • 19.Alexander Hamilton, Federalist, no. 15, 90--98, 1 Dec. 1787
  • 20.Samuel Adams to Richard Henry Lee, 3 Dec. 1787
  • 21.Agrippa, no. 4, 3 Dec. 1787
  • 22.Alexander Hamilton, Federalist, no. 16, 99--105, 4 Dec. 1787
  • 23.Alexander Hamilton, Federalist, no. 17, 105--8, 5 Dec. 1787
  • 24.Alexander Hamilton, Federalist, no. 27, 171--75, 25 Dec. 1787
  • 25.Federal Farmer, no. 6, 25 Dec. 1787
  • 26.Brutus, no. 7, 3 Jan. 1788
  • 27.James Madison, Federalist, no. 39, 253--57, 16 Jan. 1788
  • 28.Federal Farmer, no. 17, 23 Jan. 1788
  • 29.James Madison, Federalist, no. 45, 308--14, 26 Jan. 1788
  • 30.James Madison, Federalist, no. 46, 315--23, 29 Jan. 1788
  • 31.Brutus, no. 11, 31 Jan. 1788
  • 32.Luther Martin, Genuine Information, 1788
  • 33.Impartial Examiner, no. 1, 5 Mar. 1788
  • 34.Brutus, no. 15, 20 Mar. 1788
  • 35.The Fallacies of the Freeman Detected by a [Pennsylvania] Farmer, 23 Apr. 1788
  • 36.Impartial Examiner, no. 2, 28 May 1788
  • 37.George Mason, Virginia Ratifying Convention, 4 June 1788
  • 38.Patrick Henry, Virginia Ratifying Convention, 4--12 June 1788
  • 39.George Clinton, New York Ratifying Convention, 11 July 1788
  • 40.James Madison, Consolidation, 5 Dec. 1791
  • 41.Thomas Jefferson, Resolutions Relative to the Alien and Sedition Acts, 10 Nov. 1798
  • 42.James Madison, Report on the Virginia Resolutions, Jan. 1800
  • 43.James Monroe to Thomas Jefferson, 4 May 1801
  • 44.Thomas Jefferson, Autobiography, 1821
  • SEE ALSO:

...establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defence, promote the general Welfare,...

• 9. Energetic Government
  • Introduction
  • 1.Thomas Jefferson, Answers to Demeunier's First Queries, 24 Jan. 1786
  • 2.Pelatiah Webster, Remarks on the Address of Sixteen Members of the Assembly of Pennsylvania, 12 Oct. 1787
  • 3.Oliver Ellsworth, Landholder, no. 3, 19 Nov. 1787
  • 4.Alexander Hamilton, Federalist, no. 22, 140--41, 14 Dec. 1787
  • 5.Alexander Hamilton, Federalist, no. 23, 146--51, 18 Dec. 1787
  • 6.Thomas Jefferson to James Madison, 20 Dec. 1787
  • 7.Alexander Hamilton, Federalist, no. 30, 188--91, 28 Dec. 1787
  • 8.Alexander Hamilton, Federalist, no. 31, 193--96, 1 Jan. 1788
  • 9.James Madison, Federalist, no. 37, 233--34, 11 Jan. 1788
  • 10.Alexander Hamilton, Federalist, no. 70, 471--72, 15 Mar. 1788
  • 11.Luther Martin, Letter, 4 Apr. 1788
  • 12.John Tyler, Virginia Ratifying Convention, 25 June 1788
  • 13.Thomas Jefferson, First Inaugural Address, 4 Mar. 1801
• 10. Separation of Powers
  • Introduction
  • 1.Clement Walker, Relations and Observations, Historicall and Politick upon the Parliament Begun Anno Dom. 1640, 1648
  • 2.Marchamont Nedham, The Excellencie of a Free-State, 1656
  • 3.John Locke, Second Treatise, §§ 143, 144, 150, 159, 1689
  • 4.John Trenchard, A Short Historie of Standing Armies in England, 1698
  • 5.Montesquieu, Spirit of Laws, bk. 11, CHS. 6--7, 1748
  • 6.William Blackstone, Commentaries 1:149--51, 259--60, 1765
  • 7.John Adams, Thoughts on Government, Apr. 1776
  • 8.Instructions of the Inhabitants of the Town of Boston to Their Representatives in Congress, 1776
  • 9.Thomas Jefferson, Notes on the State of Virginia, Query 13, 120--21, 1784
  • 10.Records of the Federal Convention
  • 11.Centinel, no. 2, Oct. 1787
  • 12."William Penn," no. 2, 3 Jan. 1788
  • 13.James Madison, Federalist, no. 37, 233--34, 11 Jan. 1788
  • 14.James Madison, Federalist, no. 47, 323--31, 30 Jan. 1788
  • 15.James Madison, Federalist, no. 48, 332--38, 1 Feb. 1788
  • 16.James Madison, Federalist, no. 51, 347--53, 6 Feb. 1788
  • 17.Alexander Hamilton, Federalist, no. 71, 483--84, 18 Mar. 1788
  • 18.Nathaniel Chipman, Sketches of the Principles of Government 120--27, 1793
  • 19.Alexander Hamilton to George Washington, 7 Mar. 1796
  • 20.Alexander Hamilton to William Loughton Smith, 10 Mar. 1796
  • 21.James Madison, House of Representatives, 10 Mar. 1796
  • 22.James Madison to John Adams, 22 May 1817
  • SEE ALSO:
• 11. Balanced Government
  • Introduction
  • 1.Niccolò Machiavelli, Discourses on the First Ten Books of Titus Livius, bk. 1, CH. 2 1531 (posthumous)
  • 2.James Harrington, Commonwealth of Oceana 56--61, 1656
  • 3.David Hume, That Politics May Be Reduced to a Science, 1742
  • 4.David Hume, Of the Independence of Parliament, 1742
  • 5.Thomas Paine, Common Sense, 10 Jan. 1776
  • 6.Richard Henry Lee to Edmund Pendleton, 12 May 1776
  • 7.Four Letters on Interesting Subjects 19--20, 1776
  • 8.The People the Best Governors, 1776
  • 9.Farmer, On the Present State of Affairs in America, 5 Nov. 1776
  • 10.John Adams, Defence of the Constitutions of Government of the United States, 1787
  • 11.Centinel, no. 1, 5 Oct. 1787
  • 12.Federal Farmer, no. 11, 10 Jan. 1788
  • 13.Patrick Henry, Virginia Ratifying Convention, 9 June 1788
  • 14.John Marshall, Virginia Ratifying Convention, 10 June 1788
  • 15.James Monroe, Virginia Ratifying Convention, 10 June 1788
  • 16.John Adams to Samuel Adams, 18 Oct. 1790
  • 17.Gouverneur Morris to Robert Walsh, 5 Feb. 1811
  • SEE ALSO:
• 12. Bicameralism
  • Introduction
  • 1.James Harrington, Commonwealth of Oceana 56--61, 1656
  • 2.Montesquieu, Spirit of Laws, bk. 11, CH. 6, 1748
  • 3.John Adams, Notes on Debates in Congress, 5--6 Sept. 1774
  • 4.Democraticus, Loose Thoughts on Government, 7 June 1776
  • 5.Thomas Jefferson, Notes on Debates in Congress, 30 July 1 Aug. 1776
  • 6.William Hooper to the Congress of the State of North Carolina, 26 Oct. 1776
  • 7.One of the People, 23 Nov. 1776
  • 8.Benjamin Rush, Observations on the Government of Pennsylvania, 1777
  • 9.Pennsylvania Gazette, 26 March 1777
  • 10.The Essex Result, 29 Apr. 1778
  • 11.Thomas Jefferson, Notes on the State of Virginia, Query 13, 118--20, 1784
  • 12.Francis Hopkinson to John Jay, 11 Mar. 1786
  • 13.George Read to John Dickinson, 17 Jan. 1787
  • 14.John Adams, Defence of the Constitutions of Government of the United States, 1787
  • 15.James Madison, Federal Convention, 19 June 1787
  • 16.George Mason, Federal Convention, 20 June 1787
  • 17.James Wilson, Federal Convention, 20 June 1787
  • 18.Records of the Federal Convention
  • 19.Alexander Hamilton, Federalist, no. 22, 138--41, 14 Dec. 1787
  • 20.Federal Farmer, no. 11, 10 Jan. 1788
  • 21.Republicus, 16 Feb. 1788
  • 22.James Madison, Federalist, no. 62, 416--19, 27 Feb. 1788
  • 23.Patrick Henry, Virginia Ratifying Convention, 12 June 1788
  • 24.Alexander Hamilton, New York Ratifying Convention, 25 June 1788
  • 25.Benjamin Franklin, Queries and Remarks respecting Alterations in the Constitution of Pennsylvania, 1789
  • 26.James Wilson, Of Government, The Legislative Department, Lectures on Law, 1791
  • 27.Joseph Story, Commentaries on the Constitution 2:§§ 547--58, 1833
  • SEE ALSO:
• 13. Representation
  • Introduction
  • 1.John Winthrop, The History of New England 1:360--63; 2:277, 279--83, 1639 1645
  • 2.John Locke, Second Treatise, §§ 157--58, 1689
  • 3.Montesquieu, Spirit of Laws, bk. 11, CH. 6, 1748
  • 4.James Otis, The Rights of the British Colonies Asserted and Proved, 1764
  • 5.John Adams, Clarendon, no. 3, 27 Jan. 1766
  • 6.Edmund Burke, Thoughts on the Cause of the Present Discontents, 1770
  • 7.Edmund Burke, Speech to the Electors of Bristol, 3 Nov. 1774
  • 8.James Burgh, Political Disquisitions 1:26--29, 36--38, 80--82, 1774
  • 9.John Adams, Thoughts on Government, Apr. 1776
  • 10.John Adams to James Sullivan, 26 May 1776
  • 11.Richard Henry Lee to Mrs. Hannah Corbin, 17 Mar. 1778
  • 12.The Essex Result, 29 Apr. 1778
  • 13.Instructions of Pittsfield, Massachusetts, 1779
  • 14.Return of Northampton, Massachusetts, 22 May 1780
  • 15.Thomas Jefferson, Notes on the State of Virginia, Query 13, 118--19, 1784
  • 16.George Washington to Bushrod Washington, 15 Nov. 1786
  • 17.John Adams, Defence of the Constitutions of Government of the United States, 1787
  • 18.James Wilson, Federal Convention, 6 June 1787
  • 19.Alexander Hamilton, Federal Convention, 18 June 1787
  • 20.Federal Farmer, no. 2, 9 Oct. 1787
  • 21.James Madison, Federalist, no. 10, 62--63, 22 Nov. 1787
  • 22.Federal Farmer, no. 7, 31 Dec. 1787
  • 23.Federal Farmer, no. 8, 3 Jan. 1788
  • 24.Federal Farmer, no. 9, 4 Jan. 1788
  • 25.Alexander Hamilton, Federalist, no. 35, 218--22, 5 Jan. 1788
  • 26.Alexander Hamilton, Federalist, no. 36, 222--24, 8 Jan. 1788
  • 27.Luther Martin, Genuine Information, 1788
  • 28.Fisher Ames, Massachusetts Ratifying Convention, 15 Jan. 1788
  • 29.James Madison, Federalist, no. 49, 340--43, 2 Feb. 1788
  • 30.James Madison, Federalist, no. 55, 372--74, 13 Feb. 1788
  • 31.Republicus, 16 Feb. 1788
  • 32.James Madison, Federalist, no. 58, 395--96, 20 Feb. 1788
  • 33.James Madison, Federalist, no. 63, 427--28, 1 Mar. 1788
  • 34.Alexander Hamilton, Federalist, no. 71, 482--83, 18 Mar. 1788
  • 35.George Mason, Virginia Ratifying Convention, 4 June 1788
  • 36.James Madison, Virginia Ratifying Convention, 20 June 1788
  • 37.Melancton Smith, New York Ratifying Convention, 20--21 June 1788
  • 38.Alexander Hamilton, New York Ratifying Convention, 21 June 1788
  • 39.Debate in House of Representatives, 15 Aug. 1789
  • 40.Thomas Paine, Dissertation on the First Principles of Government, 1795
  • 41.St. George Tucker, Blackstone's Commentaries 1:App. 193--94, 1803
  • 42.James Madison, Note to His Speech on the Right of Suffrage, 1821
  • SEE ALSO:

...and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity...

• 14. Rights
  • Introduction
  • 1.General Assembly of Maryland, An Act for the Liberties of the People, 1639
  • 2.The Body of Liberties of the Massachusets Collonie in New England, 1641
  • 3.William Penn, England's Present Interest Considered, with Honour to the Prince, and Safety to the People, 1675
  • 4.The Concessions and Agreements of the Proprietors, Freeholders, and Inhabitants of the Province of West New-Jersey, 3 Mar. 1677
  • 5.William Penn, The Excellent Priviledge of Liberty and Property Being the Birth-Right of the Free-born Subjects of England, 1687
  • 6.Bill of Rights, 2, 16 Dec. 1689
  • 7.Massachusetts House of Representatives, Circular Letter to the Colonial Legislatures, 11 Feb. 1768
  • 8.Samuel Adams, Boston Gazette, 27 Feb. 1769
  • 9.Slave Petition to the Governor, Council, and House of Representatives of the Province of Massachusetts, 25 May 1774
  • 10.Thomas Jefferson, A Summary View of the Rights of British America, July 1774
  • 11.Continental Congress, Declaration and Resolves, 14 Oct. 1774
  • 12.Continental Congress to the Inhabitants of the Province of Quebec, 26 Oct. 1774
  • 13.Declaration of Independence, 4 July 1776
  • 14.Thomas Burke, Abstract of Debates in Congress, 25 Feb. 1777
  • 15.The Essex Result, 29 Apr. 1778
  • 16.Return of Plymouth, Massachusetts, 1 June 1778
  • 17.Return of Beverly, Massachusetts, 1 June 1778
  • 18.Massachusetts Constitution, A Declaration of the Rights of the Inhabitants of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, 2 Mar. 1780
  • 19.Thomas Jefferson to Garret Van Meter, 27 Apr. 1781
  • 20.Records of the Federal Convention
  • 21.Richard Henry Lee to George Mason, 1 Oct. 1787
  • 22.Richard Henry Lee to Samuel Adams, 5 Oct. 1787
  • 23.James Wilson, State House Speech, 6 Oct. 1787
  • 24.Federal Farmer, no. 4, 12 Oct. 1787
  • 25.A Democratic Federalist, 17 Oct. 1787
  • 26.Brutus, no. 2, 1 Nov. 1787
  • 27.James Wilson, Pennsylvania Ratifying Convention, 28 Nov. 4 Dec. 1787
  • 28.John Smilie, Pennsylvania Ratifying Convention, 28 Nov. 1787
  • 29.Robert Whitehill, Pennsylvania Ratifying Convention, 28 Nov. 1787
  • 30.Thomas Jefferson to James Madison, 20 Dec. 1787
  • 31.Federal Farmer, no. 6, 25 Dec. 1787
  • 32.Federal Farmer, no. 16, 20 Jan. 1788
  • 33.Massachusetts Ratifying Convention, Ratification and Proposed Amendments, 6 Feb. 1788
  • 34.Alexander Contee Hanson, Aristides, Remarks on the Proposed Plan of a Federal Government, 1788
  • 35.A [Maryland] Farmer, no. 1, 15 Feb. 1788
  • 36.James Iredell, Marcus, Answers to Mr. Mason's Objections to the New Constitution, 1788
  • 37.Brutus, no. 15, 20 Mar. 1788
  • 38.Alexander Hamilton, Federalist, no. 84, 575--81, 28 May 1788
  • 39.Patrick Henry, Virginia Ratifying Convention, 5--16 June 1788
  • 40.Edmund Randolph, Virginia Ratifying Convention, 9, 17 June 1788
  • 41.Samuel Chase to John Lamb, 13 June 1788
  • 42.George Mason, Virginia Ratifying Convention, 16 June 1788
  • 43.Virginia Ratifying Convention, Proposed Amendments to the Constitution, 27 June 1788
  • 44.Thomas Tredwell, New York Ratifying Convention, 2 July 1788
  • 45.James Iredell, North Carolina Ratifying Convention, 28 July 1788
  • 46.Thomas Jefferson to James Madison, 31 July 1788
  • 47.James Madison to Thomas Jefferson, 17 Oct. 1788
  • 48.James Madison to George Eve, 2 Jan. 1789
  • 49.Thomas Jefferson to James Madison, 15 Mar. 1789
  • 50.James Madison, House of Representatives, 8 June 1789
  • 51.House of Representatives, Report of the Select Committee on Amendments, 28 July 1789
  • 52.Debate in House of Representatives, 13--15, 22 Aug. 1789
  • 53.James Madison to Richard Peters, 19 Aug. 1789
  • 54.House of Representatives, Amendments, 24 Aug. 1789
  • 55.Senate, Amendments, 9 Sept. 1789
  • 56.Congress, Amendments Agreed to and Proposed to the States, 25 Sept. 1789
  • SEE ALSO:
• 15. Equality
  • Introduction
  • 1.The Putney Debates, 29 Oct. 1647
  • 2.James Harrington, Commonwealth of Oceana 70--75, 1656
  • 3.Thomas Gordon, Cato's Letters, no. 45, 16 Sept. 1721
  • 4.Montesquieu, Spirit of Laws, bk. 15, CHS. 1, 4--8, 1748
  • 5.Benjamin Franklin to John Waring, 17 Dec. 1763
  • 6.William Eddis, Letters from America, 20 Sept. 1770 17 Feb. 1772
  • 7.Patrick Henry to Robert Pleasants, 18 Jan. 1773
  • 8.Gouverneur Morris to John Penn, 20 May 1774
  • 9.Abigail Adams to John Adams, 31 Mar. 1776
  • 10.John Adams to Abigail Adams, 14 Apr. 1776
  • 11.Pennsylvania Evening Post, 27 Apr. 1776
  • 12.Abigail Adams to John Adams, 7 May 1776
  • 13.John Adams to James Sullivan, 26 May 1776
  • 14.Democraticus, Loose Thoughts on Government, 7 June 1776
  • 15.A Watchman, Pennsylvania Packet, 10 June 1776
  • 16.Virginia Declaration of Rights, 12 June 1776
  • 17.Edmund Randolph, History of Virginia 253, 1809
  • 18.Thomas Jefferson, Notes on Debates in Congress, 2--4 July 1776
  • 19.A Citizen of New Jersey, Pennsylvania Evening Post, 30 July 1776
  • 20.Thomas Jefferson, Autobiography, 1821
  • 21.Rejected Constitution for Massachusetts, 1778
  • 22.Return of Sutton, Massachusetts, 18 May 1778
  • 23.Thomas Jefferson to David Rittenhouse, 19 July 1778
  • 24.Alexander Hamilton to John Jay, 14 Mar. 1779
  • 25.Massachusetts Constitution, 1780
  • 26.Return of Northampton, Massachusetts, 22 May 1780
  • 27.Benjamin Franklin, Information to Those Who Would Remove to America, Sept. 1782
  • 28.Thomas Jefferson, Notes on the State of Virginia, Queries 14 AND 18, 137--43, 162--63, 1784
  • 29.Timothy Pickering to Rufus King, 6 Mar. 1785
  • 30.John Adams to Elbridge Gerry, 25 Apr. 1785
  • 31.John Jay to Richard Price, 27 Sept. 1785
  • 32.Thomas Jefferson to James Madison, 28 Oct. 1785
  • 33.James Madison to Thomas Jefferson, 19 June 1786
  • 34.John Adams, Defence of the Constitutions of Government of the United States, 1787
  • 35.Records of the Federal Convention
  • 36.Federal Farmer, no. 7, 31 Dec. 1787
  • 37.Luther Martin, Genuine Information, 1788
  • 38.Yeomanry of Massachusetts, 25 Jan. 1788
  • 39.John Jay to the President of the [English] Society for Promoting the Manumission of Slaves, June 1788
  • 40.Alexander Hamilton to George Washington, 5 May 1789
  • 41.Edmund Randolph to James Madison, 19 May 1789
  • 42.Benjamin Franklin, Queries and Remarks respecting Alterations in the Constitution of Pennsylvania, 1789
  • 43.James Madison, Memorandum on an African Colony for Freed Slaves, 20 Oct. 1789
  • 44.Noah Webster, Miscellaneous Remarks on Divizions of Property . . . in the United States, Feb. 1790
  • 45.James Madison to Benjamin Rush, 20 Mar. 1790
  • 46.John Adams to Samuel Adams, 18 Oct. 1790
  • 47.A Freeman, Maryland Gazette, 30 Dec. 1790
  • 48.James Wilson, Of Man, as a Member of Society, Lectures on Law, 1791
  • 49.Thomas Jefferson, Notes of a Conversation with Alexander Hamilton, 13 Aug. 1791
  • 50.James Madison, Parties, 23 Jan. 1792
  • 51.Nathaniel Chipman, Sketches of the Principles of Government 177--82, 1793
  • 52.St. George Tucker to Jeremy Belknap, 24 Jan. 1795
  • 53.John Adams to Jeremy Belknap, 21 Mar. 1795
  • 54.St. George Tucker to Jeremy Belknap, 29 June 1795
  • 55.James Sullivan to Jeremy Belknap, 30 July 1795
  • 56.St. George Tucker, A Dissertation on Slavery, in Blackstone's Commentaries 2:App. 31--32, 35--43, 54--55, 68--69, 74--81 (1803), 1796
  • 57.John Adams to George Churchman and Jacob Lindley, 24 Jan. 1801
  • 58.John Adams to Thomas Jefferson, 9 July 1813
  • 59.John Adams to Thomas Jefferson, 13 July 1813
  • 60.John Adams to Thomas Jefferson, 2 Sept. 1813
  • 61.Thomas Jefferson to John Adams, 28 Oct. 1813
  • 62.John Adams to Thomas Jefferson, 15 Nov. 1813
  • 63.John Adams to Thomas Jefferson, 16 July 1814
  • 64.Thomas Jefferson to Joseph Milligan, 6 Apr. 1816
  • 65.James Madison to Robert J. Evans, 15 June 1819
  • 66.Thomas Jefferson to John Holmes, 22 Apr. 1820
  • 67.Thomas Jefferson to William Johnson, 12 June 1823
  • SEE ALSO:
• 16. Property
  • Introduction
  • 1.William Bradford, Of Plymouth Plantation 120--21, 1623
  • 2.James Harrington, Commonwealth of Oceana 70--72, 1656
  • 3.John Locke, Second Treatise, §§ 25--51, 123--26, 1689
  • 4.John Trenchard, Cato's Letters, no. 68, 3 Mar. 1721
  • 5.William Blackstone, Commentaries 1:134--35, 140--41, 1765
  • 6.House of Representatives of Massachusetts to Dennys De Berdt, 12 Jan. 1768
  • 7.Edmund Burke, Speech on Conciliation with the Colonies, 22 Mar. 1775
  • 8.Gouverneur Morris, Political Enquiries, 1776
  • 9.Thomas Jefferson, Autobiography, 1821
  • 10.The Essex Result, 29 Apr. 1778
  • 11.Return of Sutton, Massachusetts, 18 May 1778
  • 12.Benjamin Franklin to Robert Morris, 25 Dec. 1783
  • 13.Thomas Jefferson to James Madison, 28 Oct. 1785
  • 14.Remonstrance and Petition of the Free Inhabitants of Lunenberg County, Virginia, 29 Nov. 1785
  • 15.John Adams, Defence of the Constitutions of Government of the United States, 1787
  • 16.Records of the Federal Convention
  • 17.Noah Webster, An Examination into the Leading Principles of the Federal Constitution, 10 Oct. 1787
  • 18.James Madison, Federalist, no. 10, 58--65, 22 Nov. 1787
  • 19.Alexander Hamilton, Federalist, no. 70, 471--72, 15 Mar. 1788
  • 20.Melancton Smith, New York Ratifying Convention, 21 June 1788
  • 21.James Madison, Observations on Jefferson's Draft of a Constitution for Virginia, 15 Oct. 1788
  • 22.Benjamin Franklin, Queries and Remarks respecting Alterations in the Constitution of Pennsylvania, 1789
  • 23.James Madison, Property, 29 Mar. 1792
  • 24.Vanhorne's Lessee v. Dorrance
  • 25.Thomas Jefferson to Isaac McPherson, 13 Aug. 1813
  • 26.James Madison, Note to His Speech on the Right of Suffrage, 1821
  • 27.James Madison, Note on Suffrage, 1829
  • SEE ALSO:

...do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United Staes of America.

• 17. Constitutional Government
  • Introduction
  • 1.Mayflower Compact, 11 Nov. 1620
  • 2.Ordinance and Constitution for Council and Assembly in Virginia, 24 July 1621
  • 3.Royal Commission for Regulating Plantations, 28 Apr. 1634
  • 4.William Penn, Preface to the Frame of Government, 1682
  • 5.John Locke, Second Treatise, §§ 89--94, 134--42, 212, 1689
  • 6.John Trenchard, Cato's Letters, no. 60, 6 Jan. 1721
  • 7.John Trenchard, Cato's Letters, no. 61, 13 Jan. 1721
  • 8.John Trenchard, Cato's Letters, no. 62, 20 Jan. 1721
  • 9.Montesquieu, Spirit of Laws, bk. 6, CH. 2; BK. 11, CHS. 1--7, 20, 1748
  • 10.Richard Henry Lee to ------, 31 May 1764
  • 11.Resolutions of the House of Representatives of Massachusetts, 29 Oct. 1765
  • 12.John Adams, Clarendon, no. 3, 27 Jan. 1766
  • 13.Massachusetts House of Representatives, Circular Letter to the Colonial Legislatures, 11 Feb. 1768
  • 14.Fairfax County Resolves, 18 July 1774
  • 15.James Burgh, Political Disquisitions 1:221--23, 226--27, 1774
  • 16.Alexander Hamilton, The Farmer Refuted, 23 Feb. 1775
  • 17.Pittsfield Petitions, 29 May 1776
  • 18.Concord Town Meeting Resolutions, 21 Oct. 1776
  • 19.Four Letters on Interesting Subjects 18--24, 1776
  • 20.Thomas Jefferson, Notes on the State of Virginia, Query 13, 121--29, 1784
  • 21.Alexander Hamilton, A Second Letter from Phocion, Apr. 1784
  • 22.James Madison to Thomas Jefferson, 24 Oct. 1787
  • 23.Impartial Examiner, no. 1, 20 Feb. 1788
  • 24.Alexander Hamilton, Federalist, no. 78, 524--25, 28 May 1788
  • 25.James Madison, Observations on Jefferson's Draft of a Constitution for Virginia, 15 Oct. 1788
  • SEE ALSO:
• 18. Epilogue: Securing the Republic
  • Introduction
  • 1.James McHenry, Anecdote 18--
  • 2.James Harrington, Commonwealth of Oceana 37--38, 103, 1656
  • 3.Montesquieu, Spirit of Laws, Notes; bk. 3, CHS. 1--9; BK. 4, CHS. 4--5; BK. 5, CHS. 1--7; BK. 7, CHS. 1--2; BK. 8, CHS. 1--3, 1748
  • 4.Edmund Burke, Speech on Conciliation with the Colonies, 22 Mar. 1775
  • 5.George Mason, Remarks on Annual Elections for the Fairfax Independent Company, Apr. 1775
  • 6.Samuel Adams to James Warren, 4 Nov. 1775
  • 7.John Adams to Mercy Warren, 8 Jan. 1776
  • 8.John Adams, Thoughts on Government, Apr. 1776
  • 9.John Adams to Mercy Warren, 16 Apr. 1776
  • 10.Carter Braxton, An Address to the Convention of the Colony and Ancient Dominion of Virginia; on the Subject of Government in General, and Recommending a Particular Form to Their Consideration, May 1776
  • 11.Thomas Jefferson, Preamble to a Bill for the More General Diffusion of Knowledge, Fall 1778
  • 12.Richard Henry Lee to Henry Laurens, 6 June 1779
  • 13.Massachusetts Constitution of 1780
  • 14.Samuel Adams to John Scollay, 30 Dec. 1780
  • 15.Alexander Hamilton, Continentalist, no. 6, 4 July 1782
  • 16.Thomas Jefferson, Notes on the State of Virginia, Queries 14 AND 19, 146--49, 164--65, 1784
  • 17.John Adams, Defence of the Constitutions of Government of the United States, 1787
  • 18.Noah Webster, An Examination into the Leading Principles of the Federal Constitution, 10 Oct. 1787
  • 19.A Proposal for Reviving Christian Conviction, 11 Oct. 1787
  • 20.James Madison, Federalist, no. 10, 56--65, 22 Nov. 1787
  • 21.Thomas Jefferson to James Madison, 20 Dec. 1787
  • 22.James Madison, Federalist, no. 55, 375--78, 13 Feb. 1788
  • 23.Patrick Henry, Virginia Ratifying Convention, 9 June 1788
  • 24.James Madison, Virginia Ratifying Convention, 20 June 1788
  • 25.Alexander Hamilton, New York Ratifying Convention, 21 June 1788
  • 26.Noah Webster, On the Education of Youth in America, 1788
  • 27.John Adams to Samuel Adams, 18 Oct. 1790
  • 28.James Madison, Republican Distribution of Citizens, 5 Mar. 1792
  • 29.George Washington, Farewell Address, 19 Sept. 1796
  • 30.Benjamin Rush, Of the Mode of Education Proper in a Republic, 1798
  • 31.Gouverneur Morris, National Greatness, 1800
  • 32.Thomas Jefferson to John Adams, 5 July 1814
  • 33.[Thomas Jefferson, James Madison, et al.,] Report of the Commissioners Appointed to Fix the Site of the University of Virginia, 4 Aug. 1818
  • 34.James Madison to Edward Livingston, 10 July 1822
  • 35.James Madison to W. T. Barry, 4 Aug. 1822
  • 36.James Madison to Thomas Jefferson, 8 Feb. 1825
  • SEE ALSO: