Key Documents of American History

Roots: the Magna Carta and the Mayflower Compact

In plain words: Long before 1776, people had already written down two big ideas. Rulers must obey the law. And people can agree to govern themselves.

Magna Carta (1215). English nobles, called barons, were angry at King John. They forced him to sign a "Great Charter." Its most famous promise: a free man could not be arrested, jailed, or lose his property without a fair process. That meant the lawful judgment of his peers (equals) or the law of the land.

The big idea: the ruler is not above the law. Picture a team captain who must follow the same rules as every player. You can see this idea later in the Fifth Amendment's promise of due process of law. You can also see it in the right to a jury trial.

Mayflower Compact (1620). The Pilgrims sailed to America on the Mayflower. Before they left the ship at Plymouth, 41 men signed an agreement. In modernized spelling, they promised to "covenant and combine ourselves together into a civil body politic." A civil body politic is an organized community with its own government. They also promised to make "just and equal laws … for the general good of the Colony, unto which we promise all due submission and obedience."

The big idea: self-government by agreement. It is like neighbors forming a block association. They write their own rules and promise to follow them.

The Declaration of Independence (1776)

In plain words: The Declaration is a breakup letter. It tells Great Britain, and the world, why the colonies are leaving.

Thomas Jefferson wrote most of it. The Second Continental Congress adopted it on July 4, 1776. It announced that the thirteen colonies were independent from Great Britain. It has three main parts:

Many of these ideas came from the English thinker John Locke. His ideas, step by step:

1. People are born with natural rights.
2. Governments exist to protect those rights.
3. Government power comes from the people.
4. If a government destroys those rights, the people may "alter or to abolish it."

That last step is called the right of revolution — the people's right to replace a government that abuses them.

Remember: the Declaration is not a plan of government. It is not a law. It explains why the colonies were separating. The plan came later. First came the Articles of Confederation, then the Constitution.

From the Articles of Confederation to the Constitution

In plain words: The first plan of government was too weak. So leaders wrote a stronger one, the Constitution, and then added a list of rights.

Articles of Confederation (written 1777, in force 1781–1789). Americans had just fought a king. They feared a strong central government. So the Articles created a weak one:

• Congress had one house, and each state had one vote.
• There was no president and no national courts.
• Congress could not tax. It could only ask the states for money — like a club that can ask for dues but cannot make anyone pay.
• Congress could not control trade between states.
• Major laws needed 9 of 13 states. Changing the Articles needed all 13.

Problems piled up. Debts went unpaid. States taxed each other's goods. In Shays' Rebellion (1786–87), angry Massachusetts farmers closed courts. Congress could do nothing. So leaders called a meeting, or convention, in Philadelphia in 1787.

The U.S. Constitution (written 1787, in effect 1789). It begins "We the People." That shows popular sovereignty. It creates:

• three branches — Article I: Congress makes laws. Article II: the President enforces laws. Article III: the courts interpret laws.
• checks and balances — the veto, the veto override, Senate approval of treaties and judges, and judicial review.
• federalism — some powers go to the nation; others are reserved to the states.
• an amendment process (Article V), so the Constitution can change.

The Federalist Papers (1787–88). Alexander Hamilton, James Madison, and John Jay wrote 85 essays. They signed them "Publius." Their goal was to win ratification — formal approval of the Constitution. Federalist No. 51 says "Ambition must be made to counteract ambition." In plain words: let each branch's ambition block the others. That is the logic of checks and balances.

The Bill of Rights (1791). The Anti-Federalists feared the new government would crush people's freedoms. Several states approved the Constitution only after a promise: a list of rights would be added. James Madison drafted the amendments. Ten were ratified in 1791. Highlights:

Lincoln's documents: the Emancipation Proclamation and the Gettysburg Address

In plain words: During the Civil War, Lincoln used two documents to connect the war to freedom and equality.

Emancipation Proclamation (January 1, 1863). Emancipation means freeing people from slavery. During the war, President Lincoln used his war powers as commander in chief. He declared enslaved people "forever free" in areas "in rebellion against the United States."

It did not apply everywhere:

• not to the loyal border states (Delaware, Kentucky, Maryland, Missouri);
• not to some areas the Union army already held.

Still, it had big effects:

• It turned the war into a fight against slavery.
• It discouraged Britain and France from helping the Confederacy.
• It let Black men join the Union army. About 180,000 served.

The Thirteenth Amendment (1865) later ended slavery everywhere.

Gettysburg Address (November 19, 1863). Lincoln spoke at a cemetery for soldiers killed at Gettysburg. The speech lasted about two minutes. Here is what he did:

• He traced the nation back to 1776: "Four score and seven years ago." (A score is 20 years, so that is 87 years.)
• He called the war a test. Could a nation "dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal" survive?
• He asked for "a new birth of freedom," so that "government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth."

The big chain of ideas: