Documents of the Revolution

6 albums

Resignation to Congress, 1783 - side 1

Washington’s Commission & Resignation

19 June 1775; 12 December 1783

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Virginia Declaration of Rights, 1776 - pg. 1

Virginia Declaration of Rights

12 June 1776

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Declaration of Independence, “Rough Draft” - pg. 1

Declaration of Independence

4 July 1776

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Treaty of Alliance with France, 1778 - Last Page

U.S. Treaties

Treaty of Alliance with France • Treaty of Paris
6 February 1778; 3 September 1783

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Articles of Confederation and Perpetual Union

Articles of Confederation

1 March 1781

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U.S. Constitution, 1787 - engrossed copy, pg. 1

Constitution of the United States

Virginia Plan • Constitution • Bill of Rights
1787—91

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6 images | page 1 of 1

Summary View of the Rights of British America, 1774

Summary View of the Rights of British America, 1774
by Thomas Jefferson (1743—1826)

This is the final page of Thomas Jefferson's instructions to those delegates selected by the Virginia Convention who…

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Draft Page from a Constitution for Virginia, 1776

Draft Page from a Constitution for Virginia, 1776
by Thomas Jefferson (1743—1826)

 

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A Bill for Establishing Religious Freedom, 1779

A Bill for Establishing Religious Freedom, 1779
by Thomas Jefferson (1743—1826)

Written in 1777, this reproduction broadside of the bill, printed in Williamsburg, is the earliest known printed text…

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Memorial and Remonstrance, 1785 - pg. 1

Memorial and Remonstrance, 1785 - pg. 1
by James Madison (1751—1836)

Full title: A Memorial and Remonstrance Against Religious Assessments

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Virginia Act for Establishing Religious Freedom, 1786

Virginia Act for Establishing Religious Freedom, 1786

 

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The Federalist #10, 1787

The Federalist #10, 1787
by James Madison (1751—1836)

Printed in the New York Daily Advertiser, 22 November 1787. This famous essay, the first contribution by James…

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By attacking slavery more fiercely than ever before, Revolutionary Americans freed tens of thousands of slaves. But the Revolution’s libertarian and egalitarian message had perverse consequences. It forced those Southerners who chose to retain slavery to fall back on the alleged racial deficiencies of blacks as a justification for an institution that hitherto they had taken for granted and had never before needed to justify. The anti-slavery movement that arose out of the Revolution inadvertently produced racism in America.

— Gordon S. Wood
Empire of Liberty: A History of the Early Republic, 1789–1815 (2009)