Constitution of the United States

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Virginia Plan, 1787 - pg. 1

Virginia Plan, 1787 - pg. 1
by James Madison (1751—1836)

2 pages. George Washington's copy of the Virginia Plan, which contained Madison’s ideas for a new federal…

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Virginia Plan, 1787 - pg. 2

Virginia Plan, 1787 - pg. 2
by James Madison (1751—1836)

2 pages. George Washington's copy of the Virginia Plan, which contained Madison’s ideas for a new federal…

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

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

4 pages. National Archives, Washington, DC.

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

U.S. Constitution, 1787 - engrossed copy, pg. 2

4 pages. National Archives, Washington, DC.

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

U.S. Constitution, 1787 - engrossed copy, pg. 3

4 pages. National Archives, Washington, DC.

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U.S. Constitution, 1787 - engrossed copy, pg. 4

U.S. Constitution, 1787 - engrossed copy, pg. 4
by

4 pages. National Archives, Washington, DC.

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Bill of Rights, 1791 - engrossed copy

Bill of Rights, 1791 - engrossed copy

National Archives, Washington, DC. The twelve articles approved by Congress for ratification by the states. Ten…

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The Americans ... revolted not to create but to maintain their freedom. American society had developed differently from that of the Old World. From the time of the first settlements in the seventeenth century, wrote Samuel Williams in 1794, every thing tended to produce, and to establish the spirit of freedom. While the speculative philosophers of Europe were laboriously searching their minds in an effort to decide the first principles of liberty, the Americans had come to experience vividly that liberty in their everyday lives.

— Gordon S. Wood
The Idea of America: Reflections on the Birth of the United States (2011)