Guided Readings Guided Readings: Conflict over Ratifying the Constitution Government and Civics 9, 10, 11, 12 View these Guided Readings as a printable PDF.
Spotlight on: Primary Source Henry Knox on the British invasion of New York, 1776 When twenty-six-year-old Henry Knox, the Continental Army’s artillery commander, penned this letter to his wife, Lucy, on July 8, 1776, patriot morale was at a low point. The summer of 1776 was a particularly hard time as word of...
Spotlight on: Primary Source George Washington from Valley Forge on the urgent need for men and supplies, 1777 George Washington’s words in this letter represent a stirring plea for help at the darkest moment of the American Revolution. As few other documents do, this letter illustrates Valley Forge as an icon of American perseverance and...
Spotlight on: Primary Source Alexander Hamilton’s "gloomy" view of the American Revolution, 1780 Government and Civics By October 1780, in the midst of the American Revolution, Alexander Hamilton was discouraged by the apparent apathy of the American people and the ineffectuality of their elected representatives, as well as by the recent discovery of...
Spotlight on: Primary Source Thomas Jefferson's opposition to the Federalists, 1810 Government and Civics The Federalist Party evolved from the core of Federalists, like George Washington and Alexander Hamilton, who wrote and defended the US Constitution in 1787–1788. The political party advocated a strong central government and supported...
Spotlight on: Primary Source The Articles of Confederation, 1777 A day after appointing a committee to write the Declaration of Independence, the Second Continental Congress named another committee to write the Articles of Confederation. The members worked from June 1776 until November 1777, when...
Spotlight on: Primary Source Ratification of the US Constitution in New York, 1788 Government and Civics This unique copy of the US Constitution was printed by Claxton and Babcock in Albany, New York, between February 11 and March 21, 1788. Copies of the Constitution were widely distributed following the document’s signing by the members...
Spotlight on: Primary Source Aaron Burr, fugitive and traitor, 1804 On July 11, 1804, Vice President Aaron Burr shot former Secretary of the Treasury Alexander Hamilton in a duel in Weehawken, New Jersey. Nine days later he wrote this cryptic letter (partially in cipher) to his son-in-law, Joseph...
Spotlight on: Primary Source Hamilton’s Report on the Subject of Manufactures, 1791 Economics, Government and Civics When George Washington became president in 1789, he appointed Alexander Hamilton as his secretary of the Treasury. Hamilton’s vision for the economic foundation of the United States included three main programs: 1) the federal...
Spotlight on: Primary Source The Whiskey Rebellion, 1794 Economics, Government and Civics In 1791, the federal government imposed a tax on distilled spirits to pay off the nation’s debts from the American Revolution. The tax, which was payable only in cash, was particularly hard on small frontier farmers, who bartered and...