“Documents from the Continental Congress and the Constitutional Convention, 1774–1789.” The Library of Congress. Accessed December 22, 2024. https://www.loc.gov/collections/continental-congress-and-constitutional-convention-from-1774-to-1789/about-this-collection/.
With any students learning about the formation of the United States of America, particularly in the years immediately following the Revolutionary War when the United States was a new nation, these papers will provide a valuable resource for educators to use and share. These documents from the Continental Congress and Constitutional Convention would make a great companion to studies of the Declaration of Independence and the US Constitution. Students who are reading literature set during this historical time period would benefit from reading some of the primary source newspaper articles, journals, and other documents produced at that time about the new nation.
This is a collection of 277 documents relating to the work of Congress and the drafting and ratification of the Constitution. Items include extracts of the journals of Congress, resolutions, proclamations, committee reports, treaties, and early printed versions of the United States Constitution and the Declaration of Independence. Most broadsides are one page in length; others range from 1 to 28 pages. A number of these items contain manuscript annotations not recorded elsewhere that offer insight into the delicate process of creating consensus. In many cases, multiple copies bearing manuscript annotations are available to compare and contrast.
- In 1776, the American colonies declared their independence from England to establish themselves as their own country, the United States of America, with the signing of the Declaration of Independence.
- In 1789, the Constitutional Convention took place in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania to write the Constitution of the United States
- What can we learn about the founding of the United States from these primary source documents?
- What were some of the primary concerns of the members of the Continental Congress as they were drafting the US Constitution?
- What issues discussed by the Continental Congress are still relevant in our world today?
New Jersey Student Learning Standards
RI.CI.9–10.2.: Determine one or more central ideas of an informational text and analyze how it is developed and refined over the course of a text, including how it emerges and is shaped by specific details; provide an objective summary of the text.
- These documents span 1774–1789, and as a result, students can track the formation of the new nation during and after the Revolutionary War. Students can refer to specific details in history and note any changes in ideas over these years.
IW.9–10.2.: Write informative/explanatory texts (including the narration of historical events, scientific procedures/experiments, or technical processes) to examine and convey complex ideas, concepts, and information clearly and accurately through the effective selection, organization, and analysis of content.
- Students can identify and write about the core ideas and beliefs written about in these various documents. What did the members of the Constitutional Convention value and how do you know?
- Laurie Halse Anderson stated that she used these Continental Congress papers on the Library of Congress website in order to complete some of her research for Rebellion 1776. Use an excerpt from Anderson’s Rebellion 1776 and have students make connections between information learned in the text and these Continental Congress documents. Teachers can pre-select relevant documents from the collection, or for more advanced students, teachers can let them sift through the collection to find the connections.
- When students are learning about significant historical documents such as the writing of the US Constitution, also provide them with these additional documents. Ask students to compare and contrast ideas present in the documents with ideas that were integrated into the final copy of the US Constitution.
- Some of the ideas held by the Founding Fathers may be viewed as outdated and antiquated, especially regarding the taking over of Native American lands.
Links to resources for approaching those topics
- Educators can refer to this resource from Facing History about the teaching of the founding of America.
- Print of the Declaration of Independence: https://www.loc.gov/item/2018757136/
- The US Constitution: https://www.loc.gov/classroom-materials/constitution/
- American Revolution and Founding Washington: https://www.loc.gov/free-to-use/american-revolution/
- George Washington Papers: https://www.loc.gov/collections/george-washington-papers/about-this-collection/
- We the People: Expanding the Teaching of the US Founding: Facing History
- Teaching the Constitution: PBS Learning Media
- Teaching Six Big Ideas in the Constitution: National Archives