Documents that Forged a Nation

On October 20, 1774, the First Continental Congress adopted the Articles of Association, a nonimportation, nonexportation, and nonconsumption agreement between the colonies urging all colonists to boycott British goods.

On July 2, 1776, Congress adopted a resolution declaring independence from Great Britain. The Declaration of Independence was issued on July 4 and circulated in newspapers. Washington ordered the Declaration of Independence to be read aloud to his troops.

In February 1778, Congress ordered all Continental Army officers to swear an oath of allegiance. Oath takers swore “the United States of America, to be Free, Independent and Sovereign States, and declare that the people thereof owe no allegiance or obedience to George III"

After eight long years of war, the United States and Great Britain signed the Treaty of Paris on September 3, 1783, formally recognizing the United States as an independent nation.

A constitutional convention was called in 1787 to address these challenges. Delegates met at Philadelphia in Independence Hall, where they scrapped the Articles of Confederation and created a new system of government under the United States Constitution. 

Two printings of the draft of what eventually became the Constitution were provided to the delegates. This copy belonged to New Jersey delegate David Brearley Jr., and includes Brearley’s handwritten annotations as the delegates debated.

For four months, delegates to the Constitutional Convention discussed what the new government should look like. Their debates, arguments, and resolutions are reflected in the convention’s voting records. This page documents the vote on the final text of the Constitution.

This is the U.S. Senate’s “markup” of what became the Bill of Rights. On September 25, 1789, Congress passed these 12 amendments, and they were sent to the states for approval.

The freedoms that all Americans enjoy were born out of these documents you've just seen. While America looks different than it did 250 years ago, the principles enshrined in these documents still guide the lives of Americans and continue to shape America.