America's Historical Documents (2024)

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America's Historical Documents? ›

The Constitution

Written in 1787, ratified in 1788, and in operation since 1789, the U.S. Constitution is the world's longest surviving written charter of government.

The Constitution

Written in 1787, ratified in 1788, and in operation since 1789, the U.S. Constitution is the world's longest surviving written charter of government.

Encounter the original founding documents of the United States in the Rotunda for the Charters of Freedom, the permanent home of the Declaration of Independence, Constitution of the United States, and Bill of Rights.

The Kensington rune stone, the oldest native document of American history, | Library of Congress.

The Articles of Confederation were adopted by the Continental Congress on November 15, 1777. This document served as the United States' first constitution. It was in force from March 1, 1781, until 1789 when the present-day Constitution went into effect.

Learn about the United States' founding documents, known together as the Charters of Freedom. The Declaration of Independence, U.S. Constitution, and Bill of Rights established the government's structure and continue to secure the rights of American citizens.

The amendments to the Constitution that Congress proposed in 1791 were strongly influenced by state declarations of rights, particularly the Virginia Declaration of Rights of 1776, which incorporated a number of the protections of the 1689 English Bill of Rights and Magna Carta.

For example, president of the Continental Congress Richard Henry Lee wrote in a June 7, 1776 resolution: "These United Colonies are, and of right, ought to be, free and independent States." Before 1776, names for the colonies varied significantly; they included "Twelve United English Colonies of North America", "United ...

The graphic organizers will help the students understand the influence of five documents: the Magna Carta, the Charters of the Virginia Company of London, the Virginia Declaration of Rights, the Declaration of Independence, the Articles of Confederation, and the Virginia Statute for Religious Freedom.

What was the first U.S. document? ›

The Articles of Confederation served as the written document that established the functions of the national government of the United States after it declared independence from Great Britain.

The Code of Ur-Nammu is the oldest known law code surviving today. It is from Mesopotamia and is written on tablets, in the Sumerian language c. 2100–2050 BCE.

The earliest confirmed form of writing is recorded on a limestone tablet, known as the Kish tablet, which dates to around 3,500 BCE. The tablet was found on the site of an ancient Sumerian city called Kish, which is located in modern-day Iraq.

(Four texts [the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution, the Bill of Rights, and the Gettysburg Address] that played a crucial role in the history of the United States of America and that form the basis of the democratic system of government in our country.) Bilingual edition in Spanish and English.

While the U.S. Constitution does not mention God, nearly all state constitutions reference either God or the divine, according to a 2017 analysis. God also appears in the Declaration of Independence, the Pledge of Allegiance and on U.S. currency.

Independence Day. On July 4, 1776, the Second Continental Congress unanimously adopted the Declaration of Independence, announcing the colonies' separation from Great Britain.

Constitution. The Constitution defines the framework of the Federal Government of the United States.

The Declaration of Independence. The Constitution. The Bill of Rights. America's founding documents were the result of debates and compromises that created a new nation unlike any other.

Now imagine the task of the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA)—the nation's record keeper. Many people know the National Archives as the keeper of the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution, and the Bill of Rights.