THE REVOLUTION

THE CONSTITUTION

FORMATION OF A NEW GOVERNMENT

ANTEBELLUM AMERICA

PRELUDE TO SECESSION

THE CIVIL WAR

EXPLORATION

The Americas

Links to information on the native peoples of the Americas as well as the voyages and explorers of the Americas

 

LaSalle, the Explorer

An essay on LaSalle and his ship found in 1995 in Matagorda Bay, with links to other sites concerning the recovery effort for the shipwrecked LaBelle

 

Mayflower History

Who was this hardy group that set sail for the unknown in September, 1620? This web page has all the answers about them, their ship, their genealogies, their history.

 

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COLONIAL AMERICA

13 Originals: Founding the American Colonies

The thirteen colonies listed in the order of their founding with links to the states homepage, constitution , and colonial history.

 

Experience Colonial Life

What did a gentleman wear in colonial Williamsburg? What did he and his fellow citizens eat? Answers to these questions and many more are on this Colonial Williamsburg site.

 

Early America Through the Media of the Day

Original documents, portraits, maps, newspapers, magazines, and writings of early America.

 

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THE REVOLUTION

Internet Resources for the American Revolution

Links to documents, essays, and reference sources about the Revolution.

 

Liberty: the American Revolution

The official online companion to the PBS series about the American Revolution.

 

Valley Forge

The encampment at Valley Forge during the winter of 1777-78 and the harsh conditions endured by the Continental Army described.

 

The Newburgh Conspiracy

Read about the conspiracy of the Continental Army officers and how General Washington and his spectacles saved the Republic. Links to documents concerning the event.

 

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THE CONSTITUTION

The Constitutional Convention

Excellent links to biographies of the Founding Fathers, the complete text of the constitution, and questions and answers pertaining to the Constitution.

 

The Federalist Papers

Arguments written by James Madison, Alexander Hamilton, and John Jay in support of the ratification of the Constitution. Searchable by word or phrase.

 

Slavery and the Ratification of the Constitution

Web site that discusses the debate over the issue of slavery during the Constitutional Convention. Excellent links to essays and documents on this subject.

 

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THE FORMATION OF A NEW GOVERNMENT

The First Federal Congress 1789 - 1791

Read about this precedent setting Congress that took the Constitution and made a government.

 

George Washington: First President of the United States

Provides information on this president as well as excellent links to other internet sites on Washington.

 

The Unwritten Constitution

Processes of the federal government (many established by the Washington administration) that are not actually in the Constitution but are a part of how the government works.

 

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DEVELOPMENT, EXPANSION, AND DISSENTION: ANTEBELLUM AMERICA

Antebellum American History

A page created by the University of Colorado Department of History that has web links to important issues and events of this period.

 

The Corps of Discovery

Explore with Lewis and Clark the wilderness acquired by Thomas Jefferson in the Louisiana Purchase.

 

Democracy in America

The book written by a young Frenchman, Alexis de Tocqueville, about his nine month travel through the United States in 1831-32. His observations on that new form of government, democracy, are still relevant today.

 

The Cherokee "Trail of Tears" 1838 - 1839

Learn about the displacement of the Cherokees from the Cherokee ancestral lands in the East to present-day Oklahoma on which over 4,000 Cherokees - nearly a fifth of their population- died.

 

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PRELUDE TO SECESSION

Causes of the Civil War

A brief chronology of the events immediately preceding the Civil War and links to major documents of the period.

 

John Brown's Raid

An ardent abolitionist and eighteen co-conspirators captured the federal arsenal in Harpers Ferry, Virginia with the intention of arming and freeing the near-by slaves. An incident that inflamed an already volatile atmosphere.

 

The Dred Scott Case

The Supreme Court decision that declared that all blacks free as well as slave- could not be citizens of the United States.

 

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THE CIVIL WAR

American Civil War.com

A searchable site of information political, social, military, people about this conflict.

 

Battle of Antietam

Study this bloodiest day of the Civil War, September 17, 1862, and the results of this horrific battle.

 

The H. L. Hunley

The first submarine to sink a ship in battle. Salvaged on August 8, 2000 off the coast of Sullivans Island, South Carolina.

 

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