Annotated Bibliography
Primary Sources
The Constitution, National Archive, Washington D.C. and the first ten amendments (The Bill of Rights)
As the document that this convention is known for, The Constitution is a first hand account of how the people at the Federal Convention thought a government should function. It outlines a government that is ruled by the people instead of a monarchal government which was usual at the time. The first ten amendments, or The Bill of Rights were made just after the Constitution was ratified to help preserve individuals rights so that the government couldn’t take advantage of its people. The constitution is still the supreme law of the United States of America.
The Federalist Papers, found at http://www.foundingfathers.info/federalistpapers/ cross referenced with the book The Federalist Papers Hamilton Madison Jay and put together by Clinton Rossiter.
These articles express the Federalist point of view, the main idea being: The Constitution separates power effectively by giving enough power to different branches of government so that they balance. These articles, written by Alexander Hamilton, James Madison, and John Jay, were published in the newspapers of the time give some insight into what the Federal Convention was trying to accomplish and give one point of view as to what should happen with the government. The website also has Anti-Federalist papers but they don’t list sources so I decided not to list them as a source
James Madison’s notes on the Federal Convention, found at http://www.constitution.org/dfc/dfc_0000.htm cross referenced with http://avalon.law.yale.edu/18th_century/debates_621.asp
Madison's Firsthand account of what happened in the Federal Convention. His notes are detailed reporting everything that was said. However, they have occasional missing words but mostly they seem to be words like ‘the,’ ‘an,’ or ‘was.’ Though the language has the ring of the writings of the time they are straight forward and comprehendible. The first website listed doesn’t have sited sources, but the second site does along with being a colleges website.
Secondary Sources
To Form a More Perfect Union http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/collections/continental/intro01.html
An off shoot from Library of Congress website, which is a government website, that gives information on the Revolutionary war, including how the constitution was created. This information includes dates and fairly detailed specifics on what the country needed and who did what about these needs. This website also outlines some key problems that the country was facing including participation of delegates, trade, and financial crises.
http://avalon.law.yale.edu/subject_menus/constpap.asp
I am not really sure if secondary sources is the best place to put this site because this website is a colleges site that contains primary sources including five different peoples notes on the convention. As well as the text of different ideas about how to revise the articles of confederation. This site can also supply background information about what was going on at the time and the process of ratification. As a colleges site open to public criticism I think that this site is reliable.
Teaching American History http://teachingamericanhistory.org/convention/intro.html
This is another college site but this one is definitely secondary. This site gives an in depth overview of the proceedings of the Federal Convention describing why and how delegates are chosen and the process of splitting the government into branches. Another branch of this site offers a timeline regarding events that happened in the Federal Convention.
Miracle at Philadelphia by Catherine Drinker Bowen
A story about the Federal Convention is told in this book. It starts off with a chapter to set the scene and have the delegates arrive. Then it dives into the debates, laying out the foundations of the Virginia Plan, and debates contrasting state and national governments. Throughout this book, unimportant details are given, this makes it less of a textbook read but doesn’t add to the ideas behind the convention.
The Words We Live By by Linda R. Monk
The Constitution is broken up into its articles then again into paragraphs and sometimes even sentences by this book. Monk then goes on to explain what each word means. For instance, Article I starts: “All legislative powers…” This book then explains the idea of division of powers into branches and how checks and balances have kept this government stable.
The Constitution, National Archive, Washington D.C. and the first ten amendments (The Bill of Rights)
As the document that this convention is known for, The Constitution is a first hand account of how the people at the Federal Convention thought a government should function. It outlines a government that is ruled by the people instead of a monarchal government which was usual at the time. The first ten amendments, or The Bill of Rights were made just after the Constitution was ratified to help preserve individuals rights so that the government couldn’t take advantage of its people. The constitution is still the supreme law of the United States of America.
The Federalist Papers, found at http://www.foundingfathers.info/federalistpapers/ cross referenced with the book The Federalist Papers Hamilton Madison Jay and put together by Clinton Rossiter.
These articles express the Federalist point of view, the main idea being: The Constitution separates power effectively by giving enough power to different branches of government so that they balance. These articles, written by Alexander Hamilton, James Madison, and John Jay, were published in the newspapers of the time give some insight into what the Federal Convention was trying to accomplish and give one point of view as to what should happen with the government. The website also has Anti-Federalist papers but they don’t list sources so I decided not to list them as a source
James Madison’s notes on the Federal Convention, found at http://www.constitution.org/dfc/dfc_0000.htm cross referenced with http://avalon.law.yale.edu/18th_century/debates_621.asp
Madison's Firsthand account of what happened in the Federal Convention. His notes are detailed reporting everything that was said. However, they have occasional missing words but mostly they seem to be words like ‘the,’ ‘an,’ or ‘was.’ Though the language has the ring of the writings of the time they are straight forward and comprehendible. The first website listed doesn’t have sited sources, but the second site does along with being a colleges website.
Secondary Sources
To Form a More Perfect Union http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/collections/continental/intro01.html
An off shoot from Library of Congress website, which is a government website, that gives information on the Revolutionary war, including how the constitution was created. This information includes dates and fairly detailed specifics on what the country needed and who did what about these needs. This website also outlines some key problems that the country was facing including participation of delegates, trade, and financial crises.
http://avalon.law.yale.edu/subject_menus/constpap.asp
I am not really sure if secondary sources is the best place to put this site because this website is a colleges site that contains primary sources including five different peoples notes on the convention. As well as the text of different ideas about how to revise the articles of confederation. This site can also supply background information about what was going on at the time and the process of ratification. As a colleges site open to public criticism I think that this site is reliable.
Teaching American History http://teachingamericanhistory.org/convention/intro.html
This is another college site but this one is definitely secondary. This site gives an in depth overview of the proceedings of the Federal Convention describing why and how delegates are chosen and the process of splitting the government into branches. Another branch of this site offers a timeline regarding events that happened in the Federal Convention.
Miracle at Philadelphia by Catherine Drinker Bowen
A story about the Federal Convention is told in this book. It starts off with a chapter to set the scene and have the delegates arrive. Then it dives into the debates, laying out the foundations of the Virginia Plan, and debates contrasting state and national governments. Throughout this book, unimportant details are given, this makes it less of a textbook read but doesn’t add to the ideas behind the convention.
The Words We Live By by Linda R. Monk
The Constitution is broken up into its articles then again into paragraphs and sometimes even sentences by this book. Monk then goes on to explain what each word means. For instance, Article I starts: “All legislative powers…” This book then explains the idea of division of powers into branches and how checks and balances have kept this government stable.
