Virginia Leaders’ Impact on America’s Founding
References:
Books & Media
Foner, Eric, editor. The Reader’s Companion to American History. New York: Houghton Mifflin, 1991.
The section on the Philadelphia Convention provided a great historical background to the events leading up to and during the Constitutional Convention.
Hollitz, John and A. James Fuller, eds. Contending Voices: Biographical Explorations of the American Past. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 2003.
Useful on James Madison and Patrick Henry in writing the Historical Background.
Levy, Elizabeth. If You Were There When They Signed the Constitution. New York, Scholastic, 1992.
This book gives a great deal of historical background for young readers detailing what differing personalities, people, and even weather conditions contributed to the writing of the Constitution. It gives information about the Virginia and New Jersey plans of government.
Maier, Pauline. American Scripture. New York: Random House, 1997.
This book provides a detailed perspective of the wide variety of roles involved in the making of the Declaration of Independence. It provides insight into many of the founding fathers, but especially to Virginia’s, namely George Washington, George Mason, Thomas Jefferson, and James Madison. It was particularly helpful in writing the historical background.
National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) The Constitution: Evolution of a Government, Teachers Guide. Santa Barbara: ABC-CLIO, Inc. 1985.
This source was useful in writing the historical background and timeline.
Oates, Stephen B. and Errico, Charles J., editors. Portrait of America, Volume 1. Boston, MA: Houghton Mifflin, 2003. “Sunrise at Philadelphia,” by Brian McGinty.
This chapter provides deeper insight into the varied roles of those who attended the Constitutional Convention. It also tells how different their opinions were of the different choices that they had to make.
Other
George Mason University Professor of History Rosemary Zagarri’s Teaching American History presentation on Early America, July of 2007. Particularly useful in writing the Historical Background on the context for Jefferson’s and Mason’s views on religion.
Websites
http://www.archives.gov/national-archives-experience/charters/
virginia_declaration_of_rights.html
Official Website for the National Archives of the United States. Provides links to all of the founding documents, and other neat information for children, such as an interactive Declaration of Independence, where children can see their own names signed on the Declaration.
http://www.pbs.org/georgewashington/
This site, from Public Broadcasting System, has a great deal of information about George Washington, including a time line of his life suitable for kids. I used this in the classroom with a great deal of success.
http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/browse/ListSome.php?category=
Presidents
Library of Congress, American Memory. Lots of information about Thomas Jefferson and James Madison, two of our founding fathers and presidents.
http://etext.lib.virginia.edu/jefferson/
University of Virginia’s website with a large collection of writings to or by Jefferson.
http://www.vahistorical.org/sva2003/americans.htm
Virginia Historical Society’s very thorough description of events leading up to the Revolutionary War. A great deal of information about the founding fathers, complete with teacher’s guide and photographs of the leaders, and especially useful in writing the historical background.
http://memory.loc.gov/learn/features/timeline/amrev/brittwo/
brittwo.html
Library of Congress’ site about British reforms and colonial resistance, includes features and activities that students can use in the classroom.
http://www.gilderlehrman.org/teachers/module1/index.html
Causes, history, and significance of the American Revolution and events leading up to it.
http://www.loc.gov/exhibits/treasures/trt001.html
This shows the original rough “draught” of Thomas Jefferson’s Declaration of Independence. Good primary source for children.
http://www.jmu.edu/madison/gpos225-madison2/ _creativeburst.htm
This website is a helpful source on James Madison’s life and work.
http://gunstonhall.org/georgemason
This website is a helpful source on George Mason’s life and work.