Posts by wp_vls_admin
The Articles of Confederation: America’s First Constitution
Before the United States had the Constitution we know today, it had the Articles of Confederation. Adopted by the Continental Congress in 1777 and fully ratified in 1781, the Articles served as the country’s first national governing document. They reflected the priorities of a new nation fresh from revolution: protect liberty, preserve state independence, and…
Read MoreThe History Behind Constitution Day
Every year on September 17, the United States observes Constitution Day and Citizenship Day, a commemoration of the signing of the U.S. Constitution in Philadelphia in 1787. The day invites Americans to look back at the creation of the nation’s framework of government and to reflect on the responsibilities that come with citizenship. After the…
Read MoreThe Night Washington Saved the Revolution – General George Washington’s retreat from Brooklyn in 1776
Among many historians, the most famous and successful night of the American Revolution was General George Washington’s crossing of the Delaware on Christmas Eve 1776. This bold and brilliant military plan achieved by cunning and courage is considered a crucial factor for the young American country winning its independence. However, earlier in that year, there…
Read MoreJohn Adams and Thomas Jefferson: A Friendship Shaped by Revolution and Rivalry
At first glance, John Adams and Thomas Jefferson seemed unlikely companions. Adams was fiery, talkative, and impatient with hesitation; Jefferson was quiet, polished, and more comfortable letting his pen speak for him. Yet these two very different men became central partners in the American founding. They stood together in the struggle for independence, drifted apart…
Read MoreHappy 250th Birthday America!
Two and one-half centuries ago, a provincial people on the edge of a vast continent declared something astonishingly radical: that government derives its just powers from the consent of the governed. These brave patriots – farmers, merchants, frontiersmen, bankers – did not merely protest taxation or quarrel with imperial policy. They announced to the world…
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