On this day in 1789, a signer of the Declaration of Independence writes a letter to John Adams. The letter sounds harsh to modern ears. A...

On this day in 1787, delegates to the Constitutional Convention debate an important question: How should a President be elected? You’d be...

On this day in 1755, Tench Coxe is born in Philadelphia. Was he a Patriot or a Loyalist? People weren’t so sure at first. But he rehabili...

On this day in 1788, Maryland becomes the seventh state to ratify the U.S. Constitution. The state was home to Luther Martin and John Mer...

On this day in 1913, the 17th Amendment is ratified. For the first time in American history, voters would be able to directly elect their...

On this day in 1788, a legislative committee in Rhode Island reports that the United States Constitution had been rejected by the state. ...

On this day in 1788, Massachusetts becomes the sixth state to ratify the Constitution. It was a close call, though. The state had nearly ...

On this day in 1752, Gouverneur Morris, author of the Constitution’s Preamble, is born in New York. Morris was well-educated, witty, blun...

During this week in 1913, several states ratify the 16th Amendment. A proclamation would soon be issued by the U.S. Secretary of State, o...

On this day in 1790, New Hampshire ratifies eleven amendments to the United States Constitution. These amendments (plus one other) had be...

On this day in 1801, Alexander Hamilton writes a scathing letter about then-presidential candidate Aaron Burr. “[G]reat Ambition unchecke...

On this day in 1788, Connecticut becomes the fifth state to ratify the U.S. Constitution. The state had come a long way! Just one year e...

On this day in 1787, delegates to the Constitutional Convention signed the Constitution. Perhaps you’ve heard what Benjamin Franklin did ...

On this day in 1787, the Constitutional Convention draws to a close. The delegates turned to the subject of constitutional amendments. Th...

On this day in 1788, New York ratifies the U.S. Constitution. It was the 11th state to join the Union, but the timing of that decision cr...

On this day in 1788, Virginia ratifies the United States Constitution. At the time, many thought that Virginia had provided the critical ...

On this day in 1787, the Constitutional Convention finally begins. The meeting had been scheduled to start nearly two weeks earlier, on M...

On this day in 1787, the Constitutional Convention is scheduled to begin—but nothing happened! The Convention couldn’t get started, becau...

On this day in 1792, the Coinage Act creates the U.S. Mint and provides for the construction of a new building in Philadelphia. That buil...

On this day in 1791, Virginia ratifies the Bill of Rights, making those ten constitutional amendments the law of the land. The Bill of Ri...