Read the Founding Documents of the United States of America—Including All Constitutional Amendments

In early June 1776, the Second Continental Congress appointed a committee of five men to draft a declaration, a case for the independence of the United Colonies from England. Congress reconvened in Philadelphia in early July and amended the draft, finally adopting it late in the morning on July 4. The bold experiment of the United States of America was born. No document has had a greater impact on the destiny of the free world than the Declaration of Independence, drafted in the swelter of 1776.

The Articles of Confederation, the first constitution of the United States, were adopted in late 1777 and ratified in 1781. Delegates met in Philadelphia in May 1787 to make revisions to the articles, but attention shifted to a new constitution by mid-June. After three months of deliberation, compromise, and revision, the new document was signed, first by George Washington, on September 17, 1787. Rhode Island was the last of the states to ratify it in late May 1790. Since then, it has become one of the most loved, revered, and durable constitutions in modern history.