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The British further angered American colonists with the Quartering Act, which required the colonies to provide barracks and supplies to British troops. -
The Continental Congress adopted the Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776. It was engrossed on parchment and on August 2, 1776, delegates began signing it. -
To help pay the expenses involved in governing the American colonies, Parliament passed the Townshend Acts, which initiated taxes on glass, lead, paint, paper, and tea. -
Article I, Section 5, requires Congress to keep a “Journal of its Proceedings, and from time to time publish the same” -
On September 26, the Continental Congress created an Auditor, Office of Comptroller, Office of Treasurer and two Chambers of Accounts. A committee was also selected to design the Seal of the Treasury. -
First introduced in the Virginia state legislature in 1777, the Bill for Establishing Religious Freedom barred the establishment of religious tests for public office as well as any compelled participation in, or subsidization of, religious enterprises. Thomas Jefferson was the primary author of the bill, which states that “to compel a man to furnish contributions of money for the propagation of opinions which he disbelieves and abhors, is sinful and tyrannical” -
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Published under the penname “Publius,” the Federalist Papers comprise 85 essays authored by Alexander Hamilton, James Madison, and John Jay, to persuade New York citizens to support the Constitution’s ratification. The Federalist Papers are still consulted by historians and lawyers to uncover the original intentions of the Constitution’s drafters, and to understand theoretical justifications for key constitutional provisions. Papers 10 and 51 are particularly famous for ex -
The first United States veterans pension law was approved during the first session of the U.S. Congress for invalid Revolutionary War soldiers on September 29, 1789. -
Among other things, the Bill of Rights protects the freedoms of speech and religion; the right to bear arms; the right to due process, including a trial by jury; and liberty from warrantless searches and seizures, and from cruel and unusual punishment. The Bill of Rights also recognizes the need to protect unenumerated rights and the rights reserved to the states and to individual citizens. -
Originally titled “An Ordinance for the Government of the Territory of the United States North-West of the River Ohio,” the Northwest Ordinance established several key policies for the unsettled northwestern frontier. Among other things, the Northwest Ordinance required that the Northwest Territory be divided into three to five states, it established procedures for admitting new states into the Union, and it provided a bill of rights. -
Signed into law on September 24, 1789, the Federal Judiciary Act established the structure and jurisdiction of federal courts, matters that Article III of the United States Constitution left unaddressed. The Federal Judiciary Act recognized the original jurisdiction of the Supreme Court found in Article III and gave it appellate jurisdiction in cases arising from federal circuit courts and from state court rulings that rejected federal claims.