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The Founding Documents

• Magna Carta
• Mayflower Compact
• Virginia Declaration of Rights
• Declaration of Independence
• Articles of Confederation
• Federalist Papers
• Constitution
• Bill of Rights (first 10 amendments)
• Reconstruction Amendments

Mayflower Compact
November 11, 1620
Agreement drafted by the settlers of the first New England colony.

The Virginia Declaration of Rights
Adopted June 12, 1776
Drafted by George Mason, this declaration of rights later became a model for other state constitutions and the Bill of Rights.

Declaration of Independence
Adopted July 4, 1776

Articles of Confederation
Framed in 1777, adopted in 1781
Charter or first "Constitution" adopted by the 13 states following the American Revolution.

The Federalist Papers
October 1787 - August 1788
A series of newspaper articles drafted by Alexander Hamilton along with collaborators John Jay and James Madison, urging ratification of the new Constitution.

The Constitution
Approved by delegates in 1787, ratified in 1788

• Learn more in the Interactive Constitution 

Bill of Rights
Adopted in 1791
The first ten Amendments to the Constitution.

• Learn more about the Bill of Rights in the Interactive Constitution 

The Reconstruction Amendments 
Ratified in 1865 (13th Amendment), 1868 (14th Amendment), 1870 (15th Amendment).
Also known as the Civil War Amendments.
Amendments abolished slavery and guaranteed equal protection of the laws and the right to vote.

• Learn more about the Reconstruction Amendments in the Interactive Constitution