This extensive work collects all of the major documents, with commentary, pertaining to the structure, formation, and functioning of the political system in colonial and revolutionary America. Documents range from royal charters establishing colonial claims, sermons that question or bolster the established order, pamphlets, state constitutions, debates over the make up of Congress and the Articles of Confederation, and the like.



What documents enforced English control over its colonies? Who used pamphlets to voice protest and stir up political resistance? How did colonial settlers envision their future governing structures? This extensive work provides and in-depth look at 260 major documents that shaped the structure, form, and function of the political system in colonial and revultionary America.



Documents include royal charters establishing colonial claims, sermons that question or bolster the established order, pamphlets, state constitutions, debates over the make-up of the Continental Congress and Articles of Confederation, and the like. Introductory commentary contextualizes the documents and highlights the reader's understanding of these events as the blueprint for how the colonies became a nation. The work is fully indexed.