Meet Myrtilla, an enslaved mother and houseservant owned by Thomas Everard. She has lived in Williamsburg all her life and seen many changes take place throughout the city, including whispers of revolution. Come hear her perspective on the what has happened and what the Declaration of Independence means for herself, her children, and others in her condition.

Join Patrick Henry in 1798 as he reflects on his career and life as a renowned orator, firebrand politician, and advocate for American liberty.

Yorktown, Virginia was the location for the American and French army's most significant victory of the Revolution on October 19th, 1781. This victory, led by General George Washington, would set the United States on the path to independence. Join General Washington and General Lafayette as they discuss the campaign of 1781 and the siege of Yorktown.

America has a long history of protest, and how to protest appropriately” is a hotly debated issue today. What did some of the nation’s founders think about the right way to protest?

In this Learning Adventure, we’ll discover who made the Branches of Government and why they’re so important.

Learn about the election process for Federal officials. Information about specific candidates and their campaigns or political parties and their platforms will not be found here.

Learn about the language of the law and discover how laws are made.

Who makes the laws? In this one-minute video, students learn about the legislative branch. A host describes the structure and functions of Congress, and students consider the significance of a two-chamber system.

In this social studies activity, students will review their understanding of the legislative branch of government using Nearpod's interactive quiz game, Time to Climb.

Read the letter from the Federal Convention President to the President of Congress transmitting the Constitution

How does Congress gather information, and how does it use that information to create legislation? How can this research impact the lives of Americans in both the short and long term? How can a bill that has been deemed unconstitutional still inform future legislation?

In this lesson, students meet James Madison as he is working on the Bill of Rights and assist him in deciding the most important rights to include. Access to this resource requires a free educator login.

Hear from some modern historic interpreters at Colonial Williamsburg about what they would have done if they had lived in the 18th century – would they have been for or against independence or undecided? And why? Their answers may surprise you!

Hear from some modern historic interpreters at Colonial Williamsburg about what they would have done if they had lived in the 18th century – would they have been for or against independence or undecided? And why? Their answers may surprise you!

This lesson on the Bill of Rights is part of Gilder Lehrman’s series of Common Core–based units. These units were written to enable students to understand, summarize, and analyze original texts of historical significance. Students will demonstrate this knowledge by writing summaries of selections from the original document and, by the end of the unit, demonstrating their understanding through visual and oral presentations. Through this step-by-step process, students will acquire the skills to analyze any primary or secondary source material.

Once his political career had ended, George Washington made a deliberate effort to organize and preserve his personal papers. He had the incredible foresight to know that his life and career influenced the appeal of the documents, and that they would become the foundation for much knowledge about the Revolutionary period and first presidency. At one point he even considered building a library to house them. Unfortunately, Washington died in 1799 before the grand library could be constructed.

Unlike the large amount of documentation surviving George Washington and Thomas Jefferson, relatively few papers exist to grant insight into James Madison's personal life. Madison didn't attempt to keep many of these private documents, and whether from humility or another unknown reason, he didn't think they would be of any importance to history. The few scattered documents which remained survived through the efforts of family and collectors.