Founding Documents Archives | America's Founding Era Education Forum (AFEEF)

Painting of the Committee of Five presenting the Declaration of Independence to Congress

walt
July 16, 2026

Foundations of America: Upper Elementary Curriculum

A multi-lesson unit for grades 4–5 that shows how the ideas of liberty, self-government and the rule of law became the Declaration of Independence and the U.S. Constitution, using...

walt
July 16, 2026

Founding Documents Primary Source Set

A classroom set of the key documents of the American founding, from the Declaration of Independence to the Bill of Rights, with student-friendly background for each source.

Painting of the signing of the U.S. Constitution in 1787

walt
July 16, 2026

The Constitution: Creating a New Government

Students learn why the founders replaced the Articles of Confederation, how the 1787 Constitutional Convention reached the Great Compromise, and how the Constitution separates power.

The engrossed copy of the Declaration of Independence

walt
July 16, 2026

The Declaration of Independence (Plain Language)

A plain-language version of the Declaration of Independence that helps students understand its famous opening ideas and the complaints colonists listed against King George III.