Northwest Ordinance 1787
http://elsinore.cis.yale.
edu/lawweb/histdoc/
nworder.htm
Description: This is the full text of the Northwest Ordinance that made states of the Northwest Territory.

Resource Type: Primary Source Text

Northwest Ordinance of 1787
http://www.yale.edu/
lawweb/avalon/
nworder.htm
Description: This document helps us understand the important values underlying the laws of America as it expanded beyond its original territory.

Resource Type: Primary Source Text
Graphics Content: Low

John Peter Zenger - Battle for Freedom of the Press
http://www.printersmarket
place.com/btfree.html
Description: Congress shall make no law...prohibiting...or abridging...the freedom of speech, or of the press..." This most significant part of the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution was due in large measure to two former indentured servants. Men who had known what it was like to live without freedom, helped establish the precedent of a free press in America. One was a lawyer, the other a printer named John Peter Zenger.

Resource Type: Secondary Text
Graphics Content: Low

Peter Zenger and Freedom of the Press
http://earlyamerica.com/
earlyamerica/bookmarks/
zenger/index.html
Description: In 1733 John Peter Zenger began publishing a newspaper in New York to voice complaints against the British colonial governor William Cosby.

Resource Type: Secondary Text
Graphics Content: Low

Newspaper Coverage of the English and French War For Control of North America, 1754-1760 
http://www.earlyamerica.com/
review/spring97/
newspapers.html
Description: American newspapers in their coverage of the French and Indian War echoed the fear and dislike that had long existed between the English and French. Newspapers not only covered the war effort, but they also promoted a unity of consciousness for colonists along the Atlantic seaboard that was later turned against the British in the American Revolution. 
Comments: Some of the writing is difficult but quotes and primary source examples of newspapers from the time make this an interesting and accessible source from Archiving Early America.
Resource Type: Primary Source Text

Tally of the 1824 Electoral College Vote 
http://www.nara.gov/
education/cc/electcol.html
The Electoral College is one of the most difficult things to understand about presidential elections in the U.S. Learn about the debates that led to this method of election. This lesson may be done at many levels. Middle school students will enjoy looking at the photos of the primary document and analyzing it's parts. Older students can delve deeply into the constitutional compromise and its ramifications. 
Author: Mary Frances Greene