Historical Documents

The following documents are venerable bits of literature pertaining to our country. You probably recognize most or all of them.

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1. Articles of Confederation – (h/t to Avalon Project) the “supreme” law of the land of the United States of America prior to the Constitution’s ratification
2. Bill of Rights – (h/t to The Charters of Freedom) the first ten amendments to the United States’ constitution.
3. Constitution – (h/t to Founding Bloggers) the supreme law of the land of the United States of America.
4. Constitution of the Confederate States of America – (h/t to Wiki Source) the supreme law of the land of the short-lived Confederacy during and immediately prior to the Civil War
5. Declaration of Independence – (h/t to Founding Bloggers) the document declaring the thirteen colonies to be independent from England.
6. Declaration of United Nations – (h/t to UN Documents) the document that formally united the Allies (and their allies) against Germany, Italy, and the like
7. German Surrender of World War Two – (h/t to History Place) the document that formalized the unconditional surrender of the last German forces in WWII (ended WWII’s European theatre)
8. Gettysburg Address – (h/t to Abraham Lincoln Online) a short speech given by Abraham Lincoln at the post-Civil-War-battle Gettysburg
9. Ghent, Treaty of – (h/t to ClassBrain.com) the treaty that ended (officially) the War of 1812, although the fighting continued until February (including the single most notable battle of the war: the Battle of New Orleans)
10. Martin Luther King Jr’s I Have a Dream – (h/t to American Rhetoric) the famous speech of the March on Washington
11. Paris, Treaty of (1763) – (h/t to Avalon Project) the treaty that ended the French and Indian War (French and Indians versus Colonists and British; Spain also played a part)
12. Paris, Treaty of (1783) – (h/t to University of Oklahoma) the treaty between England and the colonial Congress (signed in Paris) that ended the American Revolutionary War
13. Versailles, Treaty of – (h/t to FirstWorldWar.com) the peace treaty that ended WWI (note that this was only the final cessation, not what ended war with Italy and the other Central powers)
14. Zimmerman Telegram – (h/t to Wikipedia) a short telegram sent from Germany to Mexico via the Germany Embassy in Washington during WWI that was intercepted by America and was largely responsible for bringing America into WWI