Declaration of Independence Who wrote the Declaration of Independence? In 1776, soon after the beginning of the American Revolutionary War, the leaders of the war got together to write a letter [...]
The United States Bill of Rights How do you change the Constitution? Over the years since the Bill of Rights in 1791, Americans have not changed their Constitution very much. It's pretty hard to [...]
The United States Constitution Why did people need a Constitution? The American Revolutionary War got the United States started as a new country in 1781 AD. Soon the leaders of the United States [...]
The United States Bill of Rights: the first ten amendments to the Constitution of the United States of America What is the Bill of Rights? After the leaders of the [...]
A Mandan village in 1832 In the Paleo-Indian period, everyone in North America lived in small bands, usually just your family and maybe one or two other families - not more than ten [...]
Beginning of the Bill of Rights How much power did British rulers have? Ever since King John agreed to the Magna Carta in England in 1215 AD, people in England had agreed that the king [...]
The Magna Carta Why did they want the Magna Carta? Since the time of Edward the Confessor in the 1000s AD, the kings of England had been getting more and more powerful. That [...]
Palazzo Vecchio, where Florence's medieval government met (Florence, Italy, 1200s AD) Different kinds of medieval governments In the Middle Ages, Europe split up into many different states. Each state had its own [...]
Medieval feudalism: Harold swears an oath to William (Bayeux Tapestry, about 1077 AD) What is feudalism? Feudalism is a way to govern a large state when the king is poor and not very powerful, [...]
Islamic government: The Umayyad caliph Muawiyah Caliphs and viziers From the beginning, the Islamic Empire was a monarchy like the Roman Empire or the Sassanian Empire before it. One man ruled the Islamic Empire. [...]
