The Constitution of the United States of America, 1787

Constitution signatures

Read the Constitution of the United States.

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Internet archive page

Click here to see a variety of downloadable resources from CurrClick which could be used in a study of the Constitution. This link will take you away from My Audio School.

The Declaration of Independence

Declaration_independence by John Trumbull

Declaration of Independence by Thomas Jefferson

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To listen to The Declaration of Independence, as read by Bill Barker, who interprets Thomas Jefferson for Colonial Williamsburg, go to Monticello Podcasts. You’ll need to page most of the way down the page, to the podcast titled Jefferson’s Words: Two Declarations.

Read along by clicking here.

To see a video of the reading of the Declaration of Independence from Colonial Williamsburg, go to the Colonial Williamsburg Video page. This video is titled We Hold These Truths. You’ll need to page down to find it.  This video is archived  on June 29, 2009.

For more excellent audio and video podcasts from Colonial Williamsburg, go to History.org.

Page down to the April 27, 2009 podcast to hear Thomas Jefferson on religious freedom, and the April 20, 2009 podcast to hear Patrick Henry on religious freedom.

The Anti-Federalist Papers by Patrick Henry, et al.

Patrick Henry before the Virginia House of Burgesses by Peter Rothermel

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Total running time: 19 hours, 52 minutes

Summary: During the period of debate over the ratification of the Constitution, numerous independent local speeches and articles were published all across the country. Initially, many of the articles in opposition were written under pseudonyms, such as Brutus, Centinel, and Federal Farmer. Eventually, famous revolutionary figures such as Patrick Henry came out publicly against the Constitution. They argued that the strong national government proposed by the Federalists was a threat to the rights of individuals and that the President would become a king. They objected to the federal court system created by the proposed constitution. This produced a phenomenal body of political writing; the best and most influential of these articles and speeches were gathered by historians into a collection known as the Anti-Federalist Papers in allusion to the Federalist Papers. (Summary by Ticktockman for Librivox)

Patrick Henry

01 Centinel I  00:27:37

02 Centinel XI  00:07:30

03 Federal Farmer I 00:19:54

04 Federal Farmer II  00:11:22

05 Federal Farmer III  00:35:53

06 Federal Farmer IV  00:19:51

07 Federal Farmer V 00:16:53

08 Federal Farmer VI  00:24:46

09 Federal Farmer VII  00:19:43

10 Federal Farmer VIII00:15:58

11 Federal Farmer IX  00:22:42

12 Federal Farmer X  00:15:20

13 Federal Farmer XI 00:23:10

14 Federal Farmer XII 00:22:44

15 Federal Farmer XIII  00:21:09

16 Federal Farmer XIV 00:23:35

17 Federal Farmer XV  00:28:10

18 Federal Farmer XVI 00:25:15

19 Federal Farmer XVII  00:29:54

20 Federal Farmer XVIII  00:33:31

21 Brutus I  00:29:13

22 Brutus II  00:15:16

23 Brutus III  00:15:09

24 Brutus IV  00:18:38

25 Brutus V  00:16:30

26 Brutus VI  00:20:41

27 Brutus VII  00:14:51

28 Brutus VIII  00:09:21

29 Brutus IX  00:14:06

30 Brutus X 00:14:59

31 Brutus XII  00:17:12

32 Brutus XII  00:17:22

33 Brutus XIII  00:09:46

34 Brutus XIV 00:19:37

35 Brutus XV  00:15:52

36 Brutus XVI  00:12:39

37 John DeWitt I  00:14:09

38 John DeWitt II  00:14:11

39 John Dewitt III  00:16:35

40 Cato III  00:09:27

41 Cato IV  00:08:34

42 Cato V  00:10:08

43 Cato VII  00:08:11

44 Agrippa VI 00:05:58

45 Agrippa VII  00:08:46

46 Agrippa VIII  00:05:36

47 Agrippa IX  00:06:27

48 Penn Minority 01:28:56

49 Impartial Examiner I  00:28:46

50 Impartial Examiner II 00:15:33

51 Impartial Examiner III  00:25:25

52 Maryland Farmer IV  00:18:40

53 Maryland Farmer V  00:44:55

54 Patrick Henry, 5 June 1788  00:51:35

55 Patrick Henry, 7 June 1788 00:35:26

56 Patrick Henry, 9 June 1788  01:08:06

The Federalist Papers by Alexander Hamilton, James Madison and John Jay

Federalist cover

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Total running time: 21 hours, 12 minutes

The Federalist Papers (correctly known as The Federalist) are a series of 85 articles advocating the ratification of the United States Constitution. Seventy-seven of the essays were published serially in The Independent Journal and The New York Packet between October 1787 and August 1788 . A compilation of these and eight others, called The Federalist, was published in 1788 by J. and A. M’Lean.


The Federalist Papers serve as a primary source for interpretation of the Constitution, as they outline the philosophy and motivation of the proposed system of government.The authors of the Federalist Papers wanted to both influence the vote in favor of ratification and shape future interpretations of the Constitution. According to historian Richard Morris, they are an “incomparable exposition of the Constitution, a classic in political science unsurpassed in both breadth and depth by the product of any later American writer.
(Summary by Wikipedia)

Alexander Hamilton, painted by Daniel Huntington

Federalist No. 01 by Alexander Hamilton  00:11:21

Federalist No. 02 by John Jay 00:12:10

Federalist No. 03 by John Jay 00:11:20

Federalist No. 04 by John Jay  00:11:58

Federalist No. 05 by John Jay  00:10:38

Federalist No. 06 by Alexander Hamilton  00:15:39

Federalist No. 07 by Alexander Hamilton 00:15:01

Federalist No. 08 by Alexander Hamilton 00:13:28

Federalist No. 09 by Alexander Hamilton  00:12:46

Federalist No. 10 by James Madison 00:18:15

Federalist No. 11 by Alexander Hamilton  00:20:19

Federalist No. 12 by Alexander Hamilton  00:18:04

Federalist No. 13 by Alexander Hamilton 00:08:15

Federalist No. 14 by James Madison  00:20:29

Federalist No. 15 by Alexander Hamilton  00:19:36

Federalist No. 16 by Alexander Hamilton  00:13:08

Federalist No. 17 by Alexander Hamilton  00:09:47

Federalist No. 18 by James Madison  00:14:56

Federalist No. 19 by James Madison  00:14:32

Federalist No. 20 by James Madison  00:11:24

Federalist No. 21 by Alexander Hamilton  00:12:47

Federalist No. 22 by Alexander Hamilton  00:20:24

Federalist No. 23 by Alexander Hamilton  00:10:45

Federalist No. 24 by Alexander Hamilton  00:13:42

Federalist No. 25 by Alexander Hamilton  00:12:50

Federalist No. 26 by Alexander Hamilton  00:15:21

Federalist No. 27 by Alexander Hamilton 00:09:15

Federalist No. 28 by Alexander Hamilton  00:10:16

Federalist No. 29 by Alexander Hamilton  00:14:44

Federalist No. 30 by Alexander Hamilton  00:13:12

Federalist No. 31 by Alexander Hamilton  00:11:23

Federalist No. 32 by Alexander Hamilton  00:09:50

Federalist No. 33 by Alexander Hamilton  00:11:34

Federalist No. 34 by Alexander Hamilton  00:14:42

Federalist No. 35 by Alexander Hamilton  00:14:46

Federalist No. 36 by Alexander Hamilton  00:19:26

James Madison

Federalist No. 37 by James Madison  00:20:39

Federalist No. 38 by James Madison  00:25:19

Federalist No. 39 by James Madison  00:14:50

Federalist No. 40 by James Madison 00:22:12

Federalist No. 41 by James Madison  00:20:55

Federalist No. 42 by James Madison  00:17:45

Federalist No. 43 by James Madison  00:22:40

Federalist No. 44 by James Madison  00:19:42

Federalist No. 45 by James Madison  00:14:02

Federalist No. 46 by James Madison  00:16:24

Federalist No. 47 by James Madison 00:18:07

Federalist No. 48 by James Madison 00:12:52

Federalist No. 49 by James Madison  00:12:19

Federalist No. 50 by James Madison  00:07:15

Federalist No. 51 by James Madison  00:12:15

Federalist No. 52 by James Madison  00:10:38

Federalist No. 53 by James Madison  00:12:38

Federalist No. 54 by James Madison 00:11:46

Federalist No. 55 by James Madison  00:11:35

Federalist No. 56 by James Madison  00:10:51

Federalist No. 57 by James Madison  00:14:33

Federalist No. 58 by James Madison 00:14:11

Federalist No. 59 by Alexander Hamilton 00:12:44

Federalist No. 60 by Alexander Hamilton  00:14:39

Federalist No. 61 by Alexander Hamilton 00:09:54

Federalist No. 62 by James Madison 00:15:51

Federalist No. 63 by James Madison  00:19:52

John Jay by Gilbert Stuart

Federalist No. 64 by John Jay  00:15:02

Federalist No. 65 by Alexander Hamilton  00:13:08

Federalist No. 66 by Alexander Hamilton  00:14:56

Federalist No. 67 by Alexander Hamilton 00:12:05

Federalist No. 68 by Alexander Hamilton  00:09:49

Federalist No. 69 by Alexander Hamilton 00:19:57

Federalist No. 70 by Alexander Hamilton  00:20:38

Federalist No. 71 by Alexander Hamilton  00:10:49

Federalist No. 72 by Alexander Hamilton  00:13:12

Federalist No. 73 by Alexander Hamilton  00:16:53

Federalist No. 74 by Alexander Hamilton  00:07:09

Federalist No. 75 by Alexander Hamilton  00:12:40

Federalist No. 76 by Alexander Hamilton  00:12:42

Federalist No. 77 by Alexander Hamilton  00:13:01

Federalist No. 78 by Alexander Hamilton  00:19:57

Federalist No. 79 by Alexander Hamilton  00:06:53

Federalist No. 80 by Alexander Hamilton  00:14:51

Federalist No. 81 by Alexander Hamilton  00:22:17

Federalist No. 82 by Alexander Hamilton  00:09:37

Federalist No. 83 by Alexander Hamilton  00:51:54

Federalist No. 84 by Alexander Hamilton  00:23:21

Federalist No. 85 by Alexander Hamilton  00:16:28