Avoiding a Tyranny
Description
This iCue Mini-Documentary describes the Constitutional Convention delegates' debates over state vs. federal power. Many were eager to avoid a tyranny.
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Dividing Power in the Constitution
Description
This iCue Mini-Documentary introduces a major debate during the Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia which focused on the balance of power between the state and federal governments. Alexander Hamilton proposed to abolish the states.
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James Madison and the Fight for the Constitution
Description
This iCue Mini-Documentary introduces the concern many states expressed during the ratification conventions that the new constitution did not contain a Bill of Rights.
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"We the People: Picturing America" Bookshelf Program
Description
The We the People Bookshelf, a collection of classic books for young readers, is a project of the National Endowment for the Humanities' "We the People" program, conducted in cooperation with the American Library Association (ALA) Public Programs Office. Each year, NEH identifies a theme important to the nation's heritage and selects books that embody that theme to build the We the People Bookshelf. The theme for the 20082009 Bookshelf is "Picturing America."
Sponsoring Organization
American Library Association; National Endowment for the Humanities
Eligibility Requirements
All public libraries and school libraries (K–12) in the United States and its territories are eligible to apply. School libraries (K–12) include public, private, parochial, charter schools, and home school consortia. Libraries with collections that circulate to the general public and offer reading–based programs for the general public are eligible to apply. Libraries may also collaborate with other (non–library) organizations to develop and deliver programs; however, the Bookshelves must be housed in the libraries to which they are awarded.
Individuals, organizations other than libraries, and schools and libraries operated by Federal entities, such as the Department of Defense, are not eligible to apply.
Application Deadline
Award Amount
Successful applicants will receive a set of classic hardcover books for young readers, all related to the "Picturing America" theme. The set includes 17 books in English and Spanish translations of three of these works.
The Great Compromise
Description
This iCue Mini-Documentary describes the great debate that ensued during the Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia about how states should be represented equally in Congress, since some states had greater populations than others.
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The Ratifying Conventions
Description
This iCue Mini-Documentary describes the ratification process for the new Constitution. Once it was written, it needed to be ratified by each of the states. Ratifying conventions were held for delegates to vote on whether or not to adopt the new constitution.
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First Continental Congress
Description
This iCue Mini-Documentary describes Bostonian Samuel Adams's encouragement of Committees of Correspondence, which were letter-writing campaigns to monitor British activities in the colonies.
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Anglo-American Relations after the French and Indian War
Description
This iCue Mini-Documentary describes the situation in North American following the French and Indian War. The French no longer had holdings in the Americas; since Britain was the only remaining superpower left on the continent, the relationship between the colonists and the British grew increasingly strained.
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The Great Awakening
Description
This iCue Mini-Documentary describes the Great Awakening, which broke out in America when several new religious leaders, such as George Whitefield, emerged to revive the church. This brought about new ways of worshiping and ultimately new religious sects such as Baptists and Presbyterians.
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New Netherlands
Description
This iCue Mini-Documentary describes the Dutch settlement in New Amsterdam (now New York City) to establish a stronghold in the fur trade.
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