• General sites
• United States history and government
• Declaration of Independence
• The U.S. Constitution
• The Legislative Branch
• The Executive Branch
• The Judicial Branch
• Amendments to the U.S. Constitution
• The U.S. Flag and Flag Code
• Illinois Constitution and government

General sites

The best places to learn lots about the U.S. Constitution, history, and government:  

	National Constitution Center, a great site with the basics plus many good topics and  also teacher resources.  If you have time for just one site, this is the one.
	Charters of Freedom, online exhibits of the Declaration of Independence, U.S. Constitution, and the Bill of Rights, from NARA, the National Archives and Records Administration
	We the People, a good introductory site about the Constitution, federal government, and state government, from USinfo, from the U.S. State department
	Ben's Guide to the U.S. Government
	A  Multitude of Amendments, Alterations and Additions from the National Park Service
	The U. S. Constitution, text plus explanatory notes
	The Constitution Explained , a summary of the Constitution, article by article, easy to understand.

United States history and government

	A Portrait of the U.S.A., text with some photos covers the American people, geography, history, economics, education, religion and other topics, from USinfo
	U.S. History.org,  from the Independence Hall Association, with a special emphasis on early American history
	U.S.A. History in Brief, from USinfo

	Gateway to African-American History, from USinfo
	U.S. History Basic Documents and Writings, with English and Spanish versions of some documents from USIA
	Government and Politics, all about the U.S.  government and political system, an index with links to many good topics.
	An Outline of U.S. Government, mostly text, from USinfo
	Basic Readings in U.S. Democracy

Declaration of Independence

	Look at a  larger picture of the Declaration of Independence
	Read the entire document in a modern print:  Declaration of Independence
	Read more about the history of the Declaration of Independence
	The History Channel's website on the Declaration of Independence
	Declaring Independence, Drafting the Documents, site from the the Library of Congress featuring a timeline of events leading up to the drafting of the Declaration of Independence

The U.S.Constitution

	Explore the Constitution, from the National Constitution Center
	A More Perfect Union:  The Creation of the U.S. Constitution, from the National Archives.
	The Constitutional Convention, from USinfo
	Ratifying the Constitution, from USinfo
	The Supreme Law of the Land, from USInfo
	The Bill of Rights, from USinfo
	The Constitution:  text plus exlanation from USinfo
	Constitution basics, from the National Constitution Center
	Fast facts about the Constitution

The Legislative Branch

	The U. S. Capitol web site
	The U. S. Historical Capitol Society
	Take a virtual tour of the U. S. Capitol

	Map of the Capitol Grounds
	"Tying it All Together," the legislative process explained
	More about the legislative branch, from USinfo
	U.S. Senate official web site
	How the Senate works, includes a helpful glossary
	U.S. Senator from Illinois, Dick Durbin

	U.S. Senator from Illinois,  Barack Obama
	House of Representatives official web site
	Historical information about the House of Representatives
	Speakers of the House, 1789 to the present

The Executive Branch

	The White House official website
	Take a historical tour of the White House
	The White House Historical Association
	The Presidents of the United States,
	The First Ladies of the United States,
	Current cabinet secretaries
	More about the executive branch from USIA

The Judicial Branch

	The U.S. Supreme Court website Take a virtual tour of the Supreme Court Building
	Biographies of current Supreme Court justices
	More about the Marbury vs Madison case
	More about the Brown vs Board of Education case
	More about the power of judicial review

Amendments to the U.S. Constitution

	The text of the Bill of Rights, from NARA
	About the Bill of Rights from NARA
	Individual rights and the Constitution, from the National Constitution center
	History of the Bill of Rights from the ACLU, the American Civil Liberties Union
	Read about proposed amendments that were never ratified

The U. S. Flag and Flag Code

	The Flag Code, from the American Legion
	The Pledge of Allegiance, the words and what they mean
	The Flag  of the United States includes history, pictures of current and past flags, and lots more
	The Star Spangled Banner, from the Smithsonian National Museum of history
	The story of the U.S. Flag,  from the Smithsonian
	Betsy Ross Home Page

Illinois Constitution and government

	Illinois Constitution, text
	Overview of 3 branches of Illinois Government
	State of Illinois official web site
	Illinois facts
	Illinois General Assembly official web site
	Photo gallery of the State Capitol
	Abraham Lincoln Presidential Museum
	The Governor's web site
	Take a virtual tour of the executive mansion
	Illinois courts  website
	Illinois Supreme court