UNION250.US
A Documentary Exhibition of American Sovereignty:
Constitutional Formation and Territorial Definition
Union250.us is a documentary exhibition grounded in original primary sources examining:
- The constitutional development of American sovereignty from the First Continental Congress (1774) through the First Federal Bicameral Congress (1791)
- The geographic expansion of the United States through treaties, statutes, and ratified agreements
The exhibition presents documentary evidence illustrating how national authority was formed, structured, and territorially defined.
The Union did not emerge under a single instrument. It developed through successive governing frameworks and formal acts of legislation.
Rebels With A Cause: Initial 1999-2000 Tour Video
SECTION I
Constitutional Development: 1774–1791
Between September 5, 1774 and March 3, 1791, American national authority evolved under four distinct governing regimes. Each operated under different legal foundations and exercised different constitutional powers.
- United Colonies Continental Congress: September 5, 1774 – July 2, 1776
- United States Continental Congress: July 2, 1776 – March 1, 1781
- United States in Congress Assembled: March 1, 1781 – March 3, 1789
- United States Congress Under the Constitution: Commencing March 4, 1789
Union 250 documents this evolution through:
- Original manuscripts and maps
- Congressional journals
- Legislative acts and ordinances
- Signed presidential and delegate documents
- Contemporary newspaper and pamphlet printings
- Capitol site documentation
- Revolutionary coinage and currency
- Portraiture of presiding officers and contemporaries
The exhibit emphasizes documentary evidence rather than retrospective narrative interpretation.
SECTION II
THE CONGRESSIONAL CAPITOLS OF THE UNION 1774-2026
A geographic visualization of congressional sovereignty in
motion:
- Carpenters' Hall
- Pennsylvania State House
- Independence Hall 1777 Video 1778 Video 1781 Video 1783 Video
- Henry Fite House
- Lancaster Courthouse
- York County Courthouse
- College Hall
- Nassau Hall
- Maryland State House
- French Arms Tavern
- New York City Hall 1785 Video 1786 Video 1787 Video 1788 Video
- Walter Livingston House
- Federal Hall
- Congress Hall
- Thornton Capitol
- Blodgett’s Hotel
- Old Brick Capitol
- Latrobe Capitol
These locations mark the physical seats where legislative
sovereignty was exercised.
Documentary Foundations
Union 250 distinguishes itself through documentary evidence:
- Original vellum land grants
- Signed presidential and delegate documents
- Contemporary printings of congressional legislation
- July and August 1787 printings of the Northwest Ordinance
- August 1776 printings of the Declaration of Independence
- William J. Stone’s engraved Declaration of Independence
- Confederation-era ordinances and resolutions
The exhibition rests on archival authority rather than
retrospective interpretation.
SECTION IV
THE FOUR GOVERNING REGIMES (1774 - 1791)
American sovereignty did not originate under a single
constitutional instrument. It evolved through four legally distinct governing
authorities, each exercising different powers under different structures of
legitimacy.
This exhibit partitions and enumerates presiding officers
and legislative acts according to the constitutional authority under which they
served.
1. United Colonies Continental Congress
September 5, 1774 – July 2, 1776
This body convened without a written national constitution. Its authority rested upon coordinated colonial consent.
Documentary Milestones
- First Continental Congress convenes. Peyton Randolph, President (September 5, 1774)
- Articles of Association (October 20, 1774)
- Colonial Continental Army established (June 14, 1775).
- Colonial Continental Dollar established (June 22, 1775).
- Appointment of George Washington as Commander in Chief (June 15, 1775)
- Olive Branch Petition (July 5, 1775)
- Declaration of the Causes and Necessity of Taking Up Arms (July 6, 1775)
- Colonial Post Office established (July 26, 1775)
- Continental Navy established (October 13, 1775).
- Resolution for Independency (July 2, 1776)
- A Tale of Two "Queens."
2. United States Continental Congress
July 2, 1776 – March 1, 1781
The U.S. Continental Congress:
- The Declaration of Independence enacted, John Hancock, President (July 4, 1776)
- Issued Continental US Dollar Currencies
- Conducted a U.S. National Lottery
- Directed the Revolutionary War
- Negotiated foreign alliances
- Drafted the Articles of Confederation
Capitol Migrations
- Pennsylvania State House/Independence Hall (July 2, 1776 to December 12, 1776)
- Henry Fite House (Dec. 20, 1776 – Feb. 27, 1777)
- Independence Hall (March 4, 1777 to Sept. 18, 1777)
- Lancaster Courthouse (September 27, 1777)
- York County Courthouse (Sept. 30, 1777 to June 27, 1778)
- College Hall (July 2, 1778 to July 20, 1778)
- Independence Hall (July 21, 1778 to March 1, 1781)
This Congress served as the national governing body prior to the ratification of the Articles of Confederation.
3. United States in Congress Assembled
March 1, 1781 – March 3, 1789
- No independent taxation authority
- No separate executive branch
- No standing federal judiciary, though Article IX authorized special judicial commissions, including the 1782 Pennsylvania v. Connecticut decision commonly known as the Decree of Trenton
Capitol Migrations
- Nassau Hall (June 30 to Nov. 4, 1783)
- Maryland State House (Nov. 26, 1783 to Aug. 19, 1784)
- French Arms Tavern (Nov. 1, 1784 to Dec. 24, 1784)
- New York City Hall (Jan. 11, 1785 to Nov. 13, 1788)
Major Legislative Milestones
- First Federal Congress Session under the Articles of Confederation, Samuel Huntington, President (March 2, 1781)
- USCA Rules for Conducting Business (May 4, 1781)
- Adoption of Two Capital Locations (October 26, 1783)
- Washington’s Resignation (December 23, 1783)
- Ratification of the Treaty of Paris (January 14, 1784)
- Ordinance of 1784 (April 23, 1784)
- Western Land Ordinance (May 20, 1785)
- Northwest Ordinance (July 13, 1787)
- Resolution Calling the Philadelphia Convention (February 21, 1787)
- Resolution Transmitting the Constitution to the States (September 28, 1787)
This regime terminated upon the implementation of the U.S. Constitution of 1787.
4. United States Congress Under the Constitution of 1787
Commencing March 4, 1789
The federal government convened under the ratified Constitution of 1787, initiating a new constitutional framework of national governance:
- The United States in Congress Assembled ends (March 3, 1789)
- First Federal Bicameral Congress Session begins (March 4, 1789).
- Frederick Augustus Conrad Muhlenberg was elected as the first Speaker of the United States House of Representatives (April 1, 1789).
- John Adams was inaugurated Vice President and President of the US Senate (April 21, 1789)
- George Washington was inaugurated as the first President and Commander-in-Chief of the United States of America (April 30, 1789).
- John Jay was inaugurated as the first U.S. Chief Justice (October 19, 1789)
Capitol Migrations
- Federal Hall (March 3, 1789 to August 12, 1790)
- Congress Hall (December 6, 1790 to May 14, 1800)
- Thornton Capitol (November 17, 1800 to August 24, 1814)
- Blodgett’s Hotel (September 19, 1814 to March 3, 1815)
- Old Brick Capitol (December 4, 1815 to March 3, 1819)
- Latrobe Capitol (December 6, 1819 to Present)
SECTION V
Geographic Expansion of the United States
Following recognition of independence in 1783, the
geographic extent of the United States expanded through:
- International treaties
- War settlements
- Boundary conventions
- Land purchases
- Congressional joint resolutions
- Treaties with Native American nations
1. International Treaties and Purchases:
- Treaty of Paris (1783): Recognized independence and established the initial national boundaries with Great Britain, defining approximately 888,081 square miles of territory within the United States.
- Louisiana Purchase (1803): Transferred the Louisiana Territory, 828,000 square miles, from France to the United States under a treaty instrument.
- Adams-Onís Treaty (1819): Also known as the Florida Purchase Treaty, it settled boundary disputes with Spain and transferred Florida, 72,101 square miles, to the United States.
- Oregon Treaty (1846): Established the boundary between the United States and British North America at the 49th parallel, defining approximately 300,000 square miles as United States territory commonly known as the Oregon Territory.
- Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo (1848): Concluded the Mexican-American War, where Mexico ceded 529,189 square miles to the United States (the Mexican Cession).
- Gadsden Purchase (1854): 29,670 square miles of land purchased from Mexico in present-day Arizona and New Mexico for $10 million, under a treaty instrument.
- Alaska Purchase (1867): Treaty with Russia that added 591,000 square miles to the United States.
- Treaty of Paris (1898): Ended the Spanish-American War, leading to the acquisition of the Philippines (115,831 sq. miles), Guam (3,515 sq. miles), and Puerto Rico (210 sq miles).
- Treaty of Cession (1917) – Transferred the Danish West Indies, consisting of Saint Croix, Saint Thomas, Saint John, and 50+ smaller islets, which were purchased for $25 million in gold to secure Caribbean strategic interests during World War.
2. Congressional Annexations:
- Annexation of Texas (1845): Joint resolution of Congress annexed the Republic of Texas at approximately 389,000 square miles..
- Annexation of Hawaii (1898): Formalized by joint resolution of Congress, incorporating approximately 6,450 square miles into the United States..
- Territorial boundaries
- Land cessions
- Reserved lands
- Military alliances and neutrality agreements
- Trade regulation
- Annuities and compensation
- Removal and relocation provisions
- Treaty of Fort Pitt (1778)
- Treaty of Fort Stanwix (1784)
- Treaty of Greenville (1795)
- Treaty of New Echota (1835)
