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Jun 15, 1215
Magna Carta (The Great Charter)
Signed by England's King John in 1215, the Magna Carta (Great Charter) was the first document to limit the power of England's monarchs. The Magna Carta established the principle that rulers are subject to law-a major step toward constitutional government. -
Jamestown settled
In 1607, 13 years before the Pilgrims landed in Massachusetts, a group of 104 English men and boys began a settlement on the banks of Virginia's James River. They were sponsored by the Virginia Company of London, whose stockholders hoped to make a profit from the resources of the New World. The community suffered terrible hardships in its early years, but managed to endure, earning the distinction of being America's first permanent English colony. -
Mayflower Compact written
November 11, 1620, the first democratic document was written in America, declaring the pilgrims to be their own democratic commonwealth. This document was written by William Bradford. A simple agreement to form a crucial government and to submit to the will of the majority under the regulations was agreed upon by the inhabitants of the new world. It was signed by 41 adult males, 11 of them with the exalted rank of "mister", promising to step toward a genuine government. -
Petition of Right
Was based upon earlier statutes and charters and asserted four principles: no taxes may be levied without consent of Parliament; no subject may be imprisoned without cause shown (reaffirmation of the right of habeas corpus); no soldiers may be quartered upon the citizenry; martial law may not be used in time of peace. -
English Bill of Rights
The statute prohibited the monarch from suspending laws or levying taxes or customs duties without Parliament's consent and prohibited the raising and maintaining of a standing army during peacetime. More importantly, it proclaimed fundamental liberties, including freedom of elections, freedom of debate in Parliament, and freedom from excessive bail and from cruel and unusual punishments. -
Albany Plan of Union
It is proposed that humble application be made for an act of Parliament of Great Britain, by virtue of which one general government may be formed in America, including all the said colonies, within and under which government each colony may retain its present constitution, except in the particulars wherein a change may be directed by the said act, as hereafter follows. -
Stamp Act
Required the use of tax stamps on all legal documents, on certain business agreements, and on newspapers. -
Boston Massacre
The Boston Massacre was the killing of five colonists by British regulars on March 5, 1770. It was the culmination of tensions in the American colonies that had been growing since Royal troops first appeared in Massachusetts in October 1768 to enforce the heavy tax burden imposed by the Townshend Acts. -
Boston Tea Party
A group of men, disguised as Native Americans, boarded three tea ships in Boston Harbor. They broke open the chests and dumped the ship's cargo into the sea to protest British control of the tea trade. -
Intolerable Acts
After the French and Indian War the British Government decided to reap greater benefits from the colonies. The colonies were pressed with greater taxes without any representation in Britain. This eventually lead to the Boston Tea Party. In retaliation the British passed several punative acts aimed at bringing the colonies back into submission of the King. -
First Continental Congress
Delegates from every colony but Georgia met in secret at the Carpenters' Hall in Philadelphia. Benjamin Franklin had proposed such a meeting a year earlier, but after the Port of Boston was closed the momentum for such a meeting grew rapidly. The goal of the Congress was to resolve the differences between England and the colonies. -
American Revolution begins
Around 5 AM, Colonel Smith and his troops are crossing Lexington Green when they spot a group of 50 Militiamen, not in uniform but carrying a variety of weapons, some of them decades old. The British order them to disperse, but they don’t obey. A shot rings out. No one knows which side fired first. The Redcoats shoot into the group of Militia, killing 8 and leaving 10 wounded. -
Second Continental Congress
The Second Continental Congress established the militia as the Continental Army to represent the thirteen states. They also elected George Washington as Commander in Chief of the Continental Army. -
Declaration of Independence
Thomas Jefferson declared that governments were created to serve the people, and could only act with consent of the people. It created the democratic government.The declaration consisted of two parts. The preamble describes the peoples rights and it states that " all Men are created equal" and have the God-given right to "Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness." The second part declares independence from Britain, and lists the colonies' issues against the British government. -
Articles of Confederation
The Articles of Confederation were approved on November 15, 1777, and were in effect from March 1, 1781, when they were finally ratified by all 13 States, until March 4, 1789. They established a weak central government, which led to conflicts among the States. Demand soon grew for a stronger central government, leading to the creation of the United States Constitution. -
Shay's Rebellion
Shay's Rebellion, 1786–87, armed insurrection by farmers in W Massachusetts against the state government. Debt-ridden farmers, struck by the economic depression that followed the American Revolution, petitioned the state senate to issue paper money and to halt foreclosure of mortgages on their property and their own imprisonment for debt as a result of high land taxes. -
Constitutional Convention
By conferring extensive new powers, the Convention gave the federal government full power to levy taxes, borrow money, establish uniform duties and excise taxes, coin money, fix weights and measures, grant patents and copyrights, set up post offices, and build post roads -
Philadelphia Convention
The Convention was purportedly intended only to revise the Articles of Confederation, the intention of many of its proponents, chief among them James Madison and Alexander Hamilton, was from the outset to create a new government rather than to attempt to address the problems of the existing one. The delegates elected George Washington to preside over the convention. The result of the Convention was the United States Constitution. The Convention is one of the central events in the history. -
Connecticut Compromise (The Great Compromise)
Members in The House of Representatives or the lower house will be appointed among the states according to population and they will be elected by the people. In the upper house or the Senate, all states will have an equal number of representatives, which will be chosen by the state legislatures. The House has the power to originate all bills for raising or spending money. The Senate favors the smaller states. Now with two senators each, every state has equal representation.
