-
1215
Magna Carta (1215)
The Magna Carta limited the power of the king by saying that the king could not raise certain taxes without the English people agreeing to the change first and by saying that people could not be punished unless they had done something against the law. The Magna Carta was a big piece of inspiration for having a limited government. -
The Mayflower Compact (1620)
This was the first plan that the people in the colonies had for having their own government. They had made it so that they would be able to choose who they had as their leader, and they would have laws that would be beneficial to everyone. -
Petition of Rights (1628)
The Petition of Rights was created as a complaint against King Charles I saying that he was breaking multiple laws. The English Parliament didn't want the king to be able to tax without them agreeing to it first, imprison people who hadn't broken the law, force people to keep soldiers in their house, or declare martial law when not in a war. These rules were also used later in the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution. -
The Fundamental Orders of Connecticut (1635)
This was a plan for a government where there were multiple different branches of government that had representatives that were elected, along with a system of checks and balances that would stop any one part of the government from taking over. -
Great Fundamentals (1636)
This is one of the first times where the colonists showed that they wanted to have a representative government and maintain individual rights. -
The English Bill of Rights (1689)
Made it so that the power of the government was split between the monarch and the Parliament. This could have been an inspiration for the separation of powers that is part of the United States' government. -
Period: to
The Seven Years War (1756 - 1763)
Participating in this war was extremely expensive for Britain, and because it was so expensive, Britain had a large war debt to pay off. In order to get the money for this, Britain raised taxes, making the people in the colonies mad because they didn’t agree to having the taxes be raised. -
The Sugar Act (1764)
The Sugar Act was created as a way of collecting money from the colonists in order to make up for the debt from the Seven Years War. The money was collected using taxes that were put on sugar and molasses that was imported into the colonies. -
The Stamp Act (1765)
The stamp act was another act that was passed that would create taxes for the colonists. This time the taxes were put on paper items as well as dice. -
The Declaratory Act (1766)
The Declaratory Act made it so that Britain could create taxes on the colonies without their support. It was also Britain trying to maintain control over the colonies, even though the colonies were not as happy with being under the control of Britain anymore. -
The Townshend Act (1767)
The Townshend Act put taxes on importing goods like glass, lead, paints, paper, and tea, which caused many colonists to stop purchasing goods from Britain in protest. -
The Boston Massacre (1770)
A group of colonists joined together to form a mob and started attacking some British soldiers. The soldiers fought back using guns, even though the colonists were unarmed, and multiple of the colonists were killed, with others being injured. -
Tea Act (1773)
Means that Britain can tax tea, and the colonists didn’t like that because it meant that they could tax almost anything. -
Boston Tea Party (1773)
The colonists were angry at the British for creating taxes on tea without their permission, so they dumped a bunch of tea into the water. This was a protest against Britain to show that they were not okay with this. -
First Continental Congress (1774)
All of the colonies except Georgia send a representative to Philadelphia to create The Declaration and Resolves. This stated what the colonists felt were their rights, and said that the colonists were not happy with the "Intolerable Acts" -
The Quartering Act (1774)
One of the “Intolerable Acts,” The Quartering act made it so that if colonists were ordered to allow British soldiers to stay in their home, they would have to do it. -
The Massachusetts Government Act (1774)
One of the "Intolerable Acts," The Massachusetts Government Act increased the power that Britain had over Massachusetts by controlling the government and restricting town meetings unless they were approved. -
The Quebec Act (1774)
One of the "Intolerable Acts," The Quebec act gave land to Quebec and also allowed for more religious freedom by giving more acceptance to Catholics in the region. This might have had some impact of the religious freedom in the first amendment. -
Period: to
The Second Continental Congress (1775-76)
Met in 1775 to make the Olive Branch Petition, and met in 1776 along with Thomas Jefferson to write the Declaration of Independence. -
The Battles of Lexington and Concord (1775)
The British were coming to take weapons that the colonists had been gathering, and the colonists came to fight back. These were the first battles of the Revolutionary War. -
The Olive Branch Petition (1775)
The Olive Branch Petition was made while there was still hope that the king had not been making the decisions, and that the parliament had been making the decisions without the king’s knowledge, but after the king refused to even receive the Olive Branch Petition, everyone started to realize that the king was the one who they were angry with. -
Common Sense (1776)
Common Sense is a pamphlet written by Thomas Paine that explained why the colonists should fight for independence from Britain. It was read by many people and was very influential. -
Declaration of Independence (1776)
The Declaration of Independence stated the different ideals that the people in America had as well as why they felt like their rights were being taken away. It helped motivate a lot of people to take action. -
Articles of Confederation (1781)
The Articles of Confederation were created as the first Constitution until it was revised and turned into the current Constitution. -
Period: to
Constitutional Convention (1787)
The Constitutional Convention was held to change the Articles of Confederation and make them into a more effective Constitution.