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The First Continental Congress
It was an important meeting between the delegates for the colonies in the Revolutionary War era. They decided what actions to take against Great Britain and made their own rules and laws for the colonies. -
Second Continental Congress
It was essintally a reconvening of the First Continental Congress. They appointed the same head of the Congress and the same Secretary of the Congress. Some of the new members consisted of Benjamin Franklin and John Hancock. -
Publication of Common Sense
Common Sense was a phamplet written by Thomas Paine in 1776 and it was addressed to the people of the colonies. It basically told them all of the things that Great Britain was doing wrong and told the people to wake up and fight for our freedom. It is considered to be the most popular pamphlet written in the entire Revolutionary Era. -
Signing of the Declaration of Independence
Contrary to prior belief, the Declaration wasn't actually signed on July 4th. The Second Continental Congress met on July 1st, 1776 and on the following day 12 of the 13 colonies signed in favor of their independence. -
The Articles of Confederation
The Articles of Confederation was the first real constitution of the colonies in the Revolutionary Era. It enforced a loose confederation of sovereign states and it was a weak form of central government. -
Treaty of Paris
It was the treaty that ended the war between the United States and Great Britain. The United States voted for a five member comission that negotiated the terms of the treaty. Those five men were John Adams, Benjamin Franklin, John Jay, Thomas Jefferson, and Henry Laurens. -
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Shay's Rebellion
It was a series of numerous rebellions against the government by farmers against the tax on whiskey and tax collections. Most of the farmers in the protests were armed with guns and other weapons. There was an estimated four thousand rebels in the cause. -
Constitutional Convention
The Constitutional Convention met between May and September of 1787. In these meetings, the delegates from each colony addressed the problems of the weak central government under the Articles of Confederation. Their intention was to form a new type of government rather than fix the existing form of government. The result of the Convention was the Constitution that we still use to this day. -
Ratification of the U.S. Constitution
On June 21, 1788, the Continental Congress ratified the U.S. Constitution. The Convention kept the new constitution in the utmost secrecy and it was the first time the public learned of the new bill being passed by their government. The added 12 amendments to the new bill but only 10 were ratified. -
Federalist Papers
It was a series of 85 papers written by a few members of the Continental Congress promoting the ratification of the United
States Constitution. -
Bill of Rights
The Bill of Rights is the collective name for the first ten amendments in our Constitution. They consist of the natural born rights that every man deserves while a citizen of the United States.
