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Jun 15, 1215
Magna Carta
The Magna Carta (“Great Charter”) is a document guaranteeing English political liberties that was drafted at Runnymede, a meadow by the River Thames, and signed by King John on June 15, 1215, under pressure from his rebellious barons. -
Declaration of Independence
Declaration of Independence, in U.S. history, document that was approved by the Continental Congress on July 4, 1776, and that announced the separation of 13 North American British colonies from Great Britain. -
Articles of Confederation
Articles of Confederation, first U.S. constitution (1781–89), which served as a bridge between the initial government by the Continental Congress of the Revolutionary period and the federal government provided under the U.S. Constitution of 1787. The Articles were written in 1776–77 and adopted by the Congress on November 15, 1777. However, the document was not fully ratified by the states until March 1, 1781. -
United States Constitution
Written in 1787, ratified in 1788, and in operation since 1789, the United States Constitution is the world’s longest surviving written charter of government. -
Constitutional Convention
The Constitutional Convention took place from May 14 to September 17, 1787, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.The point of the event was decide how America was going to be governed. -
Judiciary Act of 1789
The Judiciary Act of 1789, officially titled "An Act to Establish the Judicial Courts of the United States," was signed into law by President George Washington on September 24, 1789. Article III of the Constitution established a Supreme Court, but left to Congress the authority to create lower federal courts as needed. -
Plessy v. Ferguson
Plessyv. Fergusonis a legal case in which the U.S. Supreme Court put forward the controversial “separate but equal” doctrine, according to which laws mandating racial segregation (generally of African Americans and whites) in public accommodations (e.g., inns and public conveyances) were constitutional provided that the separate facilities for each race were equal.