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Jan 1, 1215
Magna Carta
King John forcibly signed the Magna Carta, or "Great Charter" in 1215. This was the first time that people limited a monarch's power by using a written document. It stated that no king nor lawmaker was above the law, and was the basis of many important US documents including the Declaration of Independence, Articles of Confederation, and the US Constitution. -
Jamestown Settled
Jamestown was the first permanent settlement of the English in the New World. Plagued by disease, famine, and bad Native American relations, Captain John Smith had to save the disastrous settlement. -
Mayflower Compact
This was the first governing document of the Plymouth colony. Written by Separatists escaping religious persecution in England, the document stated their right to their own liberty and that no one could control them except themselves. It was basically a social contract written and signed for survival. -
Petition of Right
This English Constitutional document set our specific liberties that the king could not take away. It prohibited non-parliamentary taxation, imprisonment without cause, and called for an end to martial law. Many ideas discussed in this document contributed to themes evident in the Declaration of Independence, Articles of Confederation, and the US Constitution. -
English Bill of Rights
The English Bill of Rights declared the rights and liberties of its subjects, and established the freedoms of speech and religion. It also settled the dispute over the succession of the English Crown. -
Albany Plan of the Union
The Albany Plan of the Union placed the colonies under a more central government. Devised by Benjamin Franklin, the plan was never carried out but was the first plan to call for a collective whole of the colonies under the same, unified government. -
Stamp Act
The was a direct tax from the English Parliament to the colonies on printed materials including legal documents, playing cards, and newspapers. The colonists were outraged because it violated their rights as Englishmen. They disagreed with being taxed without their consent. -
Boston Massacre
On this date, British regulars fired at a protesting group of colonists and killed five of them. This disaster resulted from the culmination of tension from the British Townshend Acts that the colonists believed violated their natural rights. -
Boston Tea Party
This protest occurred under cover of the night by the Sons of Liberty, dressed as Indians. They snuck onto a ship in Boston harbor and threw tea into the sea to protest the British Tea Act because it violated their right to be taxed only by their elected representatives. -
Intolerable Acts
Also known as the Coercive Acts, these acts were set forth by the English Parliament regarding the colonies. The most important of these acts included the Boston Port Act, which closed the Boston port until the East India Company was paid for tea losses, the Massachusetts Government Act, which placed the government under control of Britain, the Administration of Justice Act, which moved royal official trials to "safer" places, the Quartering Act concering housing British troops. -
First Continental Congress
The First Continental Congress was in help in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania right around the time fighting began during the American Revolution. It was called to order in response to the Coercive Acts, which were the acts that strirred tension in the colonies. -
American Revolution: the Beginning
The first military engagements of the American Revolution took place at the Battles of Lexington and Concord. British regulars were told to capture and destroy military supplies in Concord, and minutemen and militiamen engaged in battle with them. These were the first two major battles of the war which resulted from unjust ruling of the colonies. -
Second Continental Congress
Also held in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, the Second Contintental Congress was called to manage colonial war efforts. The congress also moved closer toward independence, and through the time that it was held, the Declaration of Independence was written and signed. -
Declaration of Independence
This document written by Thomas Jefferson declared the colonies of America free from British Rule. The document defined unalienable rights as life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness, stated that governments get their power through consent of the governed, and stated colonial grievances with King George, -
Articles of Confederation
The Articles of Confederation was first adopted on November 15, 1777, but the states did not ratify the United States' first constitution until March 1, 1781. This original constitution called for a loose confederation of sovereign states with a weak central government. -
Shay's Rebellion
This rebellion led by farmer Daniel Shays began in 1786 and ended in 1787. Farmers protested because of financial difficulties aftar the war, a credit squeeze from the lack of an established national currency, and harsh government policies. This militia targeted courts to stop tax and debt hearings. The rebellion sparked the decision to revise the Articles of Confederation and ultimately alter the American government in its entirety. -
Philadelphia Convention
This convention was called to address problems concerning the weak and ineffective central government of the United States. Originally called to revise the Articles of Confederation, it was soon dubbed "The Constitutional Convention because in time, it created a whole new government and set of laws for the United States. -
Constitutional Convention
This convention began on May 14 and ended in September of 1787. It originally was called to revise the Articles of Confederation, but leaders such as James Madison and Alexander Hamilton wanted to establish a new, more effective government as a whole. George Washington presided over the convention, and our current Constitution was written and adopted during this span of about four months. -
Connecticut Compromise
Also known as the Great Compromise or Sherman's Compromise, it set up a bicameral legislature for the new Constitution of the United States. It was a compromise between the Virginia and New Jersey plans, calling for a House of Representatives in which representation would proportional to population, and a Senate in which representation would be equal for every state.
