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Jun 15, 1215
Magna Carta
The Magna Carta or, the Great Charter, served as the basic foundation of common law for Great Britian. The Englishmen also celebrated the Magna Carta as a symbol of freedom from oppression. -
Petition of Rights
Parliament declared this document constitutional. It states that no free man should be forced to pay taxes, be imprisoned, sailors and fighters should not be billeted on private persons, and sailors and fighters should be punished by material law. -
English Bill of Rights
This bill established a constitutional monarchy that put the king or queen in a high position and limited the rights to raise money through taxation. -
Albany Plan of Union
This propasal was aimed at a formation of a stong union of the colonies under one single government. It was proposed by Benjamin Franklin and was created because of the need of defense against threats. -
Boston Massacre
In the Boston Massacre, five colonists were killed by British regulars. It was a result from tension between the colonists and the British from heavy tax burdens. The first gun shot was widely know as "the shot heard around the world." -
Boston Tea Party
Losing the French and Indian War financially hurt Britian, so they increased the taxes put on tea. Outraged, colonists dressed up like indians and stoed away on ships carrying British tea, and dumped all the tea over board. -
First Continental Congress
Their meeting were to show authority to Britian. The delegates concluded through multiple disagreeable meetings that they were going to fight the Britians. -
Second Continental Congress
Twelve of the thirteen colonies came together to discuss the actions of Birtish Parliament. The main goal of this meeting was to declare independence, but the colonies decided to pull away from Britain, and establish a new form of government. -
Declaration of Independence
Revolutionary war broke out between Great Britain and the american colonists. The American colonists won their independence on July 4th. The documents declares their independence and consists of the new rules and systems for the newly formed thirteen colonies. -
Articles of Confederation
The Articles of Confederation served as the first form the constitution. These documents could not enforce legislation and it was opposed to any type of national athority. -
Shay's Rebellion
This rebellion consisted of american farmers against the local enforcement of tax collections. In Massachusetts, Danial Shay led a rebellion that tried to prevent farmers from losing their lands, due to high taxes. -
Virginia Plan
The Virginia Plan was an outline for the constitution. It called for James Madison's seperated powers and explained the judicial, legislative, and executive branches of government. -
Philadelphia Convention
This convention was called to help bring the Articles of Confederation up into a bigger document. The delegates began to write the constitution based off of the Articles of Confederation. -
New Jersey Plan
This plan came from the Virginia Plan. Under this law, congress had the power of setting and collection taxes. It focused on making sure that small states got an equal share of representation in government.
