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Jamestown
It was the first English settlement in the Americas in the Vrignia colony. 104 settlers came from London on a mission to settle Virginia, find gold, and seek a water route. -
Virginia House of Burgesses
This became the first popular legislature in the New World. Colonists insisted on raising their own representative assemblies and English rights. -
Mayflower Compact
Pilgrims had receieved permission from the English to settle in Virginia. This document was signed not long after anchored on Provincetown. -
Bacon's Rebellion
Began with a dispute with the Doeg Indians on the Potomac River. They found Nathaniel Bacon, recent arrival to Virginia and apart of the governer's council. He demanded a commision to fight the Indians; when none wanted to fight he made "volunteers'' against some of Virginia's closest Indian allies. This led to a civil war pitting Bacon's followers against Barkeley loyalists. -
Salem Witch Trials
In January of 1692, the daughter and niece of Reverend Samuel Parris of Salem Village became ill. When they failed to improve, the village doctor, William Griggs, was called in. His diagnosis of bewitchment put into motion the forces that would ultimately result in the death by hanging of nineteen men and women. In addition, one man was crushed to death; seven others died in prison, and the lives of many were irrevocably changed. -
John Peter Zenger
No country values free expression more highly than does the United States, and no case in American history stands as a greater landmark on the road to protection for freedom of the press than the trial of a German immigrant printer named John Peter Zenger. On August 5, 1735, twelve New York jurors, inspired by the eloquence of the best lawyer of the period, Andrew Hamilton, ignored the instructions of the Governor's hand-picked judges and returned a verdict of "Not Guilty". -
French and Indian War
Between Britain and France called the Second Hundred Years' War.early 1750s, France's expansion into the Ohio River valley repeatedly brought it into conflict with the claims of the British colonies, especially Virginia. During 1754 and 1755, the French defeated in quick succession the young George Washington, Gen. Edward Braddock, and Braddock's successor, Governor William Shirley of Massachusetts. British military effort was hampered by lack of interest at home -
Proclomation of 1763
On October 7, 1763, King George III issued a proclamation that forbade colonial settlement west of the Appalachian Mountains. In so doing, he hoped to placate Native Americans who had sided against him during the recently concluded Seven Years’ War. Enforcement was so weak, however, that it did very little to curb the westward flow of pioneers. Even prominent figures such as George Washington paid it no heed, except as a source of anti-British sentiment leading up to the American Revolution. -
Quartering Act
The Quartering Acts refers to provisions passed by the British Parliament during the 18th century. Under these Acts, local colonial governments were forced to provide provisions and housing to British soldiers stationed in the American colonies. The two Quartering Acts were amendments to the Mutiny Act, which was reviewed and renewed each year by the British Parliament. The intent of the Acts was to alleviate problems experienced during the Seven Years’ War, tension btw Am. Colonies & Brit. Gov. -
Stamp Act
The Stamp Act was passed by the British Parliament on March 22, 1765. The new tax was imposed on all American colonists and required them to pay a tax on every piece of printed paper they used. Ship's papers, legal documents, licenses, newspapers, other publications, and even playing cards were taxed. The money collected by the Stamp Act was to be used to help pay the costs of defending and protecting the American frontier near the Appalachian Mountains. -
Declaratory Act
The Declaratory Act was a statement by the British Parliament in 1766 that was followed by the repeal of the Stamp Act. The declaration stated that the authority of Parliament was the same in America as it was in Britain and emphasized on Parliament's power to make laws binding on the American colonies. -
Boston Massacre
The Boston Massacre was the killing of five colonists by British regulars on March 5, 1770. It was the culmination of tensions in the American colonies that had been growing since Royal troops first appeared in Massachusetts in October 1768 to enforce the heavy tax burden imposed by the Townshend Acts.n many history books the dramatic shooting is described as the spark that ignited the Revolutionary War. -
Tea Act
One of several measures imposed on the American colonists by the heavily indebted British government in the decade leading up to the American Revolutionary War (1775-83). The act's main purpose was not to raise revenue from the colonies but to bail out the floundering East India Company, a key actor in the British economy. The British government granted the company a monopoly on the importation and sale of tea in the colonies. Colonists never accepted and Tea Act rekindled their opposition. -
Boston Tea Party
This action, part of a wave of resistance throughout the colonies, had its origin in Parliament's effort to rescue the financially weakened East India Company so as to continue benefiting from the company's valuable position in India. The Tea Act (May 10, 1773) adjusted import duties in such a way that the company could undersell even smugglers in the colonies. The company selected consignees in Boston, New York, Charleston, and Philadelphia, and 500,000 pounds of tea were shipped across Atl. -
1st Continental Congress
From 1774 to 1789, the Continental Congress served as the government of the 13 American colonies and later the United States. The First Continental Congress, which was comprised of delegates from the colonies, met in 1774 in reaction to the Coercive Acts, a series of measures imposed by the British government on the colonies in response to their resistance to new taxes. -
2nd Continental Congress
Times had taken a sharp turn for the worse. Lexington and Concord had changed everything. When the Redcoats fired into the Boston crowd in 1775, the benefit of the doubt was granted. Now the professional imperial army was attempting to arrest patriot leaders, and minutemen had been killed in their defense. In May 1775, with Redcoats once again storming Boston, the Second Continental Congress convened in Philadelphia. -
Declaration of Independence
The Declaration of Independence is the founding document of the American political tradition. It articulates the fundamental ideas that form the American nation: All men are created free and equal and possess the same inherent, natural rights. Legitimate governments must therefore be based on the consent of the governed and must exist “to secure these rights.”
