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Jun 15, 1215
Magna Carta
The Magna Carta was written by a group of 13th century barons to protect their rights and property from King John. The interests of the common man were not taken into consideration by the authors. King John was forced to sign the document to prevent civil war. -
Jamestown Settlement
In 1607, 13 years before the Pilgrims landed in Massachusetts, a group of 104 English men and boys began a settlement on the banks of Virginia's James River. They were sponsored by the Virginia Company of London, whose stockholders hoped to make a profit from the resources of the New World. The community suffered terrible hardships in its early years, but managed to endure, earning the distinction of being America's first permanent English colony. -
Mayflower Compact
The Mayflower Compact was signed on 11 November 1620 on board the Mayflower, which was at anchor in Provincetown Harbor. The document was drawn up in response to "mutinous speeches" that had come about because the Pilgrims had intended to settle in Northern Virginia, but the decision was made after arrival to instead settle in New England. Since there was no government in place, some felt they had no legal obligation to remain within the colony and supply their labor. The Mayflower Compact at -
Petition of Right
In 17th century England, King Charles I broke up Parliament and ruled alone. A member of Parliament, Sir Edward Coke, presented the Petition of Right which cited the Magna Carta to remind Charles of their rights and also that even the king is not above the law. -
English Bill of Rights
The Bill of Rights asserted that Englishmen had certain inalienable civil and political rights, although religious liberty was limited for non-Protestants: Catholics were banned from the throne, and Kings and Queens had to swear oaths to maintain Protestantism as the official religion of England. Unless Parliament consented, monarchs could not establish their own courts or act as judges themselves. Free speech in parliament was also protected. -
Stamp Act
On February 6th, 1765 George Grenville rose in Parliament to offer the fifty-five resolutions of his Stamp Bill. A motion was offered to first read petitions from the Virginia colony and others was denied. The bill was passed on February 17, approved by the Lords on March 8th, and two weeks later ordered in effect by the King. The Stamp Act was Parliament's first serious attempt to assert governmental authority over the colonies. -
American Revolution
The primary goal of the American revolution was to restore rights the colonists felt were already theirs as British subjects. American colonists did not feel the need for great social, economic, or political upheavals. They "were not opressed people; they had no crushing imperial shackles to throw off." As a result, the Revolution did not create class conflicts that would split society for generations to come. -
Boston Massacre
The twenty-nineth regiment killed five colonists as a result of the culminating tensions in the American colonies caused by the heavy tax burdens. -
Boston Tea Party
The arrival of three tea ships ignited a furious reaction in Boston. .A group of about 200 men, some disguised as Indians assembled on a near by hill. Americans refused to pay any more taxes imposed on them by the British Parliament. The men dumped the tea cargos into the harbor waters. -
Intolerable Acts
Britain responded to the Boston Tea Party in 1774 by passing several laws that became known in America as the Intolerable Acts. One law closed Boston Harbor until Bostonians paid for the destroyed tea. In response to these actions and laws, the colonist banded together to fight back. Several committees of colonists called for a convention of delegates from the colonies to organize resistance to the Intolerable Acts. The convention was later to be called the Continental Congress. -
First Continental Congress
The first Continental Congress met in Carpenter's Hall in Philadelphia to show a combined authority to Great Britain, but their aims were not uniform. Some colonies sought peace with England, some were defensive of colonial rights, and others prepared for separation. -
Second Continental Congress
The Second Continental Congress convened in Philadelphia to discuss how the colonists would meet the military threat of the British. It was agreed that a Continetal Army would be created which would be led by George Washington. -
Declaration of Independence
The document approved by representatives of the American colonies in 1776 that stated their grievances against the British monarch and declared their indeoendence. -
Shay's rebellion
The crisis of the 1780s was most intense in the rural and relatively newly settled areas of central and western Massachusetts. Many farmers in this area suffered from high debt as they tried to start new farms. As a result local sheriffs seized many farms and some farmers who couldn't pay their debts were put in prison. These conditions led to the first major armed rebellion in the post-Revolutionary United States under the leadership of Captain Daniel Shays. -
Constitutional Convention
Troubles with the existing Confederation of States convinced the Continental Congress, in February 1787, to call for a convention of delegates to meet in May in Philadelphia "to devise such further provisions as shall appear to them necessary to render the constitution of the Federal Government adequate to the exigencies of the Union." -
Philadelphia Convention
The Philadelphia Convention got underway with a radical decision to throw out the Articles of Confederation and start fresh developing a framework for strengthening the power of the United States’ federal government. It allowed the delegates to shift the powers away from the existing government and begin drafting the United States Constitution. -
Connecticut Compromise
When the Constitutional Convention became deadlocked over the matter of legislative voting, Sherman proposed a system similar to one he had advocated previously as a delegate to the Continental Congress in 1776. The compromise provided for representation in the House of Representatives according to population and in the Senate by equal numbers for each state.
