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1600 BCE
Irquios League
This was a league of several Native American nations that were all held together by one constitution. This constitution is said to have been the model for the United States Constitution. The League broke apart in 1784. -
Virginia Colony
Instructions for the Virginia Colony were written. They were very precise on what the settlers were to do upon potentially landing, and they also were written with the fear of failure from past attempts clearly shown. The importance of this document was that it was what the settlers had to use to live by, it provided the basics. -
Jamestown Established
Jamestown was the first English settlement. This is where the story of Pocahontas, Powhatan, and John Rolfe, and John Smith began. Before the marriage of the two, there was a lot of fighting between the local tribe Algonquians and the townsmen. After the marriage there was a brief period of peace. -
Dutch Deliver Slaves
The Dutch transport the first slaves of Virginia. -
Mayflower
The Mayflower weighs anchor off the coast of Cape Cod, the ship brought the first round of pilgrims to The New World. The ship endured a 66 day voyage with one death, and one life. -
Mayflower Contract
The contract was created to prevent any disagreement between the passengers of the Mayflower upon landing, its main point was to keep people from deserting the colony. This document was the first written form of government established in the U.S.. It was also written before the ship anchored. -
First Thanksgiving
First unofficial thanksgiving. The first Thanksgiving was held in Plymouth. The holiday to Native Americans, is not celebrated but a reminder of the betrayal and bloodshed. Since 1970, many native people gather at the statue of Massasoit in Plymouth, Massachusetts each Thanksgiving Day to remember their ancestors and the strength of the Wampanoag -
Charter of New England
This charter allowed for plantations to be built in 34* and 35*, it was also used to advance the Christian religion. -
Puritan Movement
John Winthrop led a migration of over 900 Puritans to Massachusetts Bay. He then went on to become the first governor in Boston, later that September. -
Anne Hucthinson
Anne arrived in Boston, and was quickly criticized for her Religious views, she believed religion should be about the-self and not the Church. -
Harvard
Harvard was founded in Cambridge Massachusetts. It was and currently is one of the leading schools in the world. It was named after John Harvard, its first benefactor. Upon death he left his library and half of his estate. -
Anne Hutchinson Continued
After spreading her beliefs Anne was banished from Boston and later was later killed in a massacre. -
Printing Press Cambridge Massachusetts
The first colonial printing press allowed the people of the New World to have many newspapers printed a day, allowing for news to be more widespread. It also increased the amount of news that was made. -
English Civil War
The war occurred between the Royalists of King Charles the I, and the Parliamentary Army. Eventually the Royalists lost, and King Charles was beheaded. This had a major impact on the New World. -
Religious Heresy
Massachusetts created a law which ordained any heresy against the Church would be made punishable by death. -
Maryland Toleration Act
The act is supposed to have brought complete religious freedom but it did not, instead the act only protected the shrinking Catholic minority of the town. The catholic people were afraid of ill-treatment from the Puritans, it was also done as a nod at the English Government. -
Slavery Law Enforced
Maryland passes a law that creates a life of slavery for all black people. Before, blacks could be released from slavery if they did certain things such as convert to Christianity. After Maryland passed this law, it was later adopted in other states along the coast. -
New York Burned
The French burn New York, due to a war started by King William. The war, was between the French and the English, and it spilled over in into Schenectady, New York. The city was burned with the aide of the local Native American Tribes. -
Benjamin Franklin
Ben was born in Boston, Massachusetts. He became one of the signers of the Declaration of Independence and he was the first to configure electricity. -
Salem Witch Trials
The Salem Witch Trials, had a large affect upon the populace of Salem, the trials began during the spring of 1692, after a group of young girls in Salem Village, Massachusetts, claimed to be possessed by the devil and accused several local women of witchcraft. The townspeople were very terrified and they used their terror as an excuse to kill many.
