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Jun 15, 1215
Magna Carta
Established the principle that everyone is subject to the law, even the king, and guarantees the rights of individuals, the right to justice and the right to a fair trial -
Jamestown Settled
The settling of Jamestown was the first English settlement in North America. -
Mayflower Compact written
The first governing document written by colonist of the Plymouth Colony for fair and equal laws -
Petition of Right
Composed by the English parliament because the people wanted more say and power -
English Bill of Rights
Creates separation of powers, limits the powers of the king and queen, and enhances the democratic election -
Albany Plan of Union
Plan to unite the American colonies in a way that had never been done before. Although it failed, it foreshadowed the unification of the United States in the future -
Stamp Act
A law passed by parliament to tax all paper in order to help British troops stationed in the colonies during the Seven Years' War -
Boston Massacre
A street fight between a "patriot" mob that left 5 civilians dead at the hands of the British Redcoats, which also sparked the colonists' desire for American independence -
Boston Tea Party
Direct protest by colonists in Boston against the Tea tax that had been imposed by the British government -
Intolerable Acts
Punitive laws passed by the British Parliament after the Boston Tea Party in order to punish the Massachusetts colonist for their defiance -
First Continental Congress
Meeting of delegates from 12 of the 13 British colonies that became the United States. They ultimately agreed to impose an economic boycott on British trade, and they drew up a Petition to the King pleading for redress of their grievances and repeal of the Intolerable Acts. -
American Revolution begins
The "gunshot heard round the world" which signaled the start of the American Revolution -
Second Continental Congress
The congress which authorized the issuance of the Declaration of Independence and then after formed an army of their own -
Declaration of Independence
The official document which declared the American colonies' independence from Britain. It was the start of the United States -
Articles of Confederation
First constitution of the United States which specified the functions of the national government after the US declared independence from Britain -
American Revolution ends
The ending of the Revolutionary war with effective American victory, followed by formal British abandonment of any claims to the United States with the Treaty of Paris in 1783 -
Shay's Rebellion
Organized protests by farmers in western Massachusetts against the debt and tax collection practices of the state's government -
Connecticut Compromise
Also known as the Great Compromise, was the agreement that state representation be based on population -
Philadelphia Convention
Convention intended to revise the Articles of Confederation, however, resulted in the creation of a new government- the US Constitution
