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Jun 15, 1215
Magna Carta
A charter of liberty and political rights obtained from King John of England by his rebellious barons at Runnymede Magna Carta was arguably the most significant early influence on the extensive historical process that led to the rule of constitutional law today in the English speaking world.
- Magna Carta influenced the development of the common law and many constitutional documents, including the United States Constitution. -
Jan 10, 1295
Parliament Begins
The Model Parliament of 1295 was England’s first legally elected legislature. Each county elected two knights, and each borough two burgesses, and each city two citizens. -
House of Burgesses
The lower house of the colonial Virginia legislature. -
Mayflower Compact
The Mayflower Compact was the first governing document of Plymouth Colony. It was written by the colonists, later together known to history as the Pilgrims, who crossed the Atlantic aboard the Mayflower -
Glorious revolution
English Revolution: the revolution against James II; there was little armed resistance to William and Mary in England although battles were fought in Scotland and Ireland (1688-1689) -
English Bill of Rights
n act passed by Parliament in 1689 which limited the power of the monarch. This document established Parliament as the most powerful branch of the English government. -
Common Law
The part of English law that is derived from custom and judicial precedent rather than statutes. Often contrasted with statutory law -
Stamp Act
An act of the British Parliament in 1756 that exacted revenue from the American colonies by imposing a stamp duty on newspapers and legal and commercial documents. Colonial opposition led to the act's repeal in 1766 and helped encourage the revolutionary movement against the British Crown -
intolerable acts
The Intolerable Acts or the Coercive Acts are names used to describe a series of five laws passed by the British Parliament in 1774 relating to Britain's colonies in North America. -
First Continental Congress
The First Continental Congress was a convention of delegates from twelve of the thirteen North American colonies that met on September 5, 1774, at Carpenters' Hall in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, early in the American Revolution. -
Second Coninental Congress
The Second Continental Congress was a convention of delegates from the Thirteen Colonies that met beginning on May 10, 1775, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, soon after warfare in the American Revolutionary War had begun -
Articles of Confederation
The Articles of Confederation and Perpetual Union, customarily referred to as the Articles of Confederation, was the first constitution of the United States of America and specified how the national government was to operate. -
Shays Rebellion
Shays' Rebellion was an armed uprising in central and western Massachusetts (mainly Springfield) from 1786 to 1787. The rebellion is named after Daniel Shays, a veteran of the American Revolution who led the rebels, known as "Shaysites" or "Regulators". -
Constitutional convention
the convention of United States statesmen who drafted the United States Constitution in 1787 -
Great Compromise
The Connecticut Compromise (also known as the Great Compromise of 1787 or Sherman's Compromise) was an agreement between large and small states reached during the Constitutional Convention of 1787 that in part defined the legislative structure and representation that each state would have -
Federalist Papers
A collection of essays written under the pseudonym “Publius” by Alexander Hamilton, John Jay, and James Madison, addressed to “The People of the State of New York,” first published in New York City newspapers between October 1787 and August 1788. The purpose of The Federalist was to persuade New Yorkers to ratify the Constitution adopted in Philadelphia in September 1787 -
Constitution ratified by 2/3 of the states
The oldest federal constitution in existence was framed by a convention of delegates from twelve of the thirteen original states in Philadelphia in May 1787, Rhode Island failing to send a delegate. George Washington presided over the session, which lasted until September 17, 1787. The draft (originally a preamble and seven Articles) was submitted to all thirteen states and was to become effective when ratified by nine states. It went into effect on the first Wednesday in March 1789, having been -
Bill of Rights
- A statement of the rights of a class of people, in particular.
- The first ten amendments to the US Constitution.
