-
Jun 15, 1215
Magna Carta
The Magna Carta is a document with the purpose of limiting the monarch's powers. It was written by the wealthy nobility (who had limited power over local decisions) in the 1200s. After King, John tried to take all power from the nobles for himself they made him sign the Magna Carta, establishing Parliament. The Magna Carta contained the idea of the rule of law, which ensures that the king and queen are not above the law. The Magna Carta was the beginning of the limitation of the monarchy's power -
Mayflower Compact
The Mayflower Compact was written by Pilgrims on the Mayflower in 1620. Tensions had been high on the ship after a strong storm blew them off course, up the coast to Massachusetts. There was no established government when they arrived, so they exercised self-government and wrote the Mayflower Compact. The Mayflower Compact established a direct democracy where everyone (or every male) voted on issues directly. It additionally ensured that everyone would follow the rules of the government. -
English Bill of Rights
The English Bill of Rights was the next step in establishing parliament (after the Magna Carta). The English bill of rights brought a new wave of democracy, establishing free elections to parliament, including the Brittish people in government. The English Bill of Rights molded Britain to enlightenment era ideas followed in the colonies. They enforced the right to bear arms, petition the government, and to a fair trial; as well as barring excessive bail or fines or cruel and unusual punishment. -
Cato's Letters
Cato's letters were a series of newspaper articles for the dissemination of revolutionary, enlightenment era political ideology to the people of Brittain. Cato's Letters were written by two authors under the pseudonyms "Cato the" Elder and "Cato the Younger".Cato's letters didn't offer new ideas but simply consolidated preexisting ones for a wider demographic. Cato's letters popular, owned by half of the private libraries in colonial America. Cato's Letters discussed freedom of expression. -
French and Indian War
The French and Indian War (aka the Seven Years' War) was a series of territorial disputes/proxy war between British and French colonialists. The French continually crossed over the Ohio River, into land claimed by the British. Brittain declared war in 1756 and fought the French at their well placed Fort Duquesne on the Ohio and Allegheny River. The British were held back by a lack of interest at home. The Brittish eventually declared won Quebec and the Treaty of Paris was signed, ending the war. -
Mercantilism
Mercantilism is the economic ideology prioritizing high export and low import to bring wealth to a country. Mercantilism is enforced by taxing imports and encouraging exports. This is supposed to result in a favorable balance of trade to bring wealth to a country. Mercantilism was popular in imperialist European countries during the 16th century. It was used by Britain to profit off of the American colonies. This resulted in a revolution due to its detrimental effects on the Colonies. -
Stamp Act
The stamp act was the first tax directed at American colonists by British colonists. It taxed pretty much all paper and hit people regardless of economic classes. It was a way for Brittain to recover from the deep debt they were in after fighting the French Indian war. The stamp act was the beginning of colonial resistance to England, as it was such a large tax, and the colonies were still not being represented in parliament. Petitions and articles resisting the stamp act began mounting. -
Declaratory Act
The Declaratory Act was a document by parliament stating their same right to tax in America as in Britain. It was based on the grounds that Parliament represented all brits, so the US didn't need any special representation. It also maintained that parliament has the right to make laws final in "in all cases whatsoever". The Declaratory Act came at a time when the colonies were questioning Britain's authority to tax them. The Declaratory Act proved ineffective in quelling colonists' qualms. -
Townshend Acts
The Townshend Act was a series of laws imposing taxes and restricting freedoms in the US. The Townshend acts taxed imports of paper, paint, tea, glass, and lead. They established an American Customs Board in Boston to collect taxes. They set up new courts in America to prosecute smugglers without the involvement of a local, colonial jury, as well as giving British officials the right to search colonists' houses and businesses. -
Boston Massacre
The Boston Massacre was a riot in Boston Massachusetts caused by tensions between British troops and colonists. On Feb. 22, a British officer attempted to break up a skirmish with a gunshot but accidentally hit an 11-year-old boy, enraging the patriots further. Later that week a group of patriots attacked a soldier. The soldier stabbed a patriot, and more people from both sides joined. The Patriots chanted "no taxation without representation" further cementing the axiom into colonial ideology. -
Tea Act
The tea act was another imposition of authority over the Colonies. Unlike the other acts in America, the Tea act was not made to make revenue from the colonies. It was made to save the failing East India Company (which was integral to the Brittish economy) by allowing that compony to ship directly from their sources to America. Parliament also designated tea distributors which were seen as an imposition of British power. The Tea act rekindled the boycott of tea in America. -
Boston Tea Party
The Boston tea party was the first large scale act of defiance on the part of the colonies. The Patriots dumped 342 chests of tea from the East India Company into the Boston harbor. The East India Company had been the beneficiaries of the Tea Act, so as a manifestation of the colonies' boycott of tea, they targeted the company. The Boston Tea party rallied Patriots across the 13 colonies to rebel against Britain. The Tea Party eventually snowballed into the revolutionary war. -
Intolerable Act/ Coercive Act
The intolerable Acts were a set of acts passes by Britain after the Boston tea party. The laws were intended as a punishment for the Colonies' rebellion. The laws took away self-governance from the Colonies and caused outrage. The intolerable acts were also called the coercive acts because they were meant to coerce the Colonies into submitting to British authoritarian rule. The intolerable acts were some of the last taxes passed by Britain on the colonies before the outrage became a revolution. -
First Continental Congress
The First Continental Congress served as the government for the Colonies and included George Washington, John Adams, John Jay, and others. It was made up of one delegate from the each of the 13 colonies. It convened in Philidelphia in response to the Coercive Acts. It was an effort to organize colonial resistance to parliament's intolerable acts. The Congress issued a Declaration of Rights which agreed to be loyal to Brittain but arguing against Brittain's right to tax the Colonies. -
Second Continental Congress
The Second Continental Congress was formed to organize rebellion forces against Brittain. They agreed to form a "Continental Army". George Washington was commissioned to form that army. He chose to serve without pay. At this point, Congress was acting as a full-fledged governing body, with a body for foreign diplomacy. The Congress appealed with king George the fifth for a peaceful resolution. The King refused, declaring the colonies to be in a state of rebellion. Hostilities grew. -
Lexington & Concord
The battles of Lexington and Concord were the first battles of the Revolutionary War. Tensions between the British and Patriots had been rising for years, and on the night of April 18th, 1775, hundreds of British soldiers marched to Concord to stop Patriot forces from growing. Paul Revere sounded the alarm and the Patriot troops began mobilizing to intercept the redcoats. Many battles ensued, and 340 soldiers died. Lexington and Concord raised the morals of an uncertain nation facing a war. -
Common Sense
Common sense was written by Thoman Paine in the years prior to 1776 (when it was published). It is a collection of the enlightenment ideals of the revolutionary war. Common sense was responsible for disseminating those enlightenment ideas (such as freedom of expression, popular sovereignty, and inalienable rights). Common Sense uses accessible, common sense language that the everyday person could understand, thus its name. Common sense marked a turning point in colonists' view of the monarchy. -
Declaration of Independance
The Declaration of independence was the official beginning of the United States' fight for independence from Brittain. It contained the constitution for the United States of America. It included a bill of rights rooted in ideas of limited government, inalienable rights and freedoms, and an awareness of how detrimental a totalitarian government can be. Gradually states began to sign the Declaration of Independence until all 13 had signed. With that, the Revolutionary war was in full swing.
