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1215
Magna Carta
An agreement between the nobles and the king. it took power away from the king and gave more rights to the people (nobles). Main ideas in the Magna Carta are: rule of law, rights and limited government. -
Mayflower Compact
The signed agreement between the men on the Mayflower going to the Americas. It was an agreement that the government that they set up would serve the people and work for the greater good of the colony. -
English Bill Of Rights
This document expanded on the rights of the parliament and the people while limiting the power of the monarch even more. -
Cato's letters
this was a collection of newspaper articles that argued against the king's heavy-handed rule. -
French and Indian War
Also known as the seven years war, this conflict between France and Britain was an important part of the history in Europe. -
Mercantilism
the economic theory that trade generates wealth and is stimulated by the accumulation of profitable balances, which a government should encourage by means of protectionism. -
Stamp act
An act from the British Parliament that gained money from the American colonies by imposing a stamp tax on newspapers and legal and commercial documents. Anger in the colonies led to the act's repeal in 1766 and helped encourage the revolutionary movement against the Crown. -
Declaratory Act
The Declaratory Act was a measure issued by the British Parliament asserting its authority to make laws binding the colonists “in all cases whatsoever” including the right to tax. -
Townshend Acts
A series of four acts passed by the British Parliament in an attempt to assert what it considered to be its historic right to exert authority over the colonies through strict provisions for the collection of taxes. The British American colonists named the acts after Charles Townshend, who sponsored them. -
Boston Massacre
It was a riot on King Street in Boston. It began as a street brawl between American colonists and one British soldier but quickly escalated to a chaotic, bloody slaughter. -
Tea Act
The tea act granted the British East India Company Tea a monopoly on tea sales in the American colonies. -
Boston Tea Party
The Boston Tea Party was a political and mercantile protest by the Sons of Liberty in Boston, Massachusetts -
Intolerable/ Coercive Act
They were a package of five laws implemented by the British government with the purpose of restoring authority in its colonies. The first four Acts were passed as reprisal for the rebellion against the 1773 Tea Act that led to the Boston Tea Party Protest. -
First Continental Congress
The First Continental Congress was a meeting of delegates from 12 of the 13 British colonies that became the United States. -
Second continental congress
The First Continental Congress was called to address grievances against the British government. The Second Continental Congress was initially called for the same reason, but once it voted to declare independence it acted as the defacto government of an independent nation. -
Lexington and Concord
The Battles of Lexington and Concord were the first military engagements of the American Revolutionary War. The battles were fought on April 19, 1775 in Middlesex County, Province of Massachusetts Bay, within the towns of Lexington, Concord, Lincoln, Menotomy, and Cambridge. -
Common Sense
Common Sense was a pamphlet written by Thomas Paine in 1775–1776 advocating independence from Great Britain to people in the Thirteen Colonies. -
Declaration of independence!
The Declaration of Independence states the principles on which our government, and our identity as Americans, are based. Unlike the other founding documents, the Declaration of Independence is not legally binding.
