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Revolutionary War
The Revolutionary War began as a fight for independence between the American colonies and Great Britian. The colonies ended up adopting a Declaration of Independence which stated that they were independent from the British government. -
Declaration of Independence
The Declaration of Independence declared that the thirteen American colonies were independent for Britian. This was adopted on July 4, 1776 while the American colonies were at war with Britian. -
Articles of Confederation
The Articles of Confederation, which was the first constitution of the United States, was writen by the Continental Congress on November 15, 1777 and ratified in 1781. The Articles fashioned a confederation in which there were self-governing states and a weak central government. -
Shay's Rebellion
Shay's Rebelion took place durign 1786 in Massachusetts. It consisted of ex-revolutionary war soldiers' who prevented courts from sitting. The war soldiers' were angry because they were being heavily taxed by the state and because of their poor financial situations they could not pay them. -
Constitutional Convention
The Consitutional Convention took place from May 14 to September 17 of 1787 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It was intended to revise the Articles of Confederation, but instead they created a completely new constitution. -
Ratification of the Constitution
The Constitution was completed on September 17, 1787. Nine states were needed to ratify the new constitution. -
Bill of Rights Ratification
On December 15, 1791 the Bill of Rights became Constitutional Amendments. They were ratified by tree-fourths of the States.
