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Revolutionary War
It was started over the Stamp Act, which the colonists thought to be unconstitutional. They then decided to fight for complete seperation from Great Britain. They won their independence on July 4th, 1776. -
Declaration of Independence
This is when the thirteen colonies declared themselves free from Great Britain after the War for Independence. This date is now celebrated every year as the birth of the United States. -
Shay's Rebellion
After the Revolutionary War, there was a disagreement between the New England Farmers and the merchants, who threatened to throw the nation into a civil war. In 1787 a new governor was elected with an economic uprising, and the rebellions died down and eventually went away. also, stopped by force. -
Constitutional Conventions
This was the first Convention, which is known as the Philadelphia Convention which was supposed to amend the Articles of Confederation. The goal was to create a new government. The result of this Convention was the Constitution of the United States. -
Ratification of the Constitution
For the Constitution to be ratified, only nine of thirteen states had to ratify it, as stated by the Articles of Confederation. It took a year of state ratification battles, but was put into place and accepted on September 13th of 1788. It was first put in use in New York City on March 4th of 1789. -
Bill of Rights Ratification
The Bill Rights consisted of the first ten amendments of the Constitution. It was not ratified by all states until 1939 when they were urged to becasue of the 150th anniversary of the passing of Congress. This Bill of Rights limited the powers of Congress -
Articles of Confederation
It was an agreement between the 13 states, and was basically our version of the Constitution. There was not a president, no judiciaries, no tax base, and no executive agencies.
