Government Chp. 2 Timeline

Magna Carta

Jun 15, 1215

King John was forced to sign this document in order to not be killed. This document made the king rule under feudal law and unable to abuse power over his citizens.

Jamestown settled

Oct 2, 1607

Three English ships sailed from England to Virginia. The crown wanted to find gold as the Spaniards did in years past in South America.

Mayflower Compact written

Nov 11, 1620

This was the first governing document of the Plymouth Colony. It was signed by 41 settlers and was to "prevent dissent" among Puritan and non-Separatist pilgrims.

Petition of Right

Jun 7, 1628

Sir Edward Coke came up with this petition after King Charles I had broken up Britain's Parliament to remind him of natural rights. These rights included due process, protection of property, and unjust imprisonment.

English Bill of Rights

Dec 16, 1689

This was passed after James II was deposed. It said no armies should be raised in peacetime, there should be free elections, prevented cruel and unusual punishment, and members should have freedom of speech in Parliament.

Albany Plan of Union

Jul 10, 1754

This was a plan adopted by seven representatives that never passed to put the colonies under a more central leading. They were supposed to create a council with Britain selecting a "president."

Stamp Act

Mar 22, 1765

A Parliamentary document passed to raise taxes on everything printed (legal documents, playing cards, etc) to fund troops protecting near the Appalachian Mountains. This was the first form of taxes to raise money and the colonists didn't want more of it, so they rebelled.

Boston Massacre

Mar 5, 1770

This was the climax of tension from the Townsend Acts's taxes. British soldiers had come to the colonies and this event was some of them killing five American innocents.

Boston Tea Party

Dec 16, 1773

Samuel Adams and the Sons of Liberty got on three ships and dumped over 342 chests of tea. This was due to British Parliament enforcing taxes on colonists to help the East India Company.

First Continental Congress

Sep 5, 1774

A meeting of twelve delegates of colonies (not including Georgia) that lasted about a month in Pennsylvania due to the Intolerable Acts. There was no clear goal, but it was determined that grievances must be shown to the King and Parliament. Later, this led to colonists not importing British goods.

Intolerable Acts

Sep 30, 1774

This was Britain's way of punishing colonists for throwing tea into the harbor. Only food and firewood were allowed to be shipped in. Town meetings weren't allowed and British governor power rose.

Second Continental Congress

May 30, 1775

This time all thirteen delegates were there.They met after the Revolutionary War started. In this Congress, they moved to making the US independent from Britain.

American Revolution begins

Oct 2, 1775

There is no exact reason why this started, but the colonists wanted to be treated as well as the Englishmen.The British thought the colonies were for the sole purpose of the crown.

Declaration of Independence

Jul 4, 1776

This was created by Thomas Jefferson, John Adams, Benjamin Franklin, and fellow leaders. This was the first political document in favor of supporting citizens. This completely cut all ties with the British monarchy.

Article of Confederation

Nov 15, 1777

This was an agreement made by the thirteen states, creating a confederacy. This later will be replaced by the Constitution.

Shay's Rebellion

Oct 2, 1786

This was particularly in Massachusetts where burgeoning farmers had massive debts. The government in that state didn't seem to care by trying to financially aid them. Daniel Shays took struggling farmers and led them to forcefully close courts and break out indebted farmers. They were armed.

Constitution Convention

May 25, 1787

Delegates from every state (except Rhode Island) came to the Philadelphia State House. No media was allowed and it wasn't recorded. Here, they came up with the Virginia (votes based on population) and New Jersey Plan (each state having an equal number of votes), but settled on the Connecticut Compromise.

Philedelphia Convention

May 30, 1787

Colonists realized the Articles of Confederation weren't good enough. The Contitental Congress had virtually no hold over taxes or courts or individual people. Each state was doing their own thing. So they called on 52 delegates (half were lawyers) to revise the document.

Connecticut Compromise

Oct 2, 1787

This was made at the Constitution Convention. It said each state would have equal votes for the Senate and proportional votes for the House.