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Jun 15, 1215
Magna Carta
The Charter of english political and civil liberties granted by King John at Runnymede, the Magna Carta is a document or piece of legislation that serves as a guarantee of basic rights. It's a Latin term that means Great Charter in English. It recognizes the rights and privileges of the Baron, church, and freeman. -
Jamestown Settled
First successful English settlement on the mainland of North America. Named for King James of England. -
Mayflower Compact was written
First governed document of Plymouth colony. Written by the Separatists fleeing from religious persecution by King James. Traveled aboard the Mayflower in 1620 along with adventures, Tradesmen, and Servants, most of whom were referred to as "strangers." -
Petition of Right
"In English law, a petition of right was a remedy available to subjects to recover property from the Crown." Before the Crown Proceedings Act 1947, the British Crown could not be sued in contract. However, as it was seen to be desirable that Crown contractors could obtain redress, least they be inhibited from taking on such work, the petition of right came to be used in such situations, especially after the Petitions of Right Act 1860 simplified the process. -
English Bill of Rights
An act of the Parliament of England passed in statutory form of the Declaration of right presented bt the convention Parliament to William and Mary in March 1689 inviting them to limits on the powers of the crown and sets out the rights of Parliament and rules for freedom of speech in Parliament. -
Albany Plan of Union
A meeting of reps from the northern 7 of 13 colonies. Reps met daily in Albany, New York to discuss better relations with the Indian tribes and common defensive measures against the French, given tentions that led to the French and Indian War, the North American front of the 7 year war between Great Britain and France. -
American Revolution Begins
Political upheaval during the last half of the 18th century. The 13 colonies joined together to break from the British Empire, combining to become the United States of America. -
Stamp Act
Imposed a direct tax by the British Parliament and it required that many printed materials (News papers, magazines, etc.) in the colonies be produced on stamped paper produced in London, carrying an embassed revenue stamo. The purpose of the tax was to help pay for troops stationed in North America after the British victory in the Seven Years' War. -
Boston Massacre
An incident when British Army soldiers killed 5 civilian men and injured 6. British troops had been stationed in Boston Since 1768 in order to protect & support crown-appointed colonial officials attempting to enforce unpopular Parliamentary legislation. -
Boston Tea Party
A political protest by the Sons of Liberty in Boston against the tax policy of the British Government and the East India Company that controlled all the tea imported into the colonies. On December 16, 1773, after officials in Boston refussed to return 3 ship loads of taxed tea to Britian, a group of colonists got on the ship and dumped the tea in the Boston Harbor. -
First Continental Congress
A convention of delegates from 12 colonies (not including Georgia) that met at Carpenter's Hall in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It was called in response to the passage of the Coercive Acts by the British Parliament. The Intolerable Acts (Same thing) had published Boston for the Boston Tea Party. -
Intolerable Acts
Patriot name for a series of punitive laws passed by British Parliament in 1774 relating to Massachusetts after the Boston Tea Party. The acts stripped Mass. of self-government and historic rights, triggering outrage and resistance in the 13 colonies. They were key developments in the outbreak of the American Revolution in 1775. -
Second Continental Congress
A convention of delegates from the 13 colonies that started meeting in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, soon after warfare in the American Revolutionary War begun. Managed the Colonial war effort, and moved incremetally towards independence, adopting the United States Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1775. By raising armies, directing strategy, appointing diplomats, and making formal treaties, the congress acted as the de facto national government of what became the United States. -
Declaration of Independence
A statement adopted by the Continental Congress which announced that the 13 colonies regarded themselves as independent states and no longer a part of British Empire. They formed a union that would become a new nation- The United States Of America. -
Articles Of Confederation
Written during the Revolutionary War, the Articles of Confederation were written to give the 13 colonies a sense of a unified government. A new document was needed in order for the 13 colonies, turn 13 states, to become a nation. A convention called in 1787 to re-write the Articles decided to draft an entirely new constitution. This led to the writing of the Constitution we know today. -
Shay's Rebellion
An armed uprising that took place in central and western Mass. in 1786 and 1787. The rebellion was named after Daniel Shays, a vet of the American Revolutionary War and one of the rebel leaders. Causes: Financial difficulties, credit squeeze, and fascally harsh government policies. -
Philadelphia Convention
Took place to address problems in governing the United States of America, which had been operating under the Articles of Confederation following independence from Great Britain. Although the convention was intended to revise the Articles of Confederation, the intention from the outset of many of its proponets was to create new government rather than fix the old one. George Washington was elected to preside over it. The U.S. Constitution was born. -
Constitutional Convention
Same as the Philadelphia Convention. Meant to address problems in governing the United States of America, which had been operating under Articles of Confederation following independence from Great Britain. -
Connecticut Compromise
An agreement that large and small states reached during the Constitutional convention of 1787 that in part that each states would have under the United States Constitution retained the bicameral legislature as proposed by Roger, but required the upper house to be weighted equally between the states. Each state has two reps.
