Government Timeline

  • 1215

    Magna Carta

    Magna Carta
    King John signed Magna Carta. Shifted England to rule of law rather than rule of man.
  • Petition of Rights

    Required monarchs to obtain Parliamentary approval before levying taxes. Couldn't unlawfully imprison people.
  • Civil War

    Civil War
    Caused by conflict between Charles and Parliament. Charles defeated and beheaded.
  • William and Mary

    William and Mary were chosen to rule, but were forced to govern according to statues of Parliament.
  • English Bill of Rights

    English Bill of Rights
    English Bill of Rights is passed including free speech and protection from cruel and unusual punishment.
  • Sugar Act

    Sugar Act
    The act increased duties on non-British goods shipped to the colonies
  • Stamp Act

    Stamp Act
    required colonists to pay for stamps to be affixed to various documents and items
  • Boston Massacre

    Boston Massacre
    British soldiers fired into crowd and killed 5 colonists.
  • Boston Tea Party

    Boston Tea Party
    dumped all 342 chests of tea from Britain into the water.
  • Intolerable Acts

    Intolerable Acts
    a series of five laws passed by the British Parliament in 1774 in response to the Boston Tea Party and colonial resistance to British rule
  • Declaration of Independence signed by delegates

    Declaration of Independence signed by delegates
    Declaration of Independence is signed by the delegates to the Second Continental Congress
  • Articles of Confederation Ratified

    Articles of Confederation Ratified
    AOC ratified by all 13 states
  • Northwest Ordinance

    Northwest Ordinance
    established a government for the Northwest Territory, which included the area west of the Appalachian Mountains and east of the Mississippi River
  • US Constitution

    US Constitution
    US Constitution was signed by delegates to the Constitutional Convention.
  • Bill of Rights

    Bill of Rights
    Bill of Rights was ratified. Convinced the Anti-Federalists to approve of the Constitution.
  • 11th Amendment Ratified

    11th Amendment Ratified
    limits the ability of individuals to sue states in federal court if they are not citizens of that state.
  • Marbury v. Madison

    established judicial review
  • 12th amendment ratified

    12th amendment ratified
    The 12th Amendment established a procedure for electing the president and vice president
  • McCulloch v. Maryland

    implied powers and federal supremacy.
  • Gibbons v. Ogden

    Gibbons v. Ogden
    The Court held that it is the role of the federal government to regulate commerce and that state governments cannot develop their own commerce-regulating laws.
  • Seneca Falls Convention

    to discuss and advocate for the rights of women in society, religion, and politics
  • Dred Scott v. Sandford

    Congress could not prohibit slavery in territories, and African Americans also had no right to sue in federal court.
  • 13th amendment ratified

    13th amendment ratified
    abolished slavery in the United States
  • 14th amendment ratified

    14th amendment ratified
    It granted citizenship to all people born or naturalized in the United States
  • 15th amendment ratified

    15th amendment ratified
    prohibits states from denying the right to vote to any citizen based on race, color, or previous condition of servitude.
  • Chinese Exclusion Act

    Chinese Exclusion Act
    It prohibited Chinese laborers from immigrating for 10 years
  • Plessy v. Ferguson

    upheld the constitutionality of racial segregation laws, establishing the "separate but equal" doctrine
  • 16th amendment ratified

    16th amendment ratified
    Allows Congress to levy an income tax without apportioning it among the states based on population
  • 17th amendment ratified

    17th amendment ratified
    provided for the direct election of U.S. senators by the voters
  • Schenck v. United States

    best known for creating the "clear and present danger" test meaning that speech could be restricted if it presented a clear and present danger.
  • 18th amendment ratified

    18th amendment ratified
    prohibited the production, sale, and transportation of alcohol in the United States
  • 19th amendment ratified

    19th amendment ratified
    prohibits the government from restricting the right to vote based on sex
  • Indian Citizenship Act of 1924

    giving citizenship to all American Indians born in the United States
  • 20th amendment ratified

    20th amendment ratified
    changed the start and end dates of presidential and congressional terms.
  • 21st amendment ratified

    21st amendment ratified
    It repealed the previous Eighteenth Amendment which had established a nationwide ban on the manufacture, sale, and transportation of alcohol
  • 22nd amendment ratified

    limits the number of terms a president can serve to two
  • Brown v. Board of Education

    A unanimous Court overturned Plessy v. Ferguson and held that state laws requiring or allowing racially segregated schools violate the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment.
  • Civil Rights Act of 1960

    a federal law that strengthened voting rights and addressed other civil rights issues
  • 23rd amendment ratified

    permitted citizens of Washington, D.C., the right to choose electors in presidential elections
  • Equal Pay act of 1963

    Equal Pay act of 1963
  • 24th amendment ratified

    24th amendment ratified
    It abolished and forbids the federal and state governments from imposing taxes on voters during federal elections.
  • Miranda v. Arizona

    Miranda v. Arizona
    the Court found that the Fifth and Sixth Amendments require police to inform individuals in custody that they have a right to remain silent and to be assisted by an attorney.
  • 25th amendment ratified

    set forth succession rules relating to vacancies and disabilities of the office of the president and of the vice president
  • 26th amendment ratified

    26th amendment ratified
    lowered the minimum voting age to 18 for all elections, state and federal
  • Roe v. Wade

    The Court held that, under the Fourteenth Amendment Due Process Clause, states may only restrict abortions toward the end of a pregnancy, in order to protect the life of the woman or the fetus.
  • War Powers Resolution

    War Powers Resolution
    a federal law that limits the president's power to commit the U.S. to armed conflict without congressional consent
  • Indian Self-Discrimination and education Assistance Act of 1975

    allowed Native American groups to control federally funded programs in their communities
  • Tennessee v. Garner

    ruled that police officers may not use deadly force to stop a fleeing suspect unless they have probable cause to believe the suspect poses a significant threat of serious injury or death.
  • Graham v. Connor

    established a standard for determining whether a police officer's use of force was reasonable
  • 27th amendment ratified

    27th amendment ratified
    prevents changes to the salary of members of Congress from taking effect until after the next election of the House of Representatives