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Jun 15, 1215
Magna Carta
the magna carta was an agreement between king john and a group of english barons in response to years of the king’s misrule and excessive taxation. no one exactly knows who wrote the document. -
Jamestown Settlement
america’s first permanent english colony,1 3 years before the pilgrims landed at plymouth in massachusetts. a series of cultural encounters that helped shape the nation and the world. the government, language, customs, beliefs and aspirations of these early virginians are all part of the us'sculture today. -
Mayflower Compact written
the "mayflower compact" was signed onboard the mayflower shortly after she came to anchor off provincetown harbor. the pilgrims had obtained permission from english authorities to settle in virginia. -
Petition of Right
petition sent by the english parliament to king charles I complaining of a series of breaches of law. -
English Bill of Rights
an act of parliament, guaranteed certain rights of the citizens of england from the power of the crown. the bill of rights was later added on by the act of settlement in 1701. -
Albanty Plan of Union
the albany plan of union was a plan to place the british north american colonies under a more centralized government. representatives from seven of the british north american colonies adopted the plan. the albany plan was the first important proposal to conceive of the colonies as a collective whole united under one government -
Stamp Act
tax was imposed on all american colonists and required them to pay a tax on every piece of printed paper they used. ship's papers, legal documents, licenses, newspapers, other publications, and even playing cards were taxed. -
Boston Massacre
the boston massacre was a street fight between a so ccalled patriot mob, throwing snowballs, stones, and sticks, and a group of british soldiers. several colonists were killed and this led to a campaign by speech writers. -
Boston Tea Party
the boston tea party was a direct protest by colonists in boston against the tea tax that had been imposed by the British government. Boston patriots, dressed as Mohawk Indians, raided three British ships in Boston harbor and dumped 342 containers of tea into the harbor. -
Intolerable Acts
the last of a series of acts levied by the british that sparked outrage among the american colonists, who called for an intercolonial conference that eventually became known as the first continental congress. from there events spiraled into the american revolutionary war. -
First Continental Congress
was a meeting of delegates from twelve of the thirteen colonies that met on september 5 to october 26, 1774 at carpenters' hall in philadelphia, pennsylvania, early in the american revolution. -
Second Continental Congress
was a convention of delegates from the thirteen colonies that started meeting in the summer of 1775, in philadelphia, pennsylvania. soon after warfare in the american revolutionary war had begun. -
American Revolution begins
tensions between the american colonies and the british government approached the breaking point, especially in massachusetts, where patriot leaders formed a shadow revolutionary government and trained militias to prepare for armed conflict with the british troops in boston. -
Declaration of Independence
the declaration of Independence justified our right to revolt against a government that no longer guaranteed us our natural rights. -
Articles of Confederation
the representatives of the thirteen states agree to create a confederacy called the usa, in which each state maintains its own sovereignty and all rights to govern, except those rights specifically granted to congress. -
Shay's Rebellion
the economic crisis caused by the war debts incurred during the revolutionary war led to the introduction of a high poll tax, based on the same head tax, regardless of income. gold and silver was scarce and paper money was printed which quickly devalued. -
Connecticut Compromise
the connecticut compromise resolved a conflict between big states and small states at the constitutional convention. without it, the constitution would not have been passed. -
Philadelphia Convention
the constitutional convention in philadelphia addressed the problems of the weak central government that existed under the articles of confederation. The united states constitution that emerged from the convention established a federal government with more specific powers, including those related to conducting relations with foreign governments. -
Constitutional Convention
addressed the 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 proponents, chief among them james madison and alexander hamilton, was to create a new government rather than fix the existing one.
