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Jun 15, 1215
Magna Carta
It was written by a group of 13th century barons to protect their rights and property from King John. It required King John to proclaim liberties for all. During the American Revolution, it served to inspire and justify action in liberty's defense. It was used as a basis for the U.S. Constitution and the Bill of Rights. -
Jamestown Settled
The Virginia Company of London sent an expedition to establish a Virginia Colony in December 1606. After more than four months, 104 men and boys along with crew members arrived in Virginia--no women were allowed on the first ships. Malaria struck killing 1/3 of the men. There was little food and natives attacked and killed many. More ships were sent to Virginia containing supplies, workers, and women. John Smith became the very first government leader in Virginia. -
Mayflower Compact Written
It stated that the Pilgrims made their voyage to America in order to obtain religious freedom. They wanted "just and equal laws...for the general good of the colony" without declaring independence from England. The Pilgrims claimed the power of self government in the heart of democracy. It followed the Magna Carta as an idea of a law made by the people. -
Petition of Rights
It was a major English Constitutional document that set out specific liberties of the citizens that the king is prohibited from infringing on. These included restricions on non-parlimentary taxation, forced billeting of soldiers, imprisonment without cause, and the use of martial law. It is seen as the basis of the Third, Fifth, Sixth, and Seventh Amendments to the U.S. Constitution. -
English Bill of Rights
It laid out certain basic rights for Englishmen: no royal interference with the law, no taxation by Royal Perogative, freedom to petition the monarch, no standing army, no royal interference with freedom to have arms, no royal interferene with the election of members of parliament, freedom of speech, etc. It was accompanied by the Magna Carta and the Petition of Rights. -
Albany Plan of Union
It was a plan proposed by Benjamin Franklin at the Albany Congress in Albany NY. Franklin wanted to create a colonial confederation that would levy taxes, regulate the Indian Trade, and establish an army and navy during the French and Indian War. After the Revolutionary War, it served as an inspirational primer to the Articles of Confederation. -
Stamp Act
It was a direct tax imposed by the British Parliament on printed materials: legal documents, playing cards, and newspapers. The purpose of the tax was to help pay for troops stationed in North America. Colonists felt that their rights were violated by the Stamp Act. This upset led to an organized colonial resistance. This resulted in a strong foundation for the Revolutionary War. -
Boston Massacre
It was a streetfight between a "patriot" mob and a squad of British soliders. The soldiers shot and killed three people and wounded others--two of which died several days later. This was a signal event leading to the Revolutionary War. -
Boston Tea Party
Britain's East India Trading Company was on the verge of bancruptcy in 1773. In an effort to save it, the government passed the Tea Act of 1773. Colonists objected to the Tea Act because it violated their right to be taxed only by their elected officials. After officials refused to return the taxed tea, Samuel Adams led three companies of fifty men each disguised as Mohawk Indians, in a revolt. The men boarded the ships and dumped all the tea into the harbor. -
Intolerable Acts
These were a series of laws passed by Bristish Parliament relating to the British colonies of North America. They included: The Boston Port Act, The Massachusetts Government Act, The Administration of Justice Act, The Quebec Act, and the Quarting Act. Many citizens felt that these laws violated their rights and formed the First Continental Congress. -
First Continental Congress
It was a convention of delagates from 12 British North American colonies that met in Carpenter's Hall in Philidelphia. It was called forth in response to the Intolerable Acts which had punished Boston for the Boston Tea Party. The Congress briefly concidered the options of an economic boycott British Trade and petitioning King George III to redress the grievances they had. -
American Revolution Begins
It began with a the Battles of Lexington and Concord. Minutemen including Paul Revere, William Dawes, and Dr. Samuel Prescott rode into the night to warn citizens that 700 hundred British troops had been deported from Boston with ordes from General Thomas Gage to search for and seize colonial munitions in the town of Concord. In Lexington, citizens gathered and fought the British resulting in 8 dead colonists. The British searched Concord, and on their trip back to Boston were ambushed. -
Second Continental Congress
It was a meeting of the 13 original colonies in Philidelphia, Pennsylvania soon after warfare in the Revolutionary war had begun. The congress focused on forming an independent nation and adopted the U.S. Declaration of Independence. The congress became known as the Congress of Confederation. -
Declaration of Independence
It was written by Thomas Jefferson in 1776. It declared the United States Independence from Britian. It states that all men are created equal and that they are endowed by their creator with certain unalienable rights: life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. -
Articles of Confederation
It was an agreement among by the 13 founding states that established the first U.S. Constitution. It provided a much stronger national government with a cheif executive, courts, and taxing powers. -
Shay's Rebellion
It was an uprising that took place in central and western Massachusetts led by Daniel Shays. It started because of financial difficulties brought about by a post war economic depression, a credit squeeze caused by lack of currency, and fiscally harsh government polices instituted to solve the state's debt problems. Protesters shut down county courts to stop judicial hearings for tax and debt collection. A militia arose in attempt to seize the federal Springfield Armory resulting in four deaths. -
Connecticut Compromise
The compromise reached at the Constitutional Convention that established two houses of Congress: the House of Representatives, in which representation is based on a state's share of the U.S. population, and the Senate, in which each state has two representatives. -
Constitutional Convention
The meeting called forth to debate over the New Jersey Plan and the Virginia Plan. The issue was settled with the Connecticut Compromise. -
Philadelphia Convention
It was a meeting called forth to address problems governing under the Articles of Confederation. The result of the Convention was United States Constitution.
