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Jun 15, 1215
Magna Carta
Magna Carta, also known as Great Charter was signed by King John. It was the first formal document stating that the king had to follow the laws of the land and it guaranteed peoples rights that went against the kings wishes. The Magna Carta established that the people of England, could limit the power of the king, if he was doing things that were not good for the country. -
Jamestown Settlement
The Jamestown settlement in the Colony of Virginia was the first permanent English settlement in the Americas. Jamestown was established by the Virginia Company of London as "James Fort" on May 14, 1607 and was considered permanent after brief abandonment in 1610. -
Mayflower Compact
The Mayflower Compact was signed by 41 English colonists on the ship Mayflower, and was first written framework of government established in what is now the United States. The compact was drafted to prevent dissent among Puritans and non-separatist Pilgrims who landed at Plymouth a few days earlier. -
Petition of Right
The Petition of Right is one of England's most famous Constitutional documents. It was written by the Parliament as an objective to an overreach of authority by King Charles I. This petition contained four main points: no taxes could be levied without Parliament's consent, no English subject could be imprisoned without cause, no quartering of soldiers in citizens homes, and no martial law may be used in peacetime. -
English Bill of Rights
The English Bill of Rights is an act that the Parliament of England passed. The Bill creates separations of powers, limits the powers of the queen and king, enhances the democratic election and reinforces freedom of speech. The act also described and condemned several misdeeds of James II of England. -
Albany Plan of Union
The Albany Plan of Union was a plan to create a unified government for the Thirteen Colonies. It was suggested by Benjamin Franklin, then a senior leader and a delegate from Pennsylvania at the Albany Congress. Despite the support of those who attended the Albany Congress, the plan was rejected by King George II and by all the individual colonial governments that considered its adoption. -
Stamp Act
The Stamp Act of 1765 was the first internal tax levied directly on American colonists by the British government. The act imposed a tax on all paper documents in the colonies, came around the time when the British Empire was deep in debt from the Seven Year's War and looking to its North American colonies as a source revenue. -
American Revolution
The American Revolution lasted from 1765-1783. The Thirteen American Colonies rejected the British monarchy and aristocracy, overthrew the authority of Great Britain, and founded the United States of America. The significance of the event was that it was the first time freedom was being fought for. -
Boston Massacre
The Boston Massacre is also known as, the "Incident on King Street," by the British. A squad of British soldiers, come to support a sentry who was being pressed by a heckling, and a snowballing crowd. Three people were killed immediately and two died later of their wounds. One of the victims was Crispus Attucks. The British officer in charge , Thomas Preston was arrested for manslaughter. This is a key event because it was remembered for helping to urge the colonial public to the Patriot cause. -
Boston Tea Party
The Boston Tea Party was a defiant act of protest against taxation. The Sons of Liberty protested in Boston and some were disguised as Native Americans.They boarded three ships in Boston Harbor, smashed in 342 chests of tea, and dumped the whole mess into the harbor. The tea party was the culmination of a resistance movement throughout British America against the Tea Act. The Boston Tea Party was a significant event in the growth of the American Revolution. -
Intolerable Acts
This was a series of laws passed by the British Parliament in 1774 after the Boston Tea Party. These acts were meant to punish the Massachusetts colonists for their defiance of throwing a large tea shipment into Boston Harbor. In Great Britain, these acts were referred as Coercive Acts. The acts took away Massachusetts' self-government and historic rights. This triggered outrage and resistance to the Thirteen Colonies. These were key outbreaks to the American Revolution. -
First Continental Congress
The First Continental Congress was a meeting of delegates from twelve of the Thirteen Colonies, at Carpenter's Hall in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, early in the American Revolution. The meeting was to discuss their responses to the British "Coercive Acts." The purpose was not to seek independence from Britain. Famous Patriots were there including John Adams, Samuel Adams, George Washington, and Patrick Henry. -
Second Continental Congress
The Second Continental Congress was a convention of delegates from the Thirteen Colonies. The Congress was led by John Hancock. The Congress managed the colonial war effort, and moved towards independence. -
Declaration of Independence
The Declaration of Independence represents the first step made officially to stop Great Britain from controlling the Thirteen Colonies.The Declaration of Independence was written by Thomas Jefferson during the Second Continental Congress. It took if seventeen days to write the Declaration of Independence. -
Articles of Confederation
John Dickinson wrote these articles during the Revolutionary War. The articles were written to give the colonies some sense of a unified government. The Articles made the states and legislature supreme. -
Shay's Rebellion
It was an armed uprising in Massachusetts. Daniel Shays was a Revolutionary War veteran who led four thousand rebels in an uprising against civil right injustices. In 1787, the rebels marched on the U.S. Armory at Springfield in an unsuccessful attempt to seize its weaponry and overthrow the government. -
Philadelphia Convention
This convention was held in Philadelphia, where delegates from 12 of the 13 states were present. These delegates elected George Washington to preside over the Convention. The result of the Convention was the creation of the United States Constitution, signifying the Convention among the most significant events in the history of the United States. -
Connecticut Compromise
The Great Compromise saved the Constitutional Convention, and, probably, the union. It was authorized by delegate Roger Sherman, it called for proportional representation in the house, and one represenattive per state in the senate.
