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Jun 15, 1215
Magna Carta
Signed on 15 June by King John of England in Runnymede, Surrey, Magna Carta was meant as a peace treaty between King John and his subjects, and demanded that every person had to obey the law, including the king. -
Jamestown Settlement
The Virginia Company of England made a daring proposition: sail to the new, mysterious land, which they called Virginia in honor of Elizabeth I, the Virgin Queen, and begin a settlement. They established Jamestown, Virginia, on May 14, 1607, the first permanent British settlement in North America. -
Mayflower Compact
The Mayflower Compact was the first agreement for self-government to be created and enforced in America. On September 16, 1620 the Mayflower, a British ship, with 102 passengers, who called themselves Pilgrims, aboard sailed from Plymouth, England. They were bound for the New World. -
Petition of Right
The Petition of Right of 1628 is one of England's most famous Constitutional documents. It was written by Parliament as an objection to an overreach of authority by King Charles I. During his reign, English citizens saw this overreach of authority as a major infringement on their civil rights. Refusal by Parliament to finance the king's unpopular foreign policy had caused his government to exact forced loans and to quarter troops in subjects' houses as an economy measure. -
English Bill of Rights
The English Bill of Rights is an act that the Parliament of England passed on December 16, 1689. The Bill creates separation of powers, limits the powers of the king and queen, enhances the democratic election and bolsters freedom of speech. -
Albany Plan of Union
The Albany Plan of Union was a plan to place the British North American colonies under a more centralized government. On July 10, 1754, representatives from seven of the British North American colonies adopted the plan. -
American Revolution
The American Revolution was a time when the British colonists in America rebelled against the rule of Great Britain. There were many battles fought and the colonies gained their freedom and became the independent country of the United States. The American Revolutionary War lasted from 1775 until 1783 -
Stamp Act
The Stamp Act was passed by the British Parliament on March 22, 1765. The new 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 occurred on March 5, 1770 when British soldiers in Boston opened fire on a group of American colonists killing five men. Prior to the Boston Massacre the British had instituted a number of new taxes on the American colonies including taxes on tea, glass, paper, paint, and lead. -
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 Intolerable Acts were passed by the British Parliament in 1774 as punishment for the destruction wrought during the Boston Tea Party, which was a reaction to the British tea tax of 1773. -
First Continental Congress
On September 5, 1774, delegates from each of the 13 colonies except for Georgia (which was fighting a Native-American uprising and was dependent on the British for military supplies) met in Philadelphia as the First Continental Congress to organize colonial resistance to Parliament's Coercive Acts. The objectives of the First Continental Congress were to point out the British Parliament's violation of colonial rights and to provide a plan that would convince Britain to restore colonial rights. -
Second Continental Congress
The Second Continental Congress was the governing body of the American colonies from 1775 to 1781. It was founded when the British failed to address the grievances of the First Continental Congress and to organize a Continental Army to fight. It became the government for the colonies at that point. They appointed ambassadors, signed treaties, print money, and request money from the states cause they had no power to tax, which worked during the war cause there was a war but failed after. -
Declaration of Independence
The Declaration of Independence is one of the most important documents in the history of the United States. It was an official act taken by all 13 American colonies in declaring independence from British rule. A group of men came together in the summer of 1776 to find ways to become independent from Great Britain. The Declaration of Independence signifies some of the principles and ideas of the founding fathers which the government of the United States follows today. -
Shay's Rebellion
Shays' Rebellion was an armed uprising in Massachusetts in opposition to the state government's increased efforts to collect taxes both on individuals and their trades; the fight took place mostly in and around Springfield during 1786 and 1787. The farmers had been plagued by excessive property taxes leading to farm foreclosures or even imprisonment. -
Philadelphia Convention
The Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia met between May and September of 1787 to address the problems of the weak central government that existed under the Articles of Confederation. -
Connecticut Compromise
The Connecticut Compromise was an agreement made between large and small states which partly defined the representation each state would have under the United States Constitution, as well as in legislature. The Connecticut Compromise established the Senate and the House of Representatives and allowed for them to work efficiently.
