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Jun 15, 1215
Magna Carta
Magna Carta, meaning ‘The Great Charter’, is one of the most famous documents in the world. Originally issued by King John of England as a practical solution to the political crisis he faced in 1215, Magna Carta established for the first time the principle that everybody, including the king, was subject to the law. Although nearly a third of the text was deleted or substantially rewritten within ten years, and almost all the clauses have been repealed in modern times, Magna Carta r -
Jamestown Settled
England was lagging far behind in the European race for empire. Spain had followed Christopher Columbus's epic voyage of 1492 with a massive campaign of colonization and exploitation in the New World. Within a century, Spain had built a complex empire stretching from the tip of South America into the southern regions of the present-day United States. The gold and silver pouring in from Spanish territories drove Spain's entire economy and financed its massive navy. -
Petition of Right
A statement of civil liberties sent by the English Parliament to Charles I. 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. Arbitrary arrest and imprisonment for opposing these policies had produced in Parliament a violent hostility to Charles and George Villiers, 1st duke of Buckingham. The Petition of Right was initiated by Sir Edward Coke. -
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 colonies under a more centralized government. Representatives from seven of the British North American colonies adopted the plan. Although never carried out, the Albany Plan was the first important proposal to conceive of the colonies as a collective whole united under one government. -
Stamp Act
An act of the British Parliament in 1756 that exacted revenue from the American colonies by imposing a stamp duty on newspapers and legal and commercial documents. Colonial opposition led to the act's repeal in 1766 and helped encourage the revolutionary movement against the British Crown. -
Boston Massacre
A small argument between British Private Hugh White and a few colonists outside the Custom House in Boston on King Street. The argument began to escalate as more colonists gathered and began to harass and throw sticks and snowballs at Private White. Soon there were over 50 colonists at the scene. The local British officer of the watch, Captain Thomas Preston, sent a number of soldiers over to the Custom House to maintain order. However, the sight of British soldiers armed with bayonets just ag -
Boston Tea Party
A group of men calling themselves the "Sons of Liberty" went to the Boston Harbor. The men were dressed as Mohawk Indians. They boarded three British ships, the Beaver, the Eleanor and the Dartmouth, and dumped forty-five tons of tea into the Boston Harbor. -
Intolerable Acts
The Intolerable Acts was the American Patriots' name for a series of punitive laws passed by the British Parliament in 1774 after the Boston Tea party. They were meant to punish the Massachusetts colonists for their defiance in throwing a large tea shipment into Boston harbor. -
First Continental Congress
In response to the British Parliament’s enactment of the Coercive Acts in the American colonies, the first session of the Continental Congress convenes at Carpenter’s Hall in Philadelphia. Fifty-six delegates from all the colonies except Georgia drafted a declaration of rights and grievances and elected Virginian Peyton Randolph as the first president of Congress. Patrick Henry, George Washington, John Adams, and John Jay were among the delegates. -
Start of American Revolution
The British decided the colonies should pay more of the costs associated with them being a British colony, such as military protection. Britain imposed a series of taxes that proved to be very unpopular. The revolution did not start over night, but was a long series of events leading to the first shot being fired. -
Second Continental Congress
The Second Continental Congress meeting started with the battle of Lexington and Concord still in their memories. The New England militiary were still encamped outside of Boston trying to drive the British out of Boston. The Second Continental Congress established the militiary as the Continental Army to represent the thirteen states. They also elected George Washington as Commander in Chief of the Continental Army. -
Declaration Of Independence
Congress asked Thomas Jefferson and others to write a
declaration of independence. They needed a document to
declare why the colonies had to become independent of
Britain. In this document, Jefferson wrote what many
Americans believed about their rights. Jefferson wrote that
people have the right to live, the right to be free, and the
right to seek happiness. The Declaration explains why the
colonies should break away from Britain. It says that people
have rights that cannot be taken away, lists -
Articles of Confederation
The Articles of Confederation was the first written constitution of the United States. Under these articles, the states remained sovereign and independent, with Congress serving as the last resort on appeal of disputes. Congress was also given the authority to make treaties and alliances, maintain armed forces and coin money. -
Shays Rebilion
a series of protests in 1786 and 1787 by American farmers against state and local enforcement of tax collections and judgments for debt. -
Philadelphia Convention
The Constitutional Convention met in 1787. Delegates met
to give Congress more power. Delegates included only
white, male landowners. Some delegates wanted a republic.
They thought a republic would protect citizens’ rights.
Others wanted a federal system. In a federal system,
Congress could share power with the states. -
Connecticut Compromise
A plan proposed by Roger Sherman and Oliver Ellsworth, Connecticut's delegates to the Constitutional Convention, established a two-house legislature. -
Mayflower Compact
It signed by 41 English colonists on the ship Mayflower on November 11, 1620, was the first written framework of government established in what is now the United States.
