Major Events for Early American Government

Magna Carta

Jun 15, 1215

The Magna Carta stated that no citizen, even the King, was above the law. One of the most famous clauses states taht all free men have the right to a fair trial, which we know see in the Bill of Rights. The Magna Carta was orginally written to solve political problems in 1215.

Jamestown settled

May 14, 1607

Jamestown was the first English settlement in America. The colonists were first sent here in order to find resoures and goods and eventually women were sent over to begin to settle down.

Mayflower Compact written

Nov 11, 1620

The Mayflower Compact was a contract where settler agreed to follow the rules in order to survive. It was the first governing document of the Plymouth company.

Petition of Right

Jun 7, 1628

The purpose of this petition was to make sure the King did not overrule citizen's rights. Stated that no taxed could be raised wihtout Parliament's consent, no citizen could be imprisoned without cause, no soldiers in citizen's home and no marital law in peacetime.

English Bill of Rights

Dec 16, 1689

The English Bill of Rights laid down several basic rules of life. It prohibited the use of cruel and unusual punishment, the king could not act as a judge, and Parliament may petition the crown without punishment,

Albany Plan of Union

Jul 10, 1754

This plan tried to form a union of the colonies under one government to make the colonies stronger, since the Indian and French war was growing.
(This cartoon appeared in Pennsylvania Gazette to urge the colonies to ban together.)

Stamp Act

Mar 22, 1765

The British Parliament passed the Stamp Act to force all American colonists to pay tax on all printer paper. This included legal documents, licenses, newspapers and playing cards.

Boston Massacre

Mar 5, 1770

This "massacre" was simply a street fight between a mob and a few British soldiers. The mob began to throw snowballs, stones and sticks at the soldiers, which led to the soldiers firing back. Eventually five colonists died. This event was turned into propaganda to oppose the British.

Boston Tea Party

Dec 16, 1773

Outraged by the tea taxation, Americans threw tea into the Boston Harbor to show their displeasement in taxation.

First Continental Congress

Sep 5, 1774

The congress was a meeting of representatives from twelve of the thirteen colonies to discuss the Intolerable Acts, which blamed Massachusetts for the Boston Tea Party. This eventually just led to a boycott of British goods in December of 1774.

Intolerable Acts

Sep 17, 1774

The British Parliament passed a set of laws that were supposed to punish Massachusetts for the Boston tea party. Parliament called for the Boston Harbor to be closed for trade, town meetings were banned, and the governor's power was increased.

American Revolution begins

Apr 17, 1775

The American Revolution was built up after many years of unhappiness under British control. Americans overthrew the British monarchy in the colonies in order to create the United States of America.

Second Continental Congress

May 10, 1775

The colonies agressed that a continental army would be created. The Congressed voted George Washington to be the commander and allowed the printing of money. This allowed Congress to be a governing body.

Declaration of Independence

Jul 4, 1776

The Declaration of Independence was adopted by the Continental Congress and stated that the colonies were now soverign states and not under the rule of the British. 56 colonists signed this text, showing their approval of the independent states.

Articles of Confederation

Mar 1, 1781

This was the first written constitution and it allowed states to remain sovereign with Congress being the last resort. But Congress was allowed to make treaties, alliances, war or peace, and control the army.

Philadelphia Convention

May 17, 1786

Congress invited delagates from each colony to join together to revise the Articles of Confederation. The delagates voted to allow Congress to have the most power and the separate the executive and judicial branches, and give them less power.

Shay's Rebellion

Aug 1, 1786

Many farmers in Maasachusetts suffered from high debt as they began to start new farms. Sherriffs had to seize many farms and put farmers in jail due to debt,. This angered many people, and eventualy the people ganged up to free those debtors from jail. Daniel Shay led the rebels which were eventually shut down by an army organized by the state.

Connecticut compromise

Jul 17, 1787

The Connecticut Compromise was an agreement that ddefined the representation that each state would have, It forced the upper house to have equal represenation, which allowed two representatives in each state.