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Jun 15, 1215
Magna Carta
Established the principle that everyone is subject to the law, even the king, and guarantees the rights of individuals, the right to justice and the right to a fair trial. -
Jamestown settled
The Virginia Company of England made a proposition to sail to new mysterious land. In 1607, 104 English men arrived in North America and picked Jamestown, Virginia, which was named after their King James I., for their settlement. The settlement became the first permanent English settlement in North America. Jamestown was the first successful colony set up by Britain in the New World. -
Mayflower Compact
The Mayflower Compact simply bound the signers into a "Civil Body Politic" for the purpose of passing "just and equal Laws...for general good of the Colony." The few words expressed the idea of self-government for the first time in the New World. Original version of the Mayflower, the oldest known source in can be found is Mourt's Relation (1622), an account of Plymouth's settlement written by Edward Winslow and William Bradford. -
Petition of Rights
A statement of civil liberties sent by the English Parliament to Charles I. Refusal by Parliament to finance the king's unpopular foreign policy caused the government to exact forced loans and to quarter troops in subjects' houses as an economy measure. The petition demands restrictions on non-parliamentary taxation, forced billeting of soldiers, imprisonment without cause, and use of martial law. -
English Bill of RIghts
An act that the Parliament of England passed. The Bill that 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
A plan to place the British North American colonies under a more centralized government. The plan failed because the colonies were afraid of losing their own self government and they wanted to make the management of colonies simple. -
The Stamp Act
The Stamp Act was passed by the British Parliament. The new tax was imposed on all Americans and required them to pay a tax on every piece of printed paper they used. The Stamp Act was a tax to help the British pay for the French and Indian War. -
The Boston Massacre
A street fight in Boston Massachusetts between a "patriot" mob throwing snowballs, stones, and sticks and a squad of British soldiers.A small argument escalated as more colonists gathered. Several colonialist were killed. The event helped spark the colonists desire for American independence, while the dead rioters became martyrs for liberty. -
Boston Tea Party
A protest by the American Colonists against the British government. They staged the protest by boarding three trade ships in Boston Harbor and throwing the ships' cargo of tea overboard into the ocean. They threw 342 chests of tea into the water. The colonists did not want to have to pay taxes on the British tea. -
First Continental Congress
The first Continental Congress met in reaction to the Coercive Acts, a series of measures imposed by the British government on the colonies in response to new taxes. The congresses main aim was the intolerable act which was created to punish the colonists for their resistance in following new tax regulations created by the British government. -
Intolerable Acts
Punitive laws passed by the British Parliament after the Boston Tea Party. The laws were meant to punish the Massachusetts colonists for their defiance in the Tea Party protest in reaction to changes in taxation by the British to the detriment of colonial goods. -
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.The Second Congress functioned as a de facto national government at the outset of the Revolutionary War by raising armies, directing strategy, appointing diplomats, and writing treatises. -
The American Revolution begins
In April 1775, British soldiers exchanged gunfire at Lexington Concord in Massachusetts. Described as "the shot heard round the world," signaled the start of the American Revolution and led to the creation of a new nation. -
American Revolution begins
In April 1775 British soldiers exchanged gunfire at Lexington and Concord in Massachusetts. Described as "the shot heard round the world," it signaled the start of the American Revolution and led to the creation of a new nation. -
Declaration of Independence
An official act taken by all 13 American colonies in declaring independence from the British rule. The Declaration summarized the colonists motivations. By issuing the Declaration of Independence, the 13 American colonies severed their political connections with Great Britain. -
Articles of Confederation
The original constitution of the US, established the functions of the national government of the United States after it declared independence from Great Britain. -
Shay's Rebellion
Began as organized protests by farmers in western Massachusetts against the debt and tax collection practices of the state's government. The farmers had been plagued by excessive property taxes leading to farm foreclosures or even imprisonment. -
Philadelphia Convention
The original states collectively appointed 70 individuals to the Constitutional Convention to meet to address the problems of the weak central government that existed under the Articles of Confederation. Although the convention had been officially recalled to revise the existing Articles of Confederation, they ended up creating a new constitution. -
Connecticut Compromise
An agreement that large and small states reached during the Constitutional Convention of 1787 that in part defined the legislative structure and representation that each state would have under the United States. The compromise provides the states with equal representation in the Senate and proportional representation in the House of Representatives.
