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Founding of Jamestown
America's first permanent English colony -
House of Burgesses
First meeting of Virginia General Assembly at Jamestown -
Founding of Plymouth
First colonial settlement in New England. -
Mayflower Compact
Signed by 41 English colonists on the Mayflower. First written framework of government established in the U.S. -
Massachusetts Bay Colony Founded
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Thomas Hooker
Puritan colonial leader who founded the colony of Connecticut in 1636. -
Patrick Henry
American attourney and polititian and became known as an orator during the movement for independence. -
Albany Plan of Union
Plan to place British North Americans colonies under a more centralized government. It was never carried. -
French and Indian War
Lasted 7 years. France expansion to the Ohio River which caused conflicts with claims of the British colonies. -
Stamp Act Congress
Meeting between October 7th, and 25th in New York City. First Gathering of elected representatives from several colonies to devise a unified protest against new British Taxation -
Sons of Liberty
Organization of Patriots best know for the Boston Tea Party -
Boston Massacre
Killing of five colonists by the British. -
Boston Tea Party
Sons of Liberty dressed up as indians and boarded 3 ships in the Boston Harbor and threw 342 chests of British tea overboard -
First Continental Congress
Meeting of delegates from 12 of the 13 colonies. Georgia was not there. -
Second Continentel Congress
Convention of delegates from the 13 colonies. Met in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. -
Thomas Paine's Common Sense
Challenged British Authority and the royal monarchy. First work to openly ask for freedom from Great Britain -
Declairation of Independence
Drafted by Thomas Jefferson, gave the U.S. independence from Britain. -
Articles of Confederation
First written constitution of the U.S. Ratified March 1, 1781 -
Shay's Rebellion
Series of protests by American farmers against enforcement of tax collections and judgments for debt. -
Federalist Papers
85 essays outlining new government, Authors: Alexander Hamilton, James Madison, and John Jay -
Constitutional Covention
Meetings in Philadelphia where debates over the proposed constitution took place -
Delaware Ratifies Constitution
First state to ratify constitution -
New Hampshire Ratifies Constitution
New Hampshire becomes 9th state to ratify the constitution. -
Rhode Island Ratifies
Rhode Island becomes the 13th state to enter the union after ratifying the constitution. -
Bill of Rights Ratified
2/3 majority; Virginia became the 10th of 14 states to approve 10 of the 12 ammendments.