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May 10, 1215
Magna Carta
Signed by King John I of England. It gave people God given, inalienable rights such as freedom and the right to own property freely. -
Mayflower Compact
It served more than one purpose. The main reasons are to grant freedom of religion, to elect a king, and it served as a temporary form of government while a new Constitution was in the works. -
Petition of Right
Gave civil liberties to the people of England under the rule of Charles I by Parlaiment after the unpopular decisions of King Charles. -
English Bill of Rights
William and Mary signed it as an act of parliament that gave people more individual liberty and built the monarchy with the hope for a more democratic approach. It was signed to end the Glorious Revolution between British Parliament and King James II. -
Albany Plan of Union
Benjamin Franklin suggested this, and it never happened because each of the 13 colonies had different plans and spoke differently and did different things. “Join or Die” political cartoon tried to unite the 13 colonies because without each other they could not survive. -
French and Indian War
France and the Native Americans joined forces, and on the opposite side were Great Britain and Britain America. Some major battles include Fort Duquesne, Fort Necessity, the Battle of Quebec, Louisburg, and Montreal. The British ultimately won the war. Because the Native Americans lost, it meant we get more land to expand, i.e. America. -
King George III Takes Power
More people were migrating to the Americas after the French and Indian War, people wanted to gain more freedom and independence, colonies were expanding in the Americas. And after the death of George II, his son, George III came to power. -
Stamp Act
All printed Stationary was taxed under the Stamp Act. Colonists reacted to the Stamp Act by boycotting it. -
Boston Massacre
It was originally just a street fight that got out of control. 5 colonists died, and the Stamp Act and Tea Act were going into effect. -
Boston Tea Party
The Sons of Liberty (Radicals) most likely started the Boston Tea Party. 340 chests of British East India Company Tea were dumped into Boston Harbor by the Sons of Liberty. -
Intolerable Acts
Britain was deeply in debt, and thought the American colonies should pay some of the expenses. They were put in place to punish the Colonists for the Boston Tea Party. -
First Continental Congress
Peyton Randolph, Henry Middleton, Charles Thomson, Patrick Henry, John Jay are some important people to this convention. Repealing the Intolerable Acts was one major goal, another was to try to cut off ties with Great Britain. It was held at Carpenter’s Hall September 5th, 1774. -
Lexington & Concord
It started the American Revolutionary War. The British won, and made colonists question which side they should join, Patriots or Loyalists. For the British, there general was lieutenant colonel Francis Smith, and on the American front, there generals were John Parker and James Barrett. Paul Revere was to warn the Colonists that the British were coming to Concord, but he was arrested at Lexington. -
Second Continental Congress
Took Place in Philadelphia 1776. The Americans were tired of the Intolerable Acts and searched for a solution. The delegates of the 13 colonies were involved. -
Declaration of Independence
A written document guaranteeing freedom to all United States Citizens. It was signed on July 4th, 1776. It was written by Thomas Jefferson. -
Articles of Confederation
The first president under the Articles of Confederation would be John Hanson -
Start of Constitutional Convention
The Constitutional Convention was held at Independence Hall in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It was held to amend the Articles of Confederation.
