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Settling of Jamestown
In 1607, 104 English men and boys arrived in North America to start a settlement. On May 13 they picked Jamestown, Virginia for their settlement, which was named after their King, James I. The settlement became the first permanent English settlement in North America. -
Virginia House of Burgesses
With its origin in the first meeting of the Virginia General Assembly at Jamestown in July 1619, the House of Burgesses was the first democratically-elected legislative body in the British American colonies. -
Mayflower Compact
Document signed on the English ship Mayflower on November 21, 1620, prior to its landing at Plymouth, Massachusetts. It was the first framework of government written and enacted in the territory that is now the United States of America. Although in practice much of the power in Plymouth was guarded by the Pilgrim founders, the compact, with its fundamental principles of self-government and common consent, interpreted as an important step in the evolution of democratic government. -
Pilgrims land at Plymouth Rock
The Mayflower arrived in Plymouth Harbor in 1620, after first stopping near today's Provincetown. -
Fundamental Orders of Connecticut
The Fundamental Orders, inspired by Thomas Hooker’s sermon of May 31, 1638, provided the framework for the government of Connecticut colony from 1639 to 1662. -
Bacon’s Rebellion
Bacon's Rebellion was an armed rebellion in 1676 by Virginia settlers led by Nathaniel Bacon against the rule of Governor William Berkeley. -
Glorious Revolution
Also called Revolution of 1688 or Bloodless Revolution, in English history, the events of 1688–89 that resulted in the deposition of James II and the accession of his daughter Mary II and her husband, William III, prince of Orange and stadtholder of the Netherlands. -
English (British) Bill of Rights
The 1689 English Bill of Rights was a British Law, passed by the Parliament of Great Britain in 1689 that declared the rights and liberties of the people -
Salem Witch Trials
The Salem witch trials were a series of hearings and prosecutions of people accused of witchcraft in colonial Massachusetts between February 1692 and May 1693. -
Iroquois Confederation (constitution)
Self-name Haudenosaunee (“People of the Longhouse”), also called Iroquois League, Five Nations, or (from 1722) Six Nations, confederation of five (later six) Indian tribes across upper New York state that during the 17th and 18th centuries played a strategic role in the struggle between the French and British for mastery of North America. -
John Peter Zenger
Although many of the articles were contributed by his more learned colleagues, Zenger was still legally responsible for their content as publisher. For a year the paper continued its scathing attacks on Cosby until, on Nov. 17, 1734, Zenger was arrested for libel. Remaining in prison for nearly 10 months, he was finally brought to trial in August of the following year.
