Americangovernment

U.S. Government Timeline - AS

  • 1215

    Magna Carta

    Magna Carta
    Signed by King John and it limited the power of the king. It helped influence the Bill of Rights.
  • Declaration of Independence

    Declaration of Independence
    A document written by Thomas Jefferson and it listed all the bad things the King had done and declared the colonies separate from Britian.
  • US Constitution

    US Constitution
    The document contains the United Sate's basic laws and rights of US citizens.
  • The Bill of Rights

    The Bill of Rights
    It's the first 10 amendments of the constitution and it gives US citizens their natural born rights. Like freedom of speech, right to bear arms, etc..
  • 1st Amendment

    1st Amendment
    Gives the right of freedom of speech, religion, and press. It also gives the right to a peaceful protest and to petition the government.
  • 2nd Amendment

    2nd Amendment
    Gives the right to bear arms
  • 3rd Amendment

    3rd Amendment
    Forbids soldiers to stay in peoples homes without the owner's permission.
  • 4th Amendment

    4th Amendment
    The right to refuse a search of personal property without a warrant.
  • 5th Amendment

    5th Amendment
    The right to a trial by jury.
  • 6th Amendment

    6th Amendment
    The right to a speedy and fair trial.
  • 7th Amendment

    7th Amendment
    The right to a jury trial in certain civil cases and inhibits courts from overturning a jury's findings of fact.
  • 8th Amendment

    8th Amendment
    The government can't give excessive bail or excessive fines, or cruel and unusual punishments.
  • 9th Amendment

    9th Amendment
    Says the rights of the people are not limited to just the rights listed in the Constitution.
  • 10th Amendent

    10th Amendent
    States that any power not specifically given to the federal government by the Constitution belongs to the States and the people.
  • 11th Amendment

    11th Amendment
    U.S court can't make a decision on a case that involves a state that is being sued by a person who doesn't live in that state.
  • Marbury v. Madison

    Marbury v. Madison
    Judicial review - the Courts have the power to determine the constitutionality of acts of other branches of government.
  • 12th Amendment

    12th Amendment
    That a voter must cast one distinct vote for an election candidate.
  • McCulloch v. Maryland

    McCulloch v. Maryland
    The Supremacy clause - no state may pass a law that conflicts with a federal law.
  • Gibbons v. Ogden

    Gibbons v. Ogden
    The Court ruled that a New York law requiring special licenses for steamboat operators was invalid by virtue of the Supremacy Clause and the Commerce Clause. The regulation of navigation by steamboat operators and others for purposes of conducting interstate commerce was a power reserved to and exercised by the Congress.
  • Dred Scott v. Sanford

    Dred Scott v. Sanford
    The Court ruled that Dred Scot was a slave, and thus, not a citizen of any state. As a result, he had no standing to sue in federal court for his freedom. (Before the 13th Amendment)
  • 13th Amendment

    13th Amendment
    Abolishes slavery.
  • 14th Amendment

    14th Amendment
    Grants African Americans that were emaciated after the civil war with citizenship and equal rights.
  • 15th Amendment

    15th Amendment
    A person's right to vote can't be taken away from the US, a state, or for race, gender, and ethnicity.
  • Plessy v. Ferguson

    Plessy v. Ferguson
    Segregation is legal as long as the facilities provided to both black and white people are equal.
  • 16th Amendment

    16th Amendment
    Congress can levy a tax without apportioning it among the states.
  • 17th Amendment

    17th Amendment
    Gives the right for citizens to vote for senators instead of state legislature, direct election
  • Schenck v. United States

    Schenck v. United States
    Freedom of speech can be limited during wartime. The government can restrict expressions that "would create a clear and present danger that they will bring about the substantive evils that Congress has a right to prevent."
  • 18th Amendment

    18th Amendment
    Declared the production, transport, and sale of intoxicating liquors illegal, though it did not outlaw the actual consumption of alcohol.
  • Volstead Act

    Volstead Act
    Was passed to make sure the 18th Amendment was enforced.
  • Roaring Twenties

    Roaring Twenties
    Business booms, superficial prosperity; new lifestyles for women; growth of mass media; Red Scare
  • 19th Amendment

    19th Amendment
    Gave women the right to vote.
  • Great Depression

    Great Depression
    World trade declines, banks fail, high unemployment, urban and rural poverty; New Deal expands role of federal government
  • 20th Amendment

    20th Amendment
    It was to set a term limit on elected federal government offices.
  • 21st Amendment

    21st Amendment
    Ends the 18th Amendment, Prohibition is over.
  • World War II

    World War II
    Dictators threaten world peace on 2 fronts-Europe and Pacific; mobilizes U.S. economy and industry; U.S. helps win war and becomes a world leader
  • Cold War

    Cold War
    Tension and competition between U.S. and Communist USSR; threat of nuclear war; McCarthyism (1950s)
  • Postwar Boom

    Postwar Boom
    American Dream-social conformity, suburban and automobile culture, baby boom, consumerism, TV
  • 22nd Amendment

    22nd Amendment
    Says a person can't be elected more than twice for president and someone who fills an unexpired presidential term lasting more than two years is also prohibited from being elected president more than once.
  • Brown v. Board of Education

    Brown v. Board of Education
    The Court ruled that segregated schools were unconstitutional under the equal protection clause of the 14th amendment. "Separate is inherently unequal."
  • Vietnam War Years

    Vietnam War Years
    Domino theory-contain communism War divides the country-campus protest, draft resistance
  • Civil Rights Movement

    Civil Rights Movement
    Nonviolent protest-voting rights, desegregation; federal support vs. states' resistance; Black Power movement and urban riots
  • 23rd Amendment

    23rd Amendment
    Gives residents of Washington, DC the right to vote for representatives in the Electoral College.
  • Engel v. Vitale

    Engel v. Vitale
    New York's requirement of a state-composed prayer to begin the school day was declared an unconstitutional violation of the Establishment Clause.
  • Abington School District v. Schempp

    Abington School District v. Schempp
    A Pennsylvania law requiring that each public school day open with Bible reading was struck down as violating the Establishment Clause.
  • 24th Amendment

    24th Amendment
    The United States Constitution prohibits both Congress and the states from conditioning the right to vote in federal elections on payment of a poll tax or other types of tax.
  • 25th Amendment

    25th Amendment
    The United States Constitution says that if the President becomes unable to do his job, the Vice President becomes the President.
  • Tinker v. Des Moines

    Tinker v. Des Moines
    Students wearing black armbands to protest the Vietnam War was symbolic speech protected by the First Amendment.
  • 26th Amendment

    26th Amendment
    Citizens who are 18 years of age or older can vote and cannot be denied or abridged by the United States or any state on account of age.
  • Miller v. California

    Miller v. California
    The Court ruled that obscenity is not protected speech. States and local governments have flexibility in determining what is obscene.
  • 27th Amendment

    27th Amendment
    The United States Constitution prohibits any law that increases or decreases the salary of members of Congress from taking effect until the start of the next set of terms of office for representatives.