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1215
Magna Carta document
Abuses by England’s King John cause a revolt by nobles, who compel him to recognize rights for both noblemen and ordinary Englishmen. This document, known as the Magna Carta, states that no one, including the king or a lawmaker, is above the law, and creates a framework for future documents such as the Declaration of Independence and the Bill of Rights. -
The Petition of Right
The Petition of Right is a statement of the 1628 English legal-reform movement that leads to civil war and the impeachment of King Charles I in 1649. This document explains the rights/liberties of the common man as compared to the wealthy and expresses many ideals that led to the American Revolution. -
Charter of Rhode Island
The new Charter of Rhode Island grants religious freedom. -
John Locke's Letter Concerning Toleration
John Locke’s Letter Concerning Toleration is published. It explains the base for George Mason’s Article Sixteen of the Virginia Declaration of Rights of 1776, which deals with religion. Mason’s document explains that “all Men should enjoy the fullest toleration in the exercise of religion.” -
The Eighteen Jailed Baptists
Eighteen Baptists are jailed in Massachusetts for refusing to pay taxes that support the Congregational church. -
Virginia Ordinance
Thomas Jefferson finishes his first draft of a Virginia state bill for religious freedom, which explains that: “No man shall be compelled to frequent or support any religious worship, place, or ministry whatsoever.” The bill later becomes the Virginia Ordinance for Religious Freedom. -
Adopting the Ordinance of Religious Freedom
The Virginia legislature adopts the Ordinance of Religious Freedom, which gets rid of the Anglican Church as the official church and bans harassment based on religious differences. -
Expiration of the Sedition act
Congress lets the Sedition Act of 1798 expire, and President Thomas Jefferson pardons all people caught under the Act. The act had punished those who talked or published “false, scandalous, and malicious” writings against the government. -
John Stuart Mill's "On Liberty" essay
John Stuart Mill publishes the essay “On Liberty.” The essay explains John Milton’s argument that if speech is free, then eventually the truth will rise to the surface. -
Suspension of the Chicago Times
Gen. Ambrose Burnside of the Union Army orders the suspension of the Chicago Times on account of repeated expression of disloyalty. President Lincoln cancels Burnside’s order three days later. -
Lincoln and the Forged Presidential Proclamation
By order of President Lincoln, Gen. John A. Dix, a Union commander, suppresses the New York Journal of Commerce and the New York World and arrests the newspapers’ editors after both papers published a fake presidential proclamation announcing to order another draft of 400,000 men. Lincoln withdraws the order to arrest the editors and the papers resume publication two days later. -
Snyder v. Phelps
In Snyder v. Phelps, the U.S. Supreme Court rules that the Westboro Baptist Church’s protest at the funeral of slain Marine Matthew Snyder was protected by the First Amendment. The Court explains that the protesters were on public property and engaged in peaceful speech on matters of public concern.
