The Birth of the U.S. Government

Petition of Right

Jun 7, 1628

This document was created by English Parliament. It made the king subject to law and created restrictions against the king's right to tax, enforced habeas corpus, and revised property rights, among many other methods of improving the government.

Albany Plan of Union

Jul 10, 1754

Benjamin Franklin proposed this plan in order to unite the colonies under one government consisting of a president-general appointed by the king and grand council elected by the people. The plan was turned down by British government officials who did not want to relinquish too much power to the colonists.

Boston Massacre

Mar 5, 1770

The presence of the British military was causing intense feuds between colonists and soldiers. On March 5, 1770, a crowd of colonists rioted against the soldiers who, in retalliation, fired at the crowd with muskets. Five civilians were killed in the fight, but the incident was deemed a "massacre" by propagandists.

Boston Tea Party

Dec 16, 1773

After Parliament passed the Tea Act, the colonists were tired of being taxed by representatives that they did not elect. They decided to protest with a "tea party." However, this tea party was not the Alice in Wonderland type of party;this party included colonists dressing up as Native Americans and dumping taxed tea into the Boston Harbor.

Declaration of Independence

Jul 4, 1776

This was the official announcement that the American colonies had become independent states. It listed the reasons for declaring independence and laid out the freedoms of the colonists under the new government.

Philadelphia Convention

May 25, 1787

After gaining independence from Great Britain, the United States operated under the Articles of Confederation. Unfortunately, this system had many flaws and led to feuds between states and money problems. The delegates at the Philadelphia Convention solved these problems by planning a brand new system of government.