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Jun 15, 1215
Magna Carta signed
The Magna Carta was signed in June 1215 between the barons of Medieval England and King John. "Magna Carta" is Latin and means "Great Charter". The document was a series of written promises between the king and his subjects that he, the king, would govern England and deal with its people according to the customs of feudal law. Magna Carta was an attempt by the barons to stop a king - in this case John - abusing his power with the people of England suffering. -
Mayflower Compact signed
The Mayflower Compact was signed on 11 November 1620 on board the Mayflower. The document was drawn up in response to "mutinous speeches" because the Pilgrims had intended to settle in Northern Virginia, but instead settle in New England. Since there was no government in place, some felt they had no legal obligation to remain within the colony and supply their labor. The Mayflower Compact attempted to temporarily establish that government until a more official one could be drawn up in England -
Formation of the New England Confederation
As a result of experience in the Pequot War, representatives from Massachusetts, Plymouth, Connecticut, and New Haven, meeting at Boston, drew up 12 articles of confederation, which were ratified by the four colonies, The United Colonies of New England represented a union of the four colonies, each of whose territorial integrity was guaranteed. -
Albany plan of Union announced
In June 1754 delegates from most of the northern colonies and representatives from the Six Iroquois Nations met in Albany, New York. There they adopted a "plan of union" drafted by Benjamin Franklin of Pennsylvania. Under this plan each colonial legislature would elect delegates to an American continental assembly presided over by a royal governor. -
Articles of Confederation signed
in 1781, the Articles of Confederation are finally ratified. The Articles were signed by Congress and sent to the individual states for ratification on November 15, 1777, after 16 months of debate. The Articles created an association of sovereign states. The central government had little authority: it had no power to regulate commerce, no power of taxation, and any alterations had to be agreed upon unanimously by all states -
Newburgh Conspiracy
in April, 1782, a peace treaty was signed seven months later. Although, the fighting was now over, It was necessary to maintain a force at Washington's main camp at Newburg until a final peace treaty was signed. On March 10, 1783, an anonymous letter, written by Major John Armstrong, was circulated among the officers at Newburg; the letter condemned Congress for failure to honor its promises to the army and incited the veterans to defy Congress if the accounts were not promptly and equitably -
Treaty of Paris (1783) signed
The Treaty of Paris was signed on Sept. 3, 1783.It declared peace between Great Britain and the new country of the United States. Great Britain recognized the independence of the American colonies. -
Spain closes Mississippi river
In a letter written by John Jay to Congress, he announced that Spain would not allow American boats into the Gulf of Mexico. He talked to a minister from Spain, who told him that the King of Spain had exclusive rights to the Gulf of Mexico and could close it off whenever he wanted to. Article 8 of the Treaty of Paris (1783) says nothing about Spain. The Americans have no power politically, economically, or militarily to prevent Spain from doing this, nor can they unite to stop Spain. -
Land Ordinance of 1785
The Land Ordinance of 1785 was brought up because after the American Revolution the requests of lands claims lowered and caused less tension among the states allowing chunk of land to be owned by the Federal Government. A policy was created for what to do with the land, called the Land of Ordinance, and the land became used for towns/settlements and the maintenance of public schools -
Ordinance of Religious Freedom
The Ordinance of Religious Freedom consisted of three paragraphs. The first paragraph emphasized how God gives man the right to choose his religious beliefs, thus showing that all man should have the right to think what's on their mind. The second paragraph stated that every man is able to have free worship entering a church without paying taxes. The third paragraph focused on the rights a man should have and never be taken away. -
Annapolis Convention
The Annapolis Convention was a meeting that called for the Constitutional Convention which debated on new terms that were different to the Articles of Confederation. The convention wanted to extend trade between the large independent states rather than limiting it and felt that there weren't enough states represented to fall upon agreements. The convention required state commissioners to show up on time to meetings and from there, create new laws. -
Shay's Rebellion
During the 1780's, many farmers in western Massachusttes suffered from high debt trying to create new farms. The government didn't respond to this economic breakdown and the farmers who couldn't pay their debt were sent to jail. Daniel Shays (farmer) was angry at this and formed a group of farmers into rebellion as they broke into an ammunition supply and forced the courts in the area to close. The military ended this revolt, but it sent a message to the National Leaders. -
Constitutional Convention opens
The beginning of the Constitutional Convention consisted of fifty-five representatives that attended and began to draft the Constitution. They had to think critically on how to form a more perfect union as they debated on several important issues. These issues dealt with the future of slave trade in American life, the idea of a powerful, strong government system, and being able to build a representative government. This convention succeeded because it was able to forge compromises. -
Northwest Ordinance of 1787
The Northwest Ordinance of 1787 is thought of as America's "organic law." It enforces Christianity to be taught in the schools of each state. This document proved that the separation of church and state was false. This was because the government can support religion over non-religion and it is necessary for schools to teach religion -
The Great Compromise agreed
The Great Compromise dealt with the equality between the representation of the small and the large states. It said that the national legislature would have two houses. In one house the representation would be decided among the population. 'Each state would get one representative for every 40 thousand people in that state.' In the second house the representation would be equal. 'Each state would have the same number of representatives as the other states.' -
Federalist papers appear
The Federalist Papers were consisited of 85 essays that were written to convince the states the benefits of uniting under a central government. The essays were written by a group of intelligent men: Alexander Hamilton, James Madison, and John Jay who helped gain and encourage support for, the U.S Constitution to be ratified. The federalist papers more so were intended to persuade the New York state legislators to ratify the Constitution -
Anti-Federalist rticles appear
The Anti-Federalist Papers were brought up to go against ratification of the new constitution. These papers mainly desired to establish a weak central government and include strong state governments. It also wanted support of small farmers/landowners and of citizens in debt who felt that strong state legislatures were more sympathetic to them than a strong central government. -
Delaware ratifies
Delaware was the first state to ratify the Constitution. The approval message that was sent was brief and agreed in every way to the Constitutional Rights. Here is one quote that shows how supportive and influenced the state of Delaware is in ratifying the Constitution: "...for and in behalf of ourselves and our constituents, fully, freely, and entirely approve of...the...Constitution." There were no suggested changes in the message. -
Constitution sent to the states for ratification
The Constitution needed to become ratified by nine states before becoming a law. Delaware was the first state to ratify and the ninth state to ratify was New Hampshire. Even though the Constitution was officially put into effect, its execution was in doubt because of uncertainty of votes coming from two very important states, Virginia and New York. Eventually, the two states supported the Constitution and it took off successfully as well as influencing Rhode Island. -
Massachusetts ratifies Constitution
Massachusetts was the sixth state to ratify the Constitution and was the first to include a list of suggested changes for the Constitution. Some of these changes consisted of protecting states and individuals. Massachusetts believed that this Constitution would remove the fear of the good people in the state. -
New Hampshireratifies the Constitution
New Hampshire was the ninth state to ratify, and with its ratification, the Constitution was officially in effect. The approval message that was sent consisted of a suggested change to the Constitution that said, "Congress shall never disarm any citizen, unless such as are or have been in actual rebellion." -
George Washington elected President
In 1789, George Washington became the very first president of the United States. He was elected by the Electoral College as soon as the Constitution was ratified. For his presidency, he wished to have a well-development of military arts and had an interest of western expansion. He did not want to jump in on foreign policies for war or revolutions only because he had a concern of his nation's strength and he wanted to get stronger. Washington ended up retiring after his second year. -
Congress meets for the 1st time
On the first meeting of Congress, all the members gathered in New York City and discussed different concerns of the publics' expectations. They thought the publics' anxiety would be so high that disappointment would follow after a while. Morris stated, "I believe there will be inclination and abilities in the two houses to do everything that reasonable and sensible men can promise to themselves..." The members were concerned because they knew that it was hard to keep pace with public's desires. -
Bill of r=Rights sent to the states for ratification
A little after George Washington became president, the first Congress of the United States approved 12 amendments to the U.S. Constitution and sent them to the states for ratification. The amendments were used to protect the rights of U.S. citizens for the freedom of speech, press, assembly, and beliefs of religion. It promoted the right to legal procedure and powers not delegated to the federal government would be reserved for the states and the people -
Bill of rights ratified
The first 10 amendments to the U.S. Constitution, which was also known as the Bill of Rights, became the law of the U.S. The Congress approved 12 amendments to the Constitution and sent them to the states for agreement and approval. As the Bill of Rights was being ratified, it seemed to be struggling. George Mason and other critics agreed to support the Constitution and 10 out of 14 states approved which gave the Bill of Rights a 2/3 vote in becoming ratified.
