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1215
Magna Carta
The Magna Carta was a document that the noblemen of England forced the King to sign as an act of rebellion against his power. The document took power away from the king and gave it back to the noblemen and gave it to the people. It protected the privileges and authority of the nobility and gave certain rights to all land owners. One of the rights granted by the Magna Carta was the right to a fair trial. It supported the idea of limited government. -
Mayflower Compact
The Mayflower Compact was an agreement among the men of the Mayflower. They realized they need a government to help them survive in a new place so they created the compact. It stated that everyone would abide by the laws, and that the laws would serve the good of the colony. The compact set up a direct democracy in the colony of Plymouth. -
English Bill of Rights
The English Bill of Rights clarified the ideas of the glorious revolution, solidifying the idea that the ruler could not have more power than the legislation. This was written by the Parliament, and they made it so that the ruler could not undo a law that the Parliament made. It also made it so that Parliament had to be involved with the ruler's decisions regarding axes, armies, and courts. It also established free elections for members of Parliament. -
Cato's Letters
Letters by Cato the Older and Cato the Younger (Pseudonyms) that were arguments against the Kings rules. The letters brought up ideas of rights for the people, and were for limited government. The letters were published as a series of newspaper articles. -
Mercantilism
Mercantilism is the ideology that a country should export more than it imports. This idea was adopted by the British government. To satisfy this policy, England required lots of raw materials from the United States. The Parliament made the colonists buy lots of English goods at high prices, and also made them sell their raw goods back to England at low prices. This hurt American businesses. -
The French and Indian War
A War that the British fought on behalf of the American colonies. It was against the French-American Colonies and their Native American allies. Through this war, the British were able to take over some French land. It cost them a lot of money, which led to more taxes on the British-American Colonies. 1754-1763 -
Stamp Act
This was an act passed by the British parliament which required the American colonists to buy expensive stamps to sell paper goods. All paper goods had to have stamps on them. The colonists did not like this tax, especially because the colonists did not have a representative in parliament. This led to the slogan, "Taxation without representation." To resist this tax, colonists boycotted the British goods. This led the British Government to repeal the act. -
Declaratory Act
After the stamp act failed, the British government needed another tax act to replace it. They replaced it with the Declaratory act. The Declaratory Act stated that it was up to the British government to make any decisions or put any taxes on the colonies without restrictions. This decision making was allowed "in all cases" -
Townshend Acts
This act was passed by British Parliament. it imposed more new taxes on British goods being imported to the colonies. These goods included paper, tea, lead, and glass. The colonists were not happy with the new taxes, because they could not produce these goods locally and they had to be imported. In protest of this, the colonists brought back the boycotts that led England to repeal the stamp act. -
Boston Massacre
The Boston Massacre was an incident where American Colonists were shot and killed by British Soldiers. The soldiers were being harassed by the colonists. The American Colonists were throwing sticks and snowballs at the Soldiers. The supporters of the revolution spun this event in their favor, using it to prove that they should no longer be affiliated with England because the English were violent. -
Tea Act
This Act made it so that a British company, East India Tea Company, didn't have to pay certain taxes on tea, meaning that they could charge less for the product. This had a negative affect on the American companies who still had to pay taxes on the tea, and couldn't produce it for as cheap. In protest, the colonists blocked the East India Company ships in the ports. The Boston Tea Party also happened as a result of the Tea Act. -
Boston Tea Party
The colonists were upset with the Tea act so, a group of American colonists broke on to an East India Company Ship. They were dressed as Native Americans. They dumped all the tea on board into the Boston Harbor. As a result of this protest, Parliament passed the Coercive acts. -
Intolerable Acts/Coercive Acts
This act was passed in response to the Boston Tea Party. The English called them the Coercive Acts but the American Colonists called them the intolerable acts. The Act was considered "intolerable" by the colonists because it limited their rights, e.g. trail by jury. It also made it so that British soldiers had the rights to search the colonists houses and/or use them for lodging. -
First Continental Congress
Delegates from each of the colonies, except Georgia, met in Philadelphia to discuss freedom from Britain. They wanted to form a political group to talk about the wants and needs of the colonists and to oppose the British rule. It lasted seven weeks. The delegates wrote a letter to King George asking him to restore the rights of the colonies and made plans to continue the boycotts. They also agreed that if there was no change in response to their letter, they would meet again in one year. -
Lexington and Concord
In response to the first continental congress, England sent British troops to the colonies, which resulted in two battles. The battles were fought on the American side by organized militias, and they fought at Lexington and at Concord. These battles are considered to be the start of the revolutionary war, and it also started to turn many of the colonists towards the idea of independence. -
Second Continental Congress
The congress met again to discuss independence, but not everyone supported it. People had concerns over their ability to win the war, or people were still held loyalty for England. As support for independence grew among the colonists, with the help of Common Sense by Thomas Paine, the members of the continental congress debated independence. By 1776, most of the delegates supported the fight for freedom. -
Common Sense
A pamphlet written by Thomas Paine that detailed the reasons for American independence in language common people could understand. Since many of the colonists did not have a lot of education, this pamphlet written in common language was useful in persuading a lot of the colonists. The pamphlet talked about how the King was not protecting their rights and that they needed complete independence from Britain. -
Declaration of Independence
As the continental congress took over the governing of the colonies, they wrote a letter to King George III declaring their independence from England. It was written by Thomas Jefferson. It contained the reasons why they were separating from England and their grievances against the king. It described how their rights were not being protected, as well as what rights citizens should have and briefly detailing the ideals of their new government.
