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1215
The Magna Carta
The Magna Carta is a government document created by angry nobles in England. It was created to take power away from the king, King John, and give it to the people. It was important because it prevented too much of a heavy-handed rule of the king. -
1215
The Magna Carta
The Magna Carta is a government document made by angry nobles in 1215 to take away power from the king, King John, and give rights to the people. It happened in Runnymede, England. This document was successful in limiting the monarch, and its ideas are still seen today in our government with ideas such as limited government and rule of law. -
The Mayflower Compact
The Mayflower Compact was written by the pilgrims before they got off their boat in Massachusettes. It enforced ideas such as self-government and rule of law. It created a successful government, and its ideology is still seen today in American government. -
The Mayflower Compact
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English Bill of Rights
The English Bill of Rights is a government document written by Parliament to expand the rights of the people and limit the power of the monarch of England. It was successful and still effects who has governmental power in England. It also has affected many ideas in American government like petitioning the government, no cruel or unusual punishment, and limited government. -
Cato's Letters
Cato's Letters were a series of letters written by Cato the Elder and Cato the Younger. They were written as an argument against the British King's heavy-handed rule. They enforced ideas such as limited government, which are still seen today. -
French and Indian War
The French and Indian War was a conflict between Britain and France over territory in North America. Both sides tried to gain the allegiance of the Native Americans to fight for them. This war eventually led to the debt that caused Britain to tax the colonies so hard. -
Mercantilism
Mercantilism is the theory that a country should sell more
goods to other countries than it buys. For mercantilism to be
successful, Great Britain needed the colonies to be a source of
cheap, raw materials. Parliament required the American
colonies to sell raw materials, such as cotton and lumber, to
Great Britain at low prices. The colonists also had to buy British
products at high prices. -
The Stamp Act
The Stamp Act was passed by the British government and it taxed all paper documents in the colonies. It was in hope that the country could gain some money back after the French and Indian War. -
The Declaratory Act
The Declaratory Act was implemented by Britain in 1766. It stated that it "was to stifle all differences by the establishment of an undeniable principle." This meant that Britain had the power to pass any legislature over the colonies that they wanted. -
The Townshend Act
The Townshend Act said that there were new taxes on imports of paper, paint, lead, glass, and tea. It also established an American Customs Board in Boston to collect taxes. It set up new courts in America to prosecute smugglers (without using a local jury).
Finally, it gave British officials the right to search colonists' houses and businesses. -
The Boston Massacre
The Boston Massacre occurred when there was a riot of civilians harassing British soldiers by throwing snowballs, ice, and rocks. Through unclear circumstances, a soldier heard the word "fire" and fired his gun into the crowd. The soldiers began to shoot and five people were killed. Colonists were outraged at the deaths, and it caused tensions to grow. -
The Tea Act
The Tea Act essentially made the East India Tea Company a monopoly. The colonists were already mad at the existing tax on tea, so this act made them even angrier. It eventually culminated in the Boston Tea Party. -
The Boston Tea Party
The Sons of Liberty got together and dressed as Native Americans and stormed a ship that was importing tea to Boston. They dumped 342 crates of tea in the harbor, which really angered the British government. -
The Coercive/Intolerable Acts
These acts closed Boston Harbor, a major trade port to America. It also took power away from the colonists in MA. The acts also said that trials of government officials could be moved back to Britain. This meant it would be virtually impossible to convict any government officials. The Quartering act allowed soldiers to stay in civilians houses if no barracks were available. These acts really angered colonists. -
The First Constitutional Congress
Delegates from each colony (except Georgia) met as a response to the Coercive Acts. They called for the boycotting of British goods and discussed many other topics and plans of action for the colonies. Eventually, the Stamp Act was repealed. -
Second Continental Congress
The Second Continental Congress was a meeting of delegates from the 13 colonies to discuss the creation of an army. They also drafted the Olive Branch Petition asking King George for a peaceful resolution to their complaints. -
The Battles at Lexington and Concord
The battles at Lexington and Concord are considered the first battles in the Revolutionary War. British troops were marching to seize a cache of arms when Paul Revere, William Dawes, and Samuel Prescott rode and alerted everyone. Militias quickly fought the British troops. The Americans ultimately won these battles. -
Common Sense
Common Sense is a pamphlet written by Thomas Paine that explained the idea of independence to colonists in a way that was easy to understand. It was successful at convincing the colonists to rally for independence, and the US eventually became a country. -
The Declaration of Independence
The Declaration of Independence was written mostly by Thomas Jefferson in 1776. It declared that the United States of America were no longer part of Britain.
