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Jun 15, 1215
Magna Carta
Also known as the Great Charter, the Magna Carta was signed in England of 1215. After a group of nobles revolted King John, he was forced to sign the Magna Carta at Runnymede. It gave him limited power and he wasn't happy but he had to sign it regardless. -
Petition of Right
The Petition in 1628, exhibited to his Majesty by the Lords Spiritual and Temporal, and Commons, in this present Parliament assembled, concerning divers Rights and Liberties of the Subjects, with the King's Majesty's royal answer thereunto in full Parliament. -
English Bill of Rights
The English Bill of Rights 1689 is an Act of the Parliament of England with the long title An Act Declaring the Rights and Liberties of the Subject and Settling the Succession of the Crown. -
Albany Plan of Union
In July 1754, delegates from most of the northern colonies and representatives from Six Iroquois Nations met in Albany, New York. They adopted a "plan of union" drafted by Benjamin Franklin of Pennsylvania. This plan allowed each colonial legislature to elect delegates to an American continental assembly presided over by a royal governor. -
Stamp Act
It was made in the last session of Parliament several duties were granted, continued, and appropriated toward defraying the expenses of defending, protecting, and securing the British colonies and plantations in America; and whereas it is just and necessary that provision be made for raising a further revenue within your majesty's dominions in America toward defraying the said expenses; we, your majesty's most dutiful and loyal subjects, and the Commons of Great Britain. -
Boston Massacre
March 5, 1770, British regulars killed five colonists. -
Intolerable Acts
The “Intolerable Acts” of 1774, known to the British as the Coercive Acts, were four exceedingly severe Acts passed in 1774 expressly to punish the colonists for the Boston Tea Party. -
Boston Tea Party
In March 1774 Parliament passed the Intolerable Acts which among other measures closed the Port of Boston.
The fuse that led directly to the explosion of American independence was lit. -
First Continental Congress
The First Continental Congress, formally declared that colonists should have the same rights as Englishmen; they also agreed to form the Continental Association, which called for the suspension of trade with Great Britain. The mural depicts an oration by Patrick Henry in Carpenters' Hall. -
Articles of Conferation
It served as the first Constitution of the United States. -
Declaration of Independence
It is the nation's most cherished symbol of liberty and Jefferson's most enduring monument. -
Second Continental Congress
The Second Continental Congress appointed five men to draft a Declaration of Independence. -
Shay's Rebellion
Shays' Rebellion was an armed uprising in central and western Massachusetts (mainly Springfield) from 1786 to 1787. The rebellion is named after Daniel Shays, a veteran of the American Revolution who led the rebels, known as "Shaysites" or "Regulators". -
Philadelphia Convention
The conflict that became known as Shays' Rebellion is most known for a bloody confrontation at the United States Arsenal at Springfield, Massachusetts, on January 25, 1787.
