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1215
magna carta
The Magna Carta was a written document that was used for rebel nobles in England. It was used to curtail the power of their own tyrannical monarch. -
Jamestown settled
The Jamestown Settlement was the first successful permanent English settlement in North America on the banks of the James River. The settlement included natives of Jamestown and English settlers including Pocahontas and John Smith -
Mayflower Compact
Knowing life without laws could be catastrophic, colonist leaders created the Mayflower Compact. The Mayflower Compact is a set of rules for self-governance established by the English settlers who traveled to the New World on the Mayflower, to ensure a functioning social structure would prevail. -
petition of right
The Petition of Right was a petition sent by the English Parliament to King Charles I, complaining of a series of breaches of law. The petition sought recognition of four principles: no taxation without the consent of Parliament, no imprisonment without cause, no quartering of soldiers on subjects, and no martial law in peacetime. -
English Bill of Rights
The English Bill of Rights was an act signed into law. It outlined specific constitutional and civil rights and ultimately gave Parliament power over the monarchy. -
albany plan of union
The Albany Plan of Union was created to establish a centralized government to oversee the colonies. It was also created to shore up defense for the looming French and Indian War if it had been fully adopted. -
stamp act
The Stamp Act of 1765 was the first internal tax levied directly on American colonists by the British Parliament. -
american revolution
The American Revolution was a Revolutionary War waged by the American colonies against Britain. As Britain had the form form of taxation without representation. -
boston massacre
The Boston Massacre was a deadly riot starting out between american colonists and one British solider. The riot ended in many British soldiers and many colonists dead. -
boston tea party
The Boston Tea Party was a political protest against Britain because American colonists were frustrated and angry at Britain for imposing “taxation without representation,”. They dumped 342 chests of tea, imported by the British East India Company into the harbor. -
first continental congress
The Continental Congress served as the government of the 13 American colonies and later the United States. The First Continental Congress, which was comprised of delegates from the colonies, met in reaction to the Coercive Acts, a series of measures imposed by the British government on the colonies in response to their resistance to new taxes. -
intolerable acts
The Intolerable Acts were five laws that were passed by the British Parliament against the American Colonies in 1774. It became a rallying cry for patriots in America. They felt these acts took away some of their basic freedoms. In many ways, these acts helped to unite the colonies and pushed them one step closer to revolution. -
second continental congress
The Continental Congress served as the government of the 13 American colonies and later the United States. The Second Continental Congress convened after the American Revolutionary War had already begun. -
declaration of independence
The Declaration of Independence was the first formal statement by a nation’s people asserting their right to choose their own government. -
articles of confederation
The first written constitution of the United States. -
shay's rebellion
Shays’ Rebellion was a series of violent attacks on courthouses and other government properties in Massachusetts. It had led to military confrontation. -
Philadelphia convention
The Philadelphia Convention took place to address problems in governing of the United States of America. It had been operating under the Articles of Confederation following independence from Great Britain. -
Connecticut compromise
The Connecticut Compromise was an agreement that large and small states reached during the Constitutional Convention of 1787. It in part defined the legislative structure and representation that each state would have under the United States Constitution.
