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1215
Magna Carta
The document between John and his barons, guaranteed that the king would respect feudal rights and privileges, uphold the freedom of the church, and maintain the nation's laws. -
First Colony established in Jamestown
104 English men and boys arrived in North America to start a settlement. On May 13 they picked Jamestown for their settlement. The settlement became the first permanent English settlement in North America. -
English Bill of Rights
The English Bill of Rights was an act signed into law by William III and Mary II, who became co-rulers in England after the overthrow of King James II. The bill outlined constitutional and civil rights and gave Parliament power over the monarchy. -
Defeat of the French and Indian War
The French and Indian War ended with the signing of the Treaty of Paris. The British received Canada from France and Florida from Spain, but permitted France to keep its West Indian sugar islands and gave Louisiana to Spain. -
Stamp Act
The act required the colonists to pay a tax, represented by a stamp, on various forms of papers, documents, and playing cards. It was a direct tax imposed by the British government without the approval of the colonial legislatures and was payable in hard-to-obtain British sterling, rather than colonial currency. -
Stamp Act Congress Meets
The Stamp Act Congress met in the Federal Hall building in New York City in October, 1765. It was the first colonial action against a British measure and was formed to protest the Stamp Act issued by British Parliament on March 1765. -
Boston Tea Party
The Boston Tea Party was a political protest that occurred on December 16, 1773, in Boston. American colonists, frustrated and angry at Britain for imposing “taxation without representation,” dumped 342 chests of tea, imported by the British East India Company into the harbor. -
Intolerable Acts Passed
The Coercive Acts, which were called the Intolerable Acts by the American colonists, were passed by Parliament in 1774 in response to colonial resistance to British rule. -
The First Continental Congress Meets
The First Continental Congress convened in Carpenters' Hall in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, between September 5 and October 26, 1774. Delegates from twelve of Britain's thirteen American colonies met to discuss America's future under growing British aggression. -
"Shot heard around the world" is heard
"The shot heard round the world" is a phrase that refers to the opening shot of the battles of Lexington and Concord. -
Second Continental Congress Meets
The Second Continental Congress and the Declaration of Independence. The Second Continental Congress met inside Independence Hall beginning in May 1775. It was just a month after shots had been fired at Lexington and Concord in Massachusetts, and the Congress was preparing for war. -
Declaration of Independence signed
After much debate, the Second Continental Congress ultimately agreed to the Declaration of Independence, and then signed it on August 2, 1776, in the Pennsylvania State House.